In bridging the digital divide among students, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has supported over 600 needy but brilliant students with laptops.
The gesture, which is under the “Support One Needy Student with One Laptop” (SONSOL) Project, has since 2021 distributed over 3,300 laptops to students in need.
Professor Mrs Rita Akosua Dickson, Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, at the 2025 SONSOL presentation ceremony, said the University had the mandate to train students who were job ready and capable of contributing meaningfully to the development transformation across Africa and the rest of the world.

In the era where Artificial Intelligence (AI) was permeating every aspect of our lives, she observed, the future would belong to graduates who could confidently navigate the digital space.
“Disruptive technologies such as AI, internet of things, block chain, additive manufacturing, and quantum science among others, demand that students are equipped with the necessary tools to actively participate in teaching learning.
The world now has little room for digital illiteracy and the KNUST will take this challenge seriously”, she noted.
Prof Dickson explaining what propelled SONSOL Project, said the period of COVID-19 challenged the University to go for the policy of 70 percent in-person and 30 percent online, where the school invested over $5 million in the necessary infrastructure and digital environment for teaching, learning, research and services.
This meant that students must have the digital tools to access all these e-infrastructure.
“To ensure that no student is left behind, SONSOL was given birth in 2020 and the University started giving out laptops in 2021.
Our position remains that poverty should never be a barrier to education, and an as institution committed to an all-inclusive education, we keep our focus on that, nobody should be left behind”, she assured.

Each year, since the initiative, over 4,000 students apply for laptops through the SONSOL programme where beneficiaries are selected based on academic performance and financial need.
The Vice-Chancellor urged students to make the most of opportunities and contribute meaningfully to others in need going forward in life.
She commended the numerous sponsors for supporting the project and pleaded for more assistance to help students with cutting-edge gadgets to project their educational plans.