August 3, 2023
Fifteen (15) teams located within and the surrounding areas of Obuasi, a gold mining community and town which is the capital of the Obuasi Municipal District of the Ashanti Region, were inducted into the GSTEP Challenge on Tuesday 25th July 2023. This was an exciting event for the teams following the second runner-up win from the community and the opportunity offered more students to participate in the event.
The event took off at the assembly hall of the Obuasi Senior High Technical School with mentors, coaches, students, teachers, officials of the Ghana Education Service (GES), and members of the GSTEP consortium in attendance. The teams were welcomed by Keren Beechem, the Programmes Manager for the DreamOval Foundation. They were given an overview of the GSTEP program by Constance Agyeman, Associate Director for Challenge Works. Officials of the Ghana Education Service were thanked for their contributions to ensuring the schools signed on to the GSTEP program. Mentors and coaches were also appreciated for taking time out of their busy schedules to participate in the program.
The teams participated in team building and STEM activities to introduce them to the program and work with team members. They also participated in workshop sessions in financing and budgeting, business plan development, and prototyping. These sessions focused on providing the teams with the knowledge and skills to begin to develop their ideas and build their prototypes.
Teachers and STEM coordinators (officials of GES) participated in workshops focused on introducing them to the GSTEP program and providing them with the guidance and resources to successfully participate in the program. Mentors and coaches also had sessions where they were introduced to the GSTEP program and also had engagement sessions to plan how they will work together to effectively support their teams. Mentors and coaches later had engagement sessions with their teams to understand their projects, and the support the teams will need, and plan how to work together with their teams to provide the support they will need and complete their projects.
The finalists will now proceed to develop a prototype of the idea they submitted for the Challenge. They will participate in a series of mentoring and coaching sessions where they will be supported to develop a business plan and a prototype of their idea. During this period they will be provided with technical knowledge and support and be guided to develop soft skills such as communication, presentation, and problem-solving. They will also participate in a series of activities where they will see the practical applications of STEM by institutions and industries.