Three students from the University of Ghana (UG) have won top honours at the 2025 International Student Packaging Design Competition held in Milan, Italy.

Rudolph Zikpi and Mary Eyram Chukwu from the Department of Food Process Engineering, along with Richmond Oteng Kumah from the Department of Food Science, received the Best in Food Category Award and a Silver Award in Food Packaging for their project EcoFlex: Innovative Sustainable Packaging.

The awards ceremony, held in Milan, brought together over 400 packaging scholars, industry experts, and corporate representatives from around the world.

Following their achievement, the students presented their awards to Vice-Chancellor Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo at a brief ceremony on Monday.

Congratulating the team, Professor Amfo described their achievement as “really big,” adding that, “I’m excited because you have shown that University of Ghana students can do it. 

"You have connected the dots and demonstrated that with the right environment and support, our students can translate knowledge into practice,” she said.

Their award-winning project, EcoFlex, is a two-part packaging system designed to address one of the toughest challenges of agriculture, keeping fresh produce safe, sustainable and affordable. 

The EcoFlexCool unit uses evaporative cooling to preserve freshness without electricity, while the EcoFlex Basket is a biodegradable, stackable and foldable container with drainage, adjustable compartments and tracking features.

The team’s journey to global recognition began when they won a national competition hosted by Royal Crown Packaging Ltd., outshining teams from KNUST, Accra Technical University, Academic City University College and Ashesi University. 

That victory earned them the opportunity to represent Ghana internationally, where their design stood out among 237 entries.

The team was accompanied by their mentors and faculty members, including Prof. Elsie Effah Kaufmann (Dean, School of Engineering Sciences), Prof. Esther Sakyi-Dawson (Department of Nutrition and Food Science), Prof. Angela Parry-Hanson Kunadu (Head, Nutrition and Food Science) and Prof. Nicole Sharon Affrifah (Former Head, Department of Food Process Engineering).