Bring back your knowledge home- Portsmouth alumni to overseas students

The President of the Ghanaian chapter of the alumni network of the University of Portsmouth, UK, Abraham Nana Osei-Mainoo, has encouraged Ghanaians studying abroad to come home after completion in order to use their knowledge to contribute to Ghana’s development.

He said many Ghanaians after studying abroad refused to come home with the knowledge and skills they had gained, noting that such a situation denied the country the skillset needed to propel its development in all sectors.

For him, many brilliant and industrious Ghanaian nationals were contributing to major economies abroad and that it was about time interventions were created to attract such people in the country.

Mr Osei-Mainoo made the remarks during the Ghana alumni chapter's celebration of the 30th anniversary of the university over the last weekend in Accra.

The Ghana chapter alumni members dotted around the country gathered to reflect on the impact the university has had on their lives and also offered a platform to network and celebrate a rich past and an exciting future for both the University of Portsmouth and the Alumni group in Ghana.

Mr Osei-Mainoo said the Ghanaian chapter of the alumni network of the university was doing everything possible to get many Ghanaian students to study at the Portsmouth University.

According to him, projecting a strong alumni group would help harness their personal development and the country as a whole.

He encouraged members of the alumni network to use their exposure, experience and expertise from the UK to assist the youth at the various sectors of the economy.

Speaking at the event, the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Technical Education at the Akenten Appiah-Menkah University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Professor Humphrey Danso, who is also an alumnus of the University of Portsmouth, encouraged all past students of the university in the country to join the alumni network.

He said the alumni network was ready to support Ghanaian youth across the country to climb the educational ladder, get into good and profitable jobs in order to contribute to the country's development. 

Touching on why the Ghanaian alumni chapter joined the main 30th anniversary celebration, Prof. Danso said the occasion was to put across a strong front for the Ghanaian alumni chapter and also to portray, expose and exhibit the Ghanaian culture at the global scene to endear the Ghanaian brand to the University, create more opportunities for young Ghanaians who would want to study in the University to do so, knowing that they have a strong presence and support base from a vibrant alumni.

“We are an attractive group undoubtedly since the University of Portsmouth is by far the University of Choice in the UK and we are leveraging on the youthful nature of the university to reach more young people for the greater good,” he opined.

From Portsmouth College of Technology in 1953, the University’s name changed to Portsmouth Polytechnic in 1969 and later 1992 became a fully-fledged University status with popular subject areas such as Accounting, Economics and Finance, Architecture, Property and Surveying, Business Management, Computing, Criminology, Law, Marketing, Sports Science, Engineering and a host of media.