MTN establishes Telecom Innovation Fund at KNUST
Ghana’s telecommunications giant, MTN, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to establish a GH¢300,000 Telecom Innovation Fund to support research into telecommunication and related issues.
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The fund is to be spread over a five-year period at GH¢ 60,000 per annum.
As per the MoU, MTN is to arrange for an internship programme for students of the College of Engineering during every long vacation, while the college is expected to organise a career fair for the students to be mentored.
Also, the project, which is under the MTN Foundation, is to facilitate a project visit and facility tours to adequately prepare the student to fit into the industry after school.
The Corporate Services Executive of MTN, who also doubles as the Chief Executive Officer, Cynthia Lumor, who signed on behalf of her company, said the move represented a collaboration between industry and academia to promote and encourage research.
It is also to adequately build the capacity of products from the university to fit into the job market, saying “education provides a wide range of limitless opportunities.”
The Vice Chancellor of the KNUST, Prof. William Otoo-Ellis, said he was optimistic that beyond research, the MoU would facilitate the teaching of telecommunication engineering and improve the environment in which the course was being run.
He said the arrangement was to deepen the already cordial relationship between the two institutions as the university had already given MTN a space to build a mast on campus to enhance its services.
The vice chancellor said it was time for academia to join hands with industry to make education more relevant and beneficial to society since the products from the university eventually benefited industry.
