Minister Calls For Deepened Ties Between Academia And Industry Players

Mr Robert Ahomka-Lindsay, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry on Wednesday called for a deeper relationship between industry and academia to hasten development

He said: 'I wish to recommend for deeper collaboration among relevant institutions to try and find a solution to accelerate the industrial transformation that Ghanaians are yearning for'.

Mr Ahomka-Lindsay who launched the 2018 Science and Development Platform by the College of Basic and Applied Science at the University of Ghana said science which is just intellectual and not practical is not science

The three day programme is on the theme: 'Science for Development: Ghana Asks, Legon Answers'.

The Deputy Minister expressed government's determination to deepen the economy of the country through improvement in production capacity.

Using the 'One District, One factory' programme as an example, Mr Ahomka-Lindsay said the programme sought to add value to the natural endowments in the various districts.

'Every district in this country is endowed in one natural commodity or the other; we want to enhance the natural commodities for example by turning tomatoes into tomato paste,'

He said technology drove industry, therefore the Ministry of Trade and Industry was engaging with the United States of America to know how existing technology can be used to turn the natural products into enhanced products.

Mr Ahomka-Lindsay called on the College of Basic and Applied Science to use their platform to serve as one of the avenues where the academia and industry could interact to support the industrial development agenda

Professor George Oduro Nkansah, Director of the Institute of Applied Science and Technology said more than 50 industries have visited the institute with various requests which they are working on.

He said the institute has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kantanka Group, manufacturers of vehicles, to set up an automobile workshop where some students from the university could be trained to gain practical experience

GNA
By Hannah Awadzi, GNA