32 varsity students’ innovations to be linked to investors
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Loading... - Moustapha Faye
- 10 May 2023
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32 inventive projects constructed by university students
The Higher Education Council (HEC) has showcased 32 inventive projects constructed by university students, with the intention of partnering them with investors and in turn helping to save innovations that never come to fruition. These listed projects offer solutions to problems across various sectors. Some examples include cook stoves, a tool that can inform women of their menstrual cycle in areas that are less educated or rural, and an environmentally friendly stove that generates no smoke. In addition, there is a device that can measure glucose levels in the blood without the need for injection, low-cost biscuits that help combat malnutrition and stunted growth in children under five years old, and a project that produces wine, starch, and biscuits from Irish potatoes.
Moreover, there is a walking stick designed for blind persons, the production of lotion from yellow banana peels, a treatment to combat depression in patients with chronic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, an app to track medication adherence for HIV/AIDS patients, and a GIS-based electricity fraud detection system.
Additionally, there is the Right Lamp Automatic Changeover Switch (RLACS), a device that enables the automatic switching between two sources of power, and a smart irrigation system that uses advanced technology to assess soil status and fertilizer content.
Other inventions include an Automatic Electronic Water Counter, which records and measures water usage in households, businesses, and other facilities. The project aims to provide information about how mothers around the Ruli Health Center handle diarrhea outbreaks in children under five years old and offer guidance on improving the care of children with diarrhea through appropriate practices, as well as a solar-powered automatic irrigation system.
Furthermore, there is a timber dryer that uses solar energy to dry timber, recycled glass materials that are used in tile production, the production of pellets as an alternative to charcoal and gas, macadamia production that can adapt to all agro-ecological zones of Rwanda, packaging paper produced from banana fiber, and natural wine produced from bananas.
The Director General of HEC, Rose Mukankomeje, has stated that these innovations will be showcased in a three-day exhibition and competition for higher learning institutions focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), taking place from May 9 to May 11 at the Kigali Conference and Exhibition Village. This initiative aims to engage higher learning institutions in research and innovation to improve the delivery of appropriate higher education in Rwanda.
Mukankomeje further stated that the best innovative projects would be recognized and rewarded with monetary prizes, with the top five projects receiving awards, with the first bagging Rwf5 million, the second will receive Rwf4 million, and the third will be given Rwf3 million. The fourth and fifth projects will receive Rwf2 million and Rwf1 million, respectively.
Mukankomeje noted that universities would have to review their curriculum every four years, and no new programs would be permitted without demonstrating that they could assist in resolving community issues and are required in the labor market. She said, "Young creative innovators usually lack the financial means to implement their innovative projects. We want to work with the private sector so that it can invest in the innovative projects of these students or buy their innovative ideas."
