A Delegation from GNPC Pays a Working Visit to the University of Mines (UMaT)

A delegation from the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has paid a working visit to UMaT to discuss issues of interest and how GNPC could support UMaT. The team was led by Dr Kwame Amoah Baah-Nuakoh, the General Manager for Sustainability of GNPC. The other members of the delegation were Dr Patrick Kwaku Ofori, Manager, Sustainability and Mr Mark Prempeh, a staff of the Sustainability Office.

Welcoming the delegation to the University, the Vice Chancellor, Prof J. S. Y. Kuma said the visit was a follow up to a meeting he held with the Chief Executive Officer of GNPC, Dr K. K. Sarpong at the Head Office of the Corporation a few weeks ago on the way forward for the support of the School of Petroleum Studies. He also indicated that in attendance at that meeting was the President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs, Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi II. He said that it was exciting for UMaT to receive the delegation to discuss the way forward for the support from GNPC. According to Prof Kuma, UMaT was uniquely positioned to provide the quality engineering education in the country because UMaT has the best Student Teacher Ratio in Ghana today for science and engineering programmes which currently stands at 1:20, a strong Quality Assurance System where students assess their lecturers online and a well motivated staff and students. He further said that one of UMaT’s distinguishing features was that theory and practical lessons are well blended which gives the students the best teaching experiences and an edge over their counterparts in other Universities when they engage in competitions.

Responding, Dr Baah-Nuakoh indicated that GNPC was now focusing on Corporate Social Investment (CSI) as the new way to share the benefits of the oil proceeds in the country. He said that education and training pillar was a category which they were using the oil revenues to up-scale the skills of students and that UMaT was part of this category. He stressed that the CSI Office was collaborating with all Universities in Ghana to support and train the needed manpower locally for the oil sector instead of the existing policy of sending few students abroad at great cost. He indicated that last year alone about three million dollars was spent on only 40 people in foreign institutions when more students could be trained locally with that amount. He informed the meeting that GNPC was awarding close to 700 scholarships to first year students and that UMaT’s list was going to be considered.

Dr Baah-Nuakoh emphasised that GNPC was very committed to supporting the School of Petroleum Studies project and so the University should be rest assured that the project would be given the needed resources to complete it. He also indicated UMaT should consider establishing a Professorial Chair in Mining since that was the strong area of the University and GNPC will fund the Chair to the tune of $250,000.00 annually. He further said that UMaT would be a model for GNPC because of the University’s location.

The Vice Chancellor was grateful to Dr Baah-Nuakoh and his team for making time to visit the University and promised that UMaT will take all the issues raised seriously. Dr Baah-Nuakoh and his team paid a visit to the project site of the School of Petroleum Studies and the Petroleum Engineering Laboratory.

Present at the meeting were the Registrar, Mr A. K. Doku, the Dean of the Faculty of Mineral Resource Technology, Prof R. K. Amankwa, the Dean of the Faculty of Integrated Management Science, Prof Newton Amegbey, the Acting Dean of Planning and Quality Assurance Unit, Assoc Prof S. Alhassan, the Dean of Office of International Programmes, Assoc Prof E. K. Asiam, the Dean of the School of Postgraduate Studies, Assoc Prof W. K. Buah, the Dean of the Office of Research, Innovation and Consultancy, Assoc Prof P. K. Eshun, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, the Dean of Students, Dr B. Kumi-Boateng and the University Relations Officer, Mr Paul Yeboah.

Source : UMAT.edu.gh