The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has held its 9th Summer School, 2021 for Staff of the University. This year’s event commenced on Tuesday, 31st August, 2021 and ends on Friday, 3rd September 2021.
The Opening Ceremony which was held at the Great Hall saw participants from various Colleges, Units, and individuals from some partner institutions of the University in attendance.
The theme for this year’s Summer School is ‘SDGs and Universities: Actions Towards KNUST’s Mandate at 70 and Beyond’. This year’s Summer School will be decentralised into various Colleges and Units because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Head of Quality Assurance and Planning Unit (QAPU), Professor Jerry John Kponyo welcomed participants to the ceremony. He said that this year’s Summer School is unique in many ways because KNUST would be celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.
He added that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the University had made provision for a hybrid system of participation for this year’s event, as a result, participants could either join online or in-person for the various sessions. Professor Kponyo encouraged all participants to fully participate in the various sessions.
Addressing the participants, the Vice Chancellor of KNUST, Professor (Mrs.) Rita Akosua Dickson said, the purpose of the Summer School was to bring together staff of the University, affiliate institutions, and partners to share and acquire knowledge on critical development issues. She added that the 9th Summer School would equip participants with knowledge in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to improve the quality of work and promote higher quality education in Ghana.
Professor Dickson encouraged academia to create constructive partnerships with other institutions of higher learning and its stakeholders to implement the use of science, constructive research, and innovations to drive and achieve the various SDGs. She was hopeful that at the end of the Summer School, all participants would acquire new knowledge to improve performance at their various workplaces.
In her address, Mrs. Mathilda Freda Marful, the Chief Executive Director (CED), Clean-Africa e.V, one of the main sponsors for this year’s Summer School, expressed gratitude to KNUST for the partnership.
She noted that networking was a key factor in the quest to attain the SDGs and was confident that the partnership between KNUST and Clean-Africa would yield good dividends.
This is the first in a series of collaborations after a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the two institutions. Mrs. Marful stated that Clean-Africa e.V had over 6000 members globally with academicians from various cultural backgrounds collaborating with other stakeholders. “The impact of our events has grown steadily with projects like; LaNCoR, ATaFoSS, PAMBA, BRAIN-GAIN, CoSdEP, MIBSIP and the ongoing SDG4UNiS,” she said.
She expressed the hope that the collaboration between the two institutions would also find expression in research activities and tangible projects as part of the quest towards the Global Developmental Agenda.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder of Intelligence Nature International, Dr. William Bannerman said the activities of humans had negatively affected the planet earth, and it was the responsibility of humans to protect the earth to guarantee the sustainability of life on the planet.
Dr. Bannerman said a United Nations report indicated that the attainment of the SDGs had been affected by increased poverty and unemployment rates because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Member of Parliament for the Suame Constituency and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Honorable Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, who joined the programme on a virtual platform, called for collaboration between the University and artisans to create sustainable jobs for the youth.
In a podium discussion, the Vice-President of the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences (FRA-UAS), Professor Martina Klaerle, Professor Hans Jurgen Schmitz, Professor Ellis Owusu-Dabo, Pro Vice Chancellor of KNUST, all called for a sustainable and integrated approach to help achieve the SDGs.
Other sponsors of this year’s Summer School include GCB Bank Limited, Stivo Company Limited, Adombi Hostel, Ayeduase, AE Chase Energy Limited, Mmanab Company Limited, Asib Company Limited, and Papnoble Ventures Ghana Limited, LabChem Limited, Mr. Quophi Fashions, Fondj Images, Latex Foam Gh Limited, Lab Aid, C. Woemann Gh Limited and J. A. Adjei Enterprise.
