Tracks

The Mekatilili Fellowship 2019  is focused on 3 tracks. During the program, fellows will work in teams to develop solutions based on their preferred track.

Track 1: Design for Accessibility

According to Article 9 of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, accessibility is defined as the design of communications and information services, transportation systems, buildings and other structures are designed and constructed so that they can be used, entered or reached by persons with disabilities. Up to 10% of the population in Kenya is disabled (visual, hearing, speech and language, difficulties, physical, mental, self care difficulties and other).

In this track participants will be co-designing with local experts in disability matters in Kenya to develop solutions that support accessibility.

Track 2: Agriculture

In Kenya, agriculture is the major contributor to the national GDP and supports a labour market of over 14% in the formal sector. With the advent of the 4th industrial revolution, automation of factories, systems and processes is revolutionising the global agricultural industry and optimising performance and output.

Despite the being a key economic driver, the agricultural sector is still driven by manual and outdated processes. There is potential to disrupt this industry through integrating smart technologies.

Track 3: Design for Manufacturing

As Africa advances towards the fourth industrial revolution, this creates the opportunity to integrate global best practices in manufacturing as well as redesign new sustainable manufacturing processes. This opens up design opportunities to innovate new approaches in sustainable practices such as: How might we extract the most value from materials while reducing our carbon footprint? How might we design manufacturing to improve recyclability? How may we integrate the internet of things in developing smarter manufacturing processes? How might we design for both small scale and large scale manufacturability?