BTU Wins 2026 Women in Engineering Competition with Smart Flood Detection System
Bolgatanga Technical University (BTU) has emerged winner of the 2026 Women in Engineering (WiNE) Affair competition after developing an innovative Smart Emergency Communication System designed to detect floods and help emergency responders quickly locate people in danger.
The winning project, dubbed “Smart Emergency Communication System with Flood Monitoring,” beat entries from 18 other tertiary institutions across Ghana, including the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University for Development Studies (UDS) and the University of Ghana.
The competition, organised under the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE), was held at Ho Technical University and brought together female engineering students from various tertiary institutions to develop practical and innovative solutions to challenges confronting communities.
For its outstanding performance, BTU was presented with a trophy and a cash prize of GH¢20,000.
The university’s innovation is designed to automatically detect rising floodwaters and trigger emergency alerts containing GPS location information, enabling emergency agencies to identify the location of persons who may be trapped or at risk.
The system is expected to support emergency response agencies, including the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), by providing timely information to facilitate rescue operations.
Speaking at BTU after the team returned from the competition, Aurelia Ayamdor, a lecturer at the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and leader of the team, said the project was developed in response to the increasing threat of flooding in communities.
She explained that participating institutions were tasked to identify real problems affecting society and develop engineering solutions to address them.
“For the WiNE Affair 2026, projects were given to the various universities to come out with a solution for a problem to be solved in the community. We know that recently there was flooding in various regions, so our team came out with a solution, which is a smart emergency communication system with a flood monitoring system.”
Madam Ayamdor attributed the team’s success to its commitment, preparation and determination throughout the competition.
She called on university management to invest more in practical engineering activities and initiatives that would enable students, particularly women, to strengthen their technical skills and pursue careers in engineering.
“Management should invest more in these kinds of activities so that they are able to develop more of their skills, especially women in engineering, because ladies in engineering is something that is difficult. It’s not easy.”
The Dean of BTU’s School of Engineering, Eng. Dr George Alexander Dordah, said the achievement demonstrated the university’s ability to translate classroom knowledge into practical solutions to challenges confronting society.
He said the early detection capability of the device could significantly improve flood emergency response and potentially save lives.
“It is important that we are able to early detect these floods. With this device, it’s very easy. The good thing about it is that you don’t need somebody triggering it. Once it senses the flood, it goes ahead to send signals and indicate where you can actually locate whoever is in a problem. And so it becomes easy to save people.”
Eng. Dr Dordah said the university would continue to prioritise practical training and innovation, encouraging students to apply their engineering knowledge to problems affecting communities and industry.
The Students’ Representative Council (SRC) President, Kenneth Atonka Nsoyine, also congratulated the team, describing the victory as a testament to the students’ dedication, teamwork and innovative spirit.
The BTU victory further highlights the growing contribution of young women in engineering and the potential of locally developed technology to address pressing challenges such as flooding and emergency response in Ghana.
Source: Mybluewavesonline.com|Maurice Duncan|Bolgatanga
