Our hands-on methodology · Erasmus+ & European Solidarity Corps
Drones as an educational tool.
A small caged drone — or a free simulator on a laptop the school already owns — turns flight into one of the most engaging teaching tools we know. Participants build, wire, repair, tune and pilot: digital skills, engineering and teamwork wrapped in something that feels like play. This is how our method works, and how to bring it into a project or take part yourself.
One controller. Every programme.
Screen-first, safe, inclusive — and it fits everywhere.
The reason the same activity works for a school class, an adult group, a vocational mobility or an international youth exchange comes down to a few simple numbers.
The method
From a screen to the sky — and a transferable skill set.
Participants run a complete, real cycle with their own hands — fly the simulator, build and wire, tune, fly the mission, review, repair — and where it fits, compete as a team. Because the loop from crash to fix to re-flight takes minutes, not weeks, a group closes many full cycles inside a single workshop or mobility, learning from every one. It is learning by doing, with a result you can watch fly.
A method built on recognised standards — not rules we invented. Drone soccer is FAI class F9A, and our full drone-sport ecosystem lives on our Sport page.
Why a drone teaches so much
A near-perfect learning tool, in four parts.
Free simulators run on the PCs a school already has, and one real controller flies the simulator and binds to real drones later. A group can train — and even compete online — before owning any aircraft.
The anchor discipline, drone soccer, is caged and indoor — collisions are the point of the game, not a hazard. No pilot licence, no airspace permit: a gym or large classroom is enough.
Participants build, wire, repair and tune their drones like a pit crew, then pilot them as a team. Applied physics, electronics and digital skills — absorbed through play, not slides.
A screen-first entry costs almost nothing and asks for no athletic prerequisites, so young people with fewer opportunities can join — and win — on genuinely equal footing.
The skills participants can gain
Mapped to the EU competence frameworks evaluators actually use.
This is what makes drones fundable, not just fun: a single project develops competences across the frameworks behind the whole Erasmus+ agenda — and speaks directly to the programme’s digital-transformation and inclusion priorities.
Operate real hardware and software end to end — simulator settings, firmware and radio binding, batteries and flight data — then create and share content about what you fly, responsibly and safely.
Building, wiring, repairing and tuning a small drone is applied physics, electronics and maths — the EU key competence in science, technology and engineering, learned like a pit crew.
Learners can plan a club or a tournament end to end — budget the equipment tiers, assign the roles, promote the event and run it — turning an idea into action under real constraints.
Crash, diagnose, repair, re-fly. The short loop builds frustration tolerance and calm under pressure; flying as a team of three builds communication, trust and shared responsibility.
Outcomes describe what participants can gain, and depend on how the activity is run. EVEC hosts and facilitates as a partner NGO — activities lead to a certificate of participation / Youthpass-style recognition of non-formal learning, not a formal qualification, and not a drone pilot licence or certificate of competency. Any flying of real drones follows a simulator-first, safety-first approach — indoors with caged or ducted drones wherever possible — and always within EU (EASA) and national drone rules.
Where it’s heading
The method, wired into a real initiative.
In development · An EVEC Sport initiative
A youth drone-sport ecosystem, built from Athens
Drones are already part of our STEM toolkit — and we’re now launching a youth drone-sport ecosystem: simulator-first training any school can start, safe indoor drone-soccer clubs on the FAI F9A rulebook, and a planned path toward cross-border competition, with the first European Drone Soccer Championship set for 2026. We’re building it with partners — not claiming leagues we haven’t started.
For institutions & partners
Bring the method into an Erasmus+ project.
You bring the learners and the theme; we bring tested hosting in Athens and the screen-to-sky method. Here are example projects across the Erasmus+ fields to spark ideas — when one fits, start the conversation through our Erasmus+ hub.
Youth
Squad in a Week
Young people from two countries train on simulators at home, then meet for one short mobility to build their drones and fly their first caged team matches.
School Education
The zero-travel league
Partner schools each stand up a simulator-first drone club on existing PCs and meet in online matches — then co-write the shared classroom playbook.
Adult Education
Late take-off
Digital confidence for adult learners through simulator flying, drone-building basics and the rules of the sky — proof it’s never too late to learn tech.
VET
The repair bench
Hands-on electronics for an incoming VET group — soldering, wiring, diagnostics and tuning on real small drones. Skills that transfer far beyond the hobby.
Sport
Drone soccer, properly
Start a caged, indoor drone-soccer club on the FAI F9A rulebook — the anchor of the youth drone-sport ecosystem we’re building from Athens.
Horizon Europe
Engagement partner
EVEC as your consortium’s non-research delivery partner — turning drone and digital research into hands-on demonstration and public engagement in Athens.
For people
Or get your own hands on the sticks.
Not an organisation? You can still work with drones directly — as an intern, a local or online volunteer, or a fully EU-funded ESC volunteer. Every route ends with a certificate of participation and a reference. Find the one that fits through our Get Involved hub.
Internship
Flight-club assistant
Help run simulator sessions and STEM workshops for Athens youth — set up the kit, coach first flights, keep the fleet flying — and leave with a portfolio.
Local volunteering
The ground crew
Help set up nets and gates, charge and label batteries, marshal matches and welcome newcomers at our Athens youth sessions. No experience needed; flexible and unpaid.
Online volunteering
Mission control
No drone needed — help from anywhere: how-to guides, translations and subtitles, match graphics and the social channel.
ESC
An ESC year in Athens
2–12 EU-funded months helping run our youth activities, with drones in the STEM toolkit — accommodation, food, ~€420/mo, travel, insurance and a mentor covered.
Simulator-first
Four levels, one pathway — from a laptop to the podium.
We don’t start with expensive racing drones. We start on a screen, move into a safe indoor team sport, and let the talented few climb toward competition — every level built on recognised international standards.
Level 0 · Start here
Simulators
Free simulators on the PCs you already have, plus a few real controllers. Train pilots and run zero-travel online matches against partner groups.
Level 1 · Gateway
Tiny-whoop, indoors
Palm-sized ducted drones flown safely indoors — the gateway from the screen to real FPV flying, with all-in-one starter kits for a class.
Level 2 · School base
Drone soccer
Caged, indoor, full-contact team sport for a school gym — collisions are the game, not the hazard. Played to the FAI class F9A rulebook.
Level 3 · Advanced
FPV racing & freestyle
The competitive flagship — goggles-on racing through gates (FAI F9U / MultiGP) for the few who climb the whole ladder.
Spend on controllers first — they’re the durable asset participants keep, and they carry across every level. Equipment figures are indicative; we cost each setup with you against current EU prices.
Want the whole picture — the ecosystem, the funding routes and the partner plan? It all lives on our drone-sport page.
Explore EVEC drone sport →Let’s take off
Three doors into a drones project.
Co-design a funded Erasmus+ project, take part yourself, or bring EVEC into a Horizon Europe consortium. Pick your door — each page has the full details and the way to reach us.
For organisations
Erasmus+ partnerships
Co-design a funded project in Youth, School, Adult, VET or Sport, with EVEC as your Athens host and coordinator.
Explore Erasmus+ →For individuals
Get Involved
Join hands-on as an intern, a local or online volunteer, or a fully funded ESC volunteer.
Find your way in →For research consortia
Horizon Europe
Add EVEC as your non-research dissemination, communication and engagement partner on a Horizon Europe proposal.
Partner on Horizon →Keep exploring
Two ways forward
For institutions
Erasmus+ partnerships
Every Key Action and field we partner on — start a project with us.
Go to the hub →For people
Get Involved
Internship, volunteering or a funded ESC placement — find your way in.
Go to the hub →Go deeper
EVEC drone sport
The full ecosystem we’re building: drone soccer, the funding routes and the partner plan.
Go to the page →
