Entrants to IBM’s The World Is Our Lab photo competition sent images highlighting Africa’s biggest challenges and opportunities. Lawrence “Shabu” Mwangi won with an image he took of children playing with the plastic frame of an old TV in the Mukuru slum in Nairobi.
With the opening of their 12th global research lab in Nairobi, Kenya — the first of its kind on the continent — commercial technologists IBM Research – Africa recently held a photo competition as a way to engage Africans in the all-important innovation narrative that is currently happening on the continent.
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IBM’s global research lab employs 25 PhDs from the world’s top universities in order to perform “applied and far-reaching exploratory research” to foster homegrown innovation by partnering with Africa’s top businesses, research organizations, and universities. In particular, IBM’s research lab will be using “cognitive computing technologies” to solve challenges on the continent involving public health, education, and agriculture.
Opening their new research lab with a bang, IBM decided that one of the best ways to truly connect with the African population was by putting out a call to the public for their The World Is Our Lab photo competition. For three months, IBM garnered 1,209 photos from cameras and mobile phones that underscore Africa’s innovation, challenges, and city systems.
Of the competition, one of the four judges of the competition and Founder of Nairobi’s Tech Hub Erik Hersman said, “If we’re going to solve the grand challenges of Africa it has to start here in Africa with us identifying and underscoring what they are.”
See the top winners here:
14 photos
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