Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST) and the Mastercard Foundation have renewed their commitment to expanding educational opportunities for young Africans following a high-level visit by a delegation from the Foundation.
The delegation was led by Humeyra Karsli, Head of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Partner Network, who said the visit was primarily for an onboarding session designed to create an engagement platform between scholars and Foundation representatives, and to provide an overview of the Foundation’s work.
“The goal of the onboarding is to have this moment for scholars where we explain to them what the Mastercard Foundation is,” she said.
She underscored the importance of the Foundation’s partnership with KNUST.
“You’re a big institution and one of our legacy partners. This partnership is very important to the Mastercard Foundation,” she stated.
Karsli commended the university’s ability to maximise opportunities under the programme, describing its approach as a reflection of strong institutional agility.
Prof. Kofi Owusu-Daaku, Coordinating Lead and Principal Investigator for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at KNUST, reaffirmed the university’s commitment to ensuring that no scholarship slot remains unused, explaining that unfilled slots are reassigned to eligible students in other year groups.
“We will never allow any space to go to waste,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, Professor (Mrs.) Rita Akosua Dickson, described the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme as a catalyst for change across Africa.
“When families are touched, communities are touched; when communities are touched, nations are touched,” she said.
Prof. Mrs. Dickson expressed the university’s appreciation for the partnership and reiterated its commitment to continuous improvement and collaboration.
“KNUST appreciates this opportunity of partnership, and we want to reaffirm our commitment to that,” she stated.
She encouraged the Foundation to provide regular feedback to strengthen programme delivery.
“Give us all the feedback and we will ensure that we work on them all towards making sure that we have continuous improvement in training these young ones,” she added.
Other members of the delegation included Wilfred Ahouansou, Lead, MCF Scholars Program Partner Network, and Mimi Koranteng, Partner, MCF Scholars Program Partner Communications.
