The College of Health Sciences, KNUST held its second postgraduate conference at the Boadi Medical Village on June 5th and 6th, 2024 to encourage research activities and Scientific Innovations. The event, themed "Harnessing Postgraduate Research to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals," attracted over 500 postgraduate students from the College of Health Sciences and other colleges in KNUST.
The Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Prof. Ellis Owusu-Dabo in his remarks praised the College of Health Sciences for its efforts to advance research and support global sustainability goals. “It is out of the research that we teach, once research becomes your topmost priority then you’re beginning to unravel the problems and proofing solutions,” he said.
Prof. Eric Kwabena Forkuo, Director of the KNUST School of Graduate Studies, also spoke at the ceremony. He stressed the importance of postgraduate research in solving global challenges and encouraged students to pursue high-quality research. He also talked about the criteria for graduation and he stated that as a country and as a university we can not do much without the quality postgraduate publication and research.
Prof. Philip Antwi Adjei, Director of the Office of Grants and Research, explained that the theme of this year’s conference is timely and profoundly significant, it highlights the indispensable role of postgraduate research in addressing some of the most pressing challenges confronting us today. He also stated that the College of Health Sciences comes first in grantsmanship and research in KNUST. “Our doors remain open, so you can always call on us when the need be” he added and urged everyone to think boldly, collaborate widely, and never underestimate the impact of research.
Prof Richard Odame Philips, the keynote speaker, in presentation, said that to transform our world we need to transform our postgraduate research or program, scaleup graduate training with a focus on our youth, improve graduate training to meet all career needs, promote cultural and contextual relevance integrated into global discourse, promote partnership and collaboration, advocate for substantial allocation of funds, advocate for elimination of article processing charges for Low-or-Middle-Income-Countries. Prof Phillips urged the students that research has a major role to play in achieving sustainable development goals.
Over the two days, students presented 124 posters and 37 oral presentations on various medical and health science topics. This showcased the diverse and impactful research being done by the College of Health Sciences postgraduate students. The conference ended with an award ceremony. Abenaa Owusuwaa Adu emerged as the best oral presenter, receiving an amount of $1,500 to support her research. Other Award winners were: Millicent Serwaa Marfo Ogyiri (3rd Best in Oral Presentation), Minadzi Difery (2nd Best in Oral Presentation), Prince George Junior Acquah (3rd Best in Poster Presentation), Mr. Sylvester Newton (2nd Best in Poster Presentation) and Mr. Adjei Bae Nicholas (Best in Poster Presentation).
Prof. Christian Agyare, Provost of the College of Health Sciences, thanked all participants and the organizing committee for a successful event. He urged the students to keep improving their research skills and contributing to sustainable development goals. “At the end of the day the postgraduate students will not be afraid to attend international conferences, give oral presentations as if they are the senior supervisors,” he said.
The conference was supported by the German-West African Centre for Global Health and Pandemic Prevention (GWAC), ASIB Company Limited, PVG Limited, Get Start Research Shop, INCAS Diagnostics, Multinec Enterprise, and Spectra Company Limited.
