Mathias Charles Yabe, a final-year student of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, KNUST has made it to the final Top 10 student shortlisted for the $100k Chegg.org Global Student Prize.
From nearly 7000, applications and nominations from 150 countries, Mathias was the only African and Ghanaian student selected.
He pushed through to the top 50 finalists and is now part of the top 10 finalists.
The annual $100,000 prize is given to a student who has made significant academic progress and improved society and the lives of their peers.
Mathias was shortlisted for making a real impact on learning, the lives of his peers, and on society.
During the pandemic, Mathias pioneered the development of a disability-friendly virtual learning platform for hearing impaired students to study during school closures, directly impacting the lives of 250 deaf high school students in Ghana.
In creating community impact and strengthening food systems in local communities, Mathias launched AkoFresh to reduce post-harvest losses.
Mathias’s innovation is a mobile solar-powered cold storage preservation technology that extends the shelf life of perishable crops from five days to 21 days; therefore reducing losses by 50%.
The solution is reducing post-harvest losses, alleviating poverty, and improving nutrition.
There will be only one winner from the top 10 finalists. The winner announcement will take place ending of September during UN General Assembly week in New York.
“Since its launch last year, the Global Student Prize has given incredible students all over the world a chance to share their stories, connect with each other, and reach influencers in education and beyond. Now, more than ever, students deserve to have their stories told and their voices heard. After all, we need to harness their dreams, their insights, and their creativity to tackle the daunting and urgent challenges facing our world.” Dan Rosensweig, CEO of Chegg.
The other top 10 finalists for the Chegg.org Global Student Prize 2022 are Alesyah Asa, from Malaysia; Anagha Rajesh, from India; Gitanjali Rao, from the US; Igor Klymenko, from Ukraine; Kenisha Arora, from Canada; Lucas Tejedor, from Brazil; Maya Bridgman, from the UAE; Nathan Nguyen, from Australia; and Nicolás Alberto Monzón, from Argentina.
The Varkey Foundation partnered with Chegg.org to launch the $100,000 Global Student Prize in 2021, a sister award to its $1 million Global Teacher Prize.
It was established to create a powerful new platform that shines a light on the efforts of extraordinary students everywhere, who together, are reshaping the world for the better.
The prize is open to all students who are at least 16 years old and enrolled in an academic institution or training and skills program. Part-time students as well as students enrolled in online courses are also eligible for the prize.
Chegg.org is the impact, advocacy, and research arm of Chegg: addressing the issues facing the modern student.
Students applying for the Global Student Prize will be assessed on their academic achievement, impact on their peers, how they make a difference in their community and beyond, how they overcome the odds to achieve, how they demonstrate creativity and innovation, and how they operate as global citizens.
