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ISTS - Neukom Interns Spend Summer in Africa - George Boateng '16

George Boateng '16

George Boateng '16 received a grant from ISTS and the Neukom Institute as well as Thayer School of Engineering to run a four-week innovation program, Project iSWEST 2014, in Ghana. The program was partly inspired by George's ENGS 21 class in which he worked with a team through the design and innovation process, from identifying a problem, developing a solution and iterating over several prototypes, to developing a business model for the product and presenting it. Project iSWEST (Innovating Solutions with Engineering, Science & Technology) is a summer program in Ghana to get high school students solving problems by inspiring them to be creative, equipping them with the requisite tools, soft and hard - basic science, engineering and technology (SET) - skills, while coaching them to develop innovative solutions to problems in their communities.The program was run by "Team Nsesa", a highly motivated group of young Ghanaians from different disciplines effecting change in Ghana by promoting a culture of innovation and problem solving (Nsesa means change in Akan).

Team Nsesa

This summer's program ran from August 12th to September 6th and took place at Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School (PRESEC, Legon). The theme for the program was "The Next Generation of Ghanaian Entrepreneurial Innovators" and the program consisted of a 2-week workshop phase, 2-week innovation phase and "The Pitch Day".

Workshop Phase

In the first part of the program, Workshop Phase, students were taught the innovation process and then given basic and hands-on training in Electronics, Robotics, Computer Programming, and Microcontroller (Arduino) over a two-week period. Students worked in teams on various small projects and had the opportunity to listen to inspiring stories from the members of Team Nsesa.

Innovation Phase

In the second part of the program, Innovation Phase, three teams of students received funds and were tasked to develop innovative and cost efficient solutions to problems they have identified in the community over a two-week period using provided resources, locally available materials and the skills they obtained from the workshop.

Brainstorming Session

Members of Team Nsesa supported and consulted with project groups in the process using project management tools like Slack, Instagantt and Asana. Also, during this phase, the team was invited to a radio interview where they talked about the program and how it relates to their vision for Ghana.

The Pitch Day

The climax of the summer program was the final day dubbed "The Pitch Day" where students presented their developed solutions along with their business plans to a panel of judges and the general public. The two judges were Professor Ayorkor Korsah, a Dartmouth alumnus (D'01 Th'03) who is an assistant professor in Computer Science at Ashesi University and Mr. Dela Kumahor, University of Pennsylvania alumnus, who is a Design and Innovation consultant and a lecturer at Ashesi University, where he has taught Design, Human-Computer Interaction and e-Commerce. The three teams were assessed on the social impact, technical feasibility and business viability of their projects:

• MUGEN worked on a device to make the cleaning of window nets, louver frames and glass windows easier and more comfortable. The device works by using a vacuum to suck dust as it is passed over louver blades.
• SWEPP Innovations worked on a device to tackle the problem of post harvest losses of vegetables due to poor storage systems. The device uses evaporative cooling to create a cool internal temperature within which vegetables are stored and their shelf life prolonged.
• Innovation Republic worked on a device to tackle the problem of medical adherence in Ghana; i.e., people not taking their medications. The device works like an alarm to remind patients to take their medications, keeps track of whether the patients have taken their medications and makes the information available to a doctor.

Brainstorming Session

Team MUGEN won and was presented with a cash prize. Both guests and judges were impressed with the projects and presentations of the students and congratulated them for their efforts.

Feedback

Through various interviews and reflection assignments the students conveyed that they have been inspired to solve problems and become change agents in their communities. They stated that the program well surpassed their expectations and in fact, some of the students expressed a desire to help keep the program running in the future which overjoyed and inspired Team Nsesa.

Challenges

The program was not without challenges. Team Nsesa had hoped to have 20 students, with half of them girls, while only 13 boys and two girls participated. There were days of power outages that rendered teaching some lessons impossible. Cases of food poisoning from the lunch provided at the program affected more than half of participants and facilitators. As a result, some facilitators couldn't show up on certain days or teach effectively and as a result they were unable get through their entire syllabus.

Social Impact

Innovation Republic

In spite of all the challenges and struggles, the participating students still pursued arduously to achieve the goal at hand, inspiring George with their zeal and passion and giving him hope about Ghana's future and that of Africa at large. They worked deep into the night and sometimes slept in the lab to finish their projects in time for the Pitch Day. George points out that these students did in two weeks with limited resources and a team budget of GHS 200 (about $ 60) what Dartmouth Engineering students do in six weeks having access to state-of-the-art resources like 3D printers, laser cutters, mills, lathes etc. and a team budget of $500! One of George's personal goals was to get Ghanaian high school students to realize that they are as capable as anyone in any part of the world at developing innovative solutions to problems even amidst all the resource constraints. In a reflection essay on the program, one participant concluded:

"All in all I will say I have been inspired to innovate to make an impact and I am very grateful to the Nsesa Foundation and I am grateful to have been part of a team of history making through Innovating Solutions with Science, Engineering and Technology."

Post Project

iSWEST Team Nsesa will be launching their incubator program, iSWEST Cube, to assist the students with redesigning the current prototypes, further developing them and then creating start-ups to get the products into the market, thereby solving the problems they identified. George's mentor, Dr. Benjamin Ayikwei has pledged to support the casing and packaging of these devices through his fiberglass technology company.

In addition, Team Nsesa has established the iSWEST Club & Lab at Presbyterian Boys Senior High School so that students can continue building upon the skills learned during the summer program and developing solutions to problems in their school communities. They hope to prepare students for participation in global innovation competitions like Google Science Fairs. iSWEST students have already formed a group and recruited other students to continue using the innovation process they learned in order to solve problems in their high school community.

Pitch Day

Planning for Project iSWEST 2015 has already begun. Team Nsesa has incorporated a non-profit in Ghana, the Nsesa Foundation, to sustain their programs such as Project iSWEST, iSWEST Cube, and iSWEST Lab and Club. The Nsesa Foundation plan to set up more iSWEST Teams and iSWEST labs in high schools and oversee the activities of the teams as well as give funding for their projects. The Nsesa Foundation will potentially partner with local governments, private companies and also the national government to obtain continuous support financially, logistically and in terms of policies.

Long Term Vision

Team Nsesa's vision is to create an "Innovation Revolution" in Ghana, a state in which the youth across the length and breadth of the country are developing innovative solutions to problems in their communities using Science, Engineering & Technology (SET). At the core of Project iSWEST is the desire to inspire the youth of Ghana to believe that they have the capacity to be innovative as well as to empower them to develop solutions to the problems within their communities. Their motto is "Inspire! Innovate! Impact!"

Personal Development

Through his experience with Project iSWEST, George feels he has achieved more in this two-month period than any other two-month period in his life. Among the many skills he acquired as an entrepreneur founding an organization and leading a 5-member team to launch and successfully running a paradigm-shifting program, George realized a love of teaching. He is excited about the passion of his students; they renew his hope in Ghana and the African continent at large as a place to build a community of innovators and world changers.