Team ‘Next Generation Green Minds’ is the proud winner of the GEO-Africa Incubator/Accelerator Innovation Challenge 2025 (GAIAthon) after a fierce competition with the other two teams, Geo Spec, which was the runner-up, and Team Geo Smart, which took third place. The three teams received cash prizes of US Dollars 300 for the winner, 200 for the second place, and 100 for third. These three teams were part of the 12 competitors who pitched their ideas earlier.
Team Next Generation Green Minds will select from among them one person to participate in the Africa-wide competition in Ghana from July 18th to 21st, 2025, with fifteen contenders from all over Africa. ‘We’re building a web-based IoT platform that helps farmers make real-time decisions on when, how, and what to irrigate, thereby boosting crop yields while conserving resources,’ said the team leader of the trio, who are Master’s students in Geographical Information Science and Technology at CEDAT.
The trio developed a web-based system, the Smart Irrigation Advisory System, which allows the farmer to get timely information from the satellite, indicating when one should irrigate or water their crops, the time, and the amount of water needed. This was in response to the day-to-day challenges whereby most farmers react to this after seeing the plants wilt, an indication that the plant is already damaged by the time they irrigate. Using the satellite and remote sensing techniques, they came up with the innovation to ensure having a system that helps the farmers pick information for action.
The competition, which was organized under the theme “Empowering Innovation through Digital Literacy,” the GAIAthon competition was held with different sub-themes, challenging students to present their innovative ideas. They were expected to demonstrate their skills with remote sensing and utilize various satellite products using different techniques. There were three tracks, one of which was developing a web-based platform, developing an Internet of Things platform, and developing an application linking it to policy.
In his remarks at the certificate award ceremony held at CEDAT, Prof. Anthony Gidudu, the Dean of the School of the Built Environment and coordinator of the event, congratulated the teams and encouraged them to think of solutions that address people’s challenges. He said the person representing Team Generation Green Minds will tussle it out with other teams from across Africa, aiming at the cash prizes of 5000USD, 2500, and 1500, respectively, in addition to prizes for the institution. ‘While there, you are competing against the world, many of them french speaking, so your work has to speak for you, he said.
GAIAthon seeks to harness the skills of university students across the continent in Earth Observation (EO) and the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. This initiative, while promoting technological education, also aligns with the African Union’s declaration of 2024 as the year of education, highlighting the critical role of educational endeavors in this transformative era.
Written by Musinguzi Harriet,
Principal Communication Officer, CEDAT.
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