KNUST - ETH Zurich Summer School "Rethinking Waste"
Two weeks of solid waste, design thinking, prototyping and collaboration: The first hybrid Summer School "Rethinking Waste" between ETH Zurich and KNUST in Ghana was a success! Ten teams at both universities intensely worked on their own innovative ideas to tackle a specific solid waste management issue.
From 4 -17 September, students at ETH Zurich and KNUST in Kumasi, Ghana immersed themselves in the field of solid waste management. Through inputs, discussions with experts, teamwork, design thinking, and prototyping, the students identified solid waste management issues and worked on concrete practical prototyping of solid waste management solutions.
For the first time, the Summer School took place in a hybrid format. Students from ETH Zurich and KNUST received expert inputs from both sides and were virtually connected throughout the Summer School. The different student teams also got the chance to engage with one another, work together on tasks and receive each other’s feedback on their prototypes.
During the first half, the students were introduced to solid waste management and design thinking process through a series of inputs and workshops conducted by a diverse set of speakers from Ghana and Switzerland as well as through excursions to solid waste management sites, including biowaste, plastic waste, and e-waste centers.
During the second half of the Summer School, students were split into smaller teams to carry out specific case studies of the respective countries. Each team was guided by a tutor, who helped define the problem the students would like to work on, offer solution options, select the solution, and define the expected deliverables. Through expert interviews and a knowledge fair, the groups could receive detailed feedback to further advance and concretise their solutions.
On the last day, all student teams got to pitch their solutions to a selected jury at ETH Zurich and KNUST as well as to their peers.
The two weeks provided the participants with hands-on opportunities to work in an interdisciplinary and intercultural team. A space for inspiration, reflection, and exchange among the students was created.
We thank the organisers at ETH Zurich & KNUST without whom the Summer School would not have been possible. And a great thank you to the lecturers, experts, tutors, and participants for making this a unique learning experience!
