Student Learning Experiences from the SF-BioVac Innovation Camp in Zambia
What helps students turn classroom knowledge into something they can use in working life? Today’s graduates need more than strong subject knowledge. They also need to work in teams, manage projects, adapt quickly and develop ideas in unfamiliar situations. That is why universities are increasingly using experiential learning approaches such as problem-based learning, project-based learning and innovation-related events. These approaches give students the chance to test ideas in practice, work with real challenges and build the kinds of competences that matter in a changing labour market (Holmberg et al., 2022).
To put these ideas into practice, the SF-BioVac project included an innovation camp as one of its main activities. The camp aimed to strengthen the competence of Zambian higher education institutions in the circular economy, especially in the Waste-to-Energy sector and the biogas value chain. This blog looks at what the students learned from taking part.
Innovation camps as an experiential learning approach
An innovation camp is not just a quick ideation event or a competition where solutions are developed under a tight schedule. It is a learning environment where students practice innovation, curiosity, interdisciplinary collaboration, problem-solving, networking and applying their own expertise to real challenges (Malve-Ahlroth et al., 2019). Camps are seen to (Smart-up, 2020):
- Enhance the innovation power in a city or region, leveraging regional strengths and opportunities.
- Create commitment to change, boosting regional stakeholder engagement.
- Make smart specialization ‘something that matters’ to regional stakeholders.
- Emphasize the importance of follow-through in practice, doing things instead of just talking about them.
The SF-BioVac Innovation Camp 2026 put these goals into practice in Zambia. The camp, held in Lusaka between 20-23 April 2026, brought together 36 students from Zambia and Finland to develop solutions to the challenges of biogas, circular economy, waste management and sustainable business. Students, teachers and mentors from Novia University of Applied Sciences, The University of Zambia and Copperbelt University as well as representatives from the associated partners of the SF-BioVac project participated in the camp.
Experiential learning is often based on the idea that everyone involved in a student project learns together while working on creative solutions. This was clearly visible during the SF-BioVac Innovation Camp, where learning took place at many levels and among all participants. In this blog, the focus is on student learning, based on LinkedIn posts and other texts written by students who took part in the camp.
The learning journey begins with challenging assumptions
The Innovation Camp gave students a concrete setting to learn through real local challenges in multidisciplinary and international teams. Many of their reflections showed that the camp pushed them to look at familiar concepts from a new perspective. Innovation, circular economy, business and sustainability no longer appeared as separate themes, but as interconnected parts of the same whole.
One of the students summed it up like this:
“I learned that innovation is not just about inventing new technology, but about solving problems by connecting systems in smarter and more sustainable ways.”
This quote captures the wider learning experience of the camp. Students did not focus only on technical solutions. They also had to think about the conditions needed for those solutions to work. Around topics such as biogas, biodigesters, waste management and the circular economy, they explored questions of water, feedstock, energy, fertilizers, business models, user trust and everyday community life.
The same insight appeared in one Novia student’s reflection. He began the journey thinking he could contribute mainly from a business perspective. But the time spent in Zambia changed that view. He realized that the Zambian business environment requires thinking outside the box since suitable solutions must be based on what is truly missing, what people already need and what fits local realities. This became an important lesson: from a distance, challenges may look simple, but on site they appear as systems, relationships and opportunities.
Technology needs a system that works around it
During the days of the innovation camp, students realised that they must look at challenges from a local perspective. Then especially the role of technological solutions changed. As one of the main challenges in Zambia is lack of electricity in rural areas, possible solutions such as biodigesters are not just a device or a technical solution, but it would be part of the community’s everyday life, resources and trust.
One student described this:
“Installing a biodigester is one thing. Keeping it useful, trusted and sustainable is another thing.”
This comment summarizes important learning during the camp and links closely to the idea of innovation camps as practical learning environments. A sustainable solution is not just about installing technology. It must also stay in use, provide perceived benefits and fit into the environment in which people make everyday decisions.
This connects directly to the first student comment: innovation is not just about inventing new technology, but about connecting systems in a smarter way. Water, waste, energy, trust and business are not separate things, but they make up a whole that must work together.
Teamwork made complexity visible
In the face of complex challenges, teamwork also took on a new meaning. One student described the four-day Innovation Camp as an intense, fast-paced and eye-opening learning experience. The student highlighted the process: constantly thinking, rethinking and adapting as new ideas emerged. Working with people from different backgrounds changed the perception of innovation. It was not about who gave the right answer, but how the team listened, challenged ideas and built something meaningful together under pressure.
The same theme was also visible in the experience of the student from the winning team. According to him, what was special was not only the victory, but the fact that students from different countries and fields sat at the same table, disagreed, developed ideas and ultimately found a solution that the whole team could be proud of.
These two student stories complement each other, as the first emphasizes the power of teamwork, while the second emphasizes the importance of multidisciplinary and international cooperation. This reflects the role of innovation camps as collaborative learning environments, where students learn not only from the task itself but also from each other’s perspectives. When solutions simultaneously concern technology, business, communities and the environment, no one can solve them alone.
Lessons learnt - the camp gave more than just solution ideas
Based on the student stories, and in line with the idea of innovation camps as experiential learning environments, the most important contribution of the SF-BioVac Innovation Camp was not only the development of new ideas for the challenges of biogas, waste management and the circular economy. At least as important, the students saw how the way of thinking changed during the process. The students learned to view innovation as a system. More specifically, they learned that:
- Business opportunities cannot be assessed in isolation from local realities.
- Technology needs community, resources and trust around it.
- Multidisciplinary teamwork is not always straightforward, but it is precisely disagreements, iteration and shared thinking that can move the solution forward.
Together, these stories tell the same thing: real learning happens when students get to work together on real challenges, with experts from different fields and countries, listening to local realities.
The SF-BioVac Innovation Camp showed how international and multidisciplinary learning, grounded in real local challenges, can open a new way for students to understand sustainability, business and their own role as builders of future solutions.
References
Holmberg, E., Ritalahti, J., & Abrahams, D. (2022). Strengthening work-integrated learning at the University of Johannesburg. In K. Mäki & L. Vanhanen-Nuutinen (Eds.), Korkeakoulupedagogiikka: Ajat, paikat ja tulkinnat (pp. 291–300). Haaga-Helia.
Malve-Ahlroth, S., Lankiniemi, S., Knuutila, H., & Virta, M. (Eds.). (2019). Innovation camp manual. Turku University of Applied Sciences. https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/818651/isbn9789522167149.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
Smart-Up. (2020). Quick guide for organising innovation camps. https://smartup-bsr.aalto.fi/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Quick-Guide-for-Organising-Innovation-Camps_15-april.pdf
Texten har granskats och godkänts av Novias redaktionsråd 29.5.2026.
