On Tuesday 22 September 2026, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) inaugurated the Ghana Photonics and Optics Laboratory (GPOL) at its Amonoo‑Neizer IDL Conference Centre. The ceremony opened at 08:00 GMT and was attended by 38 emerging scientists from six African nations and 17 leading international photonics researchers.
GPOL is led by Principal Investigator Dr Akyana Britwum and Technical Lead Dr Michael Kweku Edem Donkor, with support from global partners. The laboratory will design, build, and maintain advanced optical instruments to address public health, environmental, and safety challenges across West Africa, including non‑invasive medicine authentication, affordable glaucoma and newborn jaundice diagnostics, and rapid heavy‑metal contamination sensors.
Dr Britwum said, "Photonics is one of the defining technologies of this century, and there is no reason Ghana should be on the sidelines." She added that GPOL, together with the NYANSAPO Photonics School, will enable Ghanaian researchers to conduct world‑class optics work locally.
The NYANSAPO Photonics School for Health and Safety, a six‑day intensive programme, commenced alongside the lab launch. Participants will build, operate, and analyse data from state‑of‑the‑art optical devices, ensuring skills remain in Ghana after the school concludes.
Keynote speakers included Dr Peter de Groot, 2025 President of SPIE, and lecturers from the University of Arizona, UT Southwestern Medical Center, ICFO, Vanderbilt University, Imperial College London, Aix‑Marseille Université, INP‑HB, and Université Alassane Ouattara. KNUST Physics Head Prof Francis Kofi Ampong highlighted the opportunity for local students to work shoulder‑to‑shoulder with top international researchers.
The week‑long summit will finish with a community outreach project in Hwiremoase, where participants will engage hundreds of school pupils to inspire future African scientists. The initiative is titled by SPIE and supported by Optica, Menlo Systems, Thorlabs, ICFO, and the Institute for Quantum Computing through KNUST’s partnership with the Pan‑African Initiative for Research at the University of Waterloo.
Future updates will cover GPOL’s progress and the outcomes of the NYANSAPO training programme.
