"I Will Be Able to Transmit This Knowledge to Students in my Country": the Russian-African Summer University Concluded at LETI
Students from 6 African countries gained skills in developing innovative technologies in biomedicine and computer vision within "Summer Multidisciplinary University Russia-Africa" at LETI.
11.10.2022 363
On September 30, the closing ceremony of the engineering profile of "Summer Multidisciplinary University Russia-Africa" took place at LETI. Students and graduates of Russian universities from Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Tanzania, and Cameroon were able to gain relevant knowledge in advanced fields – biomedicine and computer vision.
"We work with countries in Africa systematically. The key is to give new opportunities and show prospects to students and graduates who come from different countries of the continent. To do this, we have developed a range of educational products for different ages and needs."
Participants in the Biomedical Systems and Technologies track submerged in the world of biomedical engineering. They learned various aspects of the engineering and software components of creating medical systems and developed the body of a portable device. "Through hands-on activities and laboratory experiments, Summer University students were able to better understand biomedical processes and mechanisms. It is a digest through the main stages of medical device development, starting with the idea, continuing with the development of the hardware and software, and ending with the creation of the device model using 3D modeling," explains Yulia Bobrova, Associate Professor of the Department of Bioengineering Systems at LETI
In the second course, participants studied computer vision technology. In the hardware module, the students got acquainted with the design of modern computer vision cameras, low-level visual data processing, GPU operation, and video system engineering. In the classes on software, participants looked at methods and algorithms of digital image processing, video analytics, and machine learning. At the end of the course, students were engaged in integrating the learned methods into real-world applications and studied successful solutions, common mistakes, and ways to avoid them.
"I want to thank the university for the great opportunity. Discussions with teachers and lecturers were inspiring. Since the program was in my field, I had the opportunity to get more knowledge which is going to help me in further research. Thanks to the practical classes, I learned knowledge that I can easily transmit to the next generations of students in my country."
The cultural and historical track allowed participants to get to know Russia better and visit its most beautiful places. Nevsky Prospect, the cruiser Aurora, the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island, the Savior on Spilled Blood, St. Isaac's Cathedral, and the Peter and Paul Fortress - they were able to see all these landmarks on the sightseeing tour. The students also appreciated the beauty of the Hermitage, Pushkin, and Pskov. "During the tours, we had a guide from LETI with us, who told the history of all these amazing places. We learned a lot about the culture of St. Petersburg and Russia in general - it's so wonderful! It seems that behind everything in St. Petersburg there is some kind of history," shared Patrick Amaechi Onwuka, a participant in the Summer University at LETI.
As part of the closing ceremony, professors of the two engineering disciplines presented their students with certificates and congratulated them on acquiring new and relevant knowledge.
The Summer University project is implemented as part of a consortium of the Russian-African Network University (RAFU) at 10 universities in Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Republic of Crimea, Rostov-on-Don, and Astrakhan. Over 100 students took part in the educational programs.
