Over two days, Koforidua Technical University (KTU) hosted a significant workshop in collaboration with the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

The workshop focused on sustainable innovations and brought together experts from various esteemed institutions.

Key Participants:

• Kolawole Olonade from the University of Lagos , Nigeria
• Joseph Mwiti from Meru University of Science and Technology (MUST), Kenya.
• Nimot Muili, MSc, FNSE, PMP from Arup, Nigeria
• Kweku maichael Commeh from TCC, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
• Dr. Wolfram Schmidt, Senior Researcher at Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und – prüfung, Germany

During the workshop, we reconnected with Prof.-Ing. Richard Arthur, a past winner of the German African Innovation Award (GAIIA), which I also received with Kolawole Olonade in 2018 for our research on sustainable materials from cassava peel ashes. Prof. Arthur’s work focuses on water hyacinth.

Workshop Highlights:

We identified synergies between our projects, discovering that both cassava peels and water hyacinth can be transformed into bio-based materials for clean concrete. With GIZ’s support, we installed a new facility at KTU and initiated the first clean pyrolysis run for water hyacinth, led by Dr. Anim Ofosu (Civil Engineering, KTU) and Dr. Bright Asante, Ph.D ( BAM).

This workshop demonstrated the importance of scientific networking and collaboration in advancing sustainable solutions. KTU remains committed to innovation and sustainability, leveraging partnerships and academic dedication to address environmental challenges. We thank all participants and supporters for their contributions to this successful workshop.