Innovation Hub launches community youth initiatives

16 July 2014 News

In the wake of widespread outcry over the recent publishing of a World Economic Forum report putting the quality of South Africa’s higher mathematics and science education in last place of the 148 countries surveyed, the Innovation Hub announced a partnership with the City of Tshwane to bring science, technology, engineering and mathematics closer to the youth, especially those from previously disadvantaged backgrounds.

The organisation, which is charged with promoting Gauteng’s technology industry, announced launches including the opening of a Fab Lab on 23 June 2014 at The Innovation Hub, eKasi LABS on 27 June at the Ga-rankuwa Arts and Crafts Centre, and the Kusile Mobile Labs to be distributed between 23 and 27 June at various schools.

The Innovation Hub recognised in a media statement that there is currently a shortage of skills in these sectors, and identified as one of the major causes the inaccessibility to the facilities that allow young people to engage and explore. It therefore intends for these initiatives to offer a pragmatic solution to the highly inflated number of unemployed youths, through the offering of entrepreneurial mentorship as well as workshops to guide them on the process of commercialising an innovation.

A Fab Lab, which is an abbreviation for fabrication laboratory, is a miniature factory for digital fabrication where prototypes can be created and will be strategically located at The Innovation Hub as it is the first accredited science and technology park in Africa.

eKasi LABS will be piloted at the Ga-rankuwa Arts and Crafts Centre in an area that can be easily accessed by the broader community and where young people can create tangible solutions that address their community’s problems.

Kusile Mobile Science Labs are touted as a cost-effective solution to the inadequate science laboratories available in primary and secondary schools. Designed and manufactured by local entrepreneurs from Kusile Labs & Technology, they will be distributed at various disadvantaged schools.

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