The Inaugural Falling Walls Lab East Africa challenge, recently took place at the Goethe-Institute Nairobi, where Strathmore’s @ILabAfrica Research Centre Project Coordinator – Lorna Mutegi was privileged to participate to finals level.

 

The Falling Walls Lab is a challenging interdisciplinary platform that allows innovators in various fields to present their research work, business ideas and initiatives in 3 minutes, to qualify for a scholarship and a trip to Berlin.

 

Lorna’s research work attempted to tackle; Breaking the Wall of IT Security Service Commoditization for Financial Institutions in Kenya.

“My paper was based on a model of commoditization of IT Security Services for Financial Institutions in Kenya. Organizations in the financial sector are moving towards networks that are more open and susceptible to cyber security threats. Individual efforts by these companies to mitigate the financial and reputation loss attributed to cyber-attacks have proven futile. Through commoditization, companies can come together and collectively contract out their IT security requirements in an MSS environment. Pooling together their resources, in areas in which they are not in competition, would achieve a more efficient and potentially cheaper service,” Lorna explained.

 

Lorna had the privilege of presenting her research work competing against 12 other participants from Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. Although she did not win, her great success in making it to the top 12 finalists is worth recognizing.

 

“I was so grateful for the opportunity to take part in the first Falling Walls Lab in East Africa. It is a unique nerve-cracking experience as it builds the art of ‘3-minutes Idea Definition’ to a top class jury from academia, research institutions and business, and to an audience of industry experts,” she commended.

 

Through advertisement shared by Strathmore University’s communications department, Lorna was able to apply for the challenge, allowing her an opportunity to connect with other young innovators, researchers, scientists, and professionals from a diverse range of fields. “I would encourage more researchers in academia, staff and students alike, to apply for the next one,”

 

 

Congratulations Lorna on the great achievement!