Edward Pie M’28’s interest in technology began with a fascination with machines that could think, learn, and act on their own.
More than a decade later, his career in software engineering has taken him through cloud-native systems, artificial intelligence, fintech, and technical leadership in Ghana and Germany. Yet the original interest in intelligent machines has remained.
This interest now brought Pie to Ashesi University to pursue a master’s degree in Mechatronic Engineering. “Mechatronics brings together computer, electrical, and mechanical engineering,” he said. “It’ll give me an opportunity to build the multidisciplinary knowledge for the design of intelligent physical systems while drawing on my AI and software expertise.”
One area that interests him is robotics. Pie sees reinforcement learning, which enables machines to learn through trial and error, as a promising route toward more adaptive robotic systems. “Training such systems directly on physical machines can be expensive, time-consuming, and unsafe,” he admits. “But I hope to explore how cloud infrastructure and some simulation environments can be used to train and evaluate robotic systems at scale before they are deployed.”
His interest in intelligent machines is also closely connected to a broader question: how technology can help Africa create more value from its own resources. This is because Pie is particularly interested in agriculture, and value addition to natural resources. Energy efficiency forms part of that vision, including the potential use of solar thermal technologies and other systems that can reduce dependence on conventional electricity.
Exposure to structured engineering environments,precision, and strong research ecosystems in Germany as wells as other conditions in Ghana have been great learning curves. These experiences, taught him the importance of designing around resource constraints, and diverse user needs.
When asked what returning to school after years of leading and mentoring engineers feels like, he said “I have always considered myself a student of life and I believe that learning is as essential as breathing.” He looks forward to questioning his assumptions, while remaining open to what others can teach him.
Outside work and formal study, that curiosity continues in his home lab, where he takes on technology projects simply for the challenge and hands-on learning they provide. He takes inspiration from engineering creators such as Mark Rober, Jeremy Fielding, and Aaed Musa, to experiment with ideas and turn them into working solutions.
