Media - Page 3 of 5

Makerere defeats USA’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology at TechCon 2016

Youthful innovators from Makerere University’s College of Health Sciences School of Public Health-ResilientAfrica Network (RAN) have scooped top two cash prizes in Boston, USA.

This was at the interactive Innovation Marketplace at the USAID’s Higher Education Solutions Network (HESN) technical convening TechCon 2016 in Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) between November 10-12, 2016, Makerere scoped the highest awards out of 24 competitors in the category of Products and Services.

Grace Nakibaala, an architect from Makerere University working on the Pedal Tap Innovation ‘non-touch water dispensing system’ won in the 2nd place USD 1,500. Additionally, Bonita Nanziri, an innovator working on a sickle cell anaemia diagnosis kit-MDEX, won the 1st place private sector prize out of 32 competitors. The prize was on Engineering and Design Review from ASME Engineering 4 Change out of 32 competitors.

Makerere University tops all again at TechCon 2016

During the interactive Innovation Marketplace at the USAID’s Higher Education Solutions Network (HESN) technical convening TechCon 2016 in Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston USA, November 10-12, 2016, innovators from Makerere University College of Health Sciences School of Public Health-ResilientAfrica Network (RAN) scooped top two cash prizes out of 24 competitors in the category of Products and Services. Elijah Djan, an Innovator from RAN’s Southern Africa Resilience Innovation Lab working on the Nubrix project-‘re-cycling paper to produce bricks, walked away with the 1^st prize worth USD 2,500 while Grace Nakibaala, an architect from Makerere University working on the Pedal Tap Innovation ‘non-touch water dispensing system’ won in the 2^nd place USD 1,500. Additionally, Bonita Nanziri, an innovator working on a sickle cell anaemia diagnosis kit-MDEX, won the 1^st place private sector prize out of 32 competitors. The prize was on Engineering and Design Review from ASME Engineering 4 Change out of 32 competitors. This team will also benefit from a full technical analysis of their innovations’ business model working towards further developing the same.

PedalTap Named Winner of Africa Innovation Challenge

“Africa is one of the fastest growing regions of the world, and Johnson & Johnson is proud to support this growth through strong collaborations that encourage innovation and accelerate advancements in the continent’s health systems,” said Paul Stoffels, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Johnson & Johnson. “We are seeing a surge of activity among entrepreneurs and health system leaders to develop important solutions that overcome longstanding health and societal challenges. By working together, we hope to bring meaningful solutions to patients and consumers more rapidly, to help cultivate the next generation of scientists, and to support Africa’s entrepreneurial base.”

PROJECT PEDAL TAP (Uganda) – Seeking to prevent disease transmission, and a reduction of water use, Project Pedal Tap will develop hands-free solutions for hand water taps in Uganda. The entrepreneurs will create manufacturing capabilities, using mostly recycled materials, which will lead to an ongoing business.