This research focuses on designing a smart learning environment (SLE) using virtual reality mini games to support students' computational thinking skills. Aside from enhancing the teaching and learning of CT, this research aims to support first-year students and novices of computer science with the opportunity to gain CT skills through an experiential learning approach. The goal of the research is to design and develop VR mini games through a rigorous process of the design science research methodology in order to provide artefact that allows students to learn CT concepts such as algorithmic thinking, recursive thinking, pattern recognition, and abstraction of problems. This research will measure students' learning achievement and cognitive benefits through a field experiment with first-year university students in Nigeria and Finland. Currently, we have developed a VR mini games application in the VR EdTech Lab located at the School of Computing, University of Eastern Finland. The mini games were co-designed with students from within Finland and abroad in order to achieve a student-centered learning environment. The research has produced over seven research papers published in ranked journals and conferences as shown in the link (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=mSqmwdgAAAAJ&hl=en). The research is being supervised by professors from the School of Computing, University of Finland, and Luleå University of Technology (LTU) Sweden. The professors are specialists in VR technology, educational games, and ICT4D.

Team

Professor Markku Tukiainen, Dr. Jarkko Suhonen, Dr. Solomon Oyelere, MSc. Friday Joseph Agbo

VitalSens is a joint research project with the main goal of designing a smart, cost effective and scale-able personalized biomedical remote monitoring health platform. Printable wireless electronic sensors for continuous ECG monitoring are designed. Further, the ECG recordings are stored in a cloud storage. We then proceed by developing a computational engine which processes the physiological measurements and provide automated event detection for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The primary focus is to create an intelligent processing system which is adaptive to the patient ECG recording.

Team

Sampo Nurmentaus, Metropolia UAS, Moncef Gabbouj, TUT, Tapio Seppänen, OU, Niku Oksala, UTA.

The Strengthening Problem-Based Education in East African Universities project (PBL East Africa) is a joint initiative of Nairobi University (Kenya), Makerere University (Uganda), Dar es Salaam University (Tanzania), and Aalto University (Finland). PBL East Africa aims to establish best practices in problem-based learning (PBL) for innovation, engaging several disciplines, empowering students and developing an approach to critically address societal challenges in facilitated real-world situations.

Team

Riina Subra, Amelia Buriyo, Venny Nakazibwe, Tonny K. Omwansa

We applied the design science research framework to develop a mobile learning application, MobileEdu, for computing education (ICT and Programming). The application is intended to facilitate the learning of computer science courses on mobile devices, support ubiquitous, collaborative, and social learning for university students.

Team

DELETE

Team

INDEHELA-Access aims to continue from INDEHELA-ICI 2011-2013 health informatics curricula development efforts and HI pilot courses in south curricula. Informatics Development for Health in Africa – network consists of Universidade Eduardo Mondlane UEM in Mozambique, Abofemi Awolowo University in Nigeria, Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa and University of Eastern Finland and Savonia University of Applied Sciences. Our joint interest in INDEHELA-Access is in how to make health information accessible also to populations in recourse restricted areas in a format most interesting and user-friendly yet affordable and sustainable.

Team

Prof Kaija Saranto UEF, Vilma Vainikainen UEF, Dr Pirkko Kouri SUAS, Prof Emilio Mosse UEM, Prof Retha deLaHarpe CPUT, Prof Omoloa Irinoye OAU

A clear need for strengthening forestry education in Kenya has been identified by local and international stakeholders due to increasing demands of sustainable management of natural resources and fast developments of learning technologies. The key objectives of the project are to strengthen the educational capacity and societal role of University of Eldoret in Kenya within the area of sustainable natural resource management by enhancing (a) curricula and subject-specific capacity, (b) pedagogical and ICT capacity, (c) community engagement, and (d) administrative and networking capacity.

Team

Sari Pitkänen, Javier Arevalo, Jarkko Suhonen, Jaakko Helminen, Myriam Munezero

According to our experience, most of the African Universities still focus on education, while research outputs are generally low. We have identified two main reasons for this. First, it is common that faculty members of higher education institutions are master degree holders. This means that faculty members usually lack research experience and they do not have basic knowledge and skill to conduct research. Secondly, those faculty members who have interest and skills to do research are often heavily loaded with teaching and administrative responsibilities. Thus, developing a research culture is an important direction for the future of African universities.

Team

Prof. Emanuel Mjema, Prof. Edda Tandi Lwoga, Prof. Markku Tukiainen, Prof. Matti Tedre, Dr. Jarkko Suhonen