The University of Environment and Sustainable Development’s, (UESD) engagements with organisations and industry has taken it to the doorstep of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, CWSA, in Accra which is under the Ministry of Works and Housing.
Led by Dr. Michael Tuffuor, the Head of Department of Water Resources and Sustainable Development of the School of Sustainable Development, the UESD team was received by the Chief Executive Officer, Ing. Dr. Worlanyo Kwadjo Siabi and his four member team.
Dr. Tuffuor reiterated that the visit was part of the University’s outreach to organisations and industry that shared similar mandate with it in programmes like Water Resources Development., Sanitation and its related matters, which they expect would lead to the signing of an MOU.
He said, the School was seeking partnership with the company in areas such as research, curriculum review, students’ internship /industrial attachment, teaching and shared expertise which focuses on intra-institution exchange programmes and conferencing which shall ensure that knowledge and expertise were evenly spread between staff of the institutions.
Highlighting on the areas mentioned, Dr. Tuffour indicated that owing to the high calibre of expert hands and the ultra-modern research equipment at UESD’s disposal, the University is better positioned to generate the most advanced and reliable research data in all spheres, especially, in environmental sustainability, water resource development and its related courses. He, therefore, urged the CWSA to engage the University for consultancy and team up with it for joint research projects.
Dr. Tuffuor also mentioned curriculum development and review which aims at ensuring that industry plays significant roles in the curriculum design for teaching and learning. He was hopeful it was the best way to ensure that graduates of the University would be in tuned with the current systems and practices to match prevailing conditions or challenges.
Dr. Tuffour said, the two institutions could also form a collaboration which would make it possible for students of the University to be posted to the CWSA for internship, industrial attachment and intra-semester practical lessons to give them the hands-on job experience required.
Dr. Tuffuor stated that as a researcher himself, he has undertaken some projects in water and sanitation matters which yielded positive results. His research examined the core vision of the CWSA which was to ensure sustainable supply of water to Ghanaians in the rural areas. He expressed the hope that collaborating with the CWSA would yield favourable outcomes for the benefit of both institutions. He called for an MOU to be signed between the UESD and the CWSA to bind them.
Responding, the CEO of the CWSA, Ing. Dr. Worlanyo Siabi said, the agency had varied slightly in its mandate as originally enshrined in the CWSA Act, 1998 (Act 564). This he said, has significantly altered the company’s policy direction which was to ‘ensure that assemblies are encouraged to actively involve their communities, especially women, in the design, planning, construction and community management of water and sanitation project’. He explained the slight variation was to ensure that the agency better served the country.
In effect, the CEO said, the agency’s current agenda is to ensure that the community is provided sustainable clean and safe drinking water by ensuring that the right experts are well trained and knowledgeable in the Management of equipment and project sites.