He urged the government to champion the integration of IoT-based monitoring into national programmes and invest in smart sensors to monitor the environment.

He explained that sensors measured key water parameters such as temperature, pH, turbidity and contamination indicators in water bodies.

The Professor said this in Accra at the opening ceremony of the maiden Applied 
Research Conference of Accra Technical University.
It is on the theme: "Advancing Technology and Innovation for a Sustainable Future".

"We can have a one-stop solution to deploy relevant sensor devices that can
monitor the environment by sending us early warning signals.
"For example, if we have to even spill a dam, we can send the right messages to communities for them to be aware that a dam spillage is going to happen.
"They will get these messages on their phones or wherever appropriate to them, and then they can be well informed, and then they can take decisions," he said.

He said, "We need computer scientists to be able to work and create some kind of algorithms that can help us use these sensor devices to do the work.

So government must come in to support academia; industry players must also
come in to support the initiative," he said.
He called for a policy framework to encourage innovation through budget allocation for smart infrastructure and lot device regulations.

Prof Adu-Manu urged the government to support community education to respond to flood warnings and maintain water sensors.

Prof Amevi Akpokavi, Acting Vice-Chancellor, ATU, said the conference featured three flagship sub-conferences, each addressing critical pillars of sustainable development.

The first feature, he said, was the international conference on Engineering,
Science, and Urban Sustainability, exploring breakthroughs in engineering, urban infrastructure, smart cities, environmental resilience, and applied science.

The other feature is the international conference on Sustainable Business and Entrepreneurship, focusing on innovation in business models, entrepreneurship ecosystems, digital transformation, and inclusive economic growth.

The final feature focuses on the international conference on Applied Arts, Design, and Sustainability, celebrating creativity, cultural heritage, responsible design, and the role of the arts in shaping sustainable societies.

Prof Felix Y.H. Kutsanedzie, Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor, said contemporary challenges such as climate change, depletion of natural resources, social inequality, food crises, health delivery issues, and waste management did not demand knee-jerk reactions to address but proactive and pragmatic thinking approaches rooted in collaborative research and technological advancement.

The Conference, he stressed, would serve as a conduit for translating knowledge into real-life solutions that impact lives and propel development while safeguarding the environment for the future of humanity.