First project conference

The first EEISHEA Project Conference was held in the Amonoo Neizer Conference Center, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), on October 29th – 30th, 2019. The two main purposes of the conference were to present updates on the curriculum development process in the five African partner universities and to enhance and exploit knowledge sharing between partners and other conference participants. Conference participants were mainly EEISHEA project members from the 10 partner universities, but also several educational managers from a range of Ghanian universities allied with KNUST, as well as interested university staff from other countries participated in the conference.

The first day of the conference program was focused on the updates and on the knowledge sharing, while the second day was spent on two study visits. The first visit was to the KNUST Innovation Hub that presented impressive results in terms of assisting young entrepreneurial students with getting started with their own small-scale businesses and companies. The other study visit was to one of the KNUST Experimental Aquacultural farms, a visit that demonstrated the engagement with which students take part in this practical part of their Aquacultural studies. Interestingly, both study visits gave rise to targeted South – South collaboration. 

Concerning the study visit to the KNUST Innovation Hub, the participants from the other African partner universities were very interested in learning more about how to set up and how to run such a facility and initial negotiations on collaboration were held. 

Concerning the study visit to the KNUST experimental aquacultural farm it turned out, that one of the conference participants from Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Tanzania, teaches Aquaculture and therefore, the SUA participants were very interested in learning more about the methods and equipment used by KNUST, and asked for a visit from KNUST teachers of aquaculture to come to Tanzania to give guest lectures and to assist with setting up aquacultural experimental farms like the one at KNUST.  Both of these South – South collaboration events are being explored and were in the planning, when the pandemic put a halt to further plans. An attempt will be made to revive the events.

In connection with the conference, four short interviews about the EEISHEA
project, with selected conference participants were made by Gabriel Okyere. You
can find the four interviews here:

https://www.facebook.com/tektvgh/videos/421235091884912/

https://www.facebook.com/tektvgh/videos/524199748431172/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwddFSk8hFk&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdZpHsMa2g0&feature=youtu.be


You can find further information about the conference at the KNUST home page and at the SUA home page.