The SF-BioVac Project Organizes an Innovation Camp in Zambia

The SF-BioVac project has reached its third year, and one of the last activities is the innovation camp. Two teachers from the Business program of Novia University of Applied Sciences in Turku are coordinating the planning of the camp.

Why organize innovation camps?

Innovation camps deal with challenges in both a local and a global context. The work during camp is structured and based on an entrepreneurial discovery process. Thus, an innovation camp with people from different stakeholders of the challenge can address any societal challenges and provide solutions to wicked problems that needs to be solved in local and regional areas.

At universities, innovation camps are usually organized to solve complex problems, but there are other issues that need to be acknowledged when a camp is organized especially when students are from different cultural background. The plan is, that 50 students from Zambia and Finland will participate in the SF-BioVac innovation camp that will take place in Lusaka, Zambia in Apil 2026. In groups of 5-6 students, they will solve challenges related to circular economy during four days.

The Novia delegation traveling to Zambia

A delegation of six business students, two teachers and three project members will travel to Zambia. The trip will start with a visit to Copperbelt University (CBU) in Kitwe to learn more about how engineering students at the university learn about business subjects and entrepreneurship. After that students from CBU and Novia will travel together to Lusaka to meet up with the students from University of Zambia. These students had the possibility to meet up in Turku in September 2025 to discuss entrepreneurship and future careers in a workshop organized at Novia Turku campus. The picture is from that workshop.

The teachers joining the students on the trip are looking forward to learn more about Zambia and the challenges the country faces when implementing circular economy strategies. We want to say a big thank you for the opportunity and a special thank you to Svenska Kulturfonden offering financial support for our trip.

Text by: Eva Holmberg, Novia UAS