By Tracy Kavai,<\/p>\n
Machakos, Kenya \u2013 February 2026. Daystar<\/strong> University has been awarded a competitive Kshs 5.5 million grant under the UK\u2013Kenya University Partnerships initiative, funded by the British Council. The grant will support the establishment of a Learning & Design Lab, a collaborative platform designed to tackle climate resilience challenges through practical, industry-driven solutions.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Daystar is among only five universities in Kenya to receive this prestigious award since 2023, underscoring its growing reputation as a solutions-driven institution. The project is led in partnership with the University of South Wales (UK) and facilitated by Circle Innovation.<\/p>\n The five-day Lab, scheduled for 16\u201320 March 2026 at Daystar University, will bring together 20 students from Kenya and the UK to co-create solutions to real-world industry challenges. The program emphasizes moving beyond ideas into implementation, strengthening university-industry collaboration, equipping students with human-centred design and co-creation skills, and translating research into tangible climate-resilience outcomes.<\/p>\n The Lab\u2019s industry challenge will be spearheaded by Carbon Zero Mobility (CZM), an e-mobility company developing and distributing electric vehicles for the African market. CZM\u2019s mission is to reduce transport costs, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and build a sustainable e-mobility value chain.<\/p>\n The project is led by Daystar University Vice Chancellor Prof. Laban P. Ayiro as Principal Investigator, with Dr. Caroline Ayuya Muaka as Co-PI and Lead, and Dr. Kennedy Ong\u00e1ro and Dr. Japheth Mursi as Co-Leads.<\/p>\n Daystar will nominate 12 students, drawn from Fourth Year Undergraduate and Postgraduate programs, to join the Lab. Participants will engage in workshops, local immersion, and prototyping sessions, culminating in solution pitches to the industry partner. Promising ideas may continue beyond the Lab through internships or fellowships with CZM.<\/p>\n The grant marks a significant milestone for Daystar University, reinforcing its commitment to climate action, innovation, and global collaboration. By linking academia with industry, the Learning & Design Lab is expected to produce solutions that not only benefit Kenya but also contribute to the wider global fight against climate change.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Tracy Kavai, Machakos, Kenya \u2013 February 2026. Daystar University has been awarded a competitive Kshs 5.5 million grant under the UK\u2013Kenya University Partnerships initiative, funded by the British Council. The grant will support the establishment of a Learning & Design Lab, a collaborative platform designed to tackle climate resilience challenges through practical, industry-driven solutions. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-news","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10914\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}