The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST) and Nelson Mandela University in South Africa are exploring a formal partnership in research, innovation, technology and student development.
A delegation led by Nelson Mandela University Vice-Chancellor Professor Sibongile Muthwa visited KNUST to identify shared priorities and opportunities for collaboration.
Muthwa said the visit formed part of efforts to strengthen partnerships with African universities and contribute to the continent’s development.
Although the two institutions already worked together in research management, joint grant writing and entrepreneurship, they had no formal institutional partnership, she said.
“We are really wanting to explore what could, if anything could work, what could work,” Professor Muthwa said, emphasising the need to identify complementary strengths.
She outlined potential areas of collaboration, including postgraduate and postdoctoral research, staff and student exchanges, visiting scholar programmes, entrepreneurship and joint capacity development.
The universities’ shared African identity and values provided a foundation for a sustainable partnership, she added.
Professor Darelle van Greunen, Director of the Centre for Community Technologies and Acting Director of Nelson Mandela University’s Science Centre, said combining the institutions’ research strengths could support joint programmes and interdisciplinary research.
Such collaboration could advance an African-led research agenda and create opportunities for staff and students, she said.
Van Greunen highlighted KNUST’s expertise in engineering and technology, water and environmental sanitation, renewable energy and artificial intelligence. She identified the Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Centre and the Brew-Hammond Energy Centre as potential partners for joint research.
She called for an implementation framework to translate any formal agreement into tangible results.
“We would like to look at it, an action framework, an implementation framework so that it's not just a piece of paper that sits in a cupboard somewhere,” she said.
KNUST Vice-Chancellor Professor Christian Agyare welcomed the discussions and expressed interest in strengthening collaboration, particularly in research.
Agyare said KNUST’s local and sub-regional partnerships, alongside the expertise of its research centres and faculties, provided a basis for joint initiatives.
He identified artificial intelligence and other emerging research fields as opportunities for collaboration, adding that Nelson Mandela University’s mission and vision aligned with KNUST’s priorities in research and partnerships across Africa.
Story: Eunice Ofori Photos: Isaac Kwaku Duah
