The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has partnered with the AFOS Foundation to enhance female students' employability in technology-related fields.
The agreement was formalized with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 13th February 2025.
The initiative focuses on capacity building and digital skills development, aiming to provide female students with job-ready training to tackle the global unemployment crisis.
The Director of the E-Learning Centre, Professor Eric Appau Asante, explained that in November last year, the AFOS Foundation reached out to KNUST to explore a potential collaboration after initially partnering with other institutions.
Given their focus on science and technology, the team visited the university’s facilities, found them suitable, and subsequently sought management’s approval to formalize the partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding.
The Project Manager of the AFOS Foundation, Ms. Hanna Schlingmann, expressed her excitement about the partnership. She noted that KNUST’s strong reputation in STEM education and its commitment to gender inclusion made it an ideal partner.
“We’re looking at reaching out to a large number of female students who have technical skills, and KNUST is the place to go. You know, it's always about sustainable projects. We're not just offering training that will vanish into thin air afterward. The idea is to make it more sustainable through the technologies that are available these days,” she said.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor (Mrs.) Akosua Dickson, highlighted the university’s STEM for Girls policy, designed to encourage more females to enter science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
She emphasized the importance of sustainability in training and the need to transform MOUs into tangible results.
“Unemployment is a global challenge, and we must ensure that our youth, especially women, gain the necessary skills to thrive in the digital economy. KNUST is not just training employees but employers,” she stated.
She assured stakeholders of the university’s commitment to ensuring that the collaboration leads to impactful change, rather than just being a shelved agreement
