Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of Nairobi (UoN)

Program Brief

The program aims to develop competency in both software and hardware development on the backbone of the Raspberry Pi single board computer. This is to be accomplished in early level Electrical and Electronic Engineering students who have some prerequisite knowledge of basic programming as well as simple circuit design concepts.

From the simplified analysis of engineering development depicted; electrical and electronic engineers have had to be custodians of both software and hardware knowledge. These two concepts when made to work in tandem 

The Raspberry Pi is attractive to this end due to itsaffordability, adaptability and robustness.

Basic Engineering Evolution

Background

In an assessment of departmental education at the University of Nairobi, it was found that final year Electrical and Electronic Engineering students preferred theoretical descriptive projects over practical-experimental, simulation or design ones. It was also found that a growing number of graduates were moving into non-engineering based professions such as banking and auditing. These professions make use of the inherent analytical skills gained in learning engineering but avoid the physical building of devices and systems.

It was detemined that there is a need for renewed interest in practical electrical/electronic engineering aspects in light of a global climate of:

• Mobile Applications Development
• Embedded Systems Development
• Internet of Things
• Open-source Driven Technology

This interest, however, must be sparked early.

Program Research Team Members

1. Prof. Heywood Absaloms Ouma (Principal Invesigator)
2. Mr. Ahmed Sayyid (Investigator)
3. Mr. Kinyua Wachira (Investigator)
4. Mr. Nicholus Kimali (Evaluator)
5. Mr. Christopher Waweru (Technologist)
6. Mr. Bonface Munyole (Technologist)