WASEND ADVISORY BOARD CHAIRMAN VISITS KNUST

Mr. Abraham Yenu Lambon, (at immediate left) with Prof Francis Kemausuor (second from left) and Prof J. J. Kponyo, (third from left) with Mr. Amarquaye Amar (in the middle) and Prof Emmanuel Frimpong (third from right) with Dr Owusu Ansah (second from right) and Dr. David A. Quansah (at immediate right)

Mr. Amarquaye Armar, Chairman of the Advisory Board of the West Africa Sustainable Engineering Network for Development (WASEND) has paid a working visit to the College of Engineering, KNUST. The visit which took place on 12th November 2021 was to hold discussions with key personnel involved in the management of WASEND. 

WASEND is a network of four West African Colleges of Engineering:

• College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
• International Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (2IE), Burkina Faso
• University of Science, Engineering and Technology, Gambia
• College of Engineering, University of Abomey Calavi, Benin

The rationale of WASEND is to enhance individual Africa Center of Excellence's (ACE) contribution to the knowledge economy by building on the synergies of the ACEs, to encourage peer learning through active partnerships among ACE Impact Centers, which is critical for strengthening innovation, to support accelerating scientific research activities anchored in world class academic practices and strengthen the interlinkages between specialized research centers across ACE Institutions. 

The meeting discussed some concrete actions that the Colleges of Engineering within the Network could implement to enhance developmental impact. He suggested that WASEND should play a more prominent role in the West African Power Pool (WAPP) initiation, by partnering with GRIDCO to deliver high quality training programmes for other utilities within the West Africa Sub-Region. 

Mr. Armar was also briefed on the KNUST Engineering Education Project (KEEP). A project which is being implemented by the KNUST College of Engineering in partnership with the World Bank and the Government of Ghana. The KEEP Secretariat currently hosts the rotating Secretariat of WASEND.

He encouraged the KEEP/WASEND Team to work closely with the Bui Power Authority (BPA), given that BPA is currently spearheading Ghana’s drive towards Renewable Energy per its amended Act (Act 1046 of 2020).

The meeting was opened by Prof G. Anornu (Dean of Faculty of Civil and Geo Engineering) who represented the Provost of the College of Engineering (Prof Mark Adom-Asamoah). Also present were Prof J. J. Kponyo (Network Coordinator, WASEND), Dr. David A. Quansah (Deputy Network Coordinator, WASEND), Prof Francis Kemausuor (Research Coordinator, WASEND), Prof Emmanuel Frimpong (Power Systems Research Theme, KEEP), Dr Owusu Ansah (Vice Dean, KNUST School of Business), Gifty Antoinette Hukpati (Communications Officer, WASEND) and Mr. Abraham Yenu Lambon (Finance Officer, WASEND). 

The team together with Mr. Amarquaye Amar visited the KEEP postgraduate building after the meeting to inspect its progress.