MIT-UoN FABLAB DESIGN CHALLENGE

The newly acquired MIT Fablab at the University of Nairobi’s Science and Technology Park is a unique and exciting design environment created to encourage innovation. The Fablab is equipped with mostly table-top CNC machines will serve as a rapid prototyping center in the Science Park’s business incubator.

This new set-up requires furniture suited to laboratory work. The Science Park Management is launching a competition for the design of the furniture. The winner of the competition will receive a special mention at the forth-coming MIT Fab 5 meeting in India, and a feature on the Fab web-site. They will also be given the opportunity to be part of the team that fabricates the furniture using the ShopBot CNC router.

The specifications are as follows:

• Working surfaces made from block-board which can be used for placing computers on (neat arrangements that ensure that cabling is barely visible)

• Facilitation in the working stations for localized lighting so that work can continue at night

• Lockable storage space for electronic components and materials for laser cutter, vinyl cutter, CNC sewing machine, laser scanner

• Lockable storage space for workshop tools such as drills, hammers, vices...

Contact me if you would like to participate!

Maker Faire Africa: Ghana, Aug 14-16

From Afrigadget, WhiteAfrican

Maker Faire Africa (MFA) is a new event celebrating the innovation, ingenuity and invention within Africa - happening August 14-16 of this year in Accra, Ghana.

It'll be a convergence of the types of individuals who show up on AfriGadget and Timbuktu Chronicles, and the ethos of the greater MAKE community, all with the blessings of the good folks at Maker Faire. The dates were chosen to coincide with Amy Smith’s and MIT’s International Development and Design Summit (IDDS), which will run for 3 weeks before MFA, also in Ghana.

As Emeka puts it:

The aim of a Maker Faire-like event is to create a space on the continent where Afrigadget-type innovations, inventions and initiatives can be sought, identified, brought to life, supported, amplified, propagated, etc. Maker Faire Africa asks the question, “What happens when you put the drivers of ingenious concepts from Mali with those from Ghana and Kenya, and add resources to the mix?”

How You can Support MFA

First off, help spread the word! Let people know where and when it will be. Share the link to the site, grab a badge, blog it.

Second, help us find sponsors. If you know an organization or individual who would like to support this amazing event, put us in touch with them. It could be monetary, or it could be donating some cool gadgets, gear, tools or devices for people to hack on while there. (example idea: we’d love to get some LEGO Mindstorm kits for the local high schools).

Third, come. If you have the time and ability, we’d love to have you, your ideas and your gadgets at MFA.

The Team

• Emeka Okafor of Timbuktu Chronicles and the Director of TED Africa
• Erik Hersman, Founder of AfriGadget
• Lars Hasselblad Torres, Director MIT IDEAS Competition
• Mark Grimes, Founder Ned.com and Founder NedSpace
• Nii Simmonds of Nubian Cheetah

Want to get involved yourself? Get in touch!

2nd Strathmore Mobile BootCamp

A mobile boot camp is a crash-course session usually spanning 2 – 3 days, whereby participants will gain insights on mobile application development as well as acquire practical skills on the use of current platforms, frameworks and tools used for the development of mobile applications.

Strathmore University’s inaugural Mobile Boot Camp was held was held on 28th and 29th of November, 2008. More than 100 information technology developers (programmers) and students attended the event. Strathmore Research and Consultancy Centre (SRCC) hosted the event in collaboration with the Faculty of Information Technology (FIT).

This year Strathmore University will hold the mobile boot camp on the 9th to 11th July, 2009. The camp will be held under the theme; “Mobile Applications for Development in Africa“. The event will be capped off with a mobile development competition, inviting mobile applications in the fields of M-Learning, M-Health and M-Agriculture.

Charges for this 3-day event are:

Students: 700 /= (inclusive of lunch for the 3 days)
Non-students: 1500/= (inclusive of lunch for the 3 days)

Register on Facebook and check out http://www.strathmore.edu/aboutus.php?id=171

Also see what was discussed on our live blog then. Watch this space for more!

ROBOCON KENYA 2009

The ministry of higher education has organized a Robot Contest between kenyan universities and middle level colleges. The contest will be based on the need to provide sufficient food to the Kenyan communities for their upkeep. For this to be achieved the food must be transported from the granary to different communities by a community leader referred to as “MFADHILI” (our robot in this case). Read more