RnD-Africa: Episode 1 (Virtual Reality System – All Nations University)

Welcome to RnD-Africa on AAU TV,

the voice of higher education in Africa.

RnD is a show that puts the spotlight

on Africa's rich inventions
and innovations.

This episode features an innovation
on a virtual reality system,

coming in from the All Nations University,

in Koforidua,

in the eastern region of Ghana.

♪ (music) ♪

The All Nations University in Ghana,

an institution endowed
with numerous innovations and inventions

has once again turned what most people
would use for recreational purposes

into an educational component,

using the virtual reality system gadget.

The All Nations University Space Systems
Technology Laboratory

started this virtual reality project

in 2020,

when we had the idea to establish

the National Center
for Virtual Industrial Tour.

That is when we had the ambition

to integrate virtual reality
into education in Ghana.

(Lydia) Virtual reality and simulations
may seem modern to us,

but the science
and the history behind them

are centuries old.

The science behind virtual reality
was first explored in a practical sense

as far back as the 1800s,

but some could argue that it goes
all the way back to Leonardo da Vinci

and the first explorations of perspectives
and paintings of the era.

Today, virtual reality
is taking off in education

with an increasing number of schools
adapting the technology.

The virtual reality gadget
serves as an interactive content

which enables the viewer to explore
the entire 360 degrees of a scene

and allow students to experience
destinations from across the world

without ever having
to leave the classroom.

Even if the classroom is closed,
learning is still happening,

and that's when my colleagues
decided to use

different industrial sites in Ghana.

So naturally, when you're in high school,

you may go to the dam

or you may go
to a bottling processing factory

to understand industrial technologies,
engineering, etc.

And our mission
was to capture these places

and allow the students
to be able to be immersed into them.

And now we have the VR industries tour.

We're actually here in the center,
so students do come,

and they're able to experience
these different sites

from all over the country.

The innovation part of what we are doing
is to be able to develop the models.

It is an open-source technology,

but then the innovator
has to innovate models

to integrate it
into that existing technology

to be applicable to a specific user.

So what the All Nations University
is doing

is that we are on the project

to develop models for education
in Ghana, here.

(Lydia) In the university's bid
to enhance teaching and learning

and give these a practical touch,

a group of computer
and electronic engineers

have come together to leverage
existent virtual reality system

to design integrated educative models,

customized to suit the needs
of the academic discipline.

That we go to a university,

and then we know the things
that they are teaching.

Then we develop the models for them

and integrate it on the system
for the use for the students.

Africa is ripe,

not only with natural resources
but intellectual resources.

And if we're able to harness
the power of our minds

and really put our minds together,

I believe we can become innovators
and world leaders in a lot of these areas.

One area that is near and dear
to development, in my opinion,

is STEM.

And simple applications of STEM
can solve our everyday problems.

Here at ANU, for example, the air quality.

But they make real lasting impacts,

things that a lot of times

people outside of Africa look down on us

and thinking we're not
as advanced or developed.

But when we come together,

we can definitely achieve
great things together.

(Lydia) Medical students, for instance,

can mentally image themselves
into performing surgery

and have a hands-on experiment

prior to physically stepping
into the operating theater

to have a real-life experience.

For our technology,
we have two [branches].

We have industrial tour,
and then we have the virtual learning.

For the industrial tour,

all the process enters
going into the industrial site

with our special cameras

to take the coverage.

So, for a single shoot,
for a single factory,

we are looking at a process of a week

to come up with an output
for a particular factory.

Now, for the virtual learning,

it has to do with developing
of the models,

and that takes up to two weeks

to develop a specific model
for the learning.

(Lydia) These models
created by the university

give students a pre-industrial exposure

by providing an opportunity
to learn through experience

in contrast to the traditional method
of reading and writing.

The evolution of VR
in interactive learning

goes a long way to influence
modern technology.

Our students at the ANU
are enthusiastic to explore more

into experiential learning techniques.

The system has enhanced
my learning experience immensely.

Usually, we just go into classes
learning a few practicals,

but with the system,

you can go far into learning
what exactly you want.

Like you have more experience
and a broad view

of what you want to learn.

(Lydia) All Nations University
has taken a bold step

in the world of invention and innovation

and is on the path
of massive technological innovation

for Africa.

It calls on all universities,

especially those in deprived communities
with limited access to resources,

to partner in developing
tailor-made virtual reality models

to build the skill set of their students.

Nothing like this existed
in Ghana prior to--

at this scale.

So, a lot of times, VR has a lot
of gaming applications,

so you might see a lot of people using it
for recreational purposes.

But here at SSTL-ANU,

with the innovation
that is kind of our backbone,

the challenge was how can
we utilize this technology

to really extend the learning experience?

This happened during COVID,

and so what happened
was students all over the world

were basically shut in.

They couldn't go anywhere, right?

Learning that is effective
must be hands-on and immersive.

All Nations University
has been able to strike a balance

between the good old learning
that we all are used to

and the future of education
that we all need.

You have easy access to learning.

You are presented with fun opportunities
as you saw with the VR display,

and also you have
unlimited access to information.

(Lydia) Universities in Africa
are assuming their proper roles

in leading the continent's
socio-economic development.

It has started
with the All Nations University.

The [next] can be yours.

Look out for your niche areas

and promote research, development,
and innovations in Africa.

In most African countries,

you'll notice that the industries

are centralized either at the capitals
or in a particular region.

And then we have students
traveling from other regions

over hundreds of miles to this place

to experience industrial training.

So what we are actually doing

is that we are simulating
the factories and the industries

on this virtual reality technology

and rather taking it to the students.

So, with this, the students
do not have to travel to the factory,

but we are rather bringing
the factory to the students.

The student puts the headset on

and have the feeling as though
they are working in the industry

with explanations and everything,

just as you would have had
if you had visited the industry.

This has been an interesting,
educative, and revealing episode

on the RnD-Africa program on AAU TV,

and I hope you had a great show.

Follow AAU TV on Facebook and on YouTube
at the Association of African Universities

for more content and programs.

My name is Lydia Nyame,

and until next time, it's a wrap.

♪ (music) ♪