The School of Engineering at the American University of Nigeria has recently embarked on an initiative aimed at tackling the energy crisis that has been a challenge for the Northeast, adversely impacting the energy supply to the University campus and creating a difficult situation for the community. In response, the School has recognized the urgent need to address this issue and has taken it upon itself to find sustainable solutions. This initiative not only promises to overcome the current challenge but also holds the potential to transform the energy landscape of the entire community, offering a brighter and more sustainable future.
Under the dynamic leadership of its Dean, Professor Abubakar Sadiq Hussaini (Ash), the students majoring in Electrical and Electronics have taken the challenge and made remarkable progress. Through their ingenious initiatives, they have initiated decentralizing the energy supply to various campus buildings, ensuring a dependable power source. Under their instructors' guidance, the students have successfully decentralized the energy supply to the e-library complex, now powered by solar energy, enabling access to learning resources and powering substantial classes. This ingenuity of the students is a testament to the quality of the students trained at the School and their readiness to address real-world problems. "Solar energy is the most abundant energy resource on earth. We will not sit at the back without tapping from the 173,000 Terawatts of solar energy produced at any given time." Said Dr. Sadiq Abubakar Hussain, Dean of the School of Engineering.
He continued, "I can imagine how much we spent on diesel and units to maintain the operation of the AUN while optimizing resources and trying to serve the AUN community better. In today's world, solar solutions are the best solution to optimize resources and save cost."
Several students who are part of a project expressed their enthusiasm for being given the opportunity to tackle real-world problems. Aishatu Ibrahim, a major in Electrical Electronics, shared her excitement about being involved in the project. "I am excited to be part of the project; I am now translating the diagrams that I read in the class to a physical site," said Aishatu Ibrahim, an Electrical Electronics major.
Victory Peter Ekerete, an Electrical Electronics Engineering student, expressed her delight at the seamless installation process. She attributed her practical knowledge to the hands-on learning experience at AUN, stating that they were able to translate the theory learned in class to solve real-world problems during the installation. "That is why I am at AUN, because of hands-on learning. We had the theory in the class, and here we were on the top of the building, translating it to solve our problem.
This commendable work by the School of Engineering coincided with the first time it is graduating its students on May 18th, 2024.