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PROJECTS

The Ashesi D:Lab works with various different projects aimed at addressing the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, each led by one of the ambitious students at Ashesi University. We classify them under Portfolio Projects, meaning they belong within the D:Lab or Launchpad Projects, where they belong to the individual student lead. Take a look at the projects running in the D:Lab!

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Portfolio

Vein Finder

Project Lead 18/19: Nene Abayateye

Contact Information: nene.abayateye@ashesi.edu.gh 

Background: This project's goal is to build a device which is able to detect the location of a patient's vein so a nurse injects that exact location to make the healthcare experience in Ghana better for people whose veins are hard to find.

Year Started: 2017

 

Vertical Farming 

Project Lead 18/19: Alusiba Asobiela

Contact Information: alusiba.asobiela@ashesi.edu.gh 

Background: Instigated by the increased trend in climate change, the vertical farming model aims at overcoming harsh and challenging weather/environmental conditions to successfully grow crops in an easy and convenient way through growing crops in plastic bottles clung on ropes in less intensive care.

Year Started: 2018

 

Hydroponics

Project Lead 18/19: Major Takudzwa Kadonzvo

Contact Information: major.kadonzvo@ashesi.edu.gh 

Background: This project explores an alternative method of growing plants in the absence of soil. Plants are grown in cultured nutrient solutions under controlled conditions. This method promises to be very efficient in the growth and production of micro-greens. Micro-greens are young and very tender forms of our everyday plants. Research has shown that micro-greens have the same nutrient value as the fully developed plants, hence there has been a spike in their demand in the upscale markets. This project also incorporates the ideas of vertical farming, as the plants can be arranged in a vertical fashion that saves space. The goal is to build smart hydroponic structures using our own innovative designs that provide Eco-friendly solutions and modern smart farming systems that are interlinked for easier management and sharing of data. Research and model the optimum conditions for maximum productivity through the analysis of data using modern techniques such as machine learning and deep learning.

Year Started: 2018

 

Weather Station Project

Project Lead 18/19: Juliet Fatima Abdul-Aziz

Contact Information: juliet.aziz@ashesi.edu.gh

Background: A DIY weather station using a raspberry pi.

Year Started: 2018

 

Uber for Motorcycles 

Project Lead 18/19: Christian Bagaya

Contact Information: christian.bagaya@aucampus.onmicrosoft.com 

Background: The aim is to help users to connect with motorcycle riders in order to know where their deliveries are at all times. It also helps the dispatcher to provide more efficient delivery routes as new information comes in. The initial attempts at creating the platform was initiated after discussions between students from UMASS Boston and Ashesi University about the problem space of a proliferation of small motorbike companies dispatching 1-5 motorcycles for deliveries to a rapidly growing e-commerce industry. After initial user and systems insights were shared, the initial prototype attempt was conducted in Dr. Kenneth K Fletcher’s class at UMASS Boston on a project titled “Project 3 – Uber-like App for Motorcycle Dispatch” with his students Suarav Paudyal, Tristan Darby and Abdelrahaman Obyat. They came up with a design and requirement document and a manual that provided a step by step instruction of a user engagement. The Ashesi team, led by Christian Bagaya, continued work on it, conducting empathy research with bike riders in Accra and some users to test some of their reactions to the initial prototype in order to inform further design and implementation.

Year Started: 2017

 

 

Organic Photovoltaic Cells  

Project Lead 18/19: Mathew Ndekudugu

Contact Information: Mathew.Ndekudugu@aucampus.onmicrosoft.com 

Background: Using organic photovoltaic cells to power a device. The aim this semester is to place them on umbrellas for vendors at markets to charge their device over the day.

Year Started: 2018

 

MIT D-Lab and Ashesi D:Lab Waste Pickers Project

Project Lead 18/19: Wayne Gakuo

Contact Information: wayne.gakuo@ashesi.edu.gh

Background: We are working on a Financial Inclusion project where we seek to understand what waste pickers use as their financial management tools and the challenges they face with a goal of providing a solution that will tackle their main pain points. Provide a financial management tool that will solve the waste pickers' main problems.

Year Started: 2018

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Internet of Things (IoT) in Healthcare Systems

Project Lead 18/19: Munyaradzi Madzoma

Contact Information: munyaradzi.madzoma@aucampus.onmicrosoft.com

Background: This project is aimed at exploring basic remote data collection and transmission in healthcare systems. The test models will take student vital information and transmit to the on-campus health center and will explore non-contact capture and transmission, personal health data management and from the tests, develop models for predictive diagnosis for medium and large healthcare systems.

Year Started: 2019

Launchpad

openMedia – Project Linda

Project Lead 18/19: David Sasu

Contact Information: david.sasu@ashesi.edu.gh

Background: Electronic bed tracking system for Ghanaian hospitals.

Year Started: 2018

 

Bahari

Project Lead 18/19: Audrey S-Darko

Contact Information: audrey.s-darko@aucampus.onmicrosoft.com 

Background: Innovative design initiative to create portable, creative and fun, yet unique spaces that enable students to express themselves creatively and own their space.

Year Started: 2017

 

Converting Plastic Waste to Fuel

Project Lead 18/19: Joseph Timpabi

Contact Information: jtimpabi@ashesi.edu.gh

Background: The project is about making plastic waste a resource and using it as an input to generate alternative fuel. The waste is fed into a pyrolysis reactor and the output is condensed and distilled to get alternative fuel. The goal of the project is to reduce environmental pollution by plastic waste and to provide alternative fuel as well.

Year Started: 2018

 

Smath Project

Project Lead 18/19: Ekiyor Odoko

Contact Information: ekiyor.odoko@ashesi.edu.gh

Background: The Smath Project is an initiative that seeks to address the challenges in math that affect high school students. Hence our mission is to inspire these students, train them to identify their challenges and equip them with resources and materials that will help them overcome those challenges. To develop a desirable, feasible and viable learning model which will give high school students a better math experience. We expect this model to be applied in high schools.

Year Started: 2018

 

GamFruits

Project Lead 18/19: Wuyeh Jobe

Contact Information: wuyeh.jobe@ashesi.edu.gh

Background: GamFruits a farm that seeks to produce and sell healthy and nutritious fruits, provide practical training to primary and junior school students, provide a hub for farmers to discuss the challenges they face in their daily activities, and provide accurate, reliable and up to date information on best farming practices. The project goal is to improve food security in the Gambia.

Year Started: 2017

 

D:Lab Radio

Project Lead 18/19: Elikem Asamoah

Contact Information: elikem.asamoah@ashesi.edu.gh

Background: A radio show on campus to inform students on campus about D:Lab projects.

Year Started: 2018

 

MindIT

Project Lead 18/19: William Annoh

Contact Information: william.annoh@ashesi.edu.gh

Background: The MindME App
Many people who are diagnosed with mental illness or psychological distress can experience crises when help isn’t readily available, sometimes at night or when they live far from their healthcare provider. In such a case, they’d need some emergency psychiatric care before some definitive care is given to forestall any suicidal behavior or continued distress. The Ghana Health Service has deployed many itinerant community psychiatric nurses who perform such roles. Hence, it’d be a laudable venture to design an App which would help facilitate the provision of emergency psych care. The App should have a Help Button and the GPS embedded in it. The Help button should be linked to the persons' primary healthcare providers and other confidants (who are determined by the patient). When the Help Button is pushed, a call is automatically placed to these persons. The App would also be installed on the phones of the nurses so that they’d be able to locate the patient using the GPS. Then the nurse/confidant/healthcare provider can call or move to the person location to provide care.

“I-Mind” Chatbot
This is a social media chatbot which would have a screening tool to screen people for psychological distress and collect their details, which would be forwarded to an email address for follow up by our call center.

Year Started: 2018

 

Maji+

Project Lead 18/19: Shamuel Kulondwa

Contact Information: shamuel.kulondwa@ashesi.edu.gh 

Background: Our project aims to create a low-class affordable device that treats water from several sources. this to help people living in conflictual zones to access pure, mineral and clean water. After we launch our activities, we aim to partner with NGOs that work in the water domain in Africa so as under contracts we could be distributing our products to refugees and ensure the maintenance of the products distributed.

Year Started: 2018

 

TakeOff

Project Lead 18/19: Nii Amartei Amarteifio

Contact Information: joe.amarteifio@ashesi.edu.gh

Background: TakeOff is a project I decided to embark on, in September 2018, to design and build a life-size solo helicopter to address some pressing issues in Ghana. The inspiration for this project arose when a conversation with one of my peers made me realize the misconception that haunted young Africans; that achieving successful results depended on age, and young people can not achieve anything significant until we grow up. The misconception sparked my inspiration for this project. I believe that young people can achieve as much as, and even more than grown-ups. The goal is to motivate the youth of Ghana to take on projects without fear of failure and to disprove the misconception that successful results are dependent on age.

Year Started: 2018

 

Tuungane Cosmopolitan Garden

Project Lead 18/19: Purity Musau & Margaret Odero

Contact Information: purity.musau@ashesi.edu.gh & margaret.odero@ashesi.edu.gh

Background: Tuungane is cosmopolitan gardening which grows organic vegetables from different countries with the aim of diversifying the menu in the cafeterias. It also acts as a learning platform for students who are passionate about agriculture. The goal is to increase diversification and inclusion in the school.

Year Started: 2018

 

The Agrotourism Project

Project Lead 18/19: Kwami Justina Morris

Contact Information: kjmorris@ashesi.edu.gh 

Background: The project aims to increase youth interest in Agriculture by utilization of youth skills to improve the Agriculture sector's performance at a profit. These youths can capture value from what they do by showcasing their efforts through tours and exciting activities at a fee. 

Year Started: 2018

 

Building Student Engagement in Large Classrooms of Public Universities in Ghana - The Case of Accra Technical University (ATU).

Project Lead 18/19: Yaa Fremah Sarkodie

Contact Information: yaa.sarkodie@ashesi.edu.gh

Background: This is a project to develop actionable ways to apply liberal arts techniques to managing large class sizes of over 200 students. Large classes are especially true in public universities in Ghana and other parts of Africa. Research conducted will produce practical solutions that will solve issues facing effective teaching in large classes in public universities. Work study students from Ashesi an ATU will work together with Ashesi’s D:Lab to use Design Thinking techniques to achieve set goals and expected outcomes.

All solutions and outcomes designed and developed will be tested and adopted at ATU accounting and business administration departments. Successfully tried techniques will be proposed to other public universities to adopt.

 

This project seeks to design techniques/strategies to increase engagement in large public school classrooms by finding solutions to the questions below:
1. How do we apply aspects of the liberal arts in large classrooms in public universities?
2. How do we utilize classroom settings in public universities to enable student engagement?
3. What role can technology play in increasing engagement in large classrooms in public schools?
4. How do we use continuous assessments for increasing engagement in large classrooms in public schools?

Year Started: 2018

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Crowd Competence

Project Lead 18/19: Janis M\'imiemba

Contact Information: janis.mimiemba@ashesi.edu.gh

Background: Crowd Competence is a startup with the vision of a society where people are not defined by their gender, origin, ethnicity, physical ability, age or any other categories that constrain our contributions to society. We utilize the powerful dynamics of crowdsourcing and education to bring about inclusion everywhere in Ghana, starting with Ashesi University. Crowd Competence was pioneered by Dr. Kajsa Hallberg Adu.

Year Started: 2018

 

The Jamestown Challenge

Project Lead 18/19: Percy Brown & Princesse Ikirezi

Contact Information: percy.brown@aucampus.onmicrosoft.com & princesse.ikirezi@aucampus.onmicrosoft.com

Background: The Jamestown Challenge engages students to work with industry professionals such as MEST, Jamestown Cafe, and the Dutch Embassy to utilize design thinking to showcase and develop a walking tour prototype of Jamestown Accra. The goal is to re-imagine tourism and education in Ghana using digital and non-digital tools to help users understand the heritage of the Jamestown community. 

Year Started: 2018

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