Embedded Systems | TinyML | IoT

Abubakar Zubair.

Final-year Electrical Engineer building intelligent embedded systems for human welfare, food security, and health innovation — from offline hospital assistants to TinyML-powered grain protectors.

ESP32 & Raspberry Pi TinyML / Edge AI PCB Design IoT Architecture MTN Foundation Scholar Hult Prize - 1st Runner-Up

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Engineer by training.
Problem-solver by calling.

I am a final-year B.Eng. Electrical Engineering student at Bayero University Kano, Nigeria - graduating July 2026 with a CGPA of 4.27/5.00 (4.89 in my penultimate semester). I build embedded systems that sit at the edge of computation: low-power, offline-capable, and deeply context-aware.

My work spans offline voice-controlled assistive devices for hospital patients, acoustic TinyML systems that guard grain silos from insect infestation, and industrial PCB designs bridging WiFi and CAN-Bus protocols. I am an MTN Foundation Scholar and Hult Prize First Runner-Up.

I am currently applying for MSc and Direct-PhD programmes in Electrical Engineering / Embedded Systems, seeking to deepen my research at the intersection of edge AI and humanitarian technology.

01
Edge Intelligence & Efficient TinyML Deploying ML inference on resource-constrained embedded hardware — enabling real-time intelligent decision-making without cloud dependency.
02
Intelligent Sensing for Food Security Low-cost acoustic and multi-modal embedded sensing to prevent post-harvest crop losses and support food system resilience in low-income agricultural settings.
03
Embedded Intelligence for Health & Bio-Innovation Designing smart, offline-first assistive embedded devices for patients and underserved communities in healthcare settings with limited infrastructure.
04
Offline-Capable IoT Architectures Architecting self-contained IoT systems integrating wireless sensing, local data processing, and edge communication protocols for low-connectivity environments.
05
Real-Time Systems for Safety-Critical Applications Real-time embedded system design — including sensor fusion, embedded networking, and deterministic firmware — for health monitoring, industrial control, and assistive tech.

Selected Projects

SiloGard
Active Under Review

SiloGard

Acoustic TinyML device detecting insect infestation and environmental anomalies in grain silos using an INMP441 MEMS microphone and Edge Impulse classification. Won First Runner-Up at Hult Prize BUK 2025.

ESP32 TinyML Edge Impulse MEMS Mic IoT
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FYP i2M Nominee

Offline Voice Assistant for Hospitals

Fully offline voice-controlled IoT device for hospital patients. ESP32 with on-device NLP, SIM800 GSM for emergency SMS dispatch, and a companion mobile app for caregivers. Nominated for 2M i2M commercialisation funding.

ESP32 SIM800 GSM Embedded C++ NLP Mobile App
WiFi CAN Adapter
Complete

Industrial WiFi-to-CAN-Bus Adapter

Custom industrial-grade PCB in KiCad bridging wireless connectivity with CAN-Bus protocols. Designed with signal integrity and noise immunity for "Made in Nigeria" manufacturing readiness.

KiCad CAN-Bus ESP32 PCB Design Signal Integrity
Digital Diya
Complete

The Digital Diya

Custom PCB layout for an ornamental smart lighting device, covering full schematic capture, component placement, and routing in KiCad.

KiCad ESP32 PCB Design Smart Lighting

Teaching & Mentorship

Mentoring at GESEL
Bootcamp Instructor SIWES Mentor Freelance Tutor Peer Tutor

Teaching and knowledge transfer have been a consistent thread throughout my engineering journey — from leading peer study groups in my first year, to formally mentoring industry interns, to designing and delivering a two-day Embedded Systems Bootcamp from scratch.

2026
Embedded Systems Bootcamp — Instructor & Organiser

Independently designed and delivered a two-day bootcamp under NIEEE-BUK, taking complete beginners from hardware fundamentals to simulating their first microcontroller project.

2025
SIWES Intern Mentor — GESEL Engineering Services

Mentored the incoming SIWES 1 cohort in embedded systems, electronics hardware repair, and DC motor control. Designed lab exercises and assessed intern progress throughout.

2025
Freelance Engineering Tutor

Provided one-on-one and small-group tuition in core Electrical Engineering subjects to students at private universities across Nigeria.

2020–23
Peer Tutor & Study Group Leader — BUK

Voluntarily tutored classmates in challenging core courses, consistently praised for clarity and depth of explanation.

Awards & Scholarships

2023-26

MTN Foundation Scholar

Awarded for academic excellence. Renewed all three cycles (2023, 2024, 2025) based on sustained performance - one of Nigeria's most competitive undergraduate scholarships.

Scholarship
2025

First Runner-Up - Hult Prize (BUK Branch)

SiloGard awarded First Runner-Up at the institutional round. Nominated for the Nigerian national phase.

Competition
2025

Innovation to Market (i2M) - Nominee

Offline Voice Assistant for Hospitals selected for the i2M Programme, with funding consideration of up to NGN 2,000,000 for patent development and commercialisation.

Innovation
2020

Best Student - Department of Electrical Engineering

Recognised as the best student in the Department for the 2019/2020 academic session.

Academic

Publications

Under Review

SiloGuard: A Low-Cost TinyML-Enabled Solar Granary for Post-Harvest Loss Prevention in Nigeria

Manuscript currently under review - Nestec Journal | 2026

In Preparation

Offline Voice-Controlled Home Assistant

Manuscript in preparation - submission pending final year defence | 2026

Skills

Programming Languages

C C++ Embedded C Python MATLAB HTML CSS JavaScript PHP

Hardware Platforms

ESP32 / ESP32-C3 Arduino Uno/Nano Raspberry Pi STM32 SIM800 GSM DRV8833 INMP441 MEMS

Embedded & IoT Tools

Arduino IDE KiCad Proteus MATLAB/Simulink Edge Impulse STM32CubeIDE Git / GitHub n8n Airtable

Productivity & Design Tools

Microsoft Office Google Workspace SPSS Figma Canva

Analytical Skills

Systems Architecture Root Cause Analysis Data Interpretation Hardware Validation Technical Writing Research Methodology

Domains

Embedded Systems TinyML / Edge AI IoT Architecture PCB Design Motor Control Power Electronics Wireless Systems Web Automation

Let's work together.

I am actively seeking MSc and Direct-PhD opportunities in Embedded Systems and Edge AI. If you are a supervisor, admissions contact, or collaborator, I would love to hear from you.

Send an Email