The Graduate Students’ Association of Ghana (GRASAG) chapter at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has inaugurated a research fund aimed at bolstering and advancing the research endeavors of its graduate students. This fund is designed to provide financial support to graduate students as they embark on research projects aimed at addressing societal challenges and fostering innovation.
The President of the 31st GRASAG KNUST, Felix Kofi Adusei, emphasized the importance of this fund in empowering graduate researchers to explore their innovative ideas. He stressed that the reputation of the university hinges on its research output, underscoring the necessity of establishing such a fund and a dedicated research hub.
In her remarks, the Vice Chancellor of KNUST, Prof. Mrs. Rita Akosua Dickson, reiterated the university’s commitment to promoting research aimed at enhancing societal welfare. She highlighted KNUST’s recognition as the best university in the world for providing quality education, as per the 2023 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, emphasizing the university’s strong emphasis on research.
The Vice Chancellor emphasized the need for research outcomes to be commercialized and urged industries to adopt the prototypes and policy briefs generated from research endeavors to address the daily challenges faced by society. Prof. Mrs. Dickson emphasized, “As a leading Science and Technology University, it is our mandate and responsibility to use research to provide solutions to the challenges facing humanity.”
Furthermore, she appealed to the public for support in this initiative, calling on institutions, corporate organizations, and individuals to contribute to the graduate research fund. She underscored the university’s commitment to ensuring that research outcomes have a tangible impact on society, both locally and globally.
“We want to assure everyone that the impact of our research will extend beyond the confines of the university campus and will positively affect the lives of people in Ghana, the subregion, Africa, and beyond,” Prof. Mrs. Dickson concluded.