MUST, Poly organize innovators design competition

The Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) in conjunction with The Polytechnic, a constituent college of the University of Malawi, has again this year organized the Malawi Innovators Design Competition (MIDC) slated for Monday, January 27, 2020 in Blantyre.
According to one of the coordinators, Jennifer Chimwaza, who is an Engineering lecturer under the Malawi Institute of Technology (MIT) at MUST, the competition will be held at the School of Engineering Building at The Polytechnic Main Campus.
The organisers describe the competition as a platform where academicians, innovators and engineers from academia and industry and government are brought together to appreciate and share on recent innovation developments and trends in areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Applied Mathematics (STEAM).
“These are STEAM related innovations that solve real-life unmet needs and play a role in enhancing national development. This impactful event will be held at the Polytechnic, a constituent college of University of Malawi, on 27th January 2020 and is organized by the Faculty of Engineering at The Polytechnic and Department of Engineering at MUST,” reads in part a statement from the organisers.
“The 2020 MIDC will offer an innovation showcase that includes high-quality project posters and prototype exhibition. There will be also an innovation talk from industry experts and entrepreneurs that serve as a platform of exchanging ideas and expertise among academia and industry. This exciting interdisciplinary engineering event will showcase a competition that includes monetary prize presentation for winners.”
Chimwaza said the event, which will have the Minister of Labour, Skills and Innovation, Honourable Martha Lunji Mhone Chanjo as guest of honour, is expected to start at 11am and finish at 5pm.
The guest speaker will be Dr Harry Gombachika, a telecommunications engineer working as Chief Executive Officer for the Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL).
Held under the theme of “transforming inventions into innovations for national development”, the event is free and open to the public.
The event is this year sponsored by Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS), RICE 360 Institute of Global Health, Open Connect Limited, ESCOM, EGENCO and the Lemelson Foundation.