The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George Esq., has urged researchers at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to keep developing homegrown technologies, calling failure an essential part of innovation.
Sam George made the call during a visit to the university’s Photonics and Optics Laboratory on Monday, October 12, 2026, as part of his tour of digital and telephony projects in the Ashanti Region.
“We shouldn’t be afraid to fail, because the countries where today we order everything from… failed for decades. But because they were consistent and persistent with failure, they learnt how not to fail,” he said.
During the visit, researchers demonstrated locally developed technologies with potential applications in encryption training, healthcare, environmental monitoring and counterfeit medicine detection.
These included a low-cost Quantum Key Distribution setup for encryption training and locally built spectrometers designed to make scientific tools more affordable.
The delegation also examined a through-barrier Raman spectrometer developed at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, which can identify medicines and other substances through sealed packaging without opening them.
The laboratory’s Principal Investigator and Scientific Lead, Dr Akyana Britwum, and the Provost of the KNUST College of Engineering, Prof. Kwabena Biritwum Nyarko, led the delegation through the facility.
Prof. Nyarko stressed the need to translate research into practical solutions that benefit Ghana and neighbouring countries.
