The Office of the Provost of the College of Health Sciences (CHS) at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has organised a meeting with Ten (10) Awardees of the maiden College Grant Scheme on Wednesday 2nd February 2022 at the College Boardroom.
The Awardees were Dr Obed Ofori Nyarko, Dr Sandra Kwarteng Owusu, Dr Ernest Adankwah, Dr Mrs Abigail Kusi-Amponsah Diji, Dr Ebenezer Dassah, Ms Lydia Boampong Owusu, Dr Newman Osafo, Mr Brenyah, Joseph Kwasi, Mr Aloysius Kodjo Dzigbordi Loglo, and Mr Oduro Kofi Yeboah.
The initiative’s goal, according to Professor Peter Donkor, Chairman of the College Grant, and Research Committee, is to provide funds to Postgraduate Students, young researchers, and young lecturers to assist in their research while also giving them experience in applying for larger grants.
Professor Donkor revealed that the Awardees received an amount of 10,000 Ghana cedis each to conduct their research and are expected to complete the project within 12 months.
He advised them to lay out a plan to keep track of how close they are to achieving their targets and endeavour to work within the budget.
Dr John Amuasi of the Department of Global and International Health, School of Public Health, shared his ‘Experiences with Grant Management’. He noted that Grant Management is essentially how a researcher plans to accomplish the work he or she intends to do.
He revealed that bad management of grants can soil a researcher’s reputation and academic career, thus, the need to be transparent.
Dr Amuasi, therefore, encouraged the awardees to break down their work into milestones and deliverables to explain the process involved as they undertake their research.
He also urged them to be aware of the rules regarding the expenditure of university funds, the expected reporting periods, whiles ensuring that the right procedures are followed when dealing with personnel and the use of resources.
The Provost of CHS, Professor Christian Agyare congratulated the committee members and the awardees and admonished them to complete their project within the expected period.
He assured of his outfit’s support to provide them with the needed resources and hoped that they build on the platform to win bigger grants outside the University in the future.
Professor Agyare also disclosed that awardees are expected to produce a publication or journal acknowledging the contribution of the college.
Representatives of the College Finance Office and the Research Office also shared with the awardees the support services offered by their respective offices.