BY DARGIE KAHSAY
Biruk Bekele is a youth in his 20s. He was born and raised in Wolaita Sodo town of Sothern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region of Ethiopia. Since his childhood, he has been focusing on innovating different things. “I was trying to make my own toys and playing gadgets when I was a child. Assembling and fixing metals and other materials made me happy when I was a kid,” Biruk said.
“My home, where I grew up, was around the airport in Sodo, I was witnessing the landing and taking-off airplanes. People of the community often gathered there to see planes alighting during their arrivals and similarly I went to the airport to see the planes with my friends. I was wonderstruck by how a plane functions and the physics that allows it to take-off from the ground to the space carrying people and vice versa. I think since then, the seeds of aircraft and aviation was ingrained in me.”
For Biruk, innovating new things has been his hobby and his source of happiness since early in life. In addition to making his own childhood playing materials, he continuously tried to fix and repair different materials from fallen inputs. He continuously developed this culture of innovation. After he joined school, this culture and hobby of repairing and innovating materials became a skill honed by education. He became an active member of science clubs in schools since his elementary education. His innovational ideas snowballed when he was in high school and preparatory school as he growingly became adept in mathematics and physics educations.
He tried his hands on practical innovations since his early high school education. So far, Biruk has come up with over 10 innovations of his own. This time Biruk has innovated his own designed drones on top of an aircraft he is striving to give birth to. Currently, he is attending his Master’s degree in Aerospace and specializing in the field to further his innovations.
Biruk attended his primary and secondary education in his abode Wolaite Sodo. Following his completion of high school and preparatory education, he joined Wolaita Sodo University to specialize in Mechanical Engineering, though his interest was attending Aerospace. As to him, it was impossible for him to get the chance of attending aerospace since the field was not given in Ethiopian higher education institutions until Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute started delivering courses in the field recently.
When effort realizes dream
Biruk pursues his education simultaneously with his innovational efforts to live his dream and to realize his vision. He continued to struggle undaunted by many difficulties, including financial limitations and attitudinal challenges, to effectuate his innovations. Biruk continued challenging his limits with all these odds and hurdles to innovate new things and develop his skills and knowledge.
As he joined mechanical engineering department in his higher education in his home town, on one side, he continued to imbibe theoretical knowledge and acquire practical experiences and on the other hand, he continued his innovations. Currently, he is struggling to have his own workshop to scale up his innovational activities. But, financial constraints remain to continue a serious challenge for Biruk.
Parallel to his education and innovational activities; he juggles part-time works for want of cash. To finance his science engagements, he was doing part-time works like electrical installations, assembling satellite dishes and repairing electrical stoves and other maintenances. The income he earns from his part-time works, though modest helped him to buy inputs for his innovations and to organize a workshop. Still, he continued to face financial limitations to consolidate his innovations. But, Biruk never says die discouraged by the challenges, Instead he expands and develops his innovational activities.
During the final years of his campus education, he focused on collecting workshop machines. “When I was in campus, as a student of mechanical engineering, I got the opportunity to attend different workshops and to practice laboratory activities. I was practicing the theoretical and practical experiences I get from my education in my workshop. Side by side, I was collecting materials and inputs for my workshop. Finally, during my graduation year from campus, I owned a small workshop,” Biruk told a local media.
“After graduation, though I got a chance to join Wolaita Sodo University as an instructor, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the global community. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, education was temporarily closed. I used that opportunity to fully turn my face to my innovational works in my work-shop,” Biruk added. At this time, after he collected necessary inputs and materials, Biruk has started to make an aircraft, which finally become real.
After a long process, Biruk’s aircraft actualized in 2021, which he named EW-13. Regarding how he coined the word, Biruk said, EW-13 represents Ethiopia-Wolaita 2013, the first letters are names of Ethiopia, his mother country and Wolaita Sodo, his birth town, while 2013 represents the innovation year of the aircraft, as he finalized the plane in 2013 Ethiopian calendar, two years back.
According to Biruk, EW-13 has an engine capacity of flying up to four hours. “EW-13 successfully completed its ground-roll. But it needs adjusting some safety equipment. Few parts need modifications to takeoff,” he noted adding after adjusting and modifying remaining parts, the plane has the capacity to fly for four hours.
“I am captaining EW-13 and I love it from the core of my heart. I built it confronting different challenges especially financial ones. I built it deducting from the income I earned from the part-time maintenance and other installation works. Hence, I like the plane. It gives me hope and strength to continue my efforts,” Biruk highlighted.
Biruk’s innovation is not confined to innovating an aircraft; he has continued with his innovative passion. He has designed a technical aerial unmanned vehicle and launched his new innovation successfully. As to Biruk, the drones are multipurpose modern ones. “When I dreamed to innovate a drone, first I started with designing a drone that can fly successfully. I did that and the drones are now designed in a fashion they are multipurpose drones which can be used for civil and military purposes by modifying the designs. By scaling-up these drones, it is possible to use them to different surveillances, border area surveys, for military and video and photography purposes,” the youth innovator stated.
Currently, parallel to his investment in innovational activities, Biruk is attending his MA program in Aerospace Engineering, a field of study started by Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute in collaboration with Addis Ababa University. “There are four students and the program is very helpful to realize my efforts,” Biruk stated.
Biruk got the chance to stage his innovational works at a workshop prepared at the recently opened Science Museum. His innovations were visited by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Kenyan President William Rutto at the Science Museum. The leaders praised his innovations and encouraged him to continue his efforts.
Meanwhile, Biruk “we are in the era of technology and promoting local innovations would accelerate Ethiopia’s efforts of transforming the technology. But, financial limitations remain a serious challenge for local youth innovators. Hence, he argues, supporting and promoting youth innovators should get added attention. Similarly, he urges the youth innovators to press ahead with their efforts to realize their vision instead of being hampered by challenges they faced.
In the future, Biruk has a vision of realizing his innovations fully and to support new innovators. Especially he is dreaming to contribute his own share in filling knowledge gaps in the aerospace sector for his country. He calls government and private sectors to support and finance local innovations.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 23 DECEMBER 2022
