Valerian is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bongo Tech & Research Labs (formerly STICLab; The first Tanzanian Makerspace). He is a Tech & innovation enthusiast, with over 6 years experience and direct engagement in International Networking, Financial Planning and Evaluation, Local and Internal Strategic Partnerships, Entrepreneurship, Start-up/SME Mentoring, Open Sciences and Hardware, Digital Manufacturing, IoT, Design Thinking, Industrial Automation and Robotics, Electronic Systems Design and Development, Sustainable Energy, Software and Hardware Programming, SCADA/DAQ and CAD/CAM Technologies.
Have a proven and strong ability to conduct interdisciplinary research, with remarkable Leadership, managerial and Teamwork skills.
Academic Background[edit | edit source]
| October 2019: | Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Energy Development,
International Sustainable Energy Development Centre – ISEDC, Moscow – Russian Federation. |
| December 2016: | Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Engineering,
Dar Es Salaam Institute of Technology – DIT, Dar es Salaam – Tanzania, |
| January 2013: | Diploma of Engineering in Computer Engineering,
Dar Es Salaam Institute of Technology – DIT, Dar es Salaam – Tanzania, |
Fellowships and Appointments[edit | edit source]
| October 2019: | UNESCO/ISEDC Co-Sponsored Fellowships Programme, Moscow – Russia. |
| May - October 2019: | Global Community Bio Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Media Lab – USA. |
| April 2017 – April 2020: | Visiting Researcher, University of Cambridge, Cavendish Lab, Department of Physics, UK. |
| April 2017 – to date: | Visiting Industrial Fellow, Bath University, Department of Physics, UK. |
Industry Experience[edit | edit source]
| 2019 – To Date: | Co-Founder and CEO: Bongo Tech & Research Labs (formerly STICLab), The first Tanzania’s Makerspace. |
| 2015 – 2019: | Co-Founder and Director of Finances, Administration and Human Resources: Bongo Tech & Research Labs (formerly STICLab),
The first Tanzania’s Makerspace. |
| 2010 - 2019: | Volunteer Technician: Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT), Department of Computer Studies. |
Academic Publications and Papers[edit | edit source]
| December 2020: | What Can GCRF Projects Tell Us About Strengthening Pathways to Responsible and Sustainable Innovation?: Louise Bezuidenhout, Julian Stirling, Valerian L. Sanga, Richard Bowman, et al.. (Submitted). |
| May 28, 2020: | TheOpenFlexure Project: The technical challenges of Co-Developing a microscope inthe UK and Tanzania: Julian Stirling, Valerian L. Sanga, Paul T. Nyakyi, Grace A. Mwakajinga, Joel T. Collins, Kaspar Bumke, Joe Knapper, Qingxin Meng, Samuel McDermott, Richard Bowman. |
| March 30, 2020: | Harnessing the Open Science infrastructure for an efficient African response to COVID-19: Havemann, Jo; Bezuidenhout, Louise; Sanga, Valerian Linus; Achampong, Joyce; Akligoh, Harry; Ayodele, Obasegun; Hussein, Shaukatali; Ksibi, Nabil; Mboa Nkoudou, Thomas Hervé; Obanda, Johanssen; Owango, Joy; Stirling, Julian; Wenzelmann, Victoria. |
| December 2, 2019: | Robotic microscopy for everyone: the OpenFlexure Microscope; Joel T. Collins, Valerian L. Sanga, Joe Knapper, Julian Stirling, Joram Mduda, Catherine Mkindi, Valeriana Mayagaya, Grace A. Mwakajinga, Paul T. Nyakyi, Dave Carbery, Leah White, Sara Dale, Zhen Jieh Lim, Jeremy J. Baumberg, Pietro Cicuta, Samuel McDermott, Boyko Vodenicharski, Richard Bowman. |
| 2015 – 2016: | Designing and Implementation of the Electronic Controller for the Filament Extrusion; Bachelor of Engineering in Computer
Engineering, Final Year Project Report Book, Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology. |
| 2011 – 2012: | Traffic Lights Management and Security Alert System; Diploma of Engineering in Computer Engineering, Final Year Project Report Book,
Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology. |
Awards, Certifications, Registration and Memberships[edit | edit source]
| April 2018 – to Date: | Steering Committee Member, Africa Open Science and Hardware (AfricaOSH) |
| November 17, 2015: | World Bank 2015 Negawatt Challenge, Smart City Expo, Barcelona - Spain
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| Dec 22, 2014: | Registered Engineering Technician (EngTech) Level II, by Tanzania Engineers Registration Board (ERB) with the Registration Number ETII.043 |
| May 14 – 16, 2013: | ICT’s and Improving Road Safety Hackathon at DTBi/COSTECH in Collaboration with ITU and TCRA.
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Teaching and Training Experience[edit | edit source]
| August – September, 2020: | Coders and Makers Tanzania, at Sahara Consulting, Dar es Salaam.
Mentor and Trainer: Design for Manufacturing, Digital Manufacturing, The Art of Pricing, Complexity vs Simplicity, Validating Compatibility, Team Building, and Consumer survey & gathering feedback. |
| November – December, 2018: | Bridge the Gap Programme, at Kumasi Hive, Kumasi, Ghana.
Mentor and Trainer: Introduction to Digital Manufacturing tools and Machines, Principles of Digital Manufacturing tools, Machines Design considerations, Resources for Building CNC Machines, Design, Building and Testing (CNC Milling Machine and 3D Printer), and Operation safety measures. |
| November 13 – 20, 2013: | LabVIEW and Robotics Workshop, at Nelson Mandela African Institute of
Science and Technology (NM-AIST), Arusha – Tanzania. Trainer: LabVIEW Programming and Techniques, Robotic Systems Designing, Programming and Configuration, NI Vision System using NI Embedded System, NI Data Acquisition Systems, and Digital and Fiber Optics Communication. |
Trainings Attended[edit | edit source]
| December 8 – 12, 2014: | 2014 Innovation Summer School in Dar Es Salaam by UNECA in Collaboration with DIT and MUHAS. |
| October 21 – 22, 2013: | Living Labs, Innovation Space and Business Incubation at Dar Es Salaam Institute of Technology – DIT. |
| May 14 – 16, 2013: | ICT’s and Improving Road Safety Hackathon at DTBi/COSTECH in Collaboration with ITU and TCRA. |
| September 10 – 17, 2011: | The essentials of working with the Youth, at Don Bosco Upanga – Dar Es Salaam. |
| October 31, 2009: | The formation of Legal Enforcement of a Contract, at Dar Es Salaam
Institute of Technology – DIT |
| April 11 – 14, 2005: | HIV/AIDS Peer Training Seminar, at Mwangaza Center – Arusha |
Consultancy Experience[edit | edit source]
| April 2020: | Shanxi Construction Engineering Corporation and Mineral Company Dar es Salaam – Tanzania, Lindi Water Scheme Automation.
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| March – May 2018: | Community Water Supply Organization – COWSO, Ngutoto Village – Kongwa District, Dodoma - Tanzania.
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| July – October 2017: | Community Water Supply Organization – COWSO, Ndaribo Village – Kongwa District, Dodoma - Tanzania.
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| September 2016: | BUNI Hub, Dar es Salaam - Tanzania.
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| 2013 – 2014: | JoVA Tech Tanzania LTD, Traffic Lights Model for Tanzania Police Force.
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| 2013 – 2014: | Amicus Tanzania LTD, the submission of Robotics Lab Equipment, for Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) – Arusha.
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Event Organizing, Planning and Management[edit | edit source]
| 2018 – 2019: | Africa Open Science and Hardware 2019 Summit, Dar es Salaam - Tanzania, Africa Open Science and Hardware (Africa OSH) Summit is a grassroots effort to bring together researchers, technologists, hacker hobbyists, educators, government officials, and start-up innovators around the world.
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Summits | Talks | Presentations | Seminars[edit | edit source]
| September 25, 2019: | Innovative Technologies to Enhance Sustainable Production and Consumption, at the 35th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts of Central Africa (ICE) in Sipopo (Malabo), Equatorial Guinea, organized by UNECA; Talk/Presentation. |
| February 23, 2019: | Global perspective on Bioethics and Biopolitics, at the BDHAX 2019, Austin Texas, United States of America; Panel: Andres Ochoa, Nina Alli, Valerian Sanga. |
| October 27, 2018: | 3D Printed Microscopes (OpenFlexure), at the 2018 Global Community Bio Summit, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, USA; Presentation. |
| July 14, 2018: | Open Source Hardware towards designing for local needs in Tanzania, at Makerspace Classroom, Cambridge - UK; Talk/Panel: Valerian Sanga, Paul Nyakyi. |
Research and Project Works[edit | edit source]
| 2020 - To Date: | Designing and Manufacturing of Solar Based Food Dispensing Machines (Vegetable Oil and Grains) for WFP Tanzania, to be used in Refugees Camps.
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| April 2017 - March 2020: | Open Lab Instrumentation (OLI), funded by The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council – UK and implemented by The University of Bath, University of Cambridge and STICLab.
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| 2018 - 2020: | Monitoring Platform & Smart Water Meters, Ndaribo Village in Kongwa, Dodoma -Tanzania, funded by LVIA.
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| 2018 - 2020: | Automation of Muheza Water Infrastructure, Muheza, Tanga – Tanzania, funded by The Government of Tanzania (TANGA-UWASA).
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| 2017 - 2019: | Enabling universal access to safe drinking water, hygiene and sustainable sanitation technologies and services for maternal, neonatal and child health improvement in rural communities Project, in Katoma Village, Geita – Tanzania, funded by The Grand Challenge Canada - GCC, and, implemented by the National Institute of Medical Research and STICLab.
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| 2016 - 2017: | WASH & LEARN Project – Ngutoto & Mtanana Villages, Dodoma – Tanzania, Funded by SIMAVI and implemented by UFUNDIKO and STICLab.
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| 2012 - To Date: | Personal/Other projects: Automated Wire Cutting and Stripping Machine, Auto feeder for fish farming, PET Filament Extruder, e-Waste 3D Printer, CNC Machine for Woodwork and Circuit Milling, Low Cost UV Exposure Unit for PCB making, Patient Management System, Air Pollution DAQ System, Aquaculture DAQ System, Surveillance Robot, Bluetooth Controlled Home Automation System, Water Vending Machine, Traffic Lights Teaching Model for Tanzania Police Force, Water Pond fountain System in Zanzibar, Automatic Irrigation System, GSM Home Security and Automation System, DTMF Home Security and Automation System, Automatic Bottle Filler, Traffic Lights Controllers, Traffic Lights Maintenance and Security Alert System, Autonomous Poultry Management System. |
Open Source Hardware Development[edit | edit source]
The Sangaboard is a motor controller for unipolar stepper motors such as the cheap 28BYJ-48 motors. The custom board (v0.3) which is based on the Atmega32u4 can be programmed as an Arduino Leonardo in the Arduino IDE. Versions 0.1 and 0.2 were based on an Arduino Nano and a couple of Darlington pair ICs. It owes quite a bit to Fergus Riche's motor board, the hardware developed by OpenScope and the Arduino-based motor controller used by a number of summer students working with Richard Bowman in Cambridge, particularly James Sharkey. It is currently the motor board used by the OpenFlexure Microscope. It was formerly known as the OpenFlexure Nano Motor Controller, with a repository on github.
The design has evolved to a newer version, sangaboard_v0.4 which works as either a Pi-Hat or a standalone board, based on the Atmega32u4 microcontroller.
Galery[edit | edit source]
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Sangaboard & Python
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Sangaboard with a 3D Printed enclosure
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sangaboard v3
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sangaboard v4
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sangaboard v1 with OFM
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Micrcoscope Demo at Shenzhen China during GOSH2018
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sangaboard v4 with motors
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