The Council Chairman of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST), Akyamfour Asafo Boakye Agyemang-Bonsu, has outlined a series of partnership initiatives aimed at positioning the university as a global innovation hub.
Speaking at the Kaptains of Industry Soirée and Awards Nite in Accra, Akyamfour said that while the university had achieved excellence, shifts in the global landscape demanded a more ambitious outlook.
“We were founded on a mandate: to produce the scientists, the engineers, the architects and the planners who will build a new Africa and, quite interestingly, we have delivered, and let’s be proud of ourselves. We have achieved excellence…We have to be eminent,” he said.
He reiterated KNUST’s 2035 strategic vision, which seeks to reposition the institution beyond traditional academia.
“Our vision for 2035 is to position your KNUST not just as a university but as a global innovation hub. We’re building a living laboratory, where the problems of Africa meet the solutions of science,” he said. “Plan 2035 is not just a document; it is a battle plan.”
Akyamfour highlighted the proposed Moonshot Fund, which he said would place KNUST at the centre of cutting-edge research and innovation, and appealed to alumni to support the completion of the university’s Teaching Hospital to improve healthcare delivery in Ghana’s middle belt.
While acknowledging government support, he cautioned against over-reliance on public funding.
“We’re not asking for charity; we’re proposing a partnership,” he said.
As part of efforts to strengthen alumni engagement, he announced the establishment of an Office of University Advancement.
“We’re creating commercial sabbaticals where you can come and teach, and our professors can come and work with you,” he added.
He also revealed plans for a venture-philanthropy model that would allow alumni investors to share in intellectual property rights arising from university research.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Mrs. Rita Akosua Dickson, praised alumni for supporting student training through internships and practical exposure and called for sustained partnerships to advance the university’s development.
“Please, come to the aid of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,” she said.
The event, held under the theme “Partnership in Progress,” honoured alumni who have contributed significantly to the growth of the university and also saw the launch of the KNUST Alumni Endowment Fund and the inauguration of its first Board of Trustees.
Global President of the Alumni Association, Dr. Herman Yobo Addae, described the fund as transformational.
“This fund and the eminent people we have appointed to administer it give us the confidence that the support we’ve given in the past, if we multiply it a hundredfold and bring it in, will bear a millionfold,” he said.
Alumnus Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, Ghana’s Minister for the Interior, recounting opportunities the university had offered him, urged fellow alumni to give their full support to ensure KNUST’s continued success in Ghana and across Africa.
Award recipients included Mr. Hackman Owusu Agyemang, Dr. Laud Kemetse of Laud K Pharmacy and Crush Smoothies and Juice Bar, Ing. Kwabena Agyepong, Eric Kofi Buckmann and Joseph Eshun, among others. Corporate awardees included Antarctic Construction Limited, Cal Bank PLC, Stanbic Ghana, AndySarp Enterprise, MTN Ghana and Multinec Enterprise.
University officials present at the ceremony included the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. David Asamoah; the Registrar, Mr. Benjamin Boampong Owusu; the Finance Officer, Dr. Charles Nsiah; the Director of the Office of Grants and Research, Prof. Jerry John Kponyo; the Provost of the College of Health Sciences; the Provost of the College of Engineering, Prof. Kwabena Biritwum Nyarko; Prof. Christian Agyare; the Director of the Institute of Distance Learning, Prof. Anthony Andrews; the Director of the E-Learning Centre, Prof. Emmanuel Akowuah; and the Dean of the International Programmes Office, Prof. Edmund Ekuadzi.
