KNUST Engineering Education Project (KEEP, Ghana) SCHOLARS WIN THE NATIONAL CYBER QUIZ COMPETITION 2021
Otuekong Ekpo (at the left) with Joseph Atta Yeboah (at the middle) and Solomon Dodoo (at the right)
The 2021 National Cyber Quiz Competition was organized by the Institute of Compliance and Cyber Studies to create awareness about Cyber-Security and its related issues. The maiden edition of the quiz lasted for five days and was launched on Monday 18th October 2021, concluding on Friday, 22nd October 2021 at Knutsford University, East Legon.
Competing schools were Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Ghana, University of Cape Coast, Lancaster University, Academic City College, Valley View University, Central University and Ghana Christian Heritage University.
KNUST was ably represented by Joseph Atta Yeboah, Otuekong Ekpo and Solomon Dodoo Attoh, postgraduate students of the Cyber-Security and Digital Forensics programme from the Department of Computer Science. These students are also part of the KNUST engineering Education Project (KEEP), a project which seeks to deliver high quality postgraduate courses and applied research focused on addressing development challenges related to industrialization, digital development (ICT), energy systems, renewable energy, manufacturing, exploration and development of oil and gas industry.
The quiz competition featured questions in information security, cyber ethics, cyber law, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, and blockchain.
KNUST made history by lifting the trophy for the maiden edition of the cyber quiz competition. KEEP scholars won a cash prize, certificates and a sponsorship for a compliance and cyber analyst course in January 2022.
KNUST College of Engineering (Ghana) awarded CAD $1 Million grant
The Vice Chancellor of KNUST, Prof. (Mrs.) Rita Akosua Dickson (in the middle) with Pro Vice Chancellor of KNUST, Prof. Ellis Owusu-Dabo (2nd from right) with Dean of Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Prof. Abdu- Rahman Ahmed (right) with Provost of the College of Engineering, Prof. Mark Adom-Asamoah (2nd from left) and the Principal Investigator and Scientific Director for RAIL, Prof. Jerry John Kponyo (left)
The College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) , the KNUST Engineering Education Project (KEEP), one of the nine Centres of Excellence in Ghana has been awarded a grant to fund the establishment of a Responsible Artificial Intelligence Lab (RAIL) under the Artificial Intelligence for Development (AI4D) Africa Multidisciplinary Labs project initiated by International Development Research Centre (IDRC). RAIL has been envisioned as a Maker Space that would develop talents in Data Science and Machine Learning to help bridge the widening skills gap needed to champion the Digital Economic Transformation agenda of Ghana and the Sub-Region.
The activities in this Innovation Centre are aligned with the KNUST Engineering Education Project (KEEP) digital development technologies thematic area, specifically set to promote the digitalization of products, processes, and services via innovative toolbox development for Renewable Energies, Health, Agriculture, Climate Change and close engagements with local Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs) and governmental bodies.
The CAD $1 Million Lab would be networked centrally and decentralized to allow intelligent, flexible, and future-oriented collaboration across multiple sites using common IT equipment. The Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering would host this centrally networked lab infrastructure, which would provide computing, research, training, and expertise transfer to Universitée Alioune Diop de Bambey (Senegal), The University of Cape Verde, and The Gambia Technical Training Institute.
Prof. Jerry John Kponyo, the Principal Investigator (PI) and the Scientific Director of the Lab and the Deputy Project Lead for KEEP, in his initial reaction to the news of the grant award is grateful to IDRC and GIZ for jointly funding the setup of the Lab. He stressed the “need to adopt collaboration and a multidisciplinary approach to solving the peculiar challenges in the sub-region.” He is of the view that Artificial Intelligence holds the key to leveraging technologies to unlock the potential of highly talented young innovators in the sub-region. The PI also sees the funding as a mustard seed through which multiple initiatives could be developed to realize the African dream.
The Dean of Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Prof. Abdul-Rahman Ahmed, was also happy that the team he constituted to respond to the funding call with the help of the Office of Grants and Research (OGR) has worked diligently to make the RAIL project a reality. He further indicated that the RAIL project reinforces the faculty’s vision of developing strategic collaboration between academia, SMEs, and government actors to enable transfer-oriented cooperation between applied research, skills development, regional industry, entrepreneurs, and service providers, to empower more players to engage in technology-based innovations in the sub-region.
The Provost of the College of Engineering, Prof. Mark Adom-Asamoah was excited about the prospects of the Lab and encouraged all key actors in the project implementation to work together to realize the ultimate objectives of the Lab Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, Prof. (Mrs.) Rita Akosua Dickson, in congratulating the team indicated that the grant couldn’t have come at a better time. She urged the team to keep working hard to win more grants.
The project team is made up of Prof. Jerry John Kponyo (PI), Dr. Isaac Acquah, Dr. James Dzisi Gadze (HoD of Telecommunications Engineering), Dr. Eric Tutu Tchao, Mr. Andrew Selasi Agbemenu, Mrs. Christiana Selorm Aggor, Dr. Mrs. Eunice Akyereko, Dr. Henry Nunoo-Mensah, Mr. Benjamin Kommey, Prof. Francis Kemeausuor, and Dr. Christopher Appiah.
KEEP will provide a Laboratory space for setting up the Responsible AI Lab. The Lab will be supported for three years to set up and run short courses in disruptive technologies and a master’s programme in Data Science and Machine Learning. RAIL would also provide research support to PhDs, advisory and extension services, policy formulation, and agenda-setting around Responsible Artificial Intelligence use.
Gambian Minister of Higher Education and Delegation visit ACE Impact Centre (KEEP) to Strengthen Existing Collaboration and Partnership
The strong collaboration between the Gambian Ministry of Higher Education and the KNUST Engineering Education Project (KEEP) is a shining example of successful regional collaboration and one that the ACE Impact project promotes.
On June 1, 2021, honorable Badara A. Joof, the Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (MoHERST) of The Gambia and a delegation from the Gambian Technical Training Institute (GTTI) visited the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and the ACE Impact Center – KEEP, hosted by the KNUST in Ghana.
The KNUST Engineering Education Project (KEEP) has a collaboration with the GTTI and provides mentorship to help transform the technical Institute into a technical university, with the capacity to offer core engineering degree programs. The purpose of the meeting included strengthening collaboration between the two parties in the areas of offering short-courses, training, and mentorship of PhD students, enrolling mature students, training of MSc. students to serve as Research Assistants and Laboratory Technicians and to officially finalize the contractual agreement between GTTI and KNUST.
The Gambian delegation was received by the Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, Professor (Mrs.) Rita Akosua Dickson, who assured the team of the institution’s commitment to ensuring an effective collaboration and implementation of the key areas of the partnership. The team also took advantage of their presence in KNUST to interact with students from the Gambia (47 undergraduates, 10 PhDs and 2 Master’s students) who have been enrolled in the Department of Civil, Electrical and Electronic and Mechanical Engineering in KNUST.
Meeting with the AAU, University of Ghana, and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission
The Regional Facilitation Unit of the ACE Impact Project, the Association of African Universities (AAU), facilitated meetings between the Gambian delegation and the University of Ghana, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and the AAU Team. In all three institutions the delegation was received by the heads of the institutions, – the Secretary General, Prof. Etienne Ehile of the AAU, the Vice – Chancellor, Prof. Ebenezer Oduro Owusu of the University of Ghana, and the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Prof. Mohammed Salifu.
Key discussions at these meetings focused on the parties’ identifying key ways of strengthening existing collaboration between Ghana and the Gambia in Education. Prof. Badara Joof, the Gambian Minister of Education reiterated the Gambia’s high regard for higher education institutions in Ghana and generally the West Africa sub-region. He called on the institutions they visited (UG, AAU and GTEC) to help build Gambia’s capacity in quality assurance and other relevant areas to enable the country achieve excellence in their tertiary and higher education sector.
