The Mastercard Foundation E-Learning Initiative at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, in collaboration with the KNUST E-Learning Centre with support from the Arizona State University (ASU), has commenced a two-week residential training programme for two hundred (200) e-Learning student ambassadors.
![Professor (Mrs.) Rita Akosua Dickson](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Professor%20%28Mrs.%29%20Rita%20Akosua%20Dickson_75.jpg)
Opening the Mastercard E-Learning Initiative training for students, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor (Mrs.) Rita Akosua Dickson, stated that the second batch of training for students under the KNUST Mastercard Foundation E-Learning Initiative is supported by the KNUST E-Learning Centre. She said KNUST takes pride in hosting the two hundred students carefully selected from KNUST’s affiliate Nursing Training Colleges and five (5) Colleges of Education alongside students from the KNUST Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. According to Professor (Mrs.) Rita Akosua Dickson, today’s world is undeniably digital and KNUST, as the leading science and technology University, has taken concrete and bold steps to embrace the e-space and succeed in its training. The focus of the training, she revealed is to equip students with the necessary digital skills and knowledge to help them become proficient online learners who will subsequently become beacons of online learning among their colleagues in their respective institutions. She continued that the participants would undergo hands-on training on Learning Management Systems and how to access and use various e-resources. The Vice-Chancellor reminded participants that the training is not just about acquiring technical skills but also about fostering a culture of digital literacy and innovation among the student body, introducing them to lifelong learning and employability skills. Professor (Mrs.) Dickson urged participants to make the most of the opportunity to learn and network. She commended the efforts of the facilitators, mostly Mastercard Foundation E-Learning Champions and partners Mastercard Foundation.
Representing the Affiliations Office, Mr. Oppong Gibridu, stated that with over one hundred and twenty (120) affiliate institutions comprising private universities, health training institutions and colleges of education, the participants were fortunate to have been selected for the training to become E-Learning ambassadors for their respective institutions. He continued that KNUST continues to lead and mentor its affiliate institutions and provide the necessary support in the affiliation partnership. He, therefore, encouraged the participants to take the training seriously and be ready to move along with changing trends presented by technology. He thanked the Management of the University, Mastercard Foundation E-Learning Initiative, and the KNUST E-Learning Centre for including faculty and students of affiliate institutions in E-Learning activities. Mr. Gibridu added that the world is moving at a fast pace in technology, and no one should be left behind. “It used to be analogue, then to digital and now Artificial Intelligence (AI), this means both faculty and students have to embrace technological advancements and changes to keep up.”
![Mr. Courage Julius Logah](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Mr.%20Courage%20Julius%20Logah_0.jpg)
The Principal Investigator (PI) of the Mastercard Foundation E-Learning Initiative, Mr. Courage Julius Logah, said that his outfit with the support from Management and partners continues to expand content training and capacity building of faculty to develop online content to make learning more flexible at anytime and anywhere. According to Mr. Logah, the future is still e-learning and using digital tools to enhance education. As a project, the Mastercard Foundation E-Learning Initiative and its partners are giving diverse skills to help students become effective learners and ambassadors of online learning to make their universities, institutions without borders. Mr. Logah thanked the Mastercard Foundation E-Learning Initiative in Canada for providing the needed support through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at KNUST, whose benevolence has supported the University to build a more robust and resilient online teaching and learning ecosystem, not only in KNUST but in affiliate institutions. He also commended the Executive Advisory Board of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at KNUST and the facilitators on behalf of the E-Learning Initiative team.
![Professor Eric Appau Asante](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Professor%20Eric%20Appau%20Asante_4.jpg)
Giving an overview of the training, the Director of the KNUST E-Learning Centre, Professor Eric Appau Asante took participants through the nine (9) modules of the training. He said participants would learn the psychology of online learning and portfolio building. This module seeks to help expose the participants to issues of anxiety and apprehension in online learning and to instil in them a positive attitude towards E-Learning and not to see it as an emergency. Other modules are E-resources for digital learning, multimedia tools for online learning, branding yourself as an online learner, the virtual classroom interface, and collaborative tools for online learning.