The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST) School of Business has officially launched “KSB BazeBite,” a restaurant facility designed to bridge the gap between theory and practice in business education while serving the university community.
Speaking at the launch, the Dean of the KSB, Professor Ahmed Agyapong explained that the idea for the project was inspired by observations of leading business schools across Africa, where similar facilities support both academic work and service delivery and a legacy project marking the School’s growth over the years.
“We have travelled across Africa, when you go to all these schools, they have nice facilities and restaurants serving the university community, students, and visitors,” he said.
He said that the initiative aligns with the University’s “One Department, One Start-up” initiative and was deliberately designed to complement the School’s core mandate.
“We did not want to do something which will take us away from our core business of teaching, research and community service,” he explained.
The Dean outlined the rationale behind the restaurant, emphasising its multiple benefits to students and the institution.
“This restaurant is going to serve as a teaching facility, training facility for our hospitality and tourism students,” he said. “It will also create an avenue for brilliant but needy students who can work on part-time basis and get something to support their education.”
Professor Agyapong further indicated that the facility responds to a practical need within the School’s enclave and also serve as its Internally Generated fund .
“There is no facility for students to have decent meals especially on weekends,” he noted, adding that the restaurant would also serve the growing number of distance learning students within the area. “More importantly, we will be able to generate income for the maintenance of our facilities,” he stated.
Professor Felicity Asiedu-Appiah, Vice Dean and Chairperson of the Planning Committee, explained that the initiative is anchored on three key objectives: providing an experiential learning platform, promoting entrepreneurship, and enhancing institutional sustainability.
‘‘As a living laboratory, the facility will allow students across disciplines including marketing, human resource management, hospitality management, and supply chain, to gain hands-on experience in areas such as customer service, operations management, and business analytics,’’ she said.
Professor Asiedu-Appiah added that the facility also forms part of the School’s legacy projects.
“As part of our 20th anniversary legacy initiatives, Base Bites represents a deliberate effort to create value-generating, student-centred and industry-relevant projects,” she added.
The Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Asamoah commended the School of Business for leading the way under the “One Department, One Start-up” initiative, expressing hope that other departments would follow suit.
“I’m very, very happy that it is KSB that has shown the way, my prayer is that it is not going to be just this one, but it is going to go further,” he added.
The Pro Vice-Chancellor further encouraged the School to leverage its expertise to manage and expand similar ventures across campus.
Provost of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Professor Charles Marfo praised the commitment and hard work of the team behind the initiative. He encouraged the team to push further and build on the foundation laid.
‘‘I like what you have done but I want to tell you to do even more. I’m quite excited to see your next creation,’’ he said.
