Achievements and Recognition

AchievementYearSignificance
National Centre of Excellence platform established2025Created a coordinated national platform for UAS research, training, innovation, regulation support and services.
HOT Memorandum of Understanding2026Formal open-mapping partnership supporting local capacity, research and project continuity.
Lusaka City-Wide Open Drone Mapping implementation2026Community-led mapping, local pilot capacity and high-resolution geospatial evidence for urban-development use cases.
International visibility - Global Data Festival / Kenya Space Expo2026Co-facilitation and knowledge exchange on citizen data, AI for disaster resilience and citywide drone mapping.
ICCAUA publication progression2026Eight of nine presented papers progressed to journal publication pathways.
NACUAS Level 1 course consolidated2026Open orientation plus Units 1-11 and progressive Wood-to-Platinum evidence pathway; Q3 ZNSDI alignment.
Postgraduate and international research capacity2026Linked postgraduate research, visiting scholar and postdoctoral engagement across UAS, EO, AI and applied geospatial themes.
ZERI Hub proposal shortlist and submission2026Joint UNZA proposal of approximately US$1 million progressed after top-ten shortlisting from 183+ Africa Energy Futures concepts; no award claimed.
Innovation/IP pipeline strengthenedQ3 2026Eco-Guardian and ZUBA-Soil Sense progressed through reporting, IP and commercialisation preparation.