One hundred and twenty students have been selected for the inaugural PartnerAfrika – Projekt KNUST 2022 Summer Internship Programme.

The three-year Project is funded by Unternehmer Baden-Wurttemberg (UBW), a German government funding agency through Sequa.

It seeks to bring students and Professionals within the framework of the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation.

Since June 2021, the PartnerAfrika-Projekt KNUST project team has taken significant steps with Partners Arqum and AGI to ensure Economic Sustainability in the Ghanaian Industry.

The internship phase saw over 400 applications, of which 120 were shortlisted.

In the next 4 weeks, shortlisted students will go through a preparatory programme to prepare them for their internships.

The training programme consists of 12 modules, which is a blend of technical sessions on environment sustainability as well as sub skills to make students integrate effectively into industry.

It will help to strengthen the organizational structure and improve upon the service offer of the Association of Ghana Industries.

Developing and implementing further training and consultation services so that the various industries are cleaner and more efficient is another objective.

Lastly, the project will develop practical and parallel projects in companies to develop good practices with the hope that they will be sustainable and efficient.

Principal investigator, Prof. Jerry John Kponyo, is optimistic the project mutually affects both the students and industry.

“By the time this Project ends, we should have made a major impact in the career path of these students while introducing new and improved methods to the companies who opted to take in our participants.

“I trust you will use this to build your capacity and better your career prospects,” he explained.

Provost of the College of Engineering, Prof. Mark Adom-Asamoah advised the participants to uphold environmental sustainability and be submissive to derive the maximum benefits.

“The College of Engineering welcomes all present to the inaugural class and duly congratulates all students here present; your applications resonated with the mandate of this project. Environmental Sustainability is at the core of the industry.

“Today, many organizations in Ghana are finding new ways of engineering solutions that are eco-friendly and non-hazardous. Your input is needed to make this happen.

“I admonish you to take this journey seriously and submit yourselves to being coached by the Officers you will meet in the field. The training team is experienced in the topics going to be discussed, and I encourage you to ask a lot of questions,” he said.

Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ellis Owusu-Dabo who spoke on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor assured the beneficiaries of the University’s support during the internship period.

“We will put in place the necessary measures to facilitate teaching and learning to engineer a memorable and pleasurable activity.

“I have complete confidence in all of you and look forward to seeing the change you implement in Industry,” he said.

Regional Chairman of AGI, Ashanti, Bono East, and Ahafo regions, Kwasi Nyamekye, was hopeful the collaboration will carve a succession plan for the industries.

“We’ll collaborate fully with the school so that students that come out get the right training, so they fit in the industries immediately they come out of school,” he said.