Icam
26 Oct 2026
Emile Mufungizi Bulibirha, Mathias Kashala and René Mitima are engineering students at the ULC-Icam Faculty of Engineering in Kinshasa (DRC), currently on mobility at Icam’s Lille campus as part of the International Bachelor programme (B2). In early October, they stood out at the 2026 Engineering of the Future Award. Their project, ANI – Assistant Neuron Intelligent, won the Jury’s Coup de Cœur Prize.
Our Icam students’ goal: putting engineering at the service of health and society
Organised since 2006 by Syntec-Ingénierie in partnership with several French ministries and OPCO Atlas, the Engineering of the Future Award invites engineering students to look ahead to 2050. Their task is to imagine responses to tomorrow’s major challenges, such as sustainable cities, smart mobility, low-carbon industry and connected healthcare. The theme of the 2026 edition was “Horizon 2050 – Let’s design tomorrow’s world”. From the outset, Emile Mufungizi Bulibirha, Mathias Kashala and René Mitima set out their ambition: to put innovation and engineering at the service of health and society through a medical robot project.
The ANI project, a robot assistant for healthcare workers in times of crisis
The three engineering students entered the Engineering of the Future Award with their project ANI – Assistant Neuron Intelligent: a mini-robot designed to assist healthcare professionals in tracking and monitoring patients when services are overwhelmed, particularly during pandemics or health crises. Selected among the national finalists, the team presented its project at the final in Paris on 1 October. The project won over the jury with its technical rigour, boldness and commitment. This Coup de Cœur Prize reflects the excellence of Icam’s training and the ability of our future engineers to build a more humane and sustainable world. It is a great achievement that showcases the Icam network.
👏 Congratulations to the three winners, and to the teams who supported them!
Photo credit: Syntec-Ingénierie
