As part of the 2025 World Engineering Day Celebration, The TCC International Centre for Innovation, Manufacturing, Technology Transfer, and Entrepreneurship (TCC-CIMET) and Engineering Council, Ghana have launched its inaugural Engineering Design Competition.

The competition, themed "Circular Economy Champions: Challenging the Next Generation of West African Subregion Engineers to Turn Waste into Wealth through Design Competition," aims to challenge engineering student associations in the West African sub-region to transform waste materials into valuable products, promoting innovative thinking and sustainable practices.

Professor Francis Davis, Director-General of TCC-CIMET, highlighted the benefits for participating students.

"By participating, you will gain invaluable experience, receive mentorship from industry leaders, and develop skills that will set you apart in the competitive world of engineering," he said. "More importantly, your work will contribute to solving pressing challenges such as waste management, pollution, resource scarcity, and climate change, all while shaping the future of a sustainable Africa."

He also called on industries and interested individuals to support the initiative. "We call on industry leaders, academics, and policymakers to support these young engineers," he said. "We need the guidance and expertise of experienced professionals to mentor and collaborate with us so that we can make this happen." He also invited them to join as partners.

Ing. Isaac Bedu, Registrar of the Engineering Council, encouraged students to ensure their solutions meet national and international engineering standards. "As we celebrate innovation, we must ensure our solutions meet national and international engineering standards," he said. "The Engineering Council exists to uphold the integrity of our profession, ensuring every engineering solution deployed in Ghana is safe, reliable, and built to last."

UNESCO Representative to Ghana, Mr. Edmond Moukala, encouraged rethinking production and consumption patterns to eliminate waste and designing solutions that prioritize sustainability.

Mr. Apollonius Asare, Chief Programme Officer at Ghana Commission for UNESCO added: “The Ghana Commission for UNESCO is of the view that the challenge would compel you to collaborate and incubate ideas to recycling waste materials into new products. You are encouraged to create technologies that facilitate resource recovery, design efficient systems that promote a circular economy, and your contributions will play a crucial role in shaping the narrative of sustainability in our world.”

Speaking on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer of the Volta River Authority, Mr. Akim Tijani encouraged students to find practical solutions for Africa’s growing waste problem.

The competition is open to all Engineering Students' Associations across the West African sub-region. To be eligible, students must form groups of 5 to 7 members, with each group including at least one female participant and at least one member from a different interdisciplinary program.