The University of Juba, one of the public universities in South Sudan, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Wednesday launched Innovation Pod (UniPod).
The UniPod initiative is intended to enhance innovation and accelerated learning for students and talented youth at the University of Juba to address community challenges through practice.
The facility is art tech equipment for electrical engineering, mechanical pre-fabricators, food processing, art and design, and technology to produce microchips.
The initiative, which started in 2022 with support from UNDP, costs 1.9 million US dollars.
Speaking during the launch of Innovative Pod in Juba, Hussein Abdelbagi Akol, Vice President for the Services Cluster, said innovation pod will improve students’ innovative thinking skills in enhancing digital fabrication skills.
“By launching the University of Juba Innovation Pod, the University of Juba is, in fact, implementing the kind of practical education young people need to be agents of transformation of the society. I have been briefed that the new initiative will improve students’ innovative thinking skills in enhancing digital fabrication skills,” said Abdelbagi.
Blessed Chirimuta, the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in South Sudan, said the launch of the innovative pod at the University of Juba is the beginning of greater things to come.
“This is the beginning of greater things to come. I want to recognize all the students who are here today. This is for you because you are the future of this country. If we can make progress in you, then we know we have hope for our future and thank you to all the technicians and all the doctors and all the people who have worked on this project,” said Samuel Doe, UNDP Country Representative in a statement read by his deputy Blessed Chirimuta.
Prof. John. A. Akec, Vice Chancellor of the University of Juba, said: “This project was meant to enhance the innovation and inspiration of learning for this public university. I think UNIPOD is a realization of our mission of economic empowerment for social transformation and service to the community,” he said.
“It has different strategic goals, mainly the strategic goal is the transfer of technology to key strategic sector, facilitation of the transfer of technology and know-how skills of strategic sectors and also serving the communities.”