Entrepreneurial Tech-Ed. : using technology to fuel income generation education in rural Ghana/

Abstract

This thesis investigates how decentralization of development occurs through merging small-scale technology hubs into the rural West African fabric by integrating with the secondary school system. This model redefines the structure of education in Ghana by establishing a programmatic fusion to create a relationship between education and entrepreneurialism. Encouraging a decentralized approach to regional development through a system of satellite tech hubs linked to secondary school campuses, the design formulates an architectural strategy that creates a platform for funding Ghanaian education. By re-envisioning the senior secondary school as a technology and innovation research campus, the thesis becomes a site for testing new programmatic relationships within an educational environment. This includes the combination of programs such as classrooms with testing labs, a technology center that accommodates vocational training for students and community members, and an income-generating agricultural production system, in order to create a self-sustaining, entrepreneurial education system and technology-centered secondary school. This 'tech-ed' design prototype will act as an advocate for reform through designing the liaison between the trending multi-billion dollar tech hubs and the destitute educational system of Sub-Saharan Africa.