AFR I LABS
KUBATANA MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2022
WHAT ARE YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING IMPROVING COLLABORATION BETWEEN INNOVATION CENTERS AND UNIVERSITIES IN AFRICA? Institutions developing their own physical innovation centers; collaboration through hackathons, events, shared learning experiences and gatherings in digital spaces. This can be used for partnerships, like ours with AfriLabs, that provide an opportunity to build bridges between hubs and institutions that cross borders and connect thousands of like-minded professionals with tomorrow’s entrepreneurs – who will be providers of employability in the future. The team from @iBizAfrica, Strathmore University provides crucial insights on this topic, thus: “With the new wave of entrepreneurship innovation, questions around increasing the capacity around research diffusion and commercialization of ideas are beginning to take precedence. Universities play a crucial role in the innovation infrastructure through research outcomes that can be translated into innovation technologies. This has further been fuelled by championing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses in the educational curriculum. Higher Institutions of Education are key in developing strong innovation ecosystems. They contribute to fundamental research; offer incubation services for students from diverse disciplines such as engineering, humanities, social sciences and medicine; act as a focal point for cooperation. They are also referrals among various stakeholders, business startups and entrepreneurship support organisations;
plus partnering with policymakers and investors to synthesise evidence research into policies that promote commercialization of innovation prototype ideas. Although research and development has greatly improved in the continent as evidenced by Africa’s global expenditure on research, which now stands at 1.01 % compared to the previous standing of 0.42% of its GDP, innovation in the continent still has room for improvement to tackle the growing societal problems.” @iBizAfrica is a business incubation and innovation centre that is part of @iLabAfrica, the research and innovation centre under the faculty of Information Technology in Strathmore University. Since its inception and start of operations in 2012, the incubator has achieved much success in nurturing the development, growth and success of startup business ideas.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES AND RESEARCH ORGANISATIONS IN ENABLING INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP ON THE CONTINENT? THE PLACE OF ACADEMIA IN SUPPORTING INNOVATION IN AFRICA To build the prosperous Africa we all want, it is crucial that education focuses on the employability of its learners. Since 2017, Honoris has established 11 multi-purpose 21st century learning environments including innovation hubs, incubators, makerspaces, and cutting-edge laboratories that prepare students for real-world situations.
Excerpts from an interview with Dr Grace Nkansa, Senior Director of Employability and Partnerships at Honoris United Universities.
A LOT OF AFRICAN YOUTH OPINE THAT FORMAL (ESPECIALLY UNIVERSITY) EDUCATION IS A WASTE - GIVEN THAT MANY GRADUATES ARE UNABLE TO FIND JOBS. DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS IN THE LIGHT OF YOUR RESPONSE TO THE FIRST QUESTION? The task of employment for the fastest growing demographic in the world is indeed a shared mission. For us at Honoris, this means providing education that is relevant and transformative to prepare solution-oriented leaders capable of creating impact in their communities in Africa.
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