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Government urged to invest in Ghanaian innovations

  • Prof Acakpovi (fifth from left) and other dignitaries with staff of ATU Photo: Lizzy Okai

Academia, industry and the gov­ernment have been urged to come together in order to utlise Ghana­ian innovations to create jobs and foster economic development.

This, according to the Director of CSIR-Institute of Industrial Research (CSIR-IIR), Dr Francis Boateng Agyemin, would ensure that innovations and skills of Ghanaian youth were not left untapped.

Dr Agyenim was speaking at the Second Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) Lecture Series organised by the Accra Technical University (ATU) under the theme: ‘Innovation and Entrepreneur­ship Ecosystem,’ on Tuesday as part of their 75th anniversary celebrations.

He added that, several innovative ideas have been left untouched and Ghana would suffer the consequences if the situation does not change.

He said technical education played a crucial role in shaping the future of the country and government must focus on that sector.

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“Through the support of the govern­ment, we can have an innovation drive where every Ghanaian youth can excel and support development,” he stated.

He urged the ATU to continuously en­gage in research with professors lead­ing the charge, and liaise with industry and government to translate same into creating jobs.

Also speaking on the day was the Executive Chairman of Celltel Networks Limited, Dr Prince Kofi Kludjeson who mentioned that Ghana was not a broke country but only suffering from the con­sequences of not utilising innovations and youthful ideas to propel develop­ment.

He said it was possible to ensure that all students have a device with connect­ed data or wifi to use at all times for research and innovation purposes.

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“We need to empower Ghanaian students, learn on their own and assist in the transformation of the country,” he stressed.

Technical Universities, he said, were the foundation of Ghana’s develop­ment, hence the need to take a step back and nurture innovations.

He commended the ATU for the ses­sion, adding that, more of such should be held and essentially engage the government for practical collaborations.

The Ag. Vice Chancellor of the ATU, Prof. Amevi Acakpovi, expressed appreciation to the speakers for their insightful presentations which would go a long way to support their efforts towards impacting the country through innovations.

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The ATU, he said had been at the forefront as far as innovations are con­cerned and engaged in activities includ­ing Artificial Intelligence (AI) training for staff, establishing a Center of Entrepre­neurship and Innovation as well as an AI Digital Laboratory at the ATU.

 By Michael D. Abayateye

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