Academic and research institutions have been charged to build internal capacities in managing research grants to drive excellence.
Professor Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, Chairperson of the Ghana National Research Fund (GNRF), who made the call, explained that, while institutions strived to manage grants, they must create shared values and fund research that resulted in the creation of businesses, jobs, and innovations.
“This will ensure a Ghana where research is not just funding but a Ghana where research is thriving rather than just surviving.”
Prof. Danquah speaking at the opening of the 2025 Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) Summer School in Kumasi, added that, universities must have mentoring policies to ensure proper guidance to the next generation of researchers.
He was of the firm believe that, with these in place, and Ghana with the blueprint, the country could transform through research and innovation to become a beacon in Africa.
There is also the need to make Ghana’s science physical to the world, he advised and called for the passing of supportive Legislative Instruments (LI) to make science a national priority.
The two-day event was held under the theme: “Building a Sustainable National Development Through Research: Strengthening Capacity Across Ghana’s Tertiary Education Institutions.”
It targeted Vice-Chancellors, Principals, Lecturers, Tutors, and Administrators to deliberate on repositioning institutions to collectively focus on strengthening Ghana’s research and innovation landscape.
Prof. Mrs Rita Akosua Dickson, Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), observed that higher education universally was acknowledged as a critical drive of development.
She said it was important for stakeholders to intentionally strengthen capacities across Ghana’s tertiary education sector by developing a robust home-grown research agenda.
According to her, the KNUST believed that national development was simply unattainable without a well-coordinated, adequately resourced, and locally relevant research ecosystem.
Prof Dickson called for cutting-edge research to help transform pressing national and community challenges including food insecurity, climate change, mining issues, youth unemployment among others, into real opportunities for sustainable inputs.
Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, Director-General, GTEC, called on tertiary institutions to continue committing to higher standards of research excellence that were inclusive, strategic and purpose driven.
He advocated for collaborations among institutions to foster a future where research was not the preserve of a few universities, but the lifeblood of the entire tertiary education system.