UEW Students Showcase AI-Driven Solutions at TeProD Innovation Challenge
Students at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) demonstrated their innovative capacity in artificial intelligence (AI), digital technology and sustainability at the TeProD Innovation Challenge organised by researchers of the TeProD Project at the Pecku Conference Room on Monday, 31st August, 2026.
The competition brought together 17 student teams that presented technology-driven solutions to pressing societal and environmental challenges. These reflected the TeProD Project's commitment to promoting the twin transition agenda of digitalisation and sustainability.
Nkabom AgriLink was crowned the overall winner for its innovative digital agriculture platform developed by students to minimise post-harvest losses and enhance market access for smallholder farmers. The innovation combines a mobile-first marketplace with AI-powered forecasting tools that leverage historical market prices, seasonal production patterns and weather data to support farmers in making informed harvesting and marketing decisions.
The platform also enables farmers to connect with buyers, transport providers and processors before harvest, thereby reducing spoilage and improving efficiency across agricultural value chains.
The second-place award went to GreenLens, an AI-powered environmental risk prediction and alert platform developed to improve waste management and urban flood prevention. The solution enables citizens to report waste and drainage-related challenges through images which are then analysed by AI to identify risks and support municipal decision-making. By integrating weather forecasts, geolocation data and drainage conditions, the platform is designed to predict potential flood risks up to 48 hours in advance, enabling authorities to take preventive action.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Bright Ankudze, TeProD Project Coordinator, explained that the challenge was designed to encourage students to harness AI and digital technologies to develop feasible and original solutions to societal problems. He commended participants for the quality of innovations presented. He noted that students from diverse academic disciplines demonstrated a strong understanding of digital transformation and its potential for societal impact.
Dr. Ankudze revealed that the winning teams would benefit from a one-week educational trip to Finland or Slovakia, where they would engage with experts in digital innovation and AI to refine and develop their projects. He added that the finalists had been selected from approximately 60 applications, underscoring the highly competitive nature of the challenge.
Prof. Charles Kojo Assuah, a member of the TeProD Project, praised the participants for presenting practical and well-thought-out innovations capable of addressing sustainability challenges. He encouraged students to continue developing impactful solutions that minimise waste, optimise resource use and contribute to sustainable development beyond the competition.
The TeProD Innovation Challenge highlighted UEW's growing culture of innovation and reinforced the University's commitment to nurturing students who can leverage emerging technologies to address real-world challenges and contribute to sustainable development.
