Legon launches technology transfer centre
The University of Ghana has launched its Technology Development and Transfer Centre (TDTC) aimed at providing the platform for industry to access innovations from researches conducted at the school.
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The centre would also provide a forum for the university to engage with industry, understand its needs and develop demand-driven technologies that are well suited for the industry’s needs.
Through this centre, the academic community would be able to make an impact through the transfer of technologies from the laboratory to the market place.
Speaking at the launch, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Ernest Aryeetey, said the TDTC would bridge the gap between the school and the private sector through the provision of cutting edge technology through research.
The university, he said, was repositioning itself as far as research was concerned, and the centre would, therefore, play a leading role in achieving that.
Professor Aryeetey also added that the centre would pursue demand-driven research with potential end- users in mind, all in a bid to promote the relationship between industry and academia.
According to him, although previous researches had not been highlighted in the public domain, the centre would serve as a medium for telling the world the quality of researches carried out at the school and how businesses can benefit from the innovations resulting from them.
A former Deputy Minister of Environment, Science,Technology and Innovation, Dr Mohammed Musheibu-Alfa, lauding efforts involved in establishing the centre, said beside the issue of acquiring funds for research, one major challenge was how to transfer the knowledge from research into something more productive.
Establishment of the centre
The Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Development at the University of Ghana, Professor John Gyapong, said the university was awarded a grant to implement this concept of transferring technology to industry in response to a call from the Council for Technical, Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) and the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI).
The centre, he said, would initially focus on technology transfer activities in the area of livestock, horticulture and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) stressing that “this was the focus of our proposal.”
Skills and technology develpment
The Executive Director of COTVET, Mr Sebastian Dey, said the Ghana Skills and Technology Development Programme, was a home-grown programme by the government of Ghana in response to the challenge of linking education to industry and training.