FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY

Department of Biomedical sciences and Engineering

Industrial Training Report with the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology
Engineering Design studio
Academic year 2019/2020
By
KANENE LILLIAN WINNIE
2018/BME/030/PS
Industrial Training Report submitted to the Faculty of Applied Sciences and
Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of a
Bachelor’s Degree of Biomedical Engineering
25th January to 12th February, 2021.
DECLARATION:
I KANENE LILLIAN WINNIE declare that all the contents in this report is my own work,
obtained at the place of training and has never been submitted for any academic or commercial
purposes. Any work that does not belong to me has been duly referenced.

Signature:……………………….. Date:………………………….

Approvals

Company Supervisor
Name:…………………………………………. Date:……………………………
Signature:……………………………………..

University Supervisor
Name:……………………………………………. Date:………………………………
Signature:…………………………………………
ABSTRACT
The internship took place from the 25th of January to the 12th of February, 2021. This began with
our orientation through the program and the activities which were to be carried out, planning for
transportation to the company site, dividing us into four different groups each containing 11
students in which we were supposed to work and identification of different design studio tools
and their respective uses. All the activities carried out in the Engineering design studio, the
Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology Laboratory and during the hospital visit were
recorded in the log book which were checked by our supervisors.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
First of all, I would like to thank the almighty God whose power has enabled me to go through
this industrial training successfully.
I sincerely appreciate Dr. William Wasswa and Mr. Atuhaire Felix, my Company supervisors
who have nurtured into my current resourceful status. I would also like to extend my sincere
appreciation to Dr. William Wasswa, the Head of the biomedical sciences and engineering
department and the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science and Technology, Dr. Theodora
Twongyirwe for allowing me to carry out my industrial training from the Faculty of Applied
Science and Technology of Mbarara University of Science and Technology.
My colleagues, the members of group three I thank you for the team work which of necessity
during the industrial training activities.
I appreciate the staff at the Faculty of Applied Science and Technology who guided me through
this laborious exercise.
I pray that the almighty God blesses all these people in their endeavors.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
This report is about the industrial training carried out between 25th January and 12th February,
2021 at the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology of Mbarara University of Science and
Technology. The main focus of this report is my experience at the Faculty of Applied science
and Technology specifically the Engineering Design Studio, Faculty multidisciplinary laboratory
and at Ruharo Mission Hospital Organized Useful Rehabilitation Services (OURS) section.
The aim of this industrial training was to integrate biomedical engineering into the community
through community based innovation cafes where biomedical students work closely with a
specific community that is People with Disabilities living at a designated home (OURS at
Ruharo Mission Hospital) in order to identify their challenges and propose solutions using
Design thinking principles.
Objectives of the Industrial training
To introduce students to Design thinking toolkits.
To empower students with more technical skills including introduction to research equipment,
CAD and 3D printing technologies so as to empower them develop solutions to address the
challenges faced by PWDs.
To interact with a number of equipment in the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology
multidisciplinary laboratory and also with selected equipment in the hospital.

COMPANY BACKGROUND
The Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology is one of the six faculties of Mbarara
University of Science and Technology which is located 7Km off the Mbarara- Kasese highway
in Kihumuro of the Western part of Uganda. It provides education and experience in the areas of
applied science and technology in order to expose students to the world of advancing
technologies in addition to sustainable technology development for developing countries so as to
develop skills in diverse fields of work through the different engineering department at the
faculty.
VISION
To be a centre of excellence of teaching and research in multidisciplinary studies in the areas of
applied science and technology.
MISSION
To provide quality training and promote research and professional development in sustainable
and community oriented applied sciences and technology.
CORE VALUES
Creativity and Innovation
Integrity
Professionalism
Teamwork
Excellence
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE
DESIGN THINKING
Design thinking is a nonlinear analytic, creative, iterative, user- centered process [1]in which one
does not know the challenge of needs of the user and therefore seeks to understand the user
needs or challenges in order to come up with ideas/ solutions that solve the actual challenge of
the user. It is extremely useful in handling complex problems that are unknown involved by
understanding the human needs involved, reframing the problems in human centric ways, by
creating ideas in brain storming sessions and by adopting a hands on approach in prototyping and
testing[2].
Design thinking toolkits are actionable tools to apply design thinking in your project. These
include the following;
Stakeholder maps. This is the layout of people, groups and organizations that have direct
influence on the design challenge [4].
Design studio. This is a place with tools and resources available to transform ideas into
prototypes.
Empathy maps. This is a collaborative tool which helps one to get a deeper understanding of the
user. This consists of 4 main quadrants that reflect the 4 key traits the user possesses or
demonstrate during the observation or research and they include the says, does, thinks and feels
quadrants. However, other quadrants maybe added like hears, pains and gains quadrants to
understand the user more [5].
Personas. These are models of the users that help designers and developers to understand the
users’ personal contexts for example the values, beliefs, cultural background, attitude, challenges
and needs [6].
Stages of design thinking
Discover/empathize stage. This is where one immerses him/herself in the user’s experience to
understand them so as to uncover the user’s deep needs and insights. This involves activities like
observation and engagement ( conversing) where one gets what the user says, does, feels and
thinks hence one is able to get the key traits of the user using the empathy map and therefore can
use this information to come up with personas that reflect the behavior, attitudes, demographic,
challenges and needs of the user.
Frame/define stage. This is where the understanding and insight developed in the discover stage
is brought together so as to come up with the challenge or opportunity that can be solved (point
of view) [3].
Ideate stage. This is the process of generating ideas and solutions to the point of view generated
from the frame stage [3]. This is done in various methods or techniques which include the
following;
Brain storming [3]. This is the free thinking and generating ideas without being bound by
restraints like “this is a good/ bad idea”.
Brain writing [3]. This is where people write out their ideas.
Sketching/sketch storming [3]. This is the making of a quick/ rough drawing that helps one to
represent an idea.
Build/prototype stage. This is the transformation of the ideas generated into a physical form to
gain feedback from the people you intend to serve [3].
Test stage. This is where the designers solicit feedback about the prototypes created from the
users. The results generated during the testing phase are often used to redefine one/ more
problems and during this stage, alterations and refinements are made in order to rule out problem
solutions and derive a deep understanding of the product and its users [Friis Dam, Teo Yu Siang,
5 stages in the Design Thinking Process].
Electronics refers to electrical circuits that involve active electrical components.
Embedded systems are microprocessor based hardware systems with software that are designated
to perform a dedicated function.
3D printing is the process of making a three dimensional solid object through adding layer by
layer from a computer aided design model or a digital 3D model.
CHAPTER THREE: INDUSTRIAL TRAINING WORK DONE
Day 1
Cleaning
I was privileged to take part in the cleaning of the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology
Engineering Design studio by sweeping.
Orientation
I and my fellow industrial trainees were briefed about the objectives and the timetable of our
industrial training, transport arrangement and divided into 4 groups each containing 11 students
in which we were to work. In our respective groups we were also tasked to identify the tools
found in the design studio and their respective uses for example in my group we identified tools
like the drawing papers for making sketches and engineering drawings and computers for
research
This gave me an understanding of the various activities that take place in the engineering design
studio.
Day2
Introduction to design thinking
We were briefed about what design thinking means, the activities involved like identifying the
challenge, identifying the persona, defining the scope of the Most Viable Product, the different
stages of the design thinking process for example the discover, frame, ideate, build and test
stages, how to use tools like stakeholder maps, empathy maps, personas, the different quadrants
of the empathy map like thinks, feels, says, does quadrants and how to use them. We also came
up with stories based on our experiences with people with disabilities for example my group
came up with stories about Mable who is visually impaired, James who is visually impaired and
Jane with an amputated leg which we presented to our fellow industrial trainees and company
supervisors. This exposed me to various conditions people with disabilities pass through.
Day 3
Discovering stage of design thinking
We used empathy maps in our respective groups to come up with information about the key traits
of people with disabilities based on our experiences with such people for example we came up
with information about Pablo, a 6 year old boy with cerebral palsy in which we discovered that
he is quiet, happy to be around people, wants to play with friends, wants to walk and run just like
other children do. We also came up with information about Christine who is Pablo’s mother and
caretaker and we discovered that she feels stressed, helpless and feels that she is treated
differently by the community, she cannot easily tell what her son exactly wants, isolates herself,
needs financial support and someone to take care of her son while she works to earn a living.
We then used these traits to develop personas where we discovered the attitudes of the persona
named Pablo like wants to play with others, behaviours like he is quiet, stressed since he cannot
communicate his pains, happy to see people around him and challenges like lack of efficient
communication with the caretaker and he is sometimes not given what he wants. For the persona
called Christine, we discovered that she has attitudes like feeling stressed, helpless and being
isolated by people around her, behaviours like self-isolation and needs like a way of
communicating with her son efficiently and financial support. This gave me an experience and
understanding on how to use the empathy map to get a deep insight of the targeted user and how
to use the empathy map information to develop personas.
Framing stage of the design thinking process
We used the information from the personas we developed to identify the challenges and
opportunities that need a solution for example my group identified the challenge of inefficient
communication between the cerebral palsy patient and the caretaker and ignorance by the
caretaker on how to take care of the cerebral palsy patient hence the information gap challenge.
Through this, I understood how to use a persona to come up with a challenge or opportunity that
can requires solving.
Day 4
Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology multidisciplinary Laboratory visit.
We had a visit to the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology multidisciplinary Laboratory
where we were introduced to some of the safety precautions to be put into consideration while in
the laboratory for example standing some distance away from certain equipment before starting
them in case one does not know how they operate and wearing shoes to prevent injuries to the
feet different equipment , the different equipment in the Biomedical Laboratory, carpentry work
shop, electrical shop and the electronics laboratory and their respective uses as shown in the
tables below;
Table1: Biomedical laboratory equipment
DAY 5
Ideation
We were briefed about what ideation is all about that is generation of ideas and solutions, the
rules of ideation like no judgment, encouraging wild ideas, being visual, building on each other’s
ideas and going for quantity and a variety of ideas to ensure quality ideas and the different
methods of ideation like brain storming, brain writing and sketching. This was followed by
brainstorming in our respective groups and brain writing where by each group member wrote
down their ideas about the possible solutions to the information gap challenge identified in the
frame stage which we compiled and presented to our fellow industrial trainees and company
supervisors later on and these included training caregivers, developing a brain reader for the
patient, a system that captures common behaviours of the patient in order to recognize the
presence of abnormal behaviours, frequent assessment of the patient and sign to text translation
system. This was followed by a discussion where we reduced the list of solutions to one which
had the idea of developing a mobile application to allow information flow from the medical
personnel to the caretakers of cerebral palsy patients. This exposed on how to generate good
quality ideas.
Day 6
Introduction to electronics and embedded systems
We were introduced to some of the electronic components by Mackenzie and their respective
uses as shown in the table below;
Electronic component Use
bread board For quick creating of circuits without
soldering
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) For displaying the output
Temperature and humidity sensor For measuring air moisture and air
temperature.
Temperature sensor For measuring temperature,
ultrasonic sensor detecting obstacles
arduino board For programming the chip
Global System for Mobile communication For monitoring
(GSM)
buzzers For giving out sound

Circuit building
We built a circuit to measure and display the temperature and humidity using a bread board,
temperature and humidity sensor, arduino board, jumpers, a potentiometer, a Liquid Crystal
Display and the programming of the chip. This provided with the understanding of how to
connect electronic components to come up with a circuit for a specific purpose.
Day 7
Research
My group had a visit to Ruharo Mission Hospital specifically the Organized Useful
Rehabilitation Services section where we were led to the orthopedic workshop by Dr. Aron
Ndyowawe who told us the types of disabilities handled which include physical disabilities like
club feet and post born contractures and neurological disabilities like cerebral palsy,
hydrocephalus and spina bifida. We were also introduced to the different assistive devices in the
orthopedic workshop and their respective limitations for example cerebral palsy seats, crutches,
standing frames which had the limitation of injuries and commode seats. He also told us about
the challenges faced in ensuring that cerebral palsy patients get appropriate care to increase their
lifetime for example child neglect, ignorance and cultural myths and beliefs and the available
interventions like community outreaches, community volunteers, admission at the hospital and
their limitation like few specialists and volunteers the high expenses, and breakdown of vehicles
used for transport.
Day 8
Redefinition
We discussed in my group about the information we obtained from the hospital visit and used it
to redefine our solutions to fit the challenges which we got from our research during the hospital
visit. This was followed by planning on how we were to come up with the prototype.
Day 9
Introduction to Computer Aided Design (CAD)
We were introduced to the different software used for computer aided design like Autodesk
123D, solid works and Tinka CAD for coming up the design, Cura used for example to set the
type of printer to be used in printing, getting to know the cost of the design and changing the size
of the design to one that can be printed by the 3D printer.
Coming up with designs using Autodesk 123D and 3D printing preparation
We were guided on how to use the different tools of Autodesk 123D like sketch, construct and
fillet to come up with a 3D design, how to export the design and how to prepare the 3D design
for 3D printing using software like Ultimaker Cura and Makerbot Replicator 2.
Day 10 and day 11
Prototyping
We started building the prototype of our proposed mobile application using Adobe XD to create
a mock application.
Day 12
Report writing and presentation briefing
We were briefed about what we were supposed to include in our reports to our company
supervisors about our projects and in the final presentations about the projects like the prototypes
for example Low Fidelity Prototypes, block diagrams and flow charts.
Day 13
Preparation for the final presentation
We continued working on our prototypes in preparation for the final presentation and creation of
power point presentations about our projects in our respective groups.
Day 14
Presentation of projects to company supervisors and judges
We presented to our company supervisors and judges our projects with the prototypes for
assessment and our teams were then awarded prizes according to their positions.
CHAPTER FOUR: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS
We had limited knowledge on how to come up with the prototype basing on the proposed
solution of our team. However, we overcame this by researching more in line with the kind of
prototype required for our project which was a mobile application the magara application.
We had limited time to research and limited access to the end users that is the administration and
medical specialists at Ruharo Mission Hospital. We solved this by consulting people whom we
knew had experience with cerebral palsy patients like caretakers and medical personnel.
There was also difficulty in arranging for meetings for our team members to discuss and share
more ideas outside the design studio due to being in different areas of residence and high
transport costs. However, we solved this by forming a whatsapp group where we were able to
share our ideas from without meeting physically.
There was also limited time to hold discussions in the design studio since the transport service
back to our respective places of residence was available as early as 1pm. We however solved this
by organizing discussions outside the Engineering Design studio via social media platforms like
whatsapp.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
First and foremost, more time should be allocated for Industrial Training to enable students to
get more training experience and avoid missing out on some activities due to some activities
exceeding the time allocated to them.
All the equipment and resources required for the Industrial Training should be put in place
before the beginning of the Industrial Training to ensure that all the goals of the Industrial
Training are met.
Students should be briefed about what is required of them during and after the Industrial
Training period so that they plan and prepare accordingly.

CONCLUSION:
This entire Industrial Training report describes my efforts to acquire design thinking skills and
the use of different equipment in the Biomedical Engineering field. This was through the practice
of the different activities involved in the different stages of the design thinking process, the use
of various design thinking tools, equipment and technologies involved in the design thinking