Students at the University of Nairobi and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) have until today, 2 November, to sign up for a four-month innovation programme that promises to turn campus tech projects into market-ready products.

The initiative, run by China Mobile International (CMI), was unveiled at the CMI Workshop and Hackathon for the Next Generation of Kenyan Innovators at the Radisson Blu hotel in Nairobi's Arboretum area, TechTrends KE and TechAfrica News reported.

What students will build

Teams will work on solutions in core areas including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, software engineering, the Internet of Things, data connectivity and big data analytics. Organisers are also encouraging projects in emerging fields such as digital twins, blockchain, cybersecurity and 5G networks.

  • Who can apply: eligible student teams from UoN and JKUAT
  • Team make-up: gender-balanced teams are prioritised
  • Registration closes: 2 November 2026
  • Final presentations: 27 February 2027
  • Top prize: corporate development support from CMI to move the winning solution towards commercial deployment

Each team will be paired with a CMI sponsor for technical guidance and industry insight. Judges will look at whether projects actually work, the impact they can show and their potential to scale beyond the competition. No cash prize has been announced.

Industry and campus links

The programme is being organised with support from CMI's Regional Managing Director for Africa, Terry Leung, and Dr Lawrence Nderu, founder and project lead of JHUB Africa, the innovation hub based at JKUAT.

Speaking at the launch, ICT and Digital Economy Principal Secretary John Kipchumba Tanui called for stronger ties between universities and industry, urging students to take their ideas beyond competitions into pilot projects, businesses and jobs, according to the reports.

Why it matters for students

The programme comes as Kenyan universities face pressure to produce graduates with job-ready digital skills, and as local students build a growing reputation in global tech contests. Earlier this year a team drawn from Tharaka, JKUAT, Mount Kenya and Machakos universities won the grand prize at the Huawei ICT Competition global finals in China, a first for Kenya.

For UoN and JKUAT students whose semester was disrupted by the staff strike, the four-month window runs alongside the resumed academic calendar, meaning teams will have to balance coursework with building and testing their prototypes ahead of February's showcase.

Photos: EstherWikipedian/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), University of Nairobi Towers; TechAfrica News (launch of the CMI innovation programme in Nairobi). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.