The 2024 Poster Presentations by the Electrical & Computer Engineering students held successfully.
Students from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) under the Integrated Smart Systems group presented their research work and innovation projects on Wednesday 17th April 2024 at the college, with the best three of the projects and innovations awarded, and the rest of the players recognized.
The participating students are part of a research group, the Integrated Smart Systems (ISST) groupat Makerere University focusing on Power systems, Electronics, Communication, and Clean Energy.The research work tried to address problems faced in Uganda in the energy-related industry.
The Principal Investigator Dr. Jonathan Serugunda applauded the students for the great work exhibited. Back then when we were students, the teaching staff had support staff like teaching and research assistants who would do the running up and down. I thank you for leading and moving stuff around until the end, said Dr. Jonathan Serugunda. By having students run the projects, they got mentored and coached by staff, and in the process, the students grow because they meet challenges like dealing with people and money. He extended appreciation to the industry partners who took part in the presentation and gave valuable input which will help improve. Thanks for the feedback given to the students which advice will help the students move forward, he said.
One of the mandates of ISST is to promote research within the department and the School of Engineering. We are doing this in a way that we are mentoring young people but also trying to ensure that the research we do is relevant, which explains why the projects presented had something to do with providing solutions to problems in the industry, he noted.
While speaking on behalf of the industry, A presentative from UMEME said he was impressed with the new development at the college more specifically the work done by the students. Your role is to give us solutions to the problems we face. He said the industry needed to collaborate with academia in identifying and finding solutions to the very many problems faced by the country alsonoting that the work by the students offers a promising starting point and will help address the big gaps between what students study at the university and the reality in the field.
The Head of the Department, of Electrical and Computer Engineering Dr. Abubaker Waswa Matovu said the event was an opportunity for the members of the ISSG to showcase what they have been up to during this academic year. For the fourth-year students, he said this was like a mock presentation for the final year project. He expressed optimism that they would shine in their final work because, in the course of the preparation of the presentation, they were able to figure out what they didn’t know and have, while also getting useful advice and feedback from experts and industry. The second and third-year students got mentorship and he extended his appreciation to them and the other volunteers for being brave enough to participate because whenever work is optional for students, many tend to opt out.
The students on their part called upon the partners in the industry to support their innovations citing the example of the Electricity Regulatory Authority which funded one of the innovations undertaken in the year 2023, it was studying the impact of EV charges on the distribution grid.
Representation from the Industry included UMEME, UECTL, UCC, MTN National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kiira Motors, and Soroti University among others.