Archives

  • SEED Journal Issue 4
    Vol. 2 No. 2 (2024)

    In 2024, people from different fields worked hard to solve tough problems and create amazing new ideas. We’re excited to share with you the latest SEED Journal Issue! This year has been full of activity, but we’re pausing to celebrate some of the best projects and achievements. In this issue, you’ll find exciting work in electronics, materials science, and renewable energy. Some of the highlights include designing a modern kente weaving machine and building an Electric Vehicle with solar power and regenerative braking—great steps toward a greener future. We also bring you inspiring stories through interviews with student innovators and researchers from Ashesi University and beyond, highlighting their talent, creativity, and groundbreaking ideas. These stories show the power of hard work, collaboration, and vision in shaping the future.

    This edition is filled with simple but powerful stories of innovation and creativity. We hope it inspires you as much as it inspired us. Enjoy!

    My favourite words are possibilities, opportunities and curiosity. I think if you are curious, you create opportunities, and then if you open the doors, you create possibilities. ~Mario Testino

    - Mohammed Elmir (Editor in Chief).

  • SEED Journal Special Issue 3
    Vol. 2 No. 1 (2023)

    I am beyond thrilled to have been appointed the new Editor-in-Chief for the Ashesi SEED Journal. After attentively following the release of the first 2 amazing issues, I have been motivated to carry on this honorable task of providing a medium for researchers and inventors, to showcase their ground-breaking work. It’s true what they say, “The days are long…but the years are short.” During each long day of 2022, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and designers, were faced with challenges, and they decided to rise above them by finding commendable solutions to their problems. My team and I are honored to present to you (drumroll please)…The 3rd SEED Journal Issue! The year 2022 did come quickly, but we are slowing down the clock to appreciate the special innovations that have taken place. This features a profile of two of the inaugural Ashesi Capstone Award winners, the Ashesi International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) team’s successful trip to Paris – and their stellar performance amongst reputable schools such as: Cornell, Harvard, and Yale. We will also provide you with some personal interviews from world-class entrepreneurs and innovators, from Ashesi University and the University of Ghana. The scientific articles – centered on biomedical engineering, IoT, and more – is certainly the icing on the cake. Enjoy it cherished readers!

    This issue promises to be exciting, informative, and remarkable.

    “Even if the days appear long…I believe that anything worthwhile takes time…and when the time comes, and you have remained true to yourself, it will be a satisfying end.”

    -Michael A. Boateng (Editor in Chief). 

     

     

     

  • SEED Issue 2 SEED Journal Issue 2
    Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021)

    In 2017 I co-led a workshop in Synthetic Biology for junior high school students in Berekuso, Ghana. The workshop’s objective was to introduce these young minds to the intriguing applications of Synthetic Biology in making the world a better place. The workshop included a discussion on DNA and a brief DNA extraction demonstration — we took them through a practical process of extracting DNA from a banana. It was amazing to experience these students’ euphoria who may not have entirely understood the information they were exposed to but were yet grateful for the novel exposure. Synthetic Biology is a budding field of study in the African context. You can imagine how difficult it was to communicate such concepts in a relatable scenario to children in a remote area with no exposure to information about genetics. In hindsight, I believe the workshop was a step in the right direction to start conversations about biological engineering at Ashesi, especially with the introduction of an allied course. In this issue, we have two exciting research papers on Synthetic Biology from students who participated in the Synthetic Biology course at Ashesi University last year. As we battle these trying pandemic times, we hope this issue will incite research interests in engineering and science-related topics like vaccine production, renewable energy development, and many others. 

    “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” - Maya Angelou.

    -Miquilina Anagbah (Editor in Chief).

     

  • SEED Issue 1 SEED Journal Issue 1
    Vol. 1 No. 1 (2020)

    It is with pleasure that I present to you the first issue of SEED journal volume 1; seeing that it has transitioned from being an idea to reality. A report from Elsevier in 2018 showed that Africa generates less than 1% of the world’s research. The African research potential is almost lost in the world’s pool of knowledge due to the absence of information analytics and storage tools for personal and public usage. We believe Ashesi University can maximize thrilling research potential through the recognition for research outputs from class projects, individual projects and competitions. The Ashesi SEED Journal was set up to serve as a repository for insightful information on Science, Engineering, Entrepreneurship and Design for the Ashesi community and the world. We believe our inaugural issue is the best way to begin the year by engaging in something new – as small as a SEED. We present to you a foretaste of mind-blowing research, editorial pieces and news from pioneering contributors of the student populace. I hope you will be informed by these and inspired to contribute your quota in getting the world educated as well. Just like the opening proverb, a little publication of research work in the SEED each time, will fill the sacs of innovation and development in Africa, to overflowing.

    A little rain each day will fill the rivers to overflowing. ~African Proverb from Madagascar.

    - Miquilina Anagbah (Editor in Chief).