Mukuba UniPod

Who we are The Mukuba University Innovation Pod otherwise known as the UniPod is the first ever dedicated space in Zambia to innovation that combines the expertise from academia and provides young innovators with state-of-the-art and modern equipment and advanced software for their ideation and prototyping. The UniPod is an initiative under a broader United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) initiative known as timbuktoo which is $1 billion innovation fund aimed at backing African startups. Timbuktoo is an ambitious program which promises to ignite a wave of entrepreneurial success, empowering groundbreaking ideas and reshaping Africa’s economic landscape. Currently, there are thirteen (13) UniPods across Africa and plans are underway to inaugurate 3 more pods in 2024. UniPod Objectives The overall objective of the UniPod is to create the platform for young people in their university years who are particularly apt to engage in creative and bold thinking, while they are still immersed in learning, absorbing great amounts of knowledge, and eager to find their place in the world. Additionally, the UniPod aims to increase female representation within the innovation ecosystem by ensuring that 50% of innovators in each programme are female. The specific objectives of the UniPod are: * Provide exposure to concepts of design thinking and product realisation. * Provide equipment (which includes software, hardware and consumables) to enable prototyping of innovations. * Enhance digital skills development in digital fabrication. * Provide a platform for innovators to receive guidance from faculty staff concerning their design projects. * Encourage the prototyping and testing of innovations that can be developed into commercially viable products. * To serve as conduits to the thematic pan-African timbuktoo hubs. Pod Spaces The Mukuba UniPod has three main spaces which support innovators at any point between ideation through to prototyping. https://www.cbu.ac.zm/unipod/