What is the name of your organization?
KUPERA
What is the name of your solution?
DREAM LAB
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
A community lab where youth discover their passions and solve local challenges using 4.0 tech and renewable energy.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Bogotá, Colombia
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
Colombia
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
Film your elevator pitch.
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What specific problem are you solving?
Despite advances in educational access, thousands of children and youth in Bogotá, particularly in marginalized neighborhoods like Atahualpa, remain disengaged from learning. They face a triple exclusion: limited access to quality education, minimal exposure to future-oriented skills (like technology and climate literacy), and scarce opportunities to link learning with their passions and community needs. In Atahualpa, dropout rates among youth exceed 20%, and most local schools lack resources for practical, contextualized learning in renewable energy or digital technologies (Secretaría de Educación de Bogotá, 2023).
Globally, over 250 million children lack access to formal education, and millions more attend school without acquiring the skills needed for life and work (UNESCO, 2023). This gap is even more pronounced in low-income urban areas, where infrastructure, educator training, and innovative learning methods are scarce.
Our solution addresses three root causes: (1) irrelevant curricula that disconnect learners from their reality and passions, (2) lack of access to emerging technologies and sustainability education, and (3) limited pathways for children and youth to engage as problem-solvers in their communities.
By tackling these challenges locally, DREAM LAB contributes to solving a global crisis in equitable, future-ready education.
What is your solution?
DREAM LAB is a community-based innovation center where children and youth discover their passions and transform them into real solutions for local problems using renewable energy and 4.0 technologies.
The lab offers hands-on learning experiences in digital fabrication, robotics, AI exploration, and environmental monitoring. Through a passion-driven methodology, participants identify what excites them—whether it's music, nature, mechanics, or design—and connect it with community challenges like waste, water, or mobility. They then co-design creative solutions using accessible tech and local materials, supported by mentors and community leaders.
For example, a group passionate about nature might prototype irrigation systems using sensor technology, while others interested in digital art could design campaigns for sustainability using AI image tools. Alongside these experiences, participants gain foundational skills in coding, electronics, teamwork, and climate literacy.
Workshops, mentorship, and project showcases are held weekly, and the lab also serves as a learning hub for local teachers and families.
The solution combines low-cost, high-impact tools (like Arduino, recycled materials, and open-source software) with a pedagogy rooted in agency, purpose, and contextual relevance—empowering youth not just to learn, but to lead.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
DREAM LAB serves children and youth aged 8 to 18 from underserved communities across Colombia, including urban neighborhoods in Bogotá, coastal towns like Cartagena and Coveñas, and rural and indigenous territories such as Puerto Boyacá and Maicao. These participants come from historically excluded groups, including Indigenous Wayuu youth, Afro-Colombian communities, and migrants, often facing intersecting barriers to quality education, digital literacy, and creative development.
Many live in areas with fragile school systems, limited infrastructure, and scarce opportunities to access emerging technologies or link learning with real-world problem-solving. DREAM LAB responds to these gaps by offering a mobile, adaptable, and culturally respectful innovation space where youth discover their passions and channel them into tangible solutions for their communities using renewable energy and 4.0 technologies.
Through this methodology, we've seen youth from diverse backgrounds co-create water purification models, AI-driven educational tools, and awareness campaigns rooted in their cultural identities. The program fosters not only technical skills but also confidence, purpose, and leadership.
By nurturing talent from the margins and placing their voices at the center of innovation, DREAM LAB empowers a new generation to transform their territories with knowledge, creativity, and care for people and planet.
