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By Yussif Ibrahim\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adako Jachie (Ash), Sept. 17, GNA \u2013 The Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organisation (SMIDO) and the Kumasi Technical University have begun a series of engagements to strengthen the capacity of artisans to bridge the gap between industry and academia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The expectation is that the two parties would soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding, which would allow members of Suame Magazine to be trained to scale up their productivity and maximise income.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Following from this the Executives of SMIDO have paid a familiarisation visit to the Faculty of Engineering and Technology of the Kumasi Technical University (KsTU) to strengthen that partnership.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They toured the University\u2019s state-of-the-art workshop at its Adako Jachie Campus to appreciate how they could use technology to improve their work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The visit also provided the opportunity for both parties to exchange ideas and best practices in academia and industry while leveraging on technology to improve service delivery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr Prince Owusu-Ansah, the Vice Dean of the Faculty, said the collaboration would enhance the rate of delivery and increase productivity of the artisans with new equipment and technology being at their disposal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBringing them here will enlighten them and open their minds to the new development in the industry in the 21st<\/sup> century,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n He said as part of plans to sign the MoU, it was important to expose the artisans to the facility, which was a one-stop centre for automotive, electronics, milling and machine design to appreciate how the collaboration would inure to their benefit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr Owusu-Ansah said the partnership would lead to the local production of many items on a large scale, with the long term effect being an improvement on the national economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n The initiative also feeds into the Education Ministry\u2019s vision to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education to enhance the industrialisation drive, where the informal sector plays a key role.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ms Elizabeth Sekyi-Whyte, the University Relations Officer, said members of SMIDO already had the skill but the partnership would further sharpen it.\u00a0<\/p>\n She said embracing technology was important to enable the artisans to meet the sophisticated needs of the modern client and called on both parties to sustain the partnership.\u00a0<\/p>\n GNA\u00a0<\/p>\nRelated News<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n