DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRONIC LOGBOOK FOR STUDENTS INDUSTRIAL WORK EXPERIENCE TRAINING (S.I.W.E.S)

This project centers on the development of an electronic logbook system designed to modernize the Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) in Nigeria. The traditional paper-based logbook system presents several inefficiencies, including the risk of lost or damaged records, delayed supervision, and difficulties in assessment and record retrieval. While electronic logbooks have been implemented in other fields and some digital tools exist for education, a system tailored to the specific needs of SIWES is necessary to improve the process. The project addresses the inefficiencies of the current paper-based SIWES logbook system, which is susceptible to loss, delays in supervision, and limited accessibility. These issues hinder effective monitoring and evaluation. Developing a digital solution is important to provide real-time tracking, secure data storage, and streamlined communication between students, institutions, and ITF officials, ultimately enhancing the program's efficiency and transparency. A Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) framework guided the conceptualization and design of the electronic logbook system. The system was developed as a full-stack web application using JavaScript (Node.js, Express), EJS, CSS, and MongoDB. It incorporates role-based access for students, institutions, and ITF officials and includes features for student log entry, institutional validation, and ITF oversight, with a key function for institution sign-up and ITF approval. The developed system successfully implemented the core functionalities, including institution sign-up and ITF approval, student log entry, institutional review, and ITF verification. Testing within a local environment demonstrated the system's potential to address the limitations of the traditional logbook system by providing a more accessible, efficient, and secure platform for managing SIWES activities and documentation.