Abstract:

Introduction:
According to the World Health Organization there are 44 institutions in Africa that claim to offer programs in Biomedical Engineering [http://www.who.int/medical_devices/support/en/], of which 31 have web sites that mention BME in some form. These 31 programs range from several that offer courses in biomedical technician training to one that offers a PhD in BME. Within Sub-Saharan Africa we have confirmed that the University of Ghana, Kenyatta University, and Makerere University all offer BSc degrees in BME. The overburdened lecturers at these institutions are often strapped with teaching four or more classes per semester, something that U.S. BME faculty would find intolerable.

Materials and Methods:
The Duke-Makerere BME Partnership focuses on easing the teaching burden of Makerere lecturers by Duke faculty offering of BME classes taken simultaneously by students at both Duke and Makerere students, and by providing full scholarships to Makerere BME graduates to study for a MS degree in BME at Duke -- the gateway degree for a lecturer position at Makerere. The Duke-Makerere BME Partnership currently has a five-year commitment from both universities to enhance collaborative teaching and learning experiences. The program sponsors are the Duke University BME Department, tOffice of the Provost, Global Health Institute, Pratt School of Engineering, Graduate School, and the Duke Africa Initiative. Greater detail of the program and the student experience are available on the Duke-Makerere BME Partnership web site [https://sites.duke.edu/dukemuk/].

Results and Discussion:
In Term 1 of 2015-16 the course Biomaterials and Artificial Organs was taught to 25 Duke students (BME525) and to 38 Makerere students (BBE3102). The lectures were captured on video and loaded onto the Makerere Moodle site. The lectures were then downloaded and watched remotely twice a week at Makerere. Students in both universities were assigned the same weekly readings, submitted the same written assignments, took the same exams, and performed the same type of semester-long group projects. In Term 2 of 2015-16 Duke offered Transcontinental BME Design for Uganda (BME590) to ten Duke students. Each Duke student was embedded into one of nine design groups that comprised BME Design II (BBE3201) at Makerere taught by Dr. Ssekitoleko. Both BME525 and BME 590 will be offered in the same manner in 2016-17. We are currently discussing the addition of classes in signal process and medical imaging.

The first two Duke MS students from Makerere will arrive in Durham in mid-August 2016 to study BME. The students will take 24 units of coursework and perform 6 units of research on wither biomechanics or medical imaging. These students are fully supported for all tuition, fees, and expenses. Two additional cohorts of two Makerere students will follow to provide a total of six Makerere BME lecturers over a five year period.

Conclusion:
It is relatively straightforward and highly impactful for U.S. universities to offer instruction and/or scholarships to African BME programs, especially in East Africa where the language of instruction is English.

Keywords:

Education, biomedical, engineering, developing world, capacity building.