A team of women engineering students at Bolgatanga Technical University (BTU) has developed a device that solves the problem of finding people trapped inside their homes during floods. The invention has won them a national engineering innovation prize, beating students from about 19 participating universities across Ghana. The BTU Women in Engineering (WinE) team emerged winners of the 2026 WinE Affair, a competition organised by the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE).
The innovation, entered under the competition's Internet of Things (IoT) category, brings together a flood-level sensor, an alarm system, an emergency communication mechanism and GPS tracking. The system monitors how high floodwater has risen and automatically triggers an alarm once the water reaches a dangerous level, without anyone needing to activate it manually. Once triggered, the device sends signals to emergency responders, including the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Ghana National Fire Service, along with the GPS coordinates of the affected location.
Aurelia Ayamdor, an Assistant Lecturer in BTU's Electrical and Electronics Department who served as patron of the university's Women in Engineering team, highlighted the simplicity of the system as its biggest advantage. The system does not rely on a trapped person to manually send an alert before help can be located. Dr George Dordah, Dean of BTU's School of Engineering and Built Environment, added that the sensor also includes a manual button that a person can press if they realise they are in danger, giving users a backup option alongside the automatic trigger.
Dr Dordah pointed to the Upper East Region's recurring experience with flooding, noting that communities there are regularly affected whenever the Bagre Dam in neighbouring Burkina Faso is spilled. Seasonal flooding has also disrupted life on university campuses elsewhere in the country in recent months, including at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), underlining why early-warning tools are being discussed nationally.
For residents in flood-prone districts, a system that can alert NADMO or the Fire Service with a precise GPS location before water levels become fatal could shorten response times during emergencies. However, the device so far exists only as a competition prototype rather than a deployed public tool. The BTU team does not intend to stop at the competition win and plans to pursue partnerships with government ministries and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to scale up the system for use in flood-prone communities.
Dr Dordah disclosed that representatives of the Ghana Institution of Engineering had already approached the team after the competition to discuss further development of the innovation. The team won a trophy and a cash prize of GH¢20,000. Kenneth Nsoyine Atonka, President of BTU's Student Representative Council, congratulated the team for their hard work, discipline and teamwork, and said the council would continue supporting initiatives that promote women in engineering.
The development of the flood alert system is a significant achievement for the BTU Women in Engineering team, and it has the potential to make a positive impact on communities affected by flooding. The team's win is a testament to the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship in addressing the country's challenges. The system is expected to be further developed and implemented in flood-prone areas, with the goal of reducing the risk of flooding and saving lives.
Key points
- The BTU Women in Engineering team won a national engineering innovation prize for developing a flood alert system that senses rising floodwater and texts rescuers the exact GPS location of people trapped by it.
- The system has the potential to shorten response times during emergencies and save lives in flood-prone communities.
- The team plans to pursue partnerships with government ministries and MMDAs to scale up the system for use in flood-prone communities.
