Ghana’s scientific and innovation ecosystem reach has a historic moment as Dr Patrick Essien, a space physicist, has received the prestigious Honorary Award for Outstanding Contribution to STEM and Innovation at the Tech Eminence Awards 2025 in Takoradi over the weekend.

The award, presented by Kampusstyle in collaboration with the Ghana National Union of Technical Students (GNUTS), recognizes Dr Essien’s exceptional impact on STEM access, youth empowerment, gender inclusion, and technology-driven community transformation across Ghana and the African continent.

In an official communication, the awards committee described Dr Essien’s journey from his humble beginnings in Nyanfeku Ekroful to becoming one of Ghana’s leading scientific thinkers as “a remarkable symbol of excellence and resilience.”

The committee noted that his influence continues to empower disadvantaged youth, promote equal opportunity, and ignite innovation among young Africans.

The ceremony was attended by hundreds of people across the African continent.

Delivering a deeply moving acceptance speech, Dr Essien captivated the audience with a narrative rooted in humility, imagination, and unyielding determination.

Dr Essien, who is also a AIMS Canada Postdoctoral Research Fellow recounted how, growing up in a community with limited opportunities, he found purpose in the mysteries of the sky stars that sparked questions, curiosity, and a lifelong quest for knowledge.

“If opportunity does not reach the child, then we must take opportunity to the child,” he declared, sharing the conviction that inspired the birth of Molex Foundation Africa" he disclosed.

As a former lecturer, Dr Essien emphasised that his Molex Foundation was not born out of strategy but necessity a direct response to the painful reality that brilliance is often overshadowed due to lack of mentorship, exposure, and resources.

"Today, Molex Foundation Africa stands as one of Ghana’s most impactful youth-centered STEM movements, offering training in robotics, coding, space science, electronics, AI, and problem-solving to thousands of learners" Dr Essien stated.

Dr Essien explained that the initiative was also born out of urgency, not convenience, saying that many girls were not lagging because they lacked ability, but because society had not positioned them where they could thrive.

He shared inspiring stories from the programme’s launch in April 2024 girls who had never touched robotics equipment building functional systems; girls writing their first lines of code; others designing prototypes to solve community challenges; and many discovering that they too belonged in spaces of innovation.

Dr Essien further announced a bold vision to host the SHEROES in STEM Cohort 3 in Northern Ghana in 2026, where he plans to train hundreds of girls in STEM and TVET to bridge the regional access gap and spark a new wave of female-led innovation.

Throughout his remarks, the Molex Foundation Africa boss urged young people across Ghana to embrace technology and innovation as indispensable tools for future leadership.

He challenged the youth to choose consistency over applause, growth over comfort, and resilience over fear.

“The world does not belong to the strongest; it belongs to the most consistent… Greatness is never born in applause. It is born in persistence,” he emphasised.