Power Electronics
The power electronics course should enable engineering students to develop a critical understanding of the structures and technologies of industrial power electronic converters, to analyze circuits that clarify the function of a power switch operating within a power and control environment (switching element or cell), and to study the different conversion structures: AC/DC, DC/DC, and DC/AC.
Electronic Circuits
Electronic Circuits introduces the fundamentals of electrical engineering. Topics covered include: Circuit variables, circuit elements, simple resistive circuits, techniques of circuit analysis, operational amplifiers, inductors and capacitors, mutual inductance, response of RL and RC circuits, response of RLC circuits, sinusoidal steady-state analysis, transformers. Homeworks and Lab exercises are also significant components of the course.
Foundations of Engineering
This course introduces programmable logic controller (PLC) technology and industrial control devices used in automation. The focus is on PLC hardware configuration and programming methods using basic logic functions. Students are introduced to the topics needed to develop a good understanding of the basic principles of Automation Engineering. This introductory course covers a wide variety of topics such as performance of sensors, actuators, motors and drives, PLC’s and HMI, environmental controls.
Domestic electrical installations
The course on domestic electrical installations should enable engineering students to design a domestic electrical installation, to understand the electrical diagrams of such an installation, to recommend modifications to existing installations, to supervise these modifications, to design preventive maintenance procedures for electrical installations, and to carry out commissioning.
Industrial electrical installations
The course on industrial electrical installations should enable engineering students to build on the knowledge acquired in the course on domestic electrical installations, to plan an industrial electrical installation, to understand the electrical diagrams of such an installation, to recommend modifications to existing installations, to supervise these modifications, to design preventive maintenance procedures for electrical installations, and to carry out commissioning.
Solar Panel Recycling Unit for Sustainable Waste Management in Senegal
The accelerated deployment of photovoltaic (PV) systems in Senegal, in line with national electrification goals and the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), is generating a growing volume of end-of-life solar equipment, particularly PV panels. In response, this project proposes a pilot unit for the recycling of solar panels, aligned with the recommendations of the national study led by ANER and Enabel in 2024–2025. Initiated and led by the École Polytechnique de Thiès (EPT), the project aims to serve as a model for circular economy innovation, enabling the recovery of valuable materials (glass, aluminum, silicon, and metals), supporting job creation, and contributing to national waste management strategies. It will also respond to the need for operationalizing a solar waste management framework and anticipating the projected 22,000 tons of PV waste by 2040.
Demonstrator of the Ecological and Digital Building at EPT: A Sustainable and Replicable Model to Eliminate Temporary Shelters in Schools in Senegal.
The experimental building made of Compressed Earth Blocks (CEB), located on the campus of the École Polytechnique de Thiès (EPT), recently modeled as a digital mock-up (BIM), thermally insulated with Typha, and equipped with instrumentation, constitutes a concrete and operational example of an ecological and smart building.
The Demonstrator of the Ecological and Digital Building (EDB) at EPT aims to develop and promote a model of ecological, smart, low-carbon, and replicable building, relying on local resources, digital technologies, and renewable energies, to serve as a reference for the rehabilitation of precarious school infrastructures in Senegal.
EPT Solar Academy
The Solar Academy is based at the École Polytechnique de Thiès (EPT) within the framework of the STAR-C project, funded by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and supported by UNIDO as well as the French government. Its mission is to train and certify experts in photovoltaic and solar thermal energy in order to address Senegal’s growing energy challenges and to support the energy transition in West Africa. The Academy aims to strengthen local expertise in the solar energy sector while promoting the development of sustainable energy solutions. It will play a key role in the growth of the solar industry in Africa by training highly qualified professionals capable of actively contributing to the continent’s sustainability and development ambitions.
YarTech: Smart Chicken Poultry Farm
Industrial Internet of Things – IIoT – is being more and more applied to every production field as technology evolves. Poultry farms take advantage of that trend to increase productivity and ease day-to-day management. Chicken meat production is economically feasible if environmental parameters are monitored and controlled in order to lower mortality. This project presents a remote monitoring solution applied to chicken poultry farm. Temperature, humidity and ammonia rate are obtained with DHT22 and MQ137 sensors. The main hardware component is a custom-designed PCB where Arduino nano IoT 33 microcontroller is embedded to collect and send data to the cloud. AWS cloud services, CDAP pipeline and PostgreSQL database are then used to store, process and display relevant data on a dashboard.
Dr. Ibrahima KA’s research focuses on the integration of renewable energy, power electronics, and smart instrumentation to support Africa’s energy transition. His work spans the design and optimization of photovoltaic systems, electrothermal modeling of power semiconductor devices, and sensor-based monitoring for energy systems and air quality. He also explores green hydrogen production, circular economy solutions such as fuel generation from plastic waste, and the deployment of e-mobility infrastructures including solar-powered charging stations for electric vehicles in West Africa.
Research Interests
Power Electronics & Semiconductor Reliability – real-time thermal monitoring, electrothermal modeling, and reliability of power devices.
Renewable Energy Systems – solar PV design, optimization, hybrid off-grid systems, and smart panel monitoring/cleaning.
Green Hydrogen – renewable-based hydrogen production and integration into African energy systems.
Sensors & IoT – smart, low-cost instrumentation for energy and environmental monitoring.
E-Mobility – solar-powered EV charging stations, transport electrification strategies, and mobility-energy integration.
Circular Economy – energy recovery solutions, including conversion of plastic waste into fuel.
