.JPG "Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah")
Trade Minister proposes special research fund for academia
The Minister for Trade and Industry, Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, has proposed the setting up of a special research fund for academia to provide tailor-made findings for addressing industrial and economic-related needs.
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He has offered to provide a personal seed money of GH¢10,000 for the ‘Ghana Research Fund’ if his proposal is accepted by stakeholders.
The initiative, he explained, was to raise up to GH¢1 billion to assist researchers who would collaborate with industry to conduct research according to the specific needs of firms.
Summer school
Dr Spio-Garbrah made the proposal at the opening of the four-day sixth Summer School organised by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi on Monday.
Organised on the theme: “Strengthening the linkage among academia, industry and government”, the annual school is an innovation of the university to offer staff the opportunity to increase their skills and knowledge in selected areas to promote productivity and excellence.
It is a gathering of experts from different fields of study from sister universities, both local and abroad, as well as industrial players and the government.
Critical topics
Dr Spio-Garbrah said it should be possible for industry to provide five crucial topics for researchers to tackle and the research findings implemented by industry to help change the face of production.
He called for a dramatic change in the national educational curricula to teach courses that were relevant to the current economic needs of the country.
Platform
The Vice Chancellor of KNUST, Prof. Kwasi Obiri-Danso, promised to create a platform for university scientists to engage industry players. It would be dubbed: ‘The Vice-Chancellor’s quarterly meeting’.
The problem-solving avenue, he said, would add up to periodic public lectures by experts and industrial giants and help create high technology jobs for students.