By Kefa Senoga
Uganda Christian University (UCU) has launched one of its latest innovations that will see the institution turn much of its waste into wealth. While launching the waste harvesting and biogas production plant at the UCU main campus in Mukono early September, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, said he had, indeed, come to believe that waste can be gold.

Mushengyezi’s remarks came after watching a demonstration where waste from the UCU kitchen, fecal matter and cow dung is mixed to produce biogas that can be used for cooking. The biogas production plant was a collaborative venture between UCU’s Faculty of Engineering, Design and Technology and PSEM Africa, an engineering company.

Moses Nuwaha, the projects manager at PSEM Africa, highlighted their experience in constructing biogas digesters, with a history of continuous refinement and development. He said even if they have handed over the project to the university, their participation and partnership should continue as they are looking forward to working with the research team to improve the innovation.

Ucha David, the renewable energy engineer at PSEM Africa, who conducted a demonstration of the biogas production, explained that they combine fecal matter, cow dung and food waste to create a diverse feedstock, ensuring a balanced nutrient composition, to be able to generate gas. 

Waste is collected from the treatment plant and transported through pipelines to the holding tank. Ucha explained that given that the biogas plant is a prototype, they are currently pumping only one cubic meter of waste per hour, even though the pump has the capacity to handle 20 cubic meters.

According to Ucha, the biogas plant does not only rely on fecal solid and liquid septic waste. They combine cow dung and food waste into the mix to utilize all the resources. He emphasizes that relying only on facal waste would not yield enough gas.

Waste from cooked food is crushed into a homogenous mixture — to the same level like cow dung, Ucha explained. He noted that waste from raw food, such as banana peelings, is not effective for the process.

After obtaining the gas, it is stored in gas bags, which are then transported to the kitchen for use. He adds that a full gas bag of two cubic meters is sufficient for two days of kitchen use.

Dr. Miria Agunyo, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Design and Technology, said their next research will address the packaging of the gas. He said one of the gas bags was accidentally damaged by a stone in the kitchen. In industrial settings, gas is stored and transported in cylinders.

Harry Oryema Langalanga, the chairperson of the Uganda National Biogas Alliance, encouraged the Faculty of Engineering, Design and Technology, which is in charge of the plant, to consider acquiring a solid-liquid separator to enable more efficient utilization of the nutrients found in the digestate. The liquid portion, rich in nutrients, can serve as liquid fertilizer, while the solid part can be subject to further processing or employed as solid fertilizer.

Prof. Elizabeth Balyejusa Kizito, the Director of Research, Partnerships and Innovations at UCU, said her directorate would extend support for the expansion and growth of the project. She appealed to Mushengyezi to consider recruiting more technicians to the different science departments at the university. 

Eng. David Kivumbi, the Director of Facilities and Capital Projects at UCU, noted that whatever can be recovered or transformed from waste needs to be harnessed because resources have become limited. He urged the community to engage in research that benefits the community. 

Mushengyezi suggested that, perhaps, in future, the university can think of transporting the gas through pipes. He said should the project become more beneficial, the funds previously spent on buying firewood and charcoal could be redirected into supporting the plant.

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

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By Kefa Senoga
Waste from water to flush toilets, take a shower and do laundry is not a waste at the main campus of Uganda Christian University (UCU).  It hasn’t been wasted in 17 years. It’s recycled and used to educate students, primarily those studying engineering. 

UCU constructed a $300,000 wastewater treatment plant in 2006. Two-thirds of the cost of the plant, the first of its kind for any institution in Uganda, was funded by the Diocese of Sidney’s Overseas Relief and Aid Fund of Australia.

Wastewater that is generated from various daily activities is toxic to both humans and the environment, hence the need to purify it, before it’s released into the environment. Wastewater is treated in 3 phases: primary (solid removal), secondary (bacterial decomposition), and tertiary (extra filtration).

According to Arnold Mugisha, a demonstrator at UCU’s department of Engineering and Environment under the Faculty of Engineering, Design and Technology, the wastewater treatment plant that was developed by Prof. Steven Riley, uses a biological process to treat the sewage and clean the water so that it is safe enough for disposal into the environment.

Mugisha says that the plant uses an activated biological sludge water treatment process, where microorganisms are used to break down the organic matter, which would otherwise be hazardous to the environment.

The plant has several sections, with the first having screens, where paper, pads and other similar waste are removed. The screened waste water then drops into the equalization chamber, from where the microorganisms break down the fecal matter. The water is then pumped into the aeration chamber, where more oxygen is supplied to the microorganisms, to enable them break down the waste completely.

“The waste is broken down by absorption, where the microorganisms eat the waste, and adsorption, where the organic waste sticks onto the body of the microorganisms,” Mugisha explains.

According to Mugisha, this is the most important step of the plant because that’s where most of the biological oxygen demand is reduced.

At the clarifier stage, solid particulates or suspended solids are removed from the liquid. At this point, the deposited sludge settles at the bottom and the clear water remains up, says Mugisha. The sludge is used for both manure and decomposition by anaerobic bacteria to produce biogas. At the time of installation, the plant was able to treat about 350 cubic meters of water per day.

At the chlorination chamber, chlorinated water is used to kill extra organisms that are still in the water. Mugisha says that if waste water is not treated properly, it can pollute water sources, cause illnesses and damage natural habitats. The treated wastewater is used for irrigating flowers, grass and plants in the university compound. People who would want to use the sludge for manure in their gardens are always granted permission to pick it from the facility.

Okot Innocent, a fresh UCU engineering graduate, says the facility provides a platform for engineering students to put their classroom knowledge into practice, learning in practical terms how the processes work. 

“Some of the students who want to become water engineers have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the equipment and the systems used in the treatment process,” Okot noted.

In Kampala, the Bugolobi wastewater treatment plant is the largest in the country and serves about four million people per day. The plant is capable of processing 45 million liters of waste daily.

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

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By Kefa Senoga
In the summer of 2022, a team of three students from Dartmouth College in the USA state of New Hampshire were in Mukono, home of the main campus of Uganda Christian University (UCU), to actualize a solar water heater project designed to help the users save money, improve the health of the kitchen staff and reduce the amount of carbon output to the environment. 

The three students, with their team leader, Stephen Doig, an expert in mini-grid development and energy efficiency, were joined by a team of UCU faculty and students to set up the water heating system at the UCU kitchen. 

Again, this summer, the Dartmouth team, this time composed of five students, and again with Doig as their leader, was back in Mukono. The team that was at UCU from mid-June to mid-July, did maintenance works on the system they set up last year, as well as double its capacity and make refinements.

Anna Hugney led fellow students Emily Liu, Jack McMahon, Rujuta Pandit and Avery Widen. At UCU, they were joined by Okot Innocent, a UCU final-year student of engineering, to offer domestic expertise.

According to Hugney, they were mainly involved in maintenance of the system. 

“Upon arriving at UCU, we realized that the PPR (polypropylene random copolymer plastic) piping at the system was beginning to deteriorate because of the intense sun and heat, and could become dangerous for users and consumers,” Hugney said.

To solve this challenge, the 24-year-old noted that they swapped the PPR in the system with copper piping, which is far more resilient to hot temperatures and can last up to 20 years.

“While installing the new copper piping, we redid the clamp system to hold the pipes up in the shed and insulated each piece of copper,” said Hugney, who, along with her classmates, was visiting Uganda for the very first-time.

A data log-in system that was put in place to monitor temperatures and had broken down was also fixed. Hugney’s colleagues – McMahon and Widen – uploaded the new code to the system designed to monitor the temperature of the water in the tanks, and the system performance, before returning to the United States. 

Since the water heater project is a pilot venture, everyone was adjusting and learning, with some even taking lessons from mistakes made. Okot said the system’s performance was affected because the “cooks in the UCU kitchen didn’t learn how to properly use it, resulting in low temperatures and lukewarm water.” 

Some successes
Zachariah Owino, the Head Chef at the UCU dining hall, said the system has helped them save on time and the energy required to heat water to the boiling point, especially while preparing breakfast for the students. He said they also now save more than three tons of firewood per semester, meaning that sh450,000 (about $123) worth of firewood is saved.

Before the system was installed, every week, the UCU kitchen was using 10 tons of firewood, which translated to sh1.5million (about $400). In a year, firewood worth sh63million (about $16,700) was being spent on preparing meals. Now with the system, a reduction of over eight metric tons of firewood and 1.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere is expected to be realized.

Such success stories present good news to the global efforts to conserve the environment and mitigate effects of climate change, including the Sustainable Development Goal 7, which calls for the expansion of infrastructure and upgrade of technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries by 2030. 

According to Uganda’s environment watchdog, the National Environment Management Authority, from 1990 to 2015, Uganda lost 63% of its forests. The need for wood fuel and charcoal contributed to this rate of destruction of the forest cover.

The UCU-Dartmouth collaboration has been a two-way affair. Hugney said that they got fascinated by the biogas plant at UCU, noting that it is one project they look forward to replicating back at Dartmouth “because the United States has a lot of food waste which can be used for making biogas.” The biogas plant at UCU involves decomposing food waste, which is mostly obtained from the kitchen. The decomposed matter produces methane gas, which is used for cooking. 

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

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In late 2022, Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots took the internet by storm. Then came the ChatGPT, which is the Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer, a software that a user can ask a question using conversational or natural language. The software then processes the questions before framing the responses. The AI chatbots gather information faster and more precisely than other search engines would do. As a result, it has, of recent, become one of the most used AI software and is popular among university students as some of them now use the technology to do assignments for them. Pauline Luba asked the community of Uganda Christian University (UCU) about their views on ChatGPT.

“I think ChatGPT is a good thing. I have two jobs and I study at the same time. AI has helped me plan my life and reduce my stressful circumstances. It was designed to be an assistant, not a teacher. I relate the current use of AI chatbots to the days when the electronic calculator had just been introduced and people detested its use. Just like the calculator, AI chatbots are something that will help people solve problems faster. It is something that will become the norm for younger generations.”

“ChatGPT is efficient and makes our life easier, but if you look at it from a learner’s point of view, it weakens our thinking capacity. It will make one lazy and make them depend highly on technology to solve even challenges that they would have solved. I have previously used Quill bot, an AI that rephrases one’s statements, and had got fond of it, until I realized how it was slowing down my learning. I faced the same experience with YouTube when learning how to code and I do not wish to be that dependent on the app again. Books are the way to go.”

“I feel like it’s an addiction. Once you start, you can’t stop because it makes life easier. It is teaching people the easier way of doing things. Artificial Intelligence is spoiling the future generations and, therefore, it should only be used in education, but not in the professional field.”

“AI is the best thing that has ever happened to law students. This is because they are constantly required to search for and acquire certain information, a practice which is time-consuming. With AI like Snaps AI, I have been able to easily acquire material that I need, instead of spending time searching through different books.”

“Of course, AI is going to take over many jobs, but the question is, how efficient is it? As a user of ChatGPT and Draw AI, what separates a human brain from AI is how a human thinks. We all don’t think the same way. Whereas the AI may have an advantage in offering a quicker analysis of an issue, the human brain has the advantage of emotions.”

“I have just recently begun to think of AI in terms of employment after news broke of a robot that would have the ability to perform a lawyer’s job, hence flushing out the need for lawyers. Uganda may take long to get affected by such developments because it is still traditional, as far as technology is concerned. Otherwise, I believe that it can still be beneficial to the employment sector.”

“AI has helped me save time when it comes to research work and interests. I have used Bing and AI Monica. I know they can be bad when misused. However, I think it all depends on how they are being used. Some people abuse the innovations, instead of using them to make their lives easier.”

“ChatGPT has saved me time, especially when I am in a fix, trying to search for things. I praise the algorithm of ChatGPT spinout for being able to give me instant information, considerably cutting the time I would spend searching for something. It’s such a powerful AI and you can get a huge amount of data within a short time. Of course, the downside is that it can make one lazy.”

“Artificial Intelligence can simplify voting and influence politics through consultation. But I would not turn to base totally on it to make policies as a leader. As an individual, I prefer to stick to my intuition. I think AI is something that needs to be explored more by both teachers and students.”

“Technology in itself is not an end, but, rather, a means to an end. Chatbots can facilitate research and learning, just as the Google search engine has always done, but there is potential for them to be abused by those who do not appreciate technology nearly as much as the enabler. I have caught students using ChatGPT to do all their essay work and thus decided to dwell more on the student’s comprehension and application of the subject matter, rather than essays which can be generated from the chatbots.”

“I didn’t know about it. But if you are one who resorts to having AI to do all your work, still, during exams, it will be evident and that will not benefit you. Also, life in the real world is real. With time, we could consider policies regarding the use of AIs, but our system, as a university, is able to adapt to whatever comes its way.”

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

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By Kefa Senoga
A student of Uganda Christian University (UCU) has developed a robot to help control traffic on roads. The innovation by Anei Agany Them, a South Sudanese student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science at UCU, is intended to reduce motorcycle accidents at traffic light junctions. 

“I came up with a project of traffic lights, where I added the blue lights to the usual red, orange and green. The blue light is meant to permit the movement of motorcycles only,” Anei explained.

He added: “When I see the traffic jam in Kampala, it’s dangerous for the lights to allow both motorcycles and vehicles to move at the same time because the cars can hit the boda-bodas as both compete for the narrow roads.” 

Anei’s idea, which he intends to take to the people in charge of traffic operations in his country, South Sudan, would be useful if adopted in Uganda, which registers a high number of fatalities on its roads. Government statistics indicate that there was a 9% increase in the total number of persons who died as a result of road crashes from 4,159 in 2021 to 4,534 in 2022. Of these, 528 died from motorcycle accidents in 2021 and, in 2022, a total of 552 who died were passengers on motorcycles.      

Anei said he was able to come up with his innovation because of the support of the department of Information Communication Technology (ICT) at UCU. 

“I came to UCU to learn and acquire knowledge such that I can go back home in South Sudan and put what I have learned into practice and, I must say, I have learned a lot,” Anei, who is in his final year, said, emphasizing that robots can be created to offer solutions to the daily challenges faced by humans. 

He hopes to pursue a master’s degree in robotics with the hope of empowering other young people to develop the skill in his country.

“Robotics is a wonderful technology which simplifies work for humans and that’s why I want to inspire the new generation in Africa to pick up this innovation,” Anei said, noting that the one stage he has mastered in the making of robots is the wiring and connecting of sensors that detect signals to the working boards.

Anei said that there have been some challenges like accessing equipment or requirements used in the making of robots.

“These requirements are expensive and, as students, we can’t afford them, so we wait for the school to provide whatever they can,” he said.

He added that studying at UCU has given him the opportunity to lead a team, which has boosted his confidence and ability to generate ideas. “Since I joined UCU, we have been making class presentations, which, sometimes, I have spearheaded as the group leader, and this has enabled me to gain confidence,” Anei explained. 

In October last year, UCU’s Department of Computing and Technology received a donation of electronics equipment worth $6,304 (about sh23.5million) from the benefactors of the USA-based nonprofit, UCU Partners. The donation of a flash forge 3D printer, an advanced virtual reality headset, a smart robot vehicle kit, a computer kit, a digital oscilloscope with a four-channel standard decoder and a triple output power supply, among others, came at a time when the department had just introduced courses in robotics, mechatronics, electronics engineering and data science. When Anei talked to Uganda Partners last year, after receiving this donation, he said the equipment would allow him get more hands-on experience for all the many robotics projects he has been working on.

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

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By Vanessa Kyalimpa
Uganda Christian University’s (UCU) Department of Computing and Technology is the latest beneficiary of the generosity of the benefactors of the USA-based, UCU Partners nonprofit. In October 2022, the department received electronics equipment worth $6,304 (about sh23,570,000) from the Uganda Partners executive director, Mark Bartels.

The donation of a flash forge 3D printer, an advanced virtual reality headset, a smart robot vehicle kit, a computer kit, a digital oscilloscope with a four-channel standard decoder and a triple output power supply, among others, comes at a time when the department has just introduced courses in robotics, mechatronics, electronics engineering and data science. It is hoped that the items will further enhance the learning and teaching of the courses.

Justin Mukalere, a lecturer in the department, said the equipment will go a long way in seeing that their projects achieve the intended results.

Bartels said the donors expect the equipment to facilitate the expansion of the department, as well as improve its output.

“People who are interested in information technology and computer science in the USA have funded these goods in order to support and promote the expansion of the departments at UCU,” Bartels said during the handover ceremony at the UCU main campus in Mukono on October 31. 

He noted that UCU Partners seeks to provide opportunities for the teaching staff and the leadership of the departments to go to the US, if only they can develop partnerships with universities there, to exchange experiences and ideas, as well as continue to grow and encourage one another.

Uganda Partners Executive Director Mark Bartels talks about donation for new IT equipment 

Terhemba Michael-Ahile, the coordinator of the Bachelor of Data Science at UCU, said that the program had been embedded in other course units in the institution, but noted that soon, it will be a fully fledged course of its own among the bachelor’s and master’s students.

“From the onset of our program, we want the students to appreciate its application and that can only happen if they have the hands-on experience, so this equipment will enable us achieve that,” Terhemba said, noting that there is deliberate effort to make the programme as practical as possible.

Anei Agany, a year-three computer science student at UCU, expressed excitement about the additional equipment, saying they will provide him the much needed opportunity to get hands-on experience for the many robotics projects he has been working on.

The Department of Computing and Technology at UCU is quickly expanding and looking out for learning and training opportunities for its students. Among the partnerships that have been secured is with tech giant Google, from which students will acquire certification for their work.

The October donation of equipment is the latest among several that the university has received from UCU Partners. In November 2021, Partners donated $50,000 (about sh170million) to the university for upgrading its elearning platform following the increase in the need to beef up its virtual learning infrastructure. The emergence of the Covid pandemic made virtual learning one of the alternatives if learning was ever to continue, especially during the pandemic-induced lockdowns. 

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To support Uganda Christian University programs, students, activities, and services, go to www.ugandapartners.org and click on the “donate” button, or contact UCU Partners Executive Director, Mark Bartels, at m.t.bartels@ugandapartners.org.

Also, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.