KNUST, MTN sign MoU to strengthen industry-academia collaboration and develop AI talent

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with telecommunications company MTN Ghana to strengthen industry-academia collaboration, equip students with practical skills and develop homegrown solutions to Ghana’s technological challenges.

The partnership is expected to create opportunities for student internships, graduate recruitment, industry-led training and the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to real-world problems.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, MTN’s Senior Manager for Digital Analytics and Monetization, Kwame Adu Manu, said the partnership would help bridge the gap between academic training and industry requirements while enabling talented graduates to contribute to national development.

“We want to bridge that gap between industry and academia, and this is one of the excellent ways to do that,” he said.

He explained that MTN would provide students with hands-on experience through practical projects, allowing them to apply the knowledge acquired in the classroom to challenges within the telecommunications industry.

According to him, the initiative would also help address brain drain by encouraging highly skilled graduates to remain in Ghana and contribute to the country’s development.

“We want to change that status quo, bring them to MTN, give them hands-on projects, and then they get to have an impact on Ghana and their society,” he noted.

Mr Adu Manu further highlighted the importance of developing AI solutions that respond to the needs of African communities, arguing that greater local participation in AI development was necessary to address problems unique to the continent.

He said MTN intended to use the partnership to give students opportunities to work on practical AI projects through the company’s Digital Analytics and Monetization department.

“We want to build solutions for Africa, for ourselves, for Ghana to solve our own problems,” he added.

As part of the collaboration, MTN officials are also expected to deliver guest lectures and engage students directly to expose them to industry practices and career opportunities.

The Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, Professor Christian Agyare, described the agreement as evidence of the university’s commitment to building stronger relationships with industry to improve teaching, research and innovation.

He said the collaboration would enable the university’s faculty and students to work with MTN to develop solutions to challenges facing the company and other stakeholders.

Professor Agyare disclosed that MTN would award scholarships to the three best graduating Computer Science students, as well as an additional scholarship to the best graduating female student.

He said the support for the best graduating female student was particularly important in encouraging more women to pursue programmes in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

“KNUST faculty members would have opportunities to contribute their expertise and competencies towards addressing challenges identified by MTN,” he said

Professor Agyare said the agreement would incorporate a monitoring, evaluation and learning framework to assess progress, identify implementation gaps and improve the partnership over time.

He explained that the university’s Department of Computer Science would help oversee the implementation of the MoU, working alongside MTN to ensure the collaboration delivers its intended outcomes.

He expressed optimism that the collaboration between the two institutions would extend beyond the immediate commitments and produce benefits for the university, MTN and Ghana as a whole.