The KNUST Library system hosted KNUST ScienceFriday, a forum aimed at bridging research, innovation, and real-world impact. Professor Eric Tutu Tchao delivered a presentation critiquing the prevalent "ways and means" mindset in academic research, where projects focus on quick deliverables rather than genuine scientific inquiry. He emphasized that this approach undermines scalability, user ownership, and long-term relevance, citing examples like farmers dismantling project equipment because they saw it as serving researchers' needs, not their own.

Prof. Eric Tutu Tchao

Prof. Tutu Tchao identified four key barriers to impactful research: poor application of scientific principles, the "grant-to-paper" cycle, underinvestment in talent, and lack of intellectual property (IP) protection. He contrasted this with the Deepa Lab’s success through long-term, user-centered projects like SIWA, an AI-enhanced weather app built on indigenous knowledge co-created with farmers, and FarmSense, an IoT agricultural tool that overcame early failures by prioritizing rigorous validation and stakeholder trust.

Key lessons include investing in people over projects, protecting IP, engaging users early, and planning for sustainability beyond grants. The library’s role in hosting such forums highlights its evolving function as a catalyst for meaningful research translation and academic-community collaborati.