Summer school opens in Kumasi

The fifth batch of the International Development Summer Institute for 21 undergraduate students selected from the University of Pennsylvania in the United States of America (USA)  and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has opened at the university in Kumasi.

The four-week summer school, jointly organised by the Technology Consultancy Centre (TCC) of the College of Engineering of KNUST and the University of Pennsylvania of USA, would provide students with the opportunity to have an applied learning and intercultural experience on health, history, education, micro-finance and appropriate technology. 

Addressing the audience at the opening ceremony on behalf of the Provost of the College of Engineering, Prof. Samuel I. K. Ampadu, Prof Mohammed Salifu, the Head of Civil Engineering of the college, said the summer school was a method under which students learnt and developed through active participation in well-organised programmes that were conducted to meet the needs of the  community.     

He said the summer school was the collaborative efforts of the two institutions to create a diverse global network to empower the universities to tackle some of the challenges confronting humanity, particularly those living in developing countries.

 The Director of TCC of the College of Engineering (KNUST), Dr G. Y. Obeng,  said the objective of TCC was to create learning opportunities for both local and international students to share learning experience on culture, health and appropriate technology.

The Associate Director of International and Service-Learning Programmes of the University of Pennsylvania, Ms Megan Doherty, expressed her appreciation to the KNUST for the collaborative efforts with her institute to share ideas for the development of students of the two universities.

She said the University of Pennsylvania and the KNUST would soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the cordial relationship between the two universities in the areas of programmes and research.