An International Wireless Connectivity Capstone Design Project for Electrical and Computer Engineering Students

Two major areas of electrical and computer engineering are wireless communications and power and energy. The capstone design project for engineering students is supposed to be a culminating experience where the learnings from lower-level courses are brought together to complete a major design project in the senior year. The new ABET outcomes 2 requires "an ability to apply engineering design … consideration of global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors." This paper describes an international capstone design project for electrical and computer engineering students to provide wireless connectivity supported through renewable energy to a village in Kenya. Close collaboration with partners in Kenya ensured that the various social and cultural dimensions were considered in developing the design solution. Details of the project, the interactions with our Kenyan partners, and final design details will be presented in this paper.