Makerere University emerged winner of the Innovation Challenge organized by the Higher Education Partnership for Sub-Saharan Africa (HEPSSA) 22/24. The winners were announced during the HEP SSA 22/24 program review workshop convened at the College of Engineering, Design, Art, and Technology, (CEDAT) Makerere University from Thursday 25th to Friday 26th July 2024.
The winning team comprised Ms. Kisaaka Elizabeth and Mr. Amanya Henry, both finalist BSc Civil engineering students, and their project was titled, ‘Production of Biohydrogen from Agri-Food Markets in Kampala. A case of Kalerwe Market.
Strathmore University was the first runner-up, while Busitema University came third. The winning teams were given certificates of recognition and cash prizes.Other Participating HEPSSA member universities included the Technical University of Kenya, the University of Dar-es-Salaam, and the University of Oxford.
Dr. Abubaker Waswa Matovu, the Head of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at CEDAT said the challenge set up by the academia in partnership with the industry was opened up to have students identify local challenges and come up with solutions. He said the deliberations in the review workshop were focused on skills in the power sector given the evolving technology such as smart systems which require skilled staff.We need to find ways of ensuring energy is available and used efficiently given the low electrical concentration in East Africa, he observed while welcoming the participants to the workshop as the host.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (UECTL), Umeme Ltd, the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA), and Uganda Electricity Generation Company (UEGCL) were some of the agencies that represented the industry at the discourse.
Dr. Eng. Dr. Julius Butime the Principal Investigator from Strathmore University said the program began in 2022 with support from the Royal Academy of Engineering grants to address issues of capacity for the industry in the power sector, through harmonizing the training in the region. He said for Strathmore engineering department which is only four years old, the program helped develop and build the curriculum for the masters in power systems. Dr. Eng. Dr. Julius Butime stressed the need to include academia in programs and plans aimed at transforming the countries. This, coupled with the dialogue with the industry, can help the academia get feedback and be involved in the training of people who will come out in the industry to solve societal problems.
He informed the meeting of some of the activities they were involved in such as having both staff and student placements in the industry and he proposed to have the industry people seconded in the university. ‘We need a lot of highly skilled people to work out solutions for us in our countries. We need homegrown solutions and therefore need to pool things together like the East African power pool, to keep the partnership together’, he noted while emphasizing the importance of building and maintaining relationships.
As part of the proceedings of the meeting, the participants made a review of the short courses developed by the respective universities aimed at imparting skills to persons in the power sector at various levels.
The HEP SSA program aims to ensure that the higher education system in sub-Saharan Africa produces engineers with the skills and knowledge required to meet the needs of industry and tackle local and global challenges.