The University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, in the Western Region is set to introduce a festival of innovation to showcase transformative solutions by students and faculty members.
It is aimed at scaling innovations on campus for the benefit of industry and country.
The Vice Chancellor of UMaT, Professor Richard Kwasi Amankwah, announced this yesterday at the opening of the university’s 9th Innovation and Career Fair, at Tarkwa on the theme: ‘Turning ideas into reality to enhance graduate employability.’
This year’s edition was a clarion call not just for employability, but, also for enterprise, as students were encouraged to become creators and not job seekers. Throughout the week- long fair, student teams would showcase projects using AI to solve disability problems.
Prof. Amankwah said the new initiative would witness the university’s football field converted into an open exhibition ground, with practical booths displaying student-led technologies that addressed real societal challenges.
“This university is bursting with innovative ideas from both students and lecturers. We are now working toward hosting a full Innovation Festival
where the public, industry players, and government can witness what we’re building here,” he added.
Again, the Vice Chancellor indicated that the move was part of UMaT’s vision to align academia, industry, and national development through actionable creativity.
Prof. Amankwah announced the creation of a 24/7 Smart Services Centre where students could prototype ideas around the clock, while
an Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Laboratory would be established to prepare learners for the demands of the future workforce.
Furthermore, to strengthen UMaT’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, he emphasised, the university would offer final-year students with promising projects, an opportunity to complete their national service on campus—fully sponsored—to scale- up their ideas into commercially viable ventures.
The Group General Manager of Quantum LC, Mr Kofi Owusu Archaw Arhinful, in his keynote address, challenged students to initiate, collaborate, and materialise a three-step model for transforming ideas into enterprises.
Drawing from his company’s journey, he noted that, most great ideas began in informal, even chaotic spaces, stating however, that, “what matters is the commitment to follow through.”
“Let your innovation be your introduction. Let your creativity open doors
when certificates cannot. The difference between someone with a degree and someone with a breakthrough is action,” he advised.
A UMaT alumnus and Chief Executive Officer of Mining Tools Ghana, Dr Francis K. Ghunney, also the guest speaker, urged students to redefine “employability”.
He stressed that, “Graduate employability must move beyond waiting for job offers. You must see yourselves as capable of employing yourselves.”
Dr Ghunney emphasised that innovation was a response to global societal collapse and encouraged the students to “think smarter, sharper, and better” and to turn academic ideas into scalable and impactful ventures.
FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, TARKWA
