The Dean of the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Prof Humphrey Danso, has called for a stronger emphasis on applied research to address societal challenges and shape national policy.

He made the call while delivering the keynote address at the 2nd Postgraduate Research Conference held at Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU), where he urged postgraduate students to prioritise innovation and solution-oriented research.

Prof Danso stressed that research must go beyond theory to produce tangible outcomes that directly impact society.

“We are tasked to conduct applied research, and we should understand that our research should not be one with shallow outcomes. The research should solve problems that are within our society. For practical problems and those existing products and services that have issues, we should conduct research to improve them, and also improve policies. That is what applied research seeks to do,” he said.

He further cautioned against overly abstract studies, encouraging students to focus on practical issues that can yield measurable results.

“We should look at issues that will resolve some problems within our society, not abstract things. Not philosophical frameworks, no one seems to understand. Let us go into research out of which we can produce something tangible and solve the problems we have,” he added.

The conference, organised in collaboration with the Graduate Students Association of Ghana (GRASAG), was held under the theme “Impact of applied research on national development”.

Key outcomes from the event included calls for greater integration of indigenous knowledge with modern science, increased investment in applied research, and stronger collaboration among universities, industry and government under the Triple Helix model.

Representing the Vice-Chancellor, the acting Pro Vice-Chancellor of CCTU, Prof Emmanuel Kwaw, reiterated the importance of research that delivers practical solutions to societal challenges. He reaffirmed the university’s commitment to strengthening its research capacity and impact.

“There is a need for sustainable solutions. As a research-led institution, CCTU holds a responsibility to provide actionable solutions to problems. As a VC, I believe in the ability of my faculty and postgraduate students that they can help to solve some of these societal problems. As an institution, our focus remains steadfast on strengthening our research initiatives in alignment with our mandate as a Technical University and our niche. We expect that our graduate students, wherever they are, will make CCTU known,” he said.

Also speaking at the conference, the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies at CCTU, Prof Emmanuel Bamfo-Agyei, highlighted the role of technical universities in producing industry-ready professionals.

“The role of technical universities in Ghana is in our theme. Our role is to produce technologists who will produce things for us. Usually, traditional universities train minds to be philosophical, where they focus on design. But the technical university will have to take those designs and build them up to something that can be used. Now that we have transitioned from the polytechnic, where we trained technicians, we are now training technologists who take the next level to produce things. This is very commendable because that is what Ghana needs,” he noted.

The two-day conference featured paper presentations on construction management, surveying and cost control in construction projects, and brought together university management, faculty, researchers, postgraduate students and invited scholars.

At the end of the event, Mr John Arthur and Miss Jennifer Senanu Dzodzegbe were adjudged best postgraduate researchers for the academic year. They were awarded a fully funded trip to attend a conference at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, in September 2026.