On Friday, October 21st 2022, two LAUTECH student teams took the first and second position at the 2022 Patrick Andrew engineering innovation, held at University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
The 2022 Patrick Andrew engineering innovation, a subdivision of the 2022 International Conference of the Nigeria Institution Of Mechanical Engineers’ Conference (NIMechE), started on, Tuesday, 18th October and ended on Friday, 21st October, 2022.
The Patrick Andrew Innovative Competition is a National innovative Competition opened to all Mechanical Engineering Students in Nigeria, who have developed engineering innovative concepts and prototypes in their own “garages” and beyond the formal engineering curriculum.
The team members with the first names to emerge were Ayanwole Moses (500L) and Abisoye Akinloye ( 500L). While, Taoheed Oyewo (500L), Ayanwole Emmanuel (500L), and 100L Fathiu Olatunbosun’s team finished in second position.
Two engineering innovations based on energy and additive manufacturing were presented by the two teams. Both the winning team’s and the runner-up team’s innovations were respectively a Hybrid (Solar-Wind) power generation system, and a Disability Inclusive Latrine PAN (DILPAN).
Speaking with Ayanwole Moses, a CAD designer, of the team who came first, on how they came up with the innovation, he said,
“Certainly, necessity is the mother of invention and is fathered by experience. We came up with the invention as a result of an industrial accident we experienced at a power generating plant after a handful thought of what other systems could be environmentally friendly and would place little or no hazard to people around.” Ayanwole further stated that “the innovation’s impact is to solve the Nigerian country’s electrical problem.”
In a similar vein, Oyewo Taoheed, the lead innovator of the team that emerged second, said,
“The innovation was birthed base on our exposure to the journals of UNICEF, Water Sanitation and Hygiene(WASH), which says in Nigeria, with an estimated 48 million residents practicing open defecation as of 2020, is one of the countries with the highest rates of unsafe defecation globally (UNICEF 2020). We discovered this is detrimental to the health and well-being of the general population, particularly children, girls, and the disabled who usually have special needs and supports to use toilets especially in the rural area”
Oyewo added that,”The impact of the design is to address the challenges of open defecation in Nigeria. The plastic design is cheap and acts as an effective seal over the toilet. In addition to the sanitary benefits, the DILPAN pan also acts as a basic safety measure. Because of the nature of some open-pit latrines, young children face the risk of falling inside.”
The three-day conference includes a variety of events, such as technical workshops, competitions based on group dynamics, an exhibition, and the awarding of fellowships.
Ayanwole said, “the conference was a great one, and it opened our eyes to new things which make us learn, relearn and unlearn.”
Ayanwole further stated that, ” We are motivated that some sects have an interest in the innovative ideas of young Nigerians, so we shall keep pushing on in proffering solutions to problems around us until our innovations make Nigeria a better place to stay amidst other countries.”
