re:publica & the Maker-in-Residency, 2024.
A year that took OLSPACE from a conference stage in Berlin to a fabrication lab in Barcelona, working directly on MapinduziSat-1 alongside European maker-network engineers.
re:publica
OLSPACE took part in re:publica, facilitated by Global Innovation Gathering (GiG) — a chance to meet other innovators working in similar spaces and build the kind of connections that don't happen over email.
Maker-in-Residency at FabLab Barcelona
Founder Leonard Shayo was selected for the Maker-in-Residency program, run by the mAkE African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem and GiG. The residency put him inside FabLab Barcelona, working on MapinduziSat-1 with access to tools and collaborators OLSPACE doesn't have at home — time spent refining the CubeSat's design and how its subsystems actually fit together.
What MapinduziSat-1 studies
The residency's focus was on an educational CubeSat built to study Earth's magnetic field and environmental conditions — work meant to double as a way to get students and hobbyists in Tanzania and across Africa engaged with real satellite data.
Featured in the press
Two write-ups of the same residency, from the EU's research magazine and from mAkE itself.
The Makers-in-Residency Program at Fab Lab Barcelona: a platform for innovation
"The support from mAkE made this residency an unforgettable chapter in my journey, as it gave me the tools and confidence to further my ambitions for Olspace, my aerospace startup in Tanzania."
mAkE's own writeup of the residency — one of four makers in the cohort, with OLSPACE's CubeSat work on environmental and climate monitoring named directly.
Read the article on mAkE →.jpg)
Building bridges: business between Europe and Africa
"It's been incredible to collaborate with amazing scientists who share my passion for innovation."
The EU's official research and innovation magazine featured this residency, naming OLSPACE and collaborator Adai Suriñach directly.
Read the article on Horizon Magazine →From the trip
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To Global Innovation Gathering, the mAkE African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem, and the FabLab Barcelona team — for the residency, the tools, and the time. This is the start of longer-term work between OLSPACE and the European maker network, not a one-off trip.