Ashanti teens win Ghana's top science prize with AI dialysis safety system

Young innovators from Swift Academy in the Ashanti Region have claimed the top honour at Ghana's 2026 Science & Tech Explorer Prize (GSTEP), winning the grand prize for an artificial intelligence system designed to make dialysis treatment safer for patients across the country.

The NextGen Coders team's winning solution addresses a critical gap in medical safety. Their prototype combines an intelligent monitoring dashboard with integrated sensors that automatically detect life-threatening risks during dialysis, including blood leaks and air bubbles. When danger is detected, the system immediately halts treatment and triggers an alarm, giving medical staff crucial seconds to respond and potentially preventing serious patient harm.

The innovation was unveiled at the prestigious exhibition and awards ceremony held at the Cedi Conference Centre at the University of Ghana, Legon, where it impressed judges among competing projects from schools across the country. Innovepoch from Ashiaman Number 4 Junior High School finished as first runner-up, whilst Science Whizzes secured the second runner-up position.

Recognition from education leadership

The achievement was celebrated by prominent government figures, including Mrs. Olivia Opare, Director of the Science Resource Centre, and Deputy Minister for Education Dr. Clement Apaak. Both commended the students for demonstrating exceptional creativity, problem-solving ability, and commitment to using science and technology to address genuine challenges facing Ghanaian society.

This recognition underscores the government's push to embed innovation and entrepreneurship thinking into secondary education, moving beyond theoretical learning towards practical solutions that tackle real problems in healthcare, agriculture, water management, and other sectors.

Why it matters for Ghana

Ghana's healthcare system faces persistent equipment challenges and resource constraints, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas. Projects like NextGen Coders' dialysis monitoring system demonstrate how young Ghanaian minds can develop affordable, locally-relevant technological solutions without necessarily depending on expensive imported equipment.

The GSTEP initiative itself is significant for Ghana's innovation ecosystem. Funded by Fondation Botnar and implemented by a consortium including DreamOval Foundation, Partnership Bureau, Shulem Lake, and the Practical Education Network in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service, the platform provides a structured pathway for secondary school students to transform classroom learning into entrepreneurial ventures.

Such programmes are critical for developing Ghana's future workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields—sectors where the country faces skills shortages and where innovation can drive economic growth.

Building Ghana's innovation culture

The 2026 GSTEP exhibition highlighted the breadth of talent among Ghana's youth. Beyond the winning dialysis system, participating teams addressed diverse challenges, suggesting students are thinking critically about problems in their communities rather than pursuing disconnected technology projects.

The event attracted backing from major corporations including Anglogold Ashanti, Stanbic Bank, and Joy Prime of The Multimedia Group Limited, indicating that Ghana's private sector recognises the value of nurturing young innovators and sees sponsoring such platforms as strategic investment.

As Ghana aims to position itself as a technology hub within West Africa, platforms like GSTEP serve a dual purpose: they identify and motivate talented young people early in their educational journey, and they create a visible pipeline of local solutions to problems that government and industry stakeholders can eventually scale and commercialise.