Govt unveils youth innovation programme

 

State unveils research programme 

The government, through the State Department for Higher Education and Research, has unveiled a research programme to foster innovation and entrepreneurship among youth in institutions of higher learning institutions.

The initiative funded by the UK government, dubbed the “Research to Commercialisation (R2C) “programme, is geared towards transforming innovative research into viable enterprises that generate significant employment opportunities for the youth and drive wealth creation.

Speaking at a Mombasa hotel during the Kenya National Innovation Agency (Kenia) Commercialisation and Entrepreneurial Institutions Leaders (CEIL) Summit 2024, themed “Youth, Jobs, and wealth creation through innovation and Entrepreneurship”, the Principal Secretary (PS) for Higher Education and Research, Beatrice Inyangala, revealed that the programme enhances the innovation ecosystem within learning institutions through reviewing commercialisation policies, setting up institutional funding frameworks, and training various Vice Chancellors on entrepreneurship and commercialisation.

“The matter of well-prepared graduates for the job market is ever evolving; as educators, we are well aware that the market for which we prepare our graduates is constantly changing,” she said.

She added that new trends such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning define a future that we entirely have no control over, hence the emphasis on the importance of teaching and learning, which is cognisant of 21st-century skills including communication, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration.

According to the PS, 30 institutions have benefitted through the programme’s various initiatives, and 30 innovators have been supported to raise funding and to take their innovations to the market, raising over Ksh 50 million for their innovations from various partners.

Additionally, 60 faculty members have been trained and further cascaded the programme to their institutions, where at least 1,300 participants have been sensitised to the research-to-commercialization process, and 14 Vice Chancellors have been trained on fostering a culture of innovation and leading entrepreneurial universities.

At the forum, Principal Secretary for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy, Ismail Maalim, announced a new initiative in collaboration with Kenia dubbed ‘Who’s Next’ to enhance creativity among the youth.

“This programme will specifically focus on supporting creativity across the 47 counties; hence, we have decided to start with 6 genres, including dance and music, fashion and trajectory, comedy, and content creation.”

He noted that the Kenya National Innovation Agency is working closely with the government to enhance innovation and entrepreneurship through various initiatives, including the development of the Kenya National IP policy, which plays a crucial role in helping the youth to create enterprises out of their innovations.

“By protecting innovations and creative output, we enable young innovators to transform their ideas into sustainable businesses, hence creating jobs and generating wealth,” noted Maalim.

Among other initiatives are the “Presidential Innovation Challenge and Award” an initiative that has been instrumental in identifying and nurturing innovative ideas among our youth, intertwining job creation, wealth generation, and entrepreneurship.

“Through this initiative, Kenia calls for innovative ideas across the 47 counties, where eventually those with the best ideas receive government support.

Another initiative is “Creative Economy,” which focusses on harnessing and monetising the talents of the youth.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Kenia, Tonny Omwansa, noted that to promote funding towards innovation, the organisation is embarking on various strategies to build a framework that enables donors to support innovators via funding.

The strategies include attracting private sectors and donors into Kenia’s various forums, citing an amount totalling Ksh 78 million that has been generated by innovators who were supported through Kenia’s past programs funded by investors.

“An innovator creates a solution which can scale and give a return; hence, an investor looks at it as an opportunity to generate revenue in the future by injecting resources,” noted Tonny.

The Commercialisation and Entrepreneurial Institutions Leaders (CEIL) Summit 2024 aims to catalyse a shift in Kenya’s research and entrepreneurial ecosystems while highlighting existing efforts and opportunities for institutions, industry, and innovators.

By Nuru Soud