TWO GHANAIANS AWARDED IN SWEDEN (PAGE 11, JUNE 30, 2010)

Two Ghanaians who recently completed The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, have been awarded 10,000 Kronor for their Masters’ thesis.
The two who are the first foreigners to have won the award are Miss Lily Naah and Mr IIyas B. Alhassan.
Their topic was on “Alternative Bus Rapid Transit Operational. The Microsimulation Approach: The case study of Accra”.
A citation accompanying the award said the two had in their study used the microsimulation programme and alternatively designed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and its effects on traffic.
“They have, for example, identified critical points with big delays for the BRT and effects of bigger buses and alternative frequencies,” it added.
The citation observed that in spite of considerable difficulties in finding data for the model, the Ghanaians had shown that the model can deliver valuable data for the design of BRT systems and could be used even in developing countries.
Mr Alhassan, who is a lecturer at the Wa Polytechnic, explained to the Daily Graphic that the BRT is a type of public transport which was fast growing in the world and in developing countries due to its relatively low cost and high capacity.
He said the system was being operated in Curitiba in Brazil and Bogota, Columbia and other countries.
He thanked the Royal Institute of Technology for the recognition and said the award would spur them on to achieve greater and higher academic excellence.