Assoc Prof Gordon Adomdza, a lecturer at Ashesi University and a representative from Ghana Innovation and Research Commercialisation Centre (GIRC) at the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, paid a courtesy call on the Vice Chancellor of UMaT on Wednesday, 20th April, 2022. The visit was to engage the Office of Research, Innovation and Consultancy (ORIC) as part of a survey to gain insight into the commercialisation experiences of researchers.
In his interactions with the Vice Chancellor and the ORIC Team, he stated that the Centre was set up to explore research commercialization challenges for the development of effective mechanisms and framework that will remove the bottlenecks and fast track these processes in Public Universities and Research Institutions. He said, “UMaT system of research to commercialisation seems robust because the University has an Office of Research, Innovation and Consultancy and a Business Incubation Hub that helps SMEs to grow”.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof Richard Amankwah in response, said that UMaT has been involved in research from its inception and has made outstanding contributions to the mining and allied industries. He mentioned a locally-fabricated furnace (Sika bukyia), an innovation developed by the University to reduce mercury use in Small Scale Mining operations as one of the outstanding innovations that caught the attention of the public.
The Vice Chancellor added that the University has signed an MoU with Zaalcoal Limited, a Ghanaian Company to locally produce and market activated carbon for the mining industry in Ghana using a technology designed by UMaT. “This will not only advance the Ghanaian Mining Industry but also reduce the import of activated carbon and generate more revenue for the country”, he said. He also mentioned waste and recycling among other innovations that are work in progress. He indicated that the good thing about UMaT’s waste plastics and recycling is that the catalyst used is novel and the research will soon materialise.
He encouraged researchers to undertake more research to solve problems of the society adding that “The more we are able to engage society, identify the challenges and solve them, the more we as academics become relevant to the society”.
Assoc Prof Adomdza, expressed his gratitude for the warm reception and assured the UMaT Team that he will communicate his observations and findings.
Present at the meeting were, Prof Anthony Simons, Pro Vice Chancellor, Mr Matthew Okrah, Registrar, Assoc Prof Solomon Nunoo, Dean, ORIC, Assistant Registrars at ORIC, and other staff of the University.
