Geological Survey Authority, UENR sign agreement

The Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA) and the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) have entered into a partnership for the execution of joint projects in geological surveys and building the capacity of their human resources for effective natural resource management. 

Under the partnership, the staff of the GGSA and seasoned lecturers of UENR would share industry and academic knowledge to enhance geological investigations.

Additionally, the GGSA would gain access to lecture halls of UENR to impart industry knowledge to the students, who will in turn have internship opportunities at the authority to gain practical knowledge in their respective fields of study.

A short ceremony was held at the GGSA in Accra yesterday during which the Director-General of GGSA, Isaac Kuuwan Mwinbelle, and the Vice-Chancellor of UENR, Prof. Elvis Asare-Bediako, signed the MoU for their respective institutions. 

Good move

Mr Mwinbelle explained that the agreement was renewable every five years to allow for review of the clauses and to make adjustments going forward.

He described the collaboration with UENR as a unique opportunity for the GGSA to build the capacity of ITS geo-scientists to undertake efficient exploration activities as required of them.

Again, he said, the GGSA was particularly happy about the partnership because it had come at a time the authority was exploring ways of scaling up geological investigations that would lead to the delineation of mineralised lands for mining purposes.

“With this agreement, when we are conducting research, we can invite the lecturers of UENR to be part of it.

Our staff need continuous capacity building, so where we realise that our staff lack capacity in some areas, we will rely on the expertise of the researchers at UENR to train our staff to deliver on their mandate,” he said 

He said the partnership would be of immense benefit to the country because reliable data generated from the implementation of joint projects would facilitate decision making. 

Mutual benefit

For his part, Prof. Asare-Bediako said he was happy that the partnership, which had been on the drawing board for three years, had finally been signed.

"The fundamental commonality between the GGSA and UENR is that we are natural resource management focused.

The University has a school of Mines targeted at providing capacity for the mining sector and we will collaborate with GGSA to help build human resources capacity to contribute to national development," he said. 

He also said based on the common mandate both institutions had, the MoU would see them run joint projects in mining exploration where experienced professors, research students and field officers of the GGSA collaborate.

“The key function of the GGSA is mineral exploration.

Our university also has the mandate to produce the requisite manpower to conduct research and extension services in partnership with other institutions.

With this partnership, we will have an opportunity to share ideas in terms of staff exchange,” he said. 

He said universities were set up to support national development and the GGSA was also undertaking geological survey in the interest of national development, “So it is a great initiative to work together in that regard.

Prof. Asare-Bediako said by joining forces, the two sides would be able to do more exploration in line with the vision of the current government.

He added that the agreement was a demonstration of how the academia and related industry players could collaborate to address the knowledge gap between the two.  
“The good thing is that a strong industry-academia relationship is the best. While they impart practical experience from the industry to students, they also benefit from the experience of our researchers,” he said.