The Registrar of the C. K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Dr. Vincent Anum Ankamah-Lomotey, has called for serious attention to mentorship and succession planning to retain expertise and ensure continuity in public service and administration. The Former University Relations Officer of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) made the call when he addressed senior staff of KNUST at the 10th Summer School.
According to him, mentorship goes beyond hunting for role models. In his presentation on mentorship and succession planning, he called for careful, deliberate, and sustained efforts at mentorship in the University to ensure effective succession. This would ensure both senior and junior grades pass on the knowledge, skills, and attitude required for their career development and progression. According to him, effective mentorship will preserve institutional memory and work culture or ethics. It will help retain competent staff or expertise and promote continuity of the University system. He therefore called for serious attention to be paid by management to its mentorship policy and efforts to reap better outcomes. Dr. Lomotey advised staff to pass on their knowledge and skills to others saying: “If you do not pass on what you have acquired in the university to others and you retire, you have done the university a disservice.”
The Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ellis Owusu-Dabo, reading a speech on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor, Professor (Mrs.) Rita Aksoua Dickson, said the Summer School of KNUST, provides us a unique platform to deliberate on contemporary issues affecting our core mandate as a University of Science and Technology. He noted that over the past years, the Summer School has been part of our calendar of events during our long vacation period. The 9th Summer School was on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs that all people on earth enjoy peace and prosperity have interconnected goals that provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. Following the 9th Summer School, last year, the University went on to inaugurate a committee to see to the implementation of deliberate strategies by KNUST towards achieving the SDGs. Professor Owusu-Dabo was convinced that this action of the University has contributed in no small measure to our being the best University for quality education (SDG 4) globally. The Pro Vice-Chancellor stated that as a follow-up to the above and being reminded of the rich history, innovation, and academic excellence, this year’s event is to deliberate on the Academia-Industry partnership for national development. With the evolving needs of the 21stCentury workplace, it has become imperative for academia to align its research, teaching, and learning approaches with industry expectations. This is aimed at fostering collaborative engagement between educational institutions and the industrial sector, toward enhanced learning outcomes, industry-ready graduates, and economic development.
He continued that this year’s Summer School offers an opportunity to deepen this engagement. Our teaching and learning process must have the objective of being fit for purpose, especially from the perspective of industry for national development. He hoped the various Units and Colleges of the University will after the School, become poised than ever to enhance the readiness of our graduates for the industry, reduce the gap between academic knowledge and practical application, and foster a stronger, more collaborative relationship between our University and Industry.
The Dean of the Quality Assurance and Planning Office (QAPO), Professor Jerry John Kponyo, said the School which has been part of the University calendar is used to deliberate on contemporary issues affecting the core mandate of the University. From its humble beginning in the year 2011 with only 250 senior members, the KNUST Summer School has grown from strength to strength with participation growing steadily over the past ten years. He continued that as a responsive institution, KNUST periodically reviews our activities with the aim of responding adequately to the concerns of our stakeholders. He added that in this respect and considering the ever-changing demands of the job market in view of technological advancements, we are of the conviction that promoting academia-industry linkages is a forward-looking strategy. This way, we will be ensuring that the education and skill training we offer as a science and technology institution will remain relevant; that our research activities and output are applicable for practical solutions, and that the economy thrives through innovation and skills development. Professor Kponyo said in view of the fact that the industry is raising concerns these days about how students are taught, the event will be used to receive valuable feedback from the industry with the aim of redesigning our curriculum and the teaching methods used, how our curriculum is delivered to students, instructional strategies to be adopted, innovations to be introduced in the style of training and how industry and academia can co-deliver our curriculum in many ways. This way they will leverage the several advantages of such collaboration including bridging the skill gap, enhancing our research and innovation activities, improving curriculum, and creating opportunities for life-long learning, internships, employment, and economic development. He called on stakeholders to contribute to the debate and help shape the future of our educational enterprise with the hope of producing graduates who are industry-ready.
In his presentation on the Role of Senior Staff in Promoting Academia-Industry collaboration, the Former Registrar of the Presbyterian University Ghana, Dr. Emmanuel O. Agyenim Boateng, stated that academia-industry relations are nothing new, but have received much attention in recent times due to the roles play in innovation and development. Since the recognition of its role in innovation and promoting national development. He continued that there has been pressure on universities to partner with more productive sections of the economy for the benefit of industry to leverage on expertise of professionals and researchers in the University.
Dr. Agyenim Boateng said the partnership will enable industry access to research output to develop new products and improve their goods and service delivery. The Former PUG Registrar noted that senior staff have a role to play in the structure of the Universities to engage effectively in the productive sectors of the economy and not to be seen as an ivory tower. He revealed that there is more pressure on universities to move from conducting basic research to conducting action and relevant research. Now Universities have been called upon to move from only producing workforce for the economy but also to fully participating in the economy and providing technical assistance. The role of senior staff in academia-industry relationships therefore revolves around us and work, the relationship with our superiors (senior members), the targets, and the communication and work relationship. As the home of quality education based on SDG4, the senior staff of KNUST must support senior members to meet the goals and targets. According to Dr. Agyenim Boateng, the groundbreaking research and projects have had assistance or support in a way from the senior staff cadre as they offer administrative support, schedule meetings, make traveling arrangements, correspond, plan, and offer support for events and trips, among others. He therefore called for tact and diplomacy, discipline, and continuous professional development to offer the necessary support to senior members in academia-industry collaborations for national development.
The Internal Auditor of KNUST, Mr. Moses Tsiquaye, in his submission on “Financial Implications of the Roles of Senior Staff in Academia and Industry” called on senior staff to educate themselves on the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act, 2016 and to comply. According to the Internal Auditor, all financial transactions, and dealings in the performance of their duties and respective schedules should align with the laws of the Republic of Ghana. He noted that the PFM Act can be found in the Administrative Manual, the University’s Accounting Policies and Accounting Procedures, which have been documented and are available for reference. Mr. Tsiquaye said financial discipline is key and cautioned senior staff against acts that cause financial loss to the university and the nation at large.
The two-day event saw participation from senior staff groups including administrators, technicians, basic school staff, and hospital staff, among others. The 10th Summer School was sponsored by Angel Group of Companies, ASIB Company Limited, and Lancaster Kumasi City.