The Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM) has awarded six (6) Faculty Members and five (5) Post-graduate Students with research grants totaling Eighty-Five Thousand Dollars (85,000 USD) in response to the 2nd Call of GCM Tertiary Education Fund (TEF) applications for funding. At a short ceremony held at UMaT to officially hand over the total funding cover to the Vice Chancellor, Professor R. K. Amankwah, the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber, Dr Sulemanu Koney, said that the grant was obtained from the Chamber’s TEF to support research projects that contribute significantly to the Mining, Minerals and Allied Industries. He added that the Chamber will grant cost extensions to awardees unable to complete their projects within one year to continue with the research in order to come up with pragmatic results that can easily be implemented.
The Governing Board Chairman of the Chamber’s Tertiary Education Fund, Dr Stephen Ndede, mentioned that the Fund has supported teaching and learning through internship programmes and other learning resources in various Universities and that the Ghana Chamber of Mines Research Fund has had a great impact on beneficiaries and the Mining Industry.
GCM is a voluntary private sector employers association representing companies and organisations engaged in the minerals and mining industry. The mission of GCM is to represent the mining industry in Ghana using the resources and capabilities of its members to deliver services that address members, government and community needs, in order to enhance development. In line with its mission, GCM launched the Tertiary Education Fund (TEF) in October, 2019, with the initial phase of five years earmarked for the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, which is the premier mining institution in Ghana, to produce high caliber mining professionals for the local industry and beyond. UMaT also recognises the need to continuously conceive and develop research interventions in partnership with external stakeholders, especially industry and policy actors, for Ghana’s human and economic development. To enhance the contribution of UMaT in developing projects with readily implementable outputs and uptake, the Council of GCM approved the establishment of the GCM-TEF for UMaT Faculty Members and Post-graduate Students. The objective of the Fund is to equip Faculty Members and Post-graduate Students to engage in research that is of relevance to the mining industry and/or the nation, and to strengthen collaboration between Faculty and Industry.
