For a few months now, Yaoundé (Cameroon) has been hosting the first innovation center dedicated to education and technology. Supported by the Digital Transformation Alliance (DTA) - an international non-profit organization headed by Prof. Mbang SAMA - InnoTechLab aims to be an incubation center for young Cameroonians and beyond, where they can come and train in several technology fields, including in industrial robotics with various applications: agriculture, health, energy, etc.
"Promoting access, understanding and testing of 3D digital technologies"
This initiative is not only for Cameroonians. Indeed, with the help of the Dassault Systems Foundation, the center is dedicated to education in technologies for the industrialization of Cameroon, in a first step. However, it also aims to "contribute to the inclusive and sustainable transformation of African society through an industrial, technological and digital revolution", more broadly. To achieve this goal, it will be necessary to "promote access, understanding and testing of digital 3D technologies among young students, faculty, researchers and their ecosystems," the Foundation explains in a statement.
That is why the incubation center is equipped with several spaces, including a prototyping space for innovation, prototype demonstration to stimulate technological mastery and engineering; an incubation space aimed at fostering and promoting innovation, education, entrepreneurship, pioneering spirit; an education/training space aimed at developing mastery levels, organizing events, conferences, bootcamp to connect, share, demonstrate, present and broadcast.
Transforming learning practices
To facilitate the success of that center, the Dassault Systems Foundation has supported DTA in defining and implementing the project by providing grants, training, and "its technological expertise in 3D virtual worlds to schools, universities, research centers, museums, and other associations in Europe, the United States, and India, with the ambition of pushing back the boundaries of knowledge."
InnoTechLab's mission is to inspire a passion for engineering, science and digital technology in the younger generation. In this context, "the Foundation is actively involved in inventing new ways of sharing know-how and transforming learning practices that enable new talent-spotting".
