The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), invites all teaching and academic staff to participate in the Faculty Innovation Hackathon 2026, a flagship institutional initiative of the Office of the Vice Chancellor that empowers lecturers to co-create practical, scalable, and technology-driven solutions to real teaching and learning challenges. Over four weeks of training, mentorship, and design sprints, interdisciplinary teams will build prototypes that reimagine academic delivery in the digital age, culminating in a full-day pitch and awards event.
About the Hackathon
The Faculty Innovation Hackathon 2026 is a structured innovation programme aimed at empowering lecturers and academic teams to co-create practical, scalable, and technology-driven solutions to real teaching and learning challenges within UPSA.
Participants will work in interdisciplinary teams to design solutions that enhance student engagement, assessment systems, digital learning, and curriculum delivery, with a strong emphasis on AI and digital transformation.
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Who Can Apply?
The Hackathon is open to the following categories of UPSA staff:
- Full-time and part-time lecturers from all faculties and academic departments
- Graduate Assistants (GAs) attached to academic units
- Academic Coordinators and Programme Officers
Key Eligibility Rules:
- Teams must comprise between 2 and 4 members, all currently affiliated with UPSA in a teaching or academic-support capacity.
- Interdisciplinary teams spanning multiple faculties or departments are strongly encouraged and will be given positive consideration during selection.
- Non-teaching professional staff (e.g., ICT or Library) may join as embedded specialist contributors, provided at least two team members are teaching staff.
- All members of selected teams must commit to full participation in every phase: training, mentorship, and the main event.
Challenge Focus Areas
Prizes & Recognition
What Participants Gain
- Hands-on training in design thinking, problem framing, and innovation methods.
- Dedicated mentorship from experts in educational technology, instructional design, and software development.
- A platform to pilot winning solutions across the University and recognition in UPSA’s annual Faculty Development Report.
Procedure to Submit Your Entry
To express interest, the team lead should submit the following through the official Hackathon channels by the deadline:
- Completed Team Registration & Composition Form (names, roles, faculty/department, and contact details of all 2–4 members).
- A short Statement of Interest (maximum one page) indicating your chosen challenge focus area and the problem you intend to address.
- A signed commitment to participate in all phases of the Hackathon.
Submit via: https://forms.gle/ziQXP1qKfxprVzwZ8.
Selection note: Teams will be selected on the clarity of the problem statement, interdisciplinary composition, alignment to a focus area, and commitment to full participation.
Key Dates
At the conclusion of the hackathon, each selected team must submit the following final deliverables for review and presentation:
- Concept Document (Max. 5 pages)
- Prototype / Framework / Mock-up
- Final Pitch Presentation
- Implementation Roadmap
As part of the application and selection process, all teams are required to acknowledge and agree to the following:
a) Eligibility and Participation Commitment
All team members must be affiliated with UPSA and commit to actively participating in all stages of the Hackathon. Teams are expected to remain engaged throughout the programme and may not unilaterally withdraw once selected.
b) Deliverables Requirement
Selected teams will be required to submit a complete set of deliverables at the end of the Hackathon. These deliverables must clearly demonstrate the depth, feasibility, and practical relevance of the proposed solution, and will include a concept document, a prototype or mock-up, a final pitch presentation, and an implementation roadmap.
c) Originality and Attribution
All submissions must be original and must not have been previously submitted to any other competition, publication, or platform. Where any element of the submission draws on existing work, ideas, data, or materials, teams must ensure that all sources are properly acknowledged and appropriately referenced.
For full details, application templates, and any questions, contact Dr Leticia Akyeampong at Tel: +233 24 422 0106 and/or [email protected].
