The Canadian Governor General David Johnston as part of his three day official visit has called on Ghana to pay attention to the role post secondary institutions can play in spurring innovation and generating new ideas and solutions for national development.
He made this call during a panel discussion on the theme “Education and the Role of Higher Institutions in Promoting Economic Advancement and Development last Tuesday at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana.
He stated that, in 2012, an estimation of 265 000 full time international students in Canada contributed to more than $8.2 billion to the Canadian economy. Also the presence of foreign students in Canada led to the creation of 86,000 jobs and generated more than $445 million in government revenue.
According to the Governor General, post secondary institutions can foster collaboration that is necessary for prosperity through developing and building on local, regional and national strengths and expertise, constantly seeking new partnerships and opportunities further afield and internationally as well as sharing specific needs and goals with those partners in planning for the mid-to-long-term future.
This he described as innovation often occurs at the intersection between communities, post secondary institutions and businesses. He posits that, these clusters of knowledge and enterprise are a key ingredient of economic development in today’s world.
He acknowledged that Ghana has all the elements needed for a successful collaboration between schools, businesses and communities. He cited the University of Ghana’s current research project on gender and enterprise development with assistance from the Canada’s International Development Research Centre as a perfect example in this regard.
H E David Johnston encouraged Ghana to go further and continue reaching out to solve problems and stimulate new ideas and solution.
The panel discussion was moderated by the Minister of Education, Honourable Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman. The panel for the discussion included Professor Ernest Aryeetey, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana and Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Governance, Paul Davidson, President of the Association on Universities and Colleges of Canada and Jean Lebel of the International Development Research Centre.
Quarps Hansen.
