Ten Ghanaian ST&I journalists have successfully completed an intensive Science, Technology & Innovation (ST&I) Communication training program at Imperial College London, one of the world’s leading universities where ideas are turned into new ventures and groundbreaking science researches are conducted. The program, fully funded by the British High Commission in Accra, is part of the UK-Ghana ST&I Strategy implementation launched in 2023. It is to enhance the Ghanaian media’s ability to translate complex scientific developments into accessible and engaging stories.
The selected journalists, emerged winners after a week training on Science Communication in a highly competitive pitch competition held in Accra and were awarded the opportunity to travel to the UK for a further hands-on training at Imperial College’s state-of-the-art research facilities.
The training program was organised by the British High Commission in collaboration with the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Lab (RAIL) at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the Ministry of Environment, Science, and Technology (MEST).
GBC’s Mavis Offei Acheampong and Michael Dewornu were among the selected journalists to visit Imperial College London and had opportunity of meeting Science Communication Experts and Researchers including Prof. Majid Ezzati, Prof. of Global Environmental Health and Academic Director at Imperial Global Ghana for an insight into some of the research works being undertaken by Imperial College London under the Climate Change Resilient Equitable Healthy Cities in Africa (CREHCA) in the area of Air quality and pollution in (Nima, James Town) Ghana as well as the works of Imperial Global Ghana, a regional hub launched in November 2024 to strengthen research, education, and innovation collaborations across West Africa.
Professor Hugh Brady, the President of Imperial College London, at a brief meeting with the team reiterated the college’s commitment to real-world problem-solving through interdisciplinary collaboration, emphasing the importance of science journalists in amplifying research impact and collaboration with universities.
“Our partnerships with Ghanaian institutions will have a focus on grand challenges such as pandemic preparedness, infectious diseases, food and water security and future cities, but also how to harness the power of Ghana’s universities to drive economic growth. The Imperial Global Ghana hub will create a bridge between innovation ecosystems, so you get a flow of ideas, talent and capital” President Brady said.
He spoke about lmperial’s White City Deep Tech Campus, which is a phenomenal engine of innovation built through partnerships with local and national government and surrounding communities. President Brady highlighted the positive potential of artificial intelligence to democratise research in Ghana, noting that Imperial College has around 1,000 researchers working on various aspects of AI.
Prof. Brady expressed enthusiasm for the Imperial-Schmidt AI Fellows Programme, which will support early-career researchers from the University of Ghana and the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in collaboration with Imperial’s IX Centre for AI in Science.
At the Polymateria Laboratory; a is home to the world’s first biodegradable technology capable of fully breaking down polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) materials into wax components less harmful to the environment, the journalists were introduced to a number of biodegradable projects being undertaken by Imperial aimed at saving the ecosystem.
The study trip to Imperial College London also featured interactive workshops and sessions on science communication with Stephen Johns, International Communication Manager Imperial College, Dr. Stephen Webster, Senior Lecturer in Science Communication, Imperial College, and Ehsan Masood, Bureau Chief (Editorials, Africa and the Middle East) at Nature Researh, which sparked discussions on the role of science journalism in Ghana, cultural differences in reporting, ethics and best practices in science communication from a UK perspective.
There were networking session with some Ghanaian postgraduate students from various universities in Ghana at Imperial College London, exchanging ideas on science communication and opportunities for collaboration.
The journalists also visited the Science Media Centre (SMC) an independent press office for science in the UK and beyond which is within the Welcome Trust Collections where science journalists across UK access the best science knowledge and understanding.
The Center helps to bridge the gap between scientists and the media, and also enhance science communication standards with the philosophy that “the media will do science better when scientists do the media better”.
With an indepth collection of experience and knowledge acquired from the intensive study trip at Imperial College London where science never stands still, the journalists are expected to tell impactful stories on ST&I and inspire the next generation of science communicators in Ghana. Each of the 10 journalists is expected to kick start their ST&I pitched projects across the country soon.
