Students
at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) are being
exposed to the business of engineering through their involvement in the ‘Makers
Faire 2.0’ competition.
The
initiative offers a platform for students to exhibit their engineering
creativity and ingenuity in solving industrial and environmental problems in
society.
Project
Founder, George Appiah says the key objective is to encourage innovative teams
in design process, technology development and establishment of ventures for job
creation.
“Most
of these students have wonderful ideas that can be scaled up for businesses,”
he noted. “In this programme, there is a part in which they are sent through
entrepreneurship and business development, in which they are also required to
draw a business plan for their project.”
The
competition, which started in 2013, is organized by the Ghana Engineering
Students Association with the support of the College of Engineering, KNUST.
Selected
projects in the current competition attempts to solve some problems faced by
the country – including a smart thrash bin to separate and recycle waste
products; a smoke detection gadget to fight fire outbreaks in markets; and a
portable biogas system that transforms waste into energy.
“What
the students intend doing is to turn the challenges into prototypes,” explained
Dr. George Obeng, Director of the
Technology Consultancy Centre (TCC), KNUST.
According
to him, the best prototypes would be turned into products of commercial value
with the support of the TCC and other partners.
“These
products can turn into ventures or enterprises to create jobs in our society,”
said Dr. Obeng.
An
exhibition of the projects is scheduled for next month.
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