By Benjamin Adamafio Commey
Accra, Sept. 30, GNA – The Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU) and ManyTek International LLC have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance collaboration in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), workforce development, applied research and practical technology skills.
The partnership is expected to strengthen the link between academia and industry and create opportunities for students, faculty and staff to acquire industry-relevant competencies to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving digital economy.
The agreement, signed at a ceremony in Accra, on Tuesday, will also provide a framework for collaboration in professional development, career readiness, entrepreneurship, employer engagement and research and innovation.
Professor Ebenezer Malcalm, Acting Vice-Chancellor of GCTU, signed on behalf of the university while Mr Emmanuel Damptey, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ManyTek International LLC signed for his organisation.
Speaking after the signing ceremony, Professor Malcalm, said the partnership formed part of the university’s strategic efforts to enhance teaching and learning, promote research and innovation, and deepen collaboration with industry.
He said the agreement would expose students to practical training, mentorship, industry-relevant skills and career development opportunities, while creating avenues for internships and placements.
“For our students, it offers exposure to industry-relevant skills, practical training environment, mentorship opportunities, career readiness, and programmes and pathways that can enhance employability,” Prof. Malcalm said.
He said the partnership would also benefit faculty and staff through professional development, industry engagement, collaborative research, knowledge exchange and participation in emerging technology initiatives.
Prof. Malcalm said the collaboration complemented GCTU’s growing network of partnerships aimed at ensuring that its graduates acquired globally relevant competencies and practical skills needed in the digital economy.
He assured that GCTU would continue to pursue partnerships capable of bridging the gap between academic training and the requirements of industry, adding that such collaborations would contribute to national and regional digital workforce development.
Mr Damptey, Founder, ManyTek International LLC, expressed the company’s commitment to working with GCTU to translate the agreement into measurable opportunities and outcomes.
“ManyTek is not coming to Ghana to tell GCTU how to educate Ghanaian students; we are coming to build with GCTU,” he said.
Mr Damptey said GCTU brought academic strength, faculty expertise, research capability and institutional credibility to the partnership, while ManyTek would contribute practical cybersecurity experience, workforce development, technology platforms, industry perspectives and international connections.
The partnership, he noted, was particularly relevant at a time when AI was transforming the way knowledge and work were organised, while cybersecurity had become essential to the development of digital economies.
He noted that employers were increasingly looking beyond academic qualifications to graduates’ ability to solve real-world problems, use relevant tools, exercise judgement and adapt to changing technologies.
“Ghana does not lack talent. Ghana has great young talent,” Mr Damptey said, stressing the need to strengthen the systems and opportunities that enabled young people to translate their capabilities into economic value.
He said ManyTek envisaged collaboration in cybersecurity, AI, applied research, practical capability development, entrepreneurship, career readiness and faculty-industry engagement, adding that the success of the partnership would be determined by tangible results, including improved capabilities, research outputs, opportunities created and initiatives that generated sustainable value.
He challenged the two institutions to ensure that the MoU did not become a document that merely remained on a shelf.
“The challenge is that we refuse to let documents that were signed today become another beautiful document that sits on a shelf or sits in a folder somewhere. It has to be actionable,” he said.
The partnership is therefore expected to provide a platform for GCTU and ManyTek to develop practical programmes and initiatives that respond to emerging cybersecurity and technological challenges, while strengthening Ghana’s digital skills ecosystem.
Mr Damptey said the ultimate objective was to ensure that technology became a tool for young people to understand, shape, secure and use to create value.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Benjamin Adamafio Commey
Email: [email protected]