By Shadrek Mweso, LCC4

 

Fourth-year Biomedical Engineering student at the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), Memory Mbawala, has won an award in the 2024 Digital Innovation Challenge.

 

The challenge was organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports as part of this year’s celebration of the International Youth Day, which was themed “From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development”.

 

In an interview, Mbawala said that she learnt about the challenge from a call-for-proposal flyer the Ministry sent through the MUST Institute of Industrial Research and Innovation (MIIRI).

 

“Mr Nelson Mwenifumbo, an Innovation Manager, shared a flyer about the challenge on a WhatsApp forum. The call urged us, Malawian youths, to share our innovation by providing its summary, including objectives, target audience, impact, scalability, and supporting materials like visuals or videos. I decided to try my luck,” said Mbawala. 

 

She submitted her web-based medical application ‘DocinPocket’ which targets the elderly and people with disabilities, especially those who have been diagnosed with chronic illnesses. 

 

“The application, basically, is like a doctor in one’s pocket which aims at helping people with mobility challenges, including elderly people, with services like symptoms checker, natural remedies, medicine, and dosage. It also features the location of the nearest health centre and contact details of some well-trained medical personnel,” explained Mbawala. 

 

For coming second, Mbawala was awarded a K2 million cheque and a trophy. The award ceremony was held at Mgodi Primary School in Machinga during this year’s International Youth Day commemorations on October 11, 2024.

 

The first prize of K2.5 million went to Martin Chirwa of Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR).

 

Mbawala’s award highlights MUST commitment to nurturing its students in coming up with impactful innovative technologies that offer solutions to both existing and emerging challenges.