The Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Professor (Mrs.) Rita Akosua Dickson, has called on local industries to partner with the University to commercialise its research outputs. She made this call during the College and Industry panel discussion held on Tuesday, 10th May 2022 at the Great Hall.

She believes that partnerships with industry and investors would translate scientific and technological findings into impactful societal solutions. “The problems of society are the University’s problems; hence, we go through research to profess solutions to the problems of humanity. We, therefore, welcome the industries to commercialise the research outcomes so that they will be beneficial to the society.”

The Vice-Chancellor charged the Planning Committee with organizing a panel discussion like this in the following series of activities to commemorate the 70th Anniversary, allowing students to interact with industry professionals. This event she said, could be aptly titled "Today's Industrial Captains Meet Tomorrows.’’

The purpose of the meeting between these Captains of Industry and Provosts of the Colleges was to have an open discussion about how the University has performed in carrying out its mandate of training industry workforce, as well as to receive suggestions and feedback on how the University can improve.

Impressed by the innovative projects exhibited, the Executive Director of Agri-Impact Consult, Mr. Daniel Acquaye, lauded the Department of Food Science and Technology and the College of Engineering for their innovative projects that focus on solving problems facing the Agricultural sector.

He revealed that a university such as KNUST should have a national focus; that is coming up with innovations that solve national problems. ‘The University must begin to address issues that affect the nation such as food scarcity, and plastic waste among others. They cannot handle this alone, thus, the need to tap into the networks and partnerships they have, he said.

The Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana Limited, Mrs. Patricia Obo-Nai, assured her outfit’s commitment to supporting Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (WiSTEM) at KNUST to inspire young females to pursue STEM programmes for national development.

Mr. Eric Osei, the Managing Director of Sysmex West and Central Africa, indicated that the exhibition also featured healthcare tools that helped in providing solutions during the Covid-19 Pandemic. He promised to assist KNUST in the area of business model and research funding.

Ambassador Edward Boateng in his submission observed that for KNUST to continue to make impactful innovations that solve societal problems, there is the need to make a conscious effort to work towards attracting capital and position itself to change the narrative. The Alumni network also must be strengthened.

Provosts of Colleges and Director of the Institute of Distance Learning (IDL) commended the Alumni for their commitment and support towards the development of their Alma Mata in diverse ways. They noted that moving forward, there is the need to shape the way the University think and start to do things differently which involves engaging the industry in activities of the Colleges; ensuring students have requisite exposure to the industry to improve their confidence level before going to the job market and hold seminars that would allow students interact with key industry players.