5 Institutions granted $2.5 million for research

Enoch Darfah Frimpong Dec - 04 - 2013 , 05:26

Five institutions have benefited from a $2.5 million grant from the Council of Technical Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) to undertake research that will support the growth and development of the private sector.

The institutions are: The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), University of Ghana, Ghana Telecom University College (GTUC) and the Kumasi Polytechnic.

Each of the institutions received $500,000.

The five beneficiary institutions received the money under the implementation of the Ghana Skills and Technology Development Project (GSTDP); an initiative of the Government of Ghana, with funding from the World Bank.

GSTDP, among other things, aims at improving demand-driven skills development and increased adoption of new technologies in selected economic sectors of the country.

At the signing of the agreement between the beneficiaries and COTVET last Monday, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei, charged the beneficiary institutions to use their funds for the intended purposes.

He called for a strong collaboration between the beneficiary institutions and COTVET to ensure the success of the research they would undertake for the development of the private sector.

The Project Coordinator and Head of the COTVET Project Support Unit (PSU), Mr Matthew Dally, said the provision of the funds fell within Component Two of the GSTDP, which aimed at strengthening the development of science and technology institutions in the country.

“This entails strengthening the planning, management and coordination of national science, technology and innovation policies and programmes in order to make efficient use of resources and complement the national economic development plan,” he said.