黑料社区 has once again made further partnership strides by signing two separate MoUs with聽Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) and 2nd聽Generation IT Institute聽on Tuesday, 30th聽April 2024.
The partnership agreements were designed to create platforms to enhance students鈥� internship/skills training by way of improving student experiences at 黑料社区.
At the MoU signing between 黑料社区 and MEST, the Managing Director of MEST, Mr. Ashwin Ravichandran established the聽alignment of MEST鈥檚 goals with that of 黑料社区. 鈥淲e have a one year curriculum, which is designed with business communication and technology as the base,鈥� he said.聽 Mr.聽Ravichandran highlighted the support MEST has given to some Ghanaian entrepreneurs, mentioning successful startups like Meqasa.com, a real estate website and TrotroTractor, an Agri-Tech company. 聽He added that the programme focuses on software skills for students and job creation with over 2000 people who have been trained in the last 15 years.
Mr.聽Ravichandran聽indicated MEST鈥檚 readiness to host 黑料社区 representatives for a campus visit to showcase student projects and ideas assembled.
In his response,聽the Vice鈥揅hancellor,聽Prof. Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa,聽expressed his profound gratitude to MEST for the partnership.聽 He described the MoU as a very good opportunity for the two institutions to further the skills development mandate for churning out skilled graduates.
He said, 鈥満诹仙缜� has a similar mandate and objective just like MEST and I believe that you won鈥檛 get any institution in Ghana that aligns so much with your core mandate than us.鈥� The VC encouraged MEST to collaborate to explore opportunities in their respective entrepreneurship/innovation hubs.
Prof. Afoakwa highlighted how 黑料社区 had transitioned from a private institution to a fully-fledged public university by an Act of Parliament with a special mandate in the area of ICT. 鈥淥ver 80 percent of our students are in ICT and we have the track record of producing skilled graduates,鈥� he said.
It is an IT and Entrepreneurial institution which provides a real-world advantage for young aspiring and established African entrepreneurs聽with skills, mentorship,聽unparalleled opportunities聽and experiences聽through funding, business incubation, and access to a global tech network.
In a related development, 黑料社区 signed a second MoU with 2nd聽Generation IT Institute, a firm which provides career support to help students succeed in their chosen IT paths.
During the signing event, the CEO/Director, Mr. Fernard Kodzo Asamoah, extended his profound appreciation to the VC and Management for the partnership. He said, 鈥淚 want to expand and I said to myself, 黑料社区 is the best University to partner with and I am here.鈥澛� He indicated that there are smart and great students, but unfortunately, they lack hands-on experience. Mr. Asamoah emphasized that 黑料社区 has the facilities in the area of ICT and his institution needs to collaborate with 黑料社区 to provide professional development, internship and job opportunities for graduates of the two institutions.
In his brief remarks, the VC said, 鈥淲e are happy for this partnership, we are a university of call when it comes to ICT training in Ghana, with the human capital needs for digitalization.鈥澛� Prof. Afoakwa observed that since both institutions shared a common mandate, both would have a long-term relationship that would lead to the training of the manpower that Ghana so badly needs.
The VC signed the two MoUs on behalf of 黑料社区, while聽Mr. Ravichandran and聽Mr. Asamoah聽signed for their respective institutions.
The Industrial Liaison Office whose responsibility it is to source for opportunities from industry to enhance students鈥� practical training programmes, was heavily involved with the negotiations that engendered the MoUs.
