…as ICTAM AGM is set for November…
Melvin Kalipinde, who won last year’s innovation award organized by the Information Communication Technology Association of Malawi (ICTAM) is set to leave for Rwanda for Commonwealth Innovations awards next week.
The forum, which will be opened by Rwandan president Paul Kagame from 6th June to 8th June, will see ICT innovators from across the continent demonstrating their skills, with the winner being announced at the end of the forum.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, the association’s vice president Bram Fudzulani said Malawi will benefit a lot from this forum.
“As an association, this is our first time to send a representative to such a forum and we are very excited.
“As a country, we are going to benefit through the exposure of talent. We have enough talent in Malawi that needs to be exposed so these are the forums that can help the country to achieve this.
“The person we are sending is going to come back a changed person and his knowledge will impact Malawians so we are really excited,” he said.
And on his part, Kalipinde said he is confident in what he produced.
“I am very excited, in terms of being ready, I don’t think you can be 100 percent ready for something like this but I am very confident in my capabilities and in my innovations,” he explained.
Kalipinde produced an Iris, an architecture visualisation which enables designers to interact with their art.
Meanwhile, ICTAM has announced that this year’s innovation forum will be held at Nkopola Lodge from 2nd November to 3rd November.
According to Fudzulani, the association has trimmed the categories to six, with the closing date for receiving innovations being set for 28th September.
The association says innovators will battle it out for the top prize in health care delivery, financial services, infrastructure and energy, education and training, social equity and in robotics.
“We have changed a number of factors to allow us to have a pool of experienced and mature projects by aligning ourselves to the world at large.
“We are focusing on innovations that will not only impact Malawi but also the world at large,” concluded Fudzulani.
