Academia and Research Institutions Urged to Enhance Capacities for Managing Research Grants

Kumasi: Academic and research institutions have been charged to build internal capacities in managing research grants to drive excellence. Professor Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, Chairperson of the Ghana National Research Fund (GNRF), emphasized the need for institutions to create shared values and fund research that could lead to the creation of businesses, jobs, and innovations. He urged that research in Ghana should thrive rather than merely survive.According to Ghana News Agency, Professor Danquah, speaking at the opening of the 2025 Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) Summer School in Kumasi, highlighted the importance of mentoring policies in universities to guide the next generation of researchers. He believed that with a proper blueprint, Ghana could transform through research and innovation, becoming a beacon in Africa. He also called for legislative support to make science a national priority.The two-day event, themed 'Building a Sustainable National Development Through Research: Strengthening C apacity Across Ghana's Tertiary Education Institutions,' aimed to bring together Vice-Chancellors, Principals, Lecturers, Tutors, and Administrators to focus on enhancing Ghana's research and innovation landscape.Prof. Mrs Rita Akosua Dickson, Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), pointed out that higher education is a critical driver of development. She stressed the importance of a robust home-grown research agenda, suggesting that national development was unattainable without a well-coordinated and adequately resourced research ecosystem.Prof. Dickson called for cutting-edge research to address pressing national and community challenges such as food insecurity, climate change, mining issues, and youth unemployment, transforming them into opportunities for sustainable development. Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, Director-General of GTEC, urged tertiary institutions to commit to inclusive, strategic, and purpose-driven research excellence, advocating for collabora tion among institutions to make research a vital part of the entire tertiary education system.