This week we are privileged to report about yet another innovation challenge that has been put together by the RAN Lab. This as you may have seen from my previous discussion regarding innovation centers in Uganda is the third of a few categories which make up the well represented technology space in the country.
RAN Lab falls in the third category which is where innovation labs work closely with Universities for with very specific themes at heart in this case-health. The lab is a collaborative effort between technology innovators and the school of Public health at Makerere University. The other two very prominent innovation spaces (and there are others coming up) are Hive Colab and OutBox Hub. Hive Colab falls in the second category that is driven mainly by Business. This innovation lab was created and driven broadly speaking by some young enthusiastic technology advocates who quickly made the transition into mentoring and raising other young men and women. From this space others emerged like Women in Technology (WITU).
Outbox Hub was created with a core of directors chosen from a broad range of personalities with varied experience. Located on Lumumba Rd. at Solis House. The place offers office space at a range of costs as well as wireless internet. The core team has managed to bring together business interests as well as other student led projects such as google developer days and Mozilla. So it could be a hybrid that manages to blend the broader interests of government with those of private business.
The First Floor (Technovation Uganda)
@africaresilient
@globaldevlab
The participants were split up into two groups with High school students represented as well as Universities. In the intense three minute activity the participants are supposed to describe their idea, it's financial viability, profits, marketing plan all this in the presence of three qualified and experienced judges.
The High School teams
Bwerangi Senior Secondary School (4 teams)
MaryHill Secondary School (2 teams)
Rock Hight School (2 teams)
Nabisunsa Girls (1 team)
Luzira Senior Secondary School (2 teams)
Gulu High School (2 teams)
Gayaza High School (2 teams)
Lira Town College (1 team)
The official High School Score Card
The score card that was used by the judges will help shed some light on what the leadership and development team was looking for when they organized the Technovation Event.
1. Ideation: the process by which information is processed and solutions emerge.
2. Technical: understanding demonstrated by the team of the problems and challenges.
3. Entrepreneurship: the keenness of the business sense and the recognition of opportunities.
4. Impression: overall poise and presentation.
My Independent Expectations
Having been part (at least in attendance) of previous competitions (Demo Africa and Pivot East), I noticed that the average competition normally has about four members. The first is a coder (the technical guy), the second is the finance guy (his task into make sure that the numbers make sense), the third person creates and gives the presentation while the fourth demonstrates an understanding of the nature of the concept. This is therefore what I expected for both the High School and the University team as well as the climate change solution group event that was the culmination of a few weeks of training in Geographic Information Systems.
Mbarara University of Science and Technology
International University of East Africa
APTECH
Uganda Martyr's University
The official Criteria for Judgement
We noticed a difference in the Criteria that was was used to judge the presentations at the University.
1. Pitching Quality
2. Problem that the group is Solving
3. Solution that the group is giving
4. Implementation of the plan
5. Nature of the business model
The mentors and their advice
The young people that designed and worked and visited with the students praised the process and spoke about the development that takes place as young people learn and add to their knowledge, build teams as well as work in groups. There was growth for the duration of the project which normally functions in five year cycles. The team appreciated the evidence of growth and development in the young teams over the years as well as the expansion of similar models of learning that have been rolled out over the last few years.
The sponsors
A very well represented Vodaphone praised the group for making the event happen.
The teachers (from participating schools).
A word from the teachers and an encouragement with the hope for more events. A little bit of a lamentation from one of the instructors at the absence of representation from men.
Perhaps one of the pitfalls of opening up the space for women.
But a thumbs up for those who are fighting for inclusion and the RAN Lab program for designing and creating programs with women in mind.
There was praise for the schools as well as the students for taking time out especially during a season of Mock (major exams that are done in preparation for the final year exam) exams.
The Leadership Team (RAN Lab Executives).
The leadership team helped ease the tension and created an atmosphere that was great for the competition...and yes there was a drum roll and characteristic closed envelope reminiscent of an award ceremony in Hollywood. There was plenty of generosity as well as a broad set of categories that ensured that people were awarded for standing out and creating unique products.
The Second Floor (Climate Change Challenge)
Geographic Information Systems
So the guys upstairs have created an event around Geographic Information Systems. Remember those. They are tools that gather data and layer it into different types. For example, you have an area where you live. There are electricity poles for power, there are lines for your phone, there is a drainage (there should be) system that handles waste water, there are latrines, communal toilets, there are under ground cables for fibre optics, there are under ground water lines, there are homes, some finished others unfinished, there are roads and pathways, rivers and lakes. The system then helps you aggregate all this data so that you can use for crime prevention, disaster preparedness, military precision, and marketing for business purposes.
The Core team
In our view the challenge therefore needs about four parts. The money guy (financier), the expert (geographer or public health expert if you wish to merge the two), the marketing person (someone with great presentation skills and a keen ind for financials) and the developer to create the application.
Support and Judgement.
The judges vary but should probably include. Experts in various fields, business people in need of great ideas and veteran design personalities.
The value of the process.
It is foolhardy to think that we can create a solution for a challenge as vast as climate change or health or anything that broad but the process by which we develop these ideas is at the heart of why these events ought to take place. The winners are important but the process by which we find them and the ideas that illuminate the final product ought to have much more of our attention.
My interaction with the competitors and the RAN Lab Core Group.
There were two groups that I met with. One had a solution with an emphasis on the Environment. The other wanted to deal with the challenge of Landslides Floods. Both teams sought to make use of the statistical data that exists online and that an be accessed and used and built on to create solutions to common problems. The second team stood out because they had an idea that was built around a problem they identified and wanted to tackle it primarily as a policy problem. I encouraged them to split the team as I have previously described and of ensure that they work in a finance model that would at least keep them in the loop of things. The temptation to create a costly product would have to be avoided so that instead an affordable product could be created that could still provide revenue streams in other means such as training and support. There were additional discussion around identifying key contact people in the ministries and ensuing that the sponsors and supporters in development of the solution were well represented.
Those present and involved in some way in the funding of the event.
Vodaphone, Plan Uganda, USAID, NITA.
