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With a laboratory full of tools and interesting parts amongst which you can spot an automatic water dispenser, the remote-controlled car, and other inventions from the students, the HQ of the Arduino club gives all the vibes of a place where great things are in the making.

Babacar Ndiaye, Mohamed Ndoye, and Andrea Mouckagni all three second-year students at DAUST, who initiated the club last semester, do not run out of ideas for the next project they would like to work on.

The trio is far from being the only members of the Arduino club. As soon as the club was founded six months ago its membership subscription went up very fast to reach 30 members from all engineering majors with some still figuring out what field of engineering they will pursue. The Arduino club, which meets four times a week, gives members the perfect opportunity to create a community amongst students of similar interests but also to explore working independently on the inventions of their choice.

Laying back from his chair with designs of future objects showing from his laptop, Mohamed Ndoye raised his head and claimed eagerly: “Imagine being able to remotely close your bedroom door and turn off your lights when you are feeling lazy to get up or make a car just for fun, Arduino allows all of those things” before Babacar added : “Technology is fascinating.”

According to Ndoye, they start the design by doing thorough research on how they should go about it before modeling it in 3D, and then, using materials such as Arduino boards, motors, wires, sensors, electronic software, and battery, their inventions come to life. As these are personal projects, they take pride in pursuing them, seeking little outside help from professors. A design is never finished according to Ndoye, we must keep updating according to the latest technologies available.

As future engineers, they believe that the most important skills to have in their field are creativity, perspicacity, and determination, to that add a strong dose of imagination then all becomes possible.

Being a part of the Arduino club has helped us gain knowledge, skills, and a lot of experience. “We have learned many things,” said Andrea Mouckagi, “I particularly enjoyed finding out about ultra-tonic sensors and then went on creating my own water dispensers and a motion sensor detector.

According to Babacar Ndiaye who is aspiring to be a Computer Science Engineer; “the club was initially just a group of friends sharing a common interest, then Andrea suggested that they broaden the circle and make it a club. Today the founders said after having gained a lot of experience as members, they enjoy tutoring other students. Babacar said: “It is a delight to see the excitement of a fellow student when they newly understand how a particular technology works”. “Yes, it is as if we break down walls for them and introduce them to the secret of how some technologies are made”.

Students in the club are excited at the perspective of learning more about single-board computers called Raspberry Pi and even ROS for robotics technology to name only those.

As for upcoming actions for the club, Babacar and Ndoye advised: “We are planning to do activities with children and share with them the magic of new technologies”. Andrea added. “On top of that, we would really love to develop the club to a standard that it could take part in international competitions” and that will be without a doubt a win.

Be a Daustian !

Dans le cadre de son programme «Artisanat Digital», DAUST en partenariat avec le 3FPT et Performance Afrique, a formé la semaine passée une dizaine de menuisiers locaux sur les techniques de la menuiserie basée sur le digital. C’était une formation théorique en amont, mais fortement axé sur la pratique en seconde étape. Les participants ont suivi en premier un cours d’introduction en informatique, puis ont ensuite pratiqué la fabrication numérique de meubles, déjà modélisés en 3D puis ensuite découpés à l'aide d'un routeur CNC.

Ce programme d'envergure a été piloté par notre cher étudiant ingénieur Serigne Mbacké Kâ, un des concepteurs du système de la machine à découpe numérique, équipée d'un système IoT, et aussi d'une plateforme web. C'est un projet phare, entièrement développé dans nos ateliers à DAUST. D'ailleurs, c'est avec cette même machine développée que les cours pratiques se faisaient, après l'introduction à la modélisation 3D.

L’objectif principal du programme «Artisanat Digital» est l’intégration des nouvelles technologies digitales dans le processus de conception des produits que les artisans Sénégalais mettront sur le marché. Les gains en termes de qualité, de rendu et d’optimisation permettront ainsi de favoriser la rentabilité et la viabilité de leurs entreprises. Ceci permettra aussi à DAUST d'avoir un impact communautaire considérable, et toujours proposer des alternatives à la formation classique. Selon le rapport ''Synthèse régionale des études et rapports nationaux sur les enfants et adolescents en dehors de l’école'' par l'Unicef, un tiers des enfants scolarisés en Afrique subsaharienne ne parviennent pas à compléter le cycle primaire, moins de 50% accèdent à l’éducation secondaire et moins de 10% de ces enfants parviennent à aller au-delà. De ce fait, souvent ils se retrouvent en majorité dans le secteur informel et particulièrement dans l’artisanat. Le travail artisanal (mécanique, bijouterie, couture, menuiserie, etc.) en Afrique, notamment au Sénégal, est aujourd’hui largement à la marge des évolutions technologiques de l’ère numérique. Alors qu'il est pourtant commun de voir partout ailleurs dans le monde, notamment en Occident et en Asie, la technologie venir apporter une touche nouvelle à l’artisanat. L’introduction à l’artisanat digital est donc la base de ce projet qui se justifie par les éléments susmentionnés. L’utilisation des nouvelles technologies telles que les machines à commande numérique, devrait faciliter le travail des artisans et promouvoir l’innovation.

Le programme «Artisanat Digital» permet l’intégration des nouvelles technologies digitales dans le processus de conception des produits que les artisans Sénégalais mettront sur le marché. Les gains en termes de qualité, de rendu et d’optimisation permettront de favoriser la rentabilité et la viabilité de leurs entreprises. Les emplois qui seront créés dans le cadre de ce programme sont de 100.000 Emplois. Le programme a quatre objectifs dont : primo celui d'offrir une formation destinée aux jeunes dans les domaines de la menuiserie métallique et bois, de la couture et de la bijouterie, secundo c'est de mettre à disposition des jeunes formés des machines à commande numérique de pointe (CNC Plasma/Laser cutters, CNC routers, Computerized sewing & embroidery) conçues et fabriquées localement au Sénégal, tertio de permettre le transfert de technologies, d'assurer l'autonomie pour le développement local des machines de fabrication numérique, de pérenniser le projet dans le temps et d'étendre le projet sur l'étendu du territoire national, et in fine de mettre en place un portail e-commerce (i.e., online marketplace) qui sera entièrement dédié aux artisans sénégalais afin de faciliter l'accès aux marchés publics et privés, aussi bien locaux qu’internationaux.

Les bénéficiaires de ce programme ont de ce fait subi une formation intensive sur sept jours, du 23 au 30 décembre 2022, au sein des locaux de DAUST, et se sont vus attribués une attestation de participation en guise de faire valoir ce que de droit, au bout de leur apprentissage intensif plein de nouveaux enseignements selon leurs dires. La digitalisation des processus de fabrication peut aider nos artisans de sortir progressivement du secteur informel en se mettant à jour sur certains aspects de fabrication de l'ère numérique, et participer pleinement au processus d'industrialisation de leur secteur d'activité.

Be a Daustian!

Dr. Niepa is an Assistant Professor at the Swanson School of Engineering (University of Pittsburgh). He is a native of Grand-Bassam (Côte d’Ivoire). He started his undergraduate education at the Lycée Professionel d’Odienné, where he received his Associate Degree in Food Science (B.T.S. Agroalimentaire). His first research experience was at the Pasteur Institute from 2001-2004. He then moved to Germany to study Bioengineering at the University of Dortmund and transferred to Syracuse University (New York). He received his B.Sc. in Bioengineering (2009) and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (2014) with honors from Syracuse University. His doctoral study of the Electrochemical Control of Bacterial Persister Cells (ECCP) focused on developing a technology against drug-resistant and persistent bacteria, which was awarded two US patents (US Patents 8,663,914 & 8,569,027). During his Ph.D. study, Dr. Niepa co-founded in 2011 Helios Innovative Technologies Inc. (now PurpleSun Inc.), a medical device company that develops automated sterilization systems to fight bacterial cross-contamination. He held a Postdoctoral Fellowship for Academic Diversity at the University of Pennsylvania, working with Chemical Engineering Professors Kathleen Stebe, Daeyeon Lee and Mark Goulian (Biology) to develop new methods to study microbial dynamics in artificial microniches and thin films. Since 2017, he leads the microBiointerface Lab (at Pitt) in multidisciplinary approaches to solve problems associated with microorganisms relevant to the environment, healthcare, and food industry. He is the recipient of the 2022 NIH Director’s New Innovator, the 2022 NSF CAREER, and the 2019 NSF S-STEM Awards to promote diversity and excellence in engineering research and education.



The attempts to eliminate infections using antibiotics become abortive because of the versatility of the microorganisms. Microbes secrete enzymes to inactivate the antimicrobials, modify their genetic and phenotypic make-up to persist throughout irregular and ineffective treatments, or develop biofilms to escape the immune system. Consequently, the rapid spread of multi-drug resistant pathogens continues to challenge the treatment of infections with conventional methods. At the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt), Dr. Niepa develops novel strategies to eradicate multidrug-resistant and control beneficial microbes at biointerfaces using micro/nanotechnologies. His seminar will present the research opportunity to acquire an advanced degree in his lab at Pitt, a research-intensive university in the U.S. He will discuss the application process for joining the M.S. and Ph.D. programs in engineering at Pitt. His talk will also cover good practices to submit a robust application with materials, including the TOEFL, GRE, CV, transcript, research experience, and personal statements. Finally, Dr. Niepa will hold an office hour to discuss with students interested in a graduate program at Pitt.



WATCH HIS FULL TALK HERE : DAUST TALK - DR. TAGBO NIEPA