Beneficiaries of Innovations for African Universities (IAU), a project that seeks to foster entrepreneurial skills among university students, to leverage the expertise and resources made available to them to create solutions and improve the lives of Ghanaians has been encouraged.
The IAU, which started about two years ago at the University of Ghana, aims to build the capacity of students to enable them to develop successful businesses.
The project, implemented by the Research, Innovation and Development Office of the University of Ghana in partnership with Impact Hub Accra and Imperial College London, is supported by the British Council.
Speaking at the conclusion of the second phase of the project and the inauguration of the third phase in Accra, Professor Felix Ankomah Asante, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Development, University of Ghana, commended the impact of the project on the participants and society.
He said, in the last few months, significant progress has been made in the entrepreneurship landscape, bridging the gap between universities and industry, promoting research and development and also creating a platform for innovation and entrepreneurship.
“Through the Innovations for African Universities programme, we have been able to create a community of innovators and entrepreneurs who are changing the African education landscape,” he said.
In the second phase of the project, which ends in July 2022, about twenty-eight teams with about 100 students participated.
Among other things, he was given advice on how to keep his business going.
Prof Asante said there were remarkable success stories from participants who had leveraged the knowledge and resources gained from the program to create sustainable solutions to some of Africa’s most pressing challenges.
“I would like to take this opportunity to urge all our participants to continue to be ambassadors of innovation and change in their respective communities. Let us work together to transform Ghana and Africa and create solutions that will improve the lives of millions of people around the world. Continue to leverage expertise and resources.
As part of efforts to foster collaboration between universities, industry and government to drive innovation and address Africa’s most pressing challenges, Professor Asante said, the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) As part of the efforts to formulate a solution. was accepted to participate in the third phase of the project.
He urged the participants to remain committed to driving innovation, creating new business models and promoting research and development by continuously leveraging the knowledge and resources gained from the programme.
Dr. Karen na Abeka Arthur, Director, Design Thinking and Innovation Hub, UCC, said the decision to bring on board implementation partners from other institutions was a step in the right direction as it created an opportunity to share lessons learned from the model tested. Opportunity created. Effect.
“We, at the University of Cape Coast, through our Design Thinking and Innovation Hub, aim to unlock student creativity, develop innovative ideas, provide opportunities for career development and harness invention and creative research outcomes for commercialisation. Have also experimented with different models for the same.
“Therefore, we see this partnership as an opportunity for us to co-create entrepreneurship support systems that take into account the unique characteristics of public universities and Ghanaian society,” he said on his behalf by Mr. Mark Akto-Senaman said in a speech read out, Business Development Officer, Design Thinking and Innovation Hub, UCC.
Mr. Kelechi Ofoegbu, co-founder of Impact Hub Accra, said that the ability to scale up the project to the third phase by involving other institutions is a step in the right direction.
“The idea of moving forward from our learnings today is something we will continue to do. With the impact of the Accra perspective, we are always on standby to be part of the ongoing process,” he said.
Madam Akorfa Dawson, Higher Education Project Manager, British Council, commended the implementers of the project for expanding to other universities, assuring them of continued support from the Council to ensure that the businesses emerging from the project are sustained.