Ing. Prof. Samuel Innocent Kofi Ampadu, the Provost of the College of Engineering and now President of the Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE), was born on 30th November 1956 at Kwahu Mpraeso in the Eastern Region of Ghana. He had his Basic education at the Mpraeso Roman Catholic Elementary School and then his O’level and A’level education at Pope John and St. Peter’s Secondary School respectively.

He graduated from KNUST in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering. He did his National Service in the Department of Civil Engineering as a Teaching Assistant; became an Assistant Lecturer and then a lecturer in 1985. In 1986 he gained admission into the Tokyo University’s advanced Institute of Industrial Science to pursue his postgraduate studies and later his PhD. After obtaining his doctorate in 1991 he joined a Japanese construction company in Tokyo as a post-doctoral intern for a year before returning to KNUST to resume his lectureship.

Ing. Prof Ampadu was admitted to the Class of Member of the Ghana Institution of Engineers in 1986 and was promoted to the class of Fellow in 2006. He served as Chairman of the Ashanti Regional Branch of the Ghana Institution of Engineers from 2008-2009 and served two terms as Vice President of the Ghana Institution of Engineers chairing the Institution’s Education Committee from 2009-2011.

Prof. Ampadu’s expertise in Geotechnical and in Development engineering has been tapped for various projects in the country. In Ghana he has served as Geotechnical Consultant on several projects including the West African Gas Pipeline Project.  In the sub-region his expertise has been used by several Development Partners including the EU and GTZ in the rebuilding of Liberia and Sierra Leone.

His interest in using construction to reduce poverty, led him to develop a project to support the widespread application of labour-based methods for rural road construction under the sponsorship of the International Labour Office and the Department of Feeder Roads of the Ministry of Roads and Highways.

It therefore comes as no surprise that the Ghana Institution of Engineers has elected him to serve a one year term as its 43rd President, making him the fourth President of the Institution from KNUST. The University Relations Office caught up with him in his office at the College of Engineering.

URO: Good evening Prof.

PROF: Good evening.

URO: On behalf of the KNUST Relations Office, I congratulate you on your assumption into office as the President of the Ghana Institution of Engineers.

PROF: Thank you.

URO: Prof, how does it feel to be the President of such a great Institution as the GhIE?

PROF: Well, it is a very interesting question that you have asked; it is intimidating but, it is also challenging to be elected President of the GhIE because most of the people who have served in this capacity have been much older than me and so are more experienced than me. It is challenging in the sense that the Institution has placed their confidence in you so I find that very challenging.

URO: Did you ever dream of this or was it a personal ambition to become the President of GhIE?

PROF: No! I never expected that this will happen; even when I served as the Ashanti Regional Representative of the Institution I still did not expect that one day I will become the President of the Ghana Institution of Engineers.

URO: Did it come to you as a surprise when you were elected President?

PROF: It did not come to me as a surprise because, we go through certain processes and we have a long procedure. You go through it, and then you are nominated and voted for. So I was voted as the president elect last year; and had to work with my predecessor for a year before assuming office.

URO: Will you say working with your predecessor for a year has fully prepared you for the presidency?

PROF: To an extent!, because you will be part of the Executive Committee so you will know and see everything that goes on, you will also know what the past executives have done and what you can do to build on what has already been started.

URO: How are you going to combine your duties as a Provost and a President to ensure productivity and effectiveness in both fields?

PROF: Like I said, I have had one year as president elect and that makes me part of the Executive Committee where I attended Council meetings. GhIE has a very effective Secretariat, and our scheduled meeting days are twice in a month which is not so demanding but apart from our well established secretariat that handles the day to day activities, you also have the immediate Past President working with you; and all these people come on board to help. There are people around who can attend programmes on my behalf as and when it becomes necessary. I know with the structures we have in place, the good counselors and the support from the secretariat I will succeed in both fields. Remember I said am the fourth person from KNUST and they all lived up to expectation so I will make it.

 URO: What are your plans for the GhIE?

PROF: I have plans to continue with all on-going Council business and initiatives, but in addition, I will focus on four key areas. That is: Continuing the administrative structural reforms at the secretariat of the Institution designed to allow us  to effectively implement the requirements of the Engineering Council Act’, Facilitating knowledge sharing between younger and more experienced engineers, Bringing education and practice closer together and Rewarding engineering excellence and innovation

URO: Could you briefly expatiate on the four areas you have just outlined?

PROF: In order to implement what the Engineering Council Act requires, we need to make changes to the structure of our Secretariat and during my term in office, we shall work to complete the reforms already initiated at the Secretariat in order to obtain an organisation with appropriate structures to allow us meet our obligations under the Engineering Council Act.

I will also put in place measures to facilitate knowledge sharing through the strategy of community impact projects and improved mechanisms for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and the brain behind this is to facilitate transfer of knowledge from more experienced Engineers to the younger ones. The Institution will also focus on the provision of learning experiences for students in the form of internship because the availability of quality internship is a key input to the quality of engineering education. And finally, we shall recognise engineers who have achieved some excellence in practice or some innovation in application of engineering. 

URO: How is KNUST going to benefit from your tenure in office as the President of GhIE?

PROF: I think every President brings his background along with him and my background has been in education and training. I know KNUST is already into education and training of Engineers and so there will be a lot of collaboration between KNUST and GhIE. And I expect the two institutions to become closer than before.

URO: Prof, I know Ghana is counting on Engineers in this Country for solutions to water shortage problems, poor roads, and power outages among others. Are we finally getting solutions to these problems?

PROF: Yes, I have heard this from almost everybody and I believe it is a legimate question to ask because that is what people expect from Engineers and I will be happy if people demand good services from Engineers but will also call on the public, government, stakeholders and everybody to allow engineers do their work without any interference; and if that is done, roads that engineers construct will last because they will be practicing what we have taught them in school. The problem is not with the Engineers that is why am calling on everyone to allow Engineers do their work; politicians should do politics, students should learn and Engineers should be allowed to do their Engineering works; because Engineering touches so much on every aspect of our daily lives there is a tendency for us to think that everybody can do engineering and so people meddle too much in the affairs of Engineers.

URO: Are we going to see Ghanaian Engineers as first point of call for major Construction works in the Country in your term in office?

PROF:  I think this is an issue that everybody has been concerned about, we as a people should have confidence in ourselves and allow our institutions to work.  If we do that we should be able to develop and develop fast. We have had situations where the people who give us loans dictate certain things but it has not always been that we have had very weak legal frameworks.  If we have in our laws that you cannot build anything in Ghana unless certified by a Ghanaian Engineer; whether you are bringing the money or we are borrowing the money, the law must work. In that case, local knowledge will be needed but until then, we will continue to engage the

Government in this area because it is not a one sided thing; we cannot say this is what we want if the government is not in support.

URO: Finally Prof, what advice would you give to upcoming Engineers who are looking up to you?

PROF: Well, my advice to all who are looking up to me is that they should look out for excellence because there is no short cut to success. I f you do a good job you will always be recognised. Young people should desire excellence in all they do and society will recognise their excellence in Leadership. Students should study hard and whatever is due them will come at the right time. 

URO: Thank you Prof for making time for this interview.

PROF: You are welcome.