The Faculty of Science and Technology has partnered with German technology leader ZEISS to officially launch the broader Youth Innovation Challenge 2026. The launch event, held on Friday, February 20 at the Chandaria Auditorium, brought together over 100 students from Our Lady of Mercy Secondary School-Shauri Moyo, Uthiru Mixed Day Secondary School, and County Girls Secondary School under the global rallying call, "A Heart for Science AH4S." At the launch, each of the three participating high schools and the Department of Biochemistry received a stereo microscopes and science kits
The Youth Innovation Challenge (2026), a structured mentorship and innovation programme that places teenagers at the frontline of community problem-solving, armed with scientific tools, industry guidance and university-level support. The Departments of Biochemistry and Biology will serve as the project’s central hub, overseeing implementation, contextual adaptation, and ongoing mentorship.
For the university leadership, the challenge is also a targeted intervention in the gender dynamics of STEM fields. Prof. Leonidah Kerubo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Enterprise, described the program as an upstream effort deliberately designed to place accomplished female scientists in direct view of young learners. “This initiative is about big girls mentoring small girls and boys,” Prof. Kerubo noted, emphasizing that visibility precedes aspiration. By connecting high school students with women who have built successful careers in the sciences, the program aims to make the often-opaque ceiling of the scientific community more permeable for young girls who might otherwise self-select out of STEM pathways.
Dr. Esther Kanduma of the Department of Biochemistry, who is leading the faculty-level mentorship alongside the African Science Outreach Team, explained that students will undergo structured sessions on problem identification, basic research design, and prototype development. “They will learn how to define a problem clearly, gather simple evidence, and test whether their idea works,” Dr. Kanduma said. “That process is as important as the final solution.”
This focus on early intervention aligns closely with Kenya’s Vision 2030 and Africa’s Agenda 2063, both of which rely on a knowledge-driven economy. Prof. Maina Wagacha, framed the initiative in generational terms. "We are beginning to shape the minds of our youngsters at a tender age so that they think about transforming the country through science." The choice of age group -below 18 - is strategic. The A Heart for Science, Youth Innovation challenge is built on the insight that scientific identity is formed early, and that institutional intervention at the secondary level yields longer-term returns than interventions at university entry.
Kenya’s long-term development blueprint hinges on a knowledge-driven economy, yet innovation capacity depends on early exposure and sustained mentorship. By linking secondary schools directly to a research-intensive university and a global technology firm, the programme creates a bridge rarely available at this level of schooling.
Industry partners echoed this call for early, practical scientific engagement. Mr. Mariusz Sliwa, Head of Live Marketing at ZEISS, offered the participating students a pragmatic framework for their upcoming projects. “Big solutions often start with small observations,” he said. “You don't have to wait until you're a doctor. You can start thinking scientifically today.”
Over the next several months, the student teams will refine their ideas under joint supervision from UoN researchers and ZEISS experts, culminating in a final presentation phase later this year.
Ultimately, the launch marks a measurable shift in how early science education is resourced and conceptualized. Advanced optical equipment now sits in secondary school laboratories, structured university mentorship is actively underway, and a new cohort of teenagers is being asked to look at their cities not as passive observers, but as emerging problem-solvers.
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