University and senior high school students from across Ghana gathered at Academic City University College on March 21 to present technology-driven solutions to the country’s illegal mining crisis, with water purification systems and land restoration devices among the innovations on display.
The 5th edition of the annual ACity Tech Expo, now a flagship event of the Academic City Robotics Club, tasked participants with designing feasible, practical, and sustainable projects under the theme “Innovating to Reverse the Effects of Galamsey and Restore the Earth.”
The expo, organised in partnership with environmental conservation group A Rocha Ghana, Asante Gold Corporation, and education technology firm STEMAIDE, drew competitors from six universities and eight senior high schools, including Achimota School, Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School Legon, and Methodist Girls High School.
Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU) claimed the top prizes. Team Terra Sense, which developed a smart underground detection device capable of sensing vibrations from vehicles, heavy machinery, and human movement, emerged overall winners, while Team Rhizopure secured first runner-up position.
A panel discussion ran alongside the project exhibitions, bringing together Ing. Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, alongside environmental and sustainability professionals from A Rocha Ghana, STEMAIDE, and private sector firms.
Prof. Elsie Akosua Effah Kaufmann, Dean of the School of Engineering Sciences at the University of Ghana, encouraged students to match ambition with action, urging the organisers to move beyond showcasing ideas and provide resources to support actual implementation.
Ezekiel Kpodo, President of the Academic City Robotics Club, said the event was designed to give students a direct stake in addressing one of Ghana’s most damaging environmental problems. He expressed confidence that authorities could draw on the solutions presented to inform practical responses to the destruction caused by illegal mining.
Galamsey has contaminated major river bodies, stripped topsoil, and destroyed farmland across several regions of Ghana, with scientists warning that unabated activity could force the country to import water within this decade.
