The president of the Faculty of Science at Gulu University, is grateful for the hands-on training given by Oysters & Pearls-Uganda, to students of Information Technology and Computer Science.

Jimmy Lukwago, a final year student of Information Technology at the University, expressed his gladness during a career guidance and practical computing seminar at the University, where Oysters & Pearls was a main contributor.

During the event, Oysters & Pearls-Uganda’s director of technology, Jacob Odur, showed the students how a 3D printer works.

Victor Paul, our robotics trainer introduced the students to embedded systems using Arduino. Victor and the students explored the Arduino hardware; looking at both digital and analog pins, power pins, and barrel jack for external power. Other fields that the students experienced was Arduino Integrated Development environment, IDE, and installation of Arduino software and UNO board drivers.

The students also practiced basic programming, for instance, blinking a Light Emitting Diode, LED, and other hardware, such as breadboard used in electronic prototyping/testing of circuits, among others.

Jimmy acknowledged that many of the science students had not experienced such practical work, and had definitely not seen a number of the materials used.

“The university does not have enough materials for practical work, so a majority of the science students are not exposed. This has resulted in low motivation in fields, like robotics”.

“Events such as this seminar, encourage us. After this, students in their final year of studies will be able to understand the applied knowledge, not just the theory-dominated knowledge they have acquired in class over the years.”

“I commend Oysters & Pearls-Uganda for giving us the opportunity to feel whole in our studies.”

Jimmy said the training had opened his mind to be innovative in the field of programming and robotics.

The seminar benefitted all Information Technology and Computer Science students in the Faculty of Science, most of whom Jimmy stated, had not seen the materials used in robotics and programming.

Fifteen years after Gulu University in northern Uganda was established in 2002, the Faculty of Science still lacks enough equipment for all students doing science courses.

According to a 2005 World Bank study, the Uganda education system has been criticized as not engendering a ‘culture of science’, because of inadequate science teachers, poorly equipped science laboratories, and meagre government funding, among others.