Hildah Kalino, a fourth-year Biomedical Engineering student at MUST, has returned home with a first-place victory after attending the Medical Device Innovation Summer Bootcamp at Kenyatta University (KU) in Kenya.

Kalino described her three-week stay in Kenya as truly transformative where she was immersed in the bio-design process, gaining hands-on exposure to 3D design and printing, CNC machining, laser cutting, and industrial sites visits to understand how companies scale from early-stage concepts into full manufacturing operations. 

“Among the most impactful elements of the program were the clinical immersions, during which participants visited hospitals and observed real clinical environments firsthand, identifying unmet patient needs directly at the point of care,” Kalino said in an interview.

She said the program culminated in an intensive design competition in which teams were given just four days to develop a prototype and deliver a full pitch of their proposed medical solution. 

“Working under pressure and against the clock, my team identified a critical gap in neonatal emergency care and responded by designing and building the Neonatal Emergency Response Swaddle, a device aimed at improving emergency response outcomes for newborns,” Kalino said. 

“After four days of rapid prototyping and rigorous preparation, we presented our solution to a panel of judges and were proudly announced as first place winners of the end-of-program design competition.”

Beyond the technical achievements, Kalino said the experience also offered invaluable exposure to a diverse community of innovators, clinicians, engineers and students from different cultures and backgrounds, an experience that continues to inspire her as she returns to MUST.

Going forward, Kalino said she will apply the bio-design skills and innovative thinking gained to identify and address unmet medical needs within the healthcare system in Malawi.

“I also plan to revisit and improve on my previous projects, apply everything I learned through the Kenya experience to refine and strengthen them. The experience has truly ignited something in me and this is a great springboard,” she said.