Faculty of Science Technology and Innovations - Mountains of the Moon University

About

Dear readers, we welcome you to this message from Faculty of Science Technology and innovations (FoSTI).

In line with the vision and mission of MMU, FoSTI objectives are to:

Transform teaching and community engagement through practical teaching and development of apps and services that solve community problems
Foster Interdisciplinary Collaboration for STEM research and innovation
Establish Innovation Hubs and Incubators to help students get hands on training to set up ICT and STEM start ups and to scale up existing ICT projects
Encourage External Collaborations and Partnerships

Departments

Computer Science

Physical Sciences

Biological Sciences

Programs

The faculty is currently running the following undergraduate programs:

The faculty also services programs in other faculties such as Bachelor of Science with Education (Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Computer science). Faculty staff also teach IT across all faculties and also teach biological courses to students in Faculties of Agriculture and public health.

Community Impact

The faculty has qualified staff who are dedicated to deliver practicable based STEM education with a high impact to the community. Some of the ongoing/planned projects in the faculty include:

Innovative IT solutions to the community

An AgriPlanner app is in the final stages of development. The app will have a collaboration and networking platform for farmers, suppliers, buyers and other stakeholders to connect, exchange information and collaborate on projects and initiatives that can benefit the entire agriculture ecosystem.

Internet of Things (IoT) and data science projects

In partnership with our international partners, HoWEST college and HoGent college, the faculty staff received IoT education tools. The faculty will train students in recess in IoT skills. The faculty will also launch IoT/data science-based projects such as a smart dustbin project for our cities, Automated irrigation scheme project, Plant disease prediction project.

Exhibitions and Community engagement activities

The faculty received KuboX tools which can be useful for distance education especially for STEM subjects. The faculty will launch outreach programs to see how schools can utilize these tools. The faculty will also conduct research on how best to teach STEM subjects in secondary schools using locally available materials to improve understanding and performance within the Rwenzori region.

The faculty undertook exhibitions in Mbarara students’ education expo and back to school Bonanza. The faculty had internal exhibitions to showcase innovations by students.

The faculty has carried out /will carry out community engagement activities such as school visits for career guidance, radio talk shows educating the communities on ICT innovations like the smart dustbins and the fitness application.

Biogas projects

The faculty is setting up a biogas plant under the department of physical sciences with the support from the Research and Innovations Fund (RIF) through the directorate of graduate studies, research and Innovations. This project will help to address some of the energy challenges in the region in addition to making a great contribution to research in the field of renewable energy.

Facilities & Resources

Information about departmental facilities, laboratories, and any other resources available to students and faculty.

The Faculty of Science houses office space for the Dean, 3 Heads of Departments and the Senior Assistant Registrar.

The Staff have a designated staff room with a capacity of sitting 35 staff with tables and chairs and 24/7 internet connection and power supply.

2 well equipped computer labs with 24/7 power supply and internet connection to aid students’ practical sessions, research and study. These labs have a sitting capacity of 50 students each.

1 well equipped science lab facilitating the training of physical sciences and biological sciences.

A well equipped university library with current material to aid in student research and study.

Awards & Achievements

The faculty has initiated successful partnership and collaboration with HOWEST and HOGENT university colleges of Belgium. These partnerships have resulted in staff and student exchanges. HOWEST has donated 20 Raspberry pi IoT edu kits and 12 Kubo X tools to use in training our staff in Internet of Things technology and for distance education respectively.

Dr. Akugizibwe Edwin has published in the fields of Data science, mathematical modeling and elearning. His publications can be seen on his Google scholar account.