Empower African engineers with IEEE

I get a lot of emails from people who ask to contribute IEEE spectrumUsually, they want to write an article for us. But a bold querry that I got in January 2024 went a long way: a graduate engineering student name Lovatocin colladeFrom Obaemi Avolovo University, Il-Iff, in Nigeria, voluntarily to be our robotics editor.

Kolade -Tosin for his friends – had been the newspaper editor for his IEEE student branch, but he never published an article professionally. His honesty and enthusiasm was ending. I explained that we already have a robotics editor, but I would be happy to work with them on writing, editing and eventually publishing an article.

Back in 2003, I met a lot of engineering students when I traveled to Nigeria, which to report on the Sat-3/WASC cable, to report on the first undercord fiber-optic cable in West Africa. I remember watching students gather around the PC around the internet cafe attached to the world through a satellite dish operated by a generator. I challenged to tell Tosin Spectrum What the readers have done for engineering students today. The result is “lessons from a janky drone.”

I decided to complement a piece of tosin with a perspective of a more installed engineer in sub-Sahara Africa. I am Pascal approached Zachri, who has covered engineering education for us in Africa, and Zachari introduced me Engineer BanomugishaA computer science professor at the University of Mekerar in Kampala, Uganda. “Learning More with

In fact, the decades of the field to develop our engineering talent on the three things we focus on this issue: reliable electricity, omnipresent broadband and educational resources for young engineers.

“During my weekly video call with Tosin … the connection was great- except that when it was not.”

Zachary’s article in this issue, “What will it really take to do all electrification of Africa, With an additional 300 million people by 2030, with an ambitious initiative to bring electricity for 300 million people, the first deal dealt with.

Contributing Editor Lucas Lauren’s article, “In Nigeria, why is not broadband everywhere?” In two decades since my first visit, he examines a slow rollout of fiber-optic connectivity. As he came to know that when he traveled to Nigeria earlier this year, there are now eight undercord cables in the country that provide 380 terabbits capacity, yet there is a broadband access in less than half a population.

I found a sense of Nigeria’s bandwidth issues during my weekly video call with Tosin to discuss my article. The connection was very good, except when it was not. Nevertheless, I reminded myself, two decades ago such calls were almost impossible.

Through the weekly chat, we established a professional connection that made it more meaningful when I met the person to meet Tosin in this past IEEE ICRA Robotics ConferenceIn Atlanta. Tosin was participating in thanks to a scholarship IEEE Robotics and Automation SocietyLike a child in a candy shop, he kibbutzed with fellow scholarship winners, participated in talks, checked robots, and met engineers who made him.

As Tosin begins in the next stage in his career journey, it is supported by the IEEE community, which not only recognizes their promises, but also gives them access to a network of professionals who can help them and their colleagues realize their ability.