STEM Without Borders: Ashanti students emerge GSTEP 2026 winners

Team Next Gen Coders from Swift Academy in the Ashanti Region has been crowned the overall winner of the 2026 Ghana Science & Tech Explorer Challenge Prize (GSTEP).

The two-day event, held at the Cedi Conference Centre at the University of Ghana, Legon, on July 9 and 10, brought together students, educators, policymakers, industry leaders and development partners under the theme, "Curiosity to Impact: STEM Without Borders."

The competition featured 60 finalist teams and six Perseverance Teams, who exhibited STEM-based innovations aimed at solving challenges in healthcare, agriculture, climate change, environmental sustainability and digital technology.

Organised by the GSTEP Consortium, the annual programme encourages Junior High School students to apply science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to develop practical solutions to problems in their communities. This year's edition also marked five years of the initiative and its expansion into the Volta Region.

Delivering the keynote address, Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, praised the students for their innovations and urged them to continue developing solutions that address real-world challenges.

"What you have built is remarkable, but it is only the beginning. You have proven that you can imagine solutions. Now go out and make them real. Build. Test. Fail. Learn. And build again. Ghana needs your ideas, your courage, and your commitment," he said.

He reaffirmed the Ministry of Education's commitment to strengthening STEM education through investments in infrastructure, teacher development, practical learning and digital access.

Director of the National STEM Resource Unit of the Ghana Education Service, Olivia Opare, said GSTEP has transformed STEM education from classroom theory into practical innovation, while also increasing the participation and leadership of girls in STEM.

Executive Director of DreamOval Foundation, Afua Asiamah Adjei, commended the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, consortium partners, sponsors, teachers, mentors and parents for supporting the programme over the past five years.

She said GSTEP has grown into a national platform that empowers young people to think critically and develop innovative solutions for their communities.

At the awards ceremony, Team Innovepoch from the Greater Accra Region was named first runner-up, while The Science Whizzes from the Volta Region finished as second runner-up.

Other award winners included Pulse Mobility from the Ashanti Region, which received the Best Pitch Award; Nova Engineers from the Volta Region, which won the Most Innovative Idea Award; and Replastix Team from the Eastern Region, which received the Excellence in Applied Science Award.

GSTEP is implemented by DreamOval Foundation, Partnership Bureau, Practical Education Network and Shulem Lake in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, with funding support from Fondation Botnar.