Open Day is the public-engagement day of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research. The Institute opens its departments and laboratories to schools, students and members of the public, so that visitors can see how biomedical research is done and how it contributes to the health and well-being of Ghanaians.
Visiting groups tour selected laboratories, watch live demonstrations and talk directly with the Institute’s scientists. For many students it is their first chance to use a microscope, see molecular techniques in action and learn about careers in research.
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Friday, 28 November 2025 · NMIMR, University of Ghana, Legon
The 2025 Open Day was held as part of the Annual Research Meeting and the College of Health Sciences’ 25th Anniversary celebration. Its aims were to strengthen community engagement, explain research findings to the public, and introduce students and the wider community to scientific discovery and innovation.
Fourteen schools took part, ranging from basic schools to universities, including Valley View University and the University of Cape Coast’s Department of Biomedical Sciences. Staff from seven constituents of the College of Health Sciences, including the Medical School, Dental School, School of Pharmacy, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, West African Genetic Medicine Centre and School of Public Health also joined, together with the University of Ghana Career Guidance and Counselling Unit. Graduate students, parents, new staff, national service personnel, visitors from other Ghanaian research institutions and passers-by made it an open, community-wide event.
Visitors toured the departments of Epidemiology and Implementation Sciences; Immunology and Vaccine Biology; Nutrition, Diets and Metabolic Sciences; Cellular and Tissue Pathology; Viral and Emerging Infections; Parasite and Vector Biology; Animal Models and Preclinical Sciences; Bacterial Infections and Systems Biology; and Toxicology and Cancer Biology.
Schools singled out the laboratory tour, the DNA extraction demonstration and the session in the Department of Bacterial Infections and Systems Biology, where students saw how bacteria are cultured and tested against antibiotics and viewed slides under the microscope.
From school and facilitator feedback, 2025 Open Day report
Laboratory facilitators described the event as “good”, “great”, “well organised” and “impactful”, and said it successfully introduced students to research careers. They described the students as excited, impressed, curious and interested.
Laboratory facilitators, 2025 Open Day report
Appointed by the 2025 ARM Organising Committee to plan and run the Open Day, including the event structure, communication with invited schools and institutions, and the flow of visitors on the day.
Chairperson
Dr. Sawudatu Zakaria-Akoto
Department of Nutrition, Diets and Metabolic Sciences
Dr. Prince Asare
Member
Mr. Abdul-Razak Suleman
Member
Ms. Afia Adoma Boakye
Member
Dr. Mrs Yvonne Ashong
Member
Mrs. Angela Appiah-Kubi
Member
Mr. Richard Kwaku Anaman
Member
Mr. Frederick Ofori Addo
Member
Ms. Doris Atta-Poku
Member
Michael Addy Nartey
Co-opted Member
Pius Dickson-Sarpeh
Co-opted Member
Elizabeth Brown
Co-opted Member
Ethel Afriyie
Co-opted Member
Mary Brago
Co-opted Member
Emelia Adjekai Pobee
Secretary
Friday, 8 November 2024 · NMIMR, University of Ghana, Legon
The 2024 Open Day was the second edition of the event and the closing highlight of the Annual Research Meeting. It coincided with the Ministry of Education’s annual STEM programme for basic schools, which the Institute hosted as a special feature of the day, with hands-on learning for pupils and exhibitions of science-related equipment.
The Director of the Institute, Prof. Dorothy Yeboah-Manu, chaired the programme and launched a children’s science book, I Can Be, ABC for Stem. Copies were auctioned to raise funds for the STEM programme.
About 1,700 students and their teachers from 24 schools took part, from basic, senior high and tertiary institutions in the Greater Accra, Central and Eastern Regions, including schools invited by the Ghana Education Service. Each school began with a short introduction to the Institute through a video and facilitator session, then spent about two and a half hours touring five assigned departments in small groups, guided by national service personnel, administrative staff and Quality Coordinators.
“They explained sophisticated laboratory techniques in simple and well-understood language that resonated well with the level of our students.”
A participating school, 2024 Open Day feedback survey
“Given the opportunity to view microorganisms under the microscope was most engaging. This hands-on experience was the first time our biology students from the Home Economics class used a microscope.”
A participating school, 2024 Open Day feedback survey
