Organisers of the Ghana Science and Tech Explorer Challenge Prize have inducted 50 junior high school teams into the final phase of the competition.

This is part of efforts to deepen science and technology amongst pupils at the basic level,

At an event in Accra, the qualified teams were taken through a series of training sessions to prepare them for the grand event.

The competition was open to all JHS schools, with a focus on public schools to provide students with the chance to discover their talents and skills, raise the standard of education and provide access to those who might not otherwise have it.

In order to advance to the final challenge, which would span for seven weeks, the 50 finalist teams – comprising 25 each from Accra and Kumasi - had to identify a problem in their community then build and present a STEM solution prototype for the problem.

The induction was a training programme where students were split into groups of four and interchanged at periodic intervals.

Each group had a mentor who put them through some workshops to get them ready for the challenge.

The group workshops included drone flying led by Ghana Flying Labs, entrepreneurship led by mentors with specialty in different skills, STEM-based education and team-building sessions.

Following the induction, students will participate in a number of activities, including visits to organisations, mentoring sessions with finalists and their mentors, coaching from technical STEM professionals who will help them in the development of their prototypes.

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Speaking at the event, the Director of Science Education at the Ghana Education Service, Olivia Serwaa Opare, stressed the need for science education in the country and urged participants to give off their best.

MoU to promote STEM

The DreamOval Foundation, in May this year, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Education for the development and promotion of practical learning and STEM education across two regions, Greater Accra and Ashanti.

The GSTEP programme seeks to achieve the ambitious goal of impacting the lives of these young people over three years to maximise their socio-economic development, prospects and opportunities for the future. 

It seeks to support the development of entrepreneurial products and skills to solve community challenges.

GSTEP consists of a series of challenge prize competitions, where students will be encouraged to develop new business ideas in teams, with support from schools and teachers and will also provide training, coaching, mentorship and resources to support the students.

The Ghana Science and Tech Explorer Prize is run by a consortium led by DreamOval Foundation.

The other organisations are Nesta based in the UK, MEST Africa, Foundervine, and Dext Technology. These organisations are working collaboratively to support the initiative.

It is supported by the Multimedia Group, Fidelity Bank, Stanbic Bank and the Graphic Communications Group.