Ghana Gas cuts sod for center of excellence for Electric & Industrial Welding Technology at STU
As part of Ghana National Gas Company’s corporate social responsibility, it has cut sod for the construction of a multipurpose center of excellence for Electric and Industrial Welding Technology at Sunyani Technical University (STU).
Addressing a gathering at STU’s 55th anniversary celebration on Saturday, Vice-Chancellor Ing. Prof. Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah (PhD) admitted this will be the first of its kind in the country and that students of Sunyani Technical University will be able to set up their own industrialization businesses and become industrious men and women in Ghana.
“The University wants to build electrical and electronic engineering workshop, so the school put up a proposal and sent it to Ghana Gas. An amount of GH¢5 million was sent to Ghana Gas and initially Ghana Gas has given approval of GH¢2 million to start Phase one. So, we expect that with time, Ghana Gas will do us a favour to top up so that we can complete the Phase One completely which will house the electric vehicle and industrial welding center,” he stated.
“It is going to be an industrial hub. Right now, the focus of Sunyani Technical University is not just on teaching. The education 3.0 which used to be teaching, research and community service, now we’re going beyond that. We’re going for education 5.0, so we’re adding innovation and industrialization. So, on this very campus when students come here, we’ll teach them how to be innovative and how to do industrialization, so the industries are going to be put up here.”
He added: “So the first industry is the car manufacturing electric vehicle industry that we’re going to build with this donation from Ghana Gas. So through this, we expect other corporate institutions to come to our assistance so that we can put up other processing factories right here on campus for students’ training because when you train them practically to know what is industrialization right on campus, when they go out they will be able to easily set up their companies.”
Currently, Sunyani Technical University has five faculties with combined student population of 6,636 and teaching and non-teaching staff strength of 643. The school was established in 1967 and needs a lot of structures on campus in its contribution towards meeting the human resource needs of Ghana. The school authorities have a 40-year plan to move the school forward to become the first industrious university on the continent of Africa.
Sunyani Technical University is committed to providing career-focused higher education in engineering, science and technology-based disciplines, TVET, applied arts and related disciplines, emphasizing practical-orientation and entrepreneurial development.
Ghana Gas’s Senior Manager CR/CSR Department head Stephen Donkor reiterated the Gas company’s commitment in giving back to the people of Ghana their corporate social responsibilities, adding, the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Ghana Gas will do everything necessary to complete the multipurpose center of excellence for Electric Vehicle and Industrial Welding Technology at Sunyani Technical University (STU).
“The board of Ghana Gas has committed ourselves to the project and that is why we have given a seed money of GH¢2 million to start the project. What has happened here on this campus this morning, I am going to brief my management and further impress on them if possible take the whole budget the GH¢5 million and make sure that this project will become a reality,” Mr Donkor said.
“We see this project as a partnership between Ghana Gas and the Sunyani Technical University. For that matter, we’re going to monitor, evaluate and see to the final execution this project,” he affirmed.