Ghana calls for updating engineering education for climate resilience — MyJoyOnline
Lucy Agyapong, Vice President for Institutional Development at Academic City University, has called in Ghana for rethinking the training of engineers so that they can create infrastructure resilient to the impacts of climate change. In an op-ed published by MyJoyOnline, she stressed that for African countries, adaptation to climate change must be no less important than reducing emissions.
According to Agyapong, Africa accounts for less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet the continent suffers disproportionately from the loss of lives, livelihoods and critical infrastructure due to climate impacts.
Accra's experience
The author cited the example of Accra, where flooding and a fire on June 3, 2015, claimed more than 150 lives. In her view, the tragedy exposed serious problems in the drainage system, urban planning and engineering systems of Ghana's capital.
To increase the continent's resilience, Agyapong believes climate-adapted cities, renewable energy networks, clean water systems, sustainable transport and food security systems are needed. She described all these areas as engineering challenges.
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Education and practical tasks
Agyapong noted that traditional engineering education in many African countries focuses on applying already known solutions. At the same time, future specialists, in her assessment, must be able to identify unfamiliar problems, take account of their social context, the ethical aspects of design and users' needs.
She also questioned the narrow and competitive admission requirements for engineering programs in Ghana. In the author's view, school performance does not always reflect a student's potential to become a competent engineer, while properly organized introductory engineering education could attract more young people to the profession.
In engineering education, Agyapong proposes combining international examples with African experience, including analyzing floods in Accra, Cape Town's water crises and the use of drones to deliver medical supplies in Ghana. Together with Academic City University President Fred McBagonluri, she is also preparing a textbook on introduction to engineering, based on practical projects and real-life tasks in the African context.
