With the project “A tool to support bean harvesting for farmers in Tuy Loan area”, the TWIST.M group of students from the University of Science Technology under the University of Da Nang (UD) has just won first prize in the competition “Engineering Project for Community Service - EPICS”. The special thing about this project is that it serves the bean harvesting work for farmers in Hoa Vang, Da Nang at the lowest cost and contributes to improving the health of farmers.

Sharing about the project implementation process at the facility, Vo Hoang, a student of class 22ES, Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Science and Technology said: “After learning and directly meeting the farmers in Tuy Loan village, our group approached and listened to them share very honestly about the hardships, difficulties and health conditions with some common diseases such as back pain, joint pain…”.

The authors of the project ‘A tool to support bean harvesting for farmers in Tuy Loan area’ are students from many faculties and majors of the University of Science and Technology, namely Dang Thi Thuong, Phan Manh Cuong, Vo Hoang, Le Doan Hanh Nghi and Le Duc Tuan.

“I am very satisfied with the group's project. The product not only meets the needs of farmers, solves the problems they are facing and reduces costs... but this is also a sustainable product for the environment and people. My group hopes that in the near future, the device can support the harvesting process of many other different types of fruit and vegetables, thereby increasing the level of access to many farmers across the country”, said Vo Hoang.

After two months of implementing the project, the TWIST.M group has researched, designed and manufactured a peanut harvesting device using traction, applying two operating principles of purely mechanical parts, the power spring and the lever. This product helps prevent and limit the problem of back pain and knee fatigue, which is quite common among farmers. Farmers use the equipment... in the most comfortable position and bring high work efficiency.

This project focuses on environmental protection when using purely mechanical equipment, not using fuel or batteries to operate. This limits waste discharge into the environment and increases the time to reuse parts of old bicycles. This helps to significantly reduce costs for farmers, aiming to develop community agriculture in a sustainable and practical way.

Dr. Le Quoc Huy, the Head of the Department of Advanced Technology Engineering, Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology (FAST), University of Science and Technology, said: “To create a foundation and interest in science and technology for students, right from the first year, we introduced the major, guided and taught them about design thinking and let them do projects. Each semester has at least one subject based on a real project. Through projects and practical problems that need to be solved, students develop many skills, thinking and self-consolidate their knowledge, then explore to solve those practical problems.

Dr. Le Quoc Huy shared more: “In my opinion, we need to create a foundation and playground for students to apply the knowledge they have learned into practice. Through that, they will learn a lot. The project ‘Tools to support bean harvesting for farmers in Tuy Loan area’ that the student group just won first prize at the ‘EPICS Engineering Project for Community Service’ Competition is one of the evidences of improving the quality of teaching for students, bringing them closer to science and technology and mastering the knowledge they have learned”.

The ‘EPICS Engineering Project for Community Service’ Competition recently took place in the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City with the participation of more than 20 student teams from technical universities in Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Da Nang and the capital city of Ha Noi. The competition aims to promote innovation in universities, organised annually by the University of Arizona (USA) and the STEM Programme of Dow Viet Nam.

EPICS is implemented according to an internationally recognised practical learning model, with a 3-month project implementation period. Student groups from many disciplines will be guided to apply the engineering design process to build and deploy solutions to solve social problems, aiming at sustainable development goals.

                                                                                                                                                      UD Media

                                                                                                                                                      Source: Nhan Dan Newspaper

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