In this week’s edition of the Imagine Cup Kenya bi-weekly blogs, we meet The Knights. The team that laid Kenya and Africa at large on the Imagine Cup World Championships! From Juja, Kenya all the way to the world!!!
Michael Mwaisakenyi and Kenneth Kioria are Mechatronic Engineering students at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. We talked to Michael and had Kenneth joining in the last bit. In the 2020 Imagine Cup competition, they built a weeding bot which is an automated robot using artificial intelligence to identify and remove weeds from rows of crops.
Responses have been edited for clarity and length.
1. In a brief, who is Michael?
Michael is a guy who likes his actions describe him better than his words. I'm many things but majorly about courage and braveness, not motivated by fear. Lives life as if he will live forever and still live life as if he would die tomorrow.
2. What's The Knights made up of?
The Knights is made up of two individuals passionate about technology and hoping that technology will form the solutions in the future. They are risk-takers and motivated individuals.
3. How did you get to form The Knights?
It’s a bit queer how we met with Ken to form the Knights. We were classmates but that did not form any basis for us forming a team. It’s later on that we met during internship and I got to know a lot about Ken. We were working on the same bit of the project at the company and that’s when I realized that we had the same passion and gifts. As I was applying for the Imagine Cup, I knew that I couldn’t do it alone because there was a lot to be done. Hence, I approached Ken and asked him to join me. We put our best foot forward and the Knights was formed, and I’ve never been happier. I don’t think I would have made a better choice for a teammate.
4. Why did you choose the name, The Knights?
As the competition started, we had a sit down with Kenneth. We called it the Knights because it was Knights of Old, the knights who stood for honour, character and who people believed in. We came up with the name the Knights in that meeting and we ironed out everything. Our expectations, what was in it for us individually and as a team. If we lost if we won. And by the time we left there, we knew what needed to be done, how it was to be done and what we were ready to do to get it.
5. What triggered you to join the 2020 Imagine Cup competition?
While starting the weeding bot I didn’t know about the Imagine Cup but when it had developed, I realised the bot was more of a reality than an idea. My friend told me about it because earlier on I had mentioned to him that the bot was a good idea, all I needed was credibility and money, in that order. The credibility because, for anyone to trust your product, they need to feel the credibility. You need to have a track record and something and something and something. Like having an experience when getting your first job. And, it’s quite a huddle when you think of it at first. But then, I reminded myself that I don’t think in size of impossibilities but in size of possibilities. Imagine Cup was a good way to find credibility because I knew if Microsoft could believe in it, then anybody could.
6. What was your experience like participating in the competition?
Michael:For me the experience was nothing short of bliss, that’s because I got to learn a lot. Imagine Cup treats its competition as world-class because it’s world-class. And, you get to learn a lot because you have mentors for every team. They all do their best to help you get to where you want. It’s not like they tell you where to go but they work with where you want to go. It’s more like a support system. Everything is open, outright and clear. It’s less of a competition and more like learning from each other. It's what you guys can take from the table when you all want what’s on the table. You get to learn how to sell an idea. You must have a good solid idea, but then it all comes down to how you sell it. And it makes sense because there are some products out here which might be good but we will never find out because of how the idea is sold. As much as it’s difficult to come up with a product, you should always keep in mind that the selling of the idea plays the biggest part.
Kenneth: The Imagine Cup was quite something. From my perspective, there were more ups than downs. For instance, qualifying for the Regionals, winning the Regionals, getting to the World Championships, being mentored by Microsoft experts, we got so much feedback from them and we learnt a lot. I think I’ve learnt way more from that short journey than in university. The downs: Not going to Netherlands and USA because of COVID-19. The project required so much effort. A lot of times the components were misfiring so we'd get stressed up, prepping for the competition and the pitches. All in all, we’re thankful for the experience because we were able to raise our standards to see what was possible. Putting Kenya on the map and being recognized for our efforts. We proved many people wrong and showed the potential that Kenya has as a country, in terms of engineering, as we primarily consume and hardly produce. If Kenyans, particularly young engineers are given support, we can attain so much in the manufacturing industry. We have very smart people but because of lack of support, there is a lot of brain drain. They then opt to go work in other countries because there are better opportunities than here at home. Hopefully, the government of Kenya will look into that and give support.
Parting Shots:
Kenneth:
Imagine Cup is a good platform for those who would like to challenge themselves. see how far they can go since you never know, you could be the next one to win the Imagine Cup. Up till now, no African team has ever won the Worldwide Championships so participate in such competitions, it really puts you out of your comfort zone.
Michael:
It’s scary putting yourself out there because there's a possibility of acceptance or rejection, and that’s pretty hard when it gets to rejection. But I’d say take the chance because in campus you have nothing else to lose and everything else to gain. Once you get to the Regionals, World Finals, you’ll get a lot of credibilities which is a good certificate to have in your CV. You get real feedback, real market feedback; the question that investors would ask about your product. You know while building the product you always think about the technical aspect because you’re involved, but then you come to realise the customer doesn’t really care about the technical aspect. They care if it works, its safety and affordability depending on who's buying. If you have something that you’re passionate about, just do it. Don’t think about it too much: analysis/paralysis. Put yourself out there. Take the risks. They’ll be worth it and if not, you’ll learn. Just put your idea out there. Throw a leg in there, put your best foot forward and leave it to chance.
Interested in joining the 2021 Imagine Cup competition? Register here.