Three officials from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi paid a 5-day working visit to the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany from 5th to 9th October, 2021. The objective of the visit was to ensure that KNUST's partnerships with other schools would continue to grow.
Mrs. Margaret Dzisi, Academic Affairs; Mr. Godwin Boakye Antwi, Budget, Finance Office; and Mrs. Gladys A. Addai, International Programmes Office (IPO) had the opportunity to learn, share knowledge, experiences, and best practices relevant to their work to improve their administrative service delivery. In this regard, KNUST has created various relationships, including the KNUST/ TUM partnership and the Erasmus+ Program, which allows students and staff from both universities to exchange annually.
TUM's research aims and sources of research financing were presented in Dr. Christian Ostermeier's presentation on Project Management Excellence Initiative. According to him, TUM's Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), which is extensively sponsored by the federal and state governments, conducts research in conjunction with industry and overseas scholars such as KNUST. The TUM Alumni office's Ms. Anke Graf and Ms. Isabel Werdin elaborated on the office's many operations and services, which include counselling, connecting students with alumni, and maintaining data.
Both parties agreed to maintain a collaboration that allows for learning and idea exchange, according to the KNUST team. Thus, KNUST would study the TUM's research orientation to engage in collaborative research, which might be facilitated by the KNUST Grant and Research Office and the TUM Institute of Advanced Study. They also proposed that KNUST investigate collaborating with TUM's Alumni Office to learn more about their systems and operations to maintain a robust worldwide alumni community.
Again, the team indicated that the IPO’s orientation for the students on outward mobility should be extended to staff to go for exchange programs. They added that there should be an extension in the duration of the staff mobility programme to two weeks.
