KNUST’s TCC Strengthens Skills Development and Technology Transfer

The Technology Consultancy Centre (TCC) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology has intensified efforts to promote technology transfer and skills development to support artisans, small businesses, and young entrepreneurs across the country.

Director-General of the Centre, Francis Davis, said the TCC was established over six decades ago to ensure that research and development carried out within the university are translated into practical solutions that benefit industry and society.

He was speaking at the World Engineering Day celebration held at the forecourt of the Obuasi Municipal Assembly on Thursday, March 5, 2026.

According to him, the Centre serves as a bridge between academia and industry by helping innovations developed at the university move beyond research shelves into real-world economic activities.

He noted that the TCC has over the years focused on supporting the informal sector, particularly artisans and craftsmen, to improve their productivity and technical capabilities.

Prof. Davis explained that the Centre has collaborated extensively with artisans at Suame Magazine in Kumasi, where engineering knowledge and technical skills are transferred to local manufacturers to enhance production standards.

Through its Intermediate Technology Transfer Unit, the Centre works closely with artisans to ensure that engineering principles are properly applied in their work.

He stressed that stronger collaboration between academia and industry remains key to promoting innovation, improving productivity, and creating employment opportunities.

Meanwhile, the TCC has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Obuasi Municipal Assembly to implement programmes aimed at reducing poverty and creating sustainable jobs for residents.

Prof. Davis disclosed that the partnership focuses on a Creative Capacity Building Initiative designed to equip participants with practical entrepreneurial skills.

Under the initiative, trainees are taught soap making, bead crafting, shampoo production, and cosmetics manufacturing to enable them establish small businesses.

He explained that the programme is intended to restore livelihoods and empower individuals to generate income through small-scale entrepreneurship.

The Centre has also organised training programmes for auto mechanics to help them adapt to modern vehicle technologies.

According to Prof. Davis, the growing digitalisation of vehicles means that mechanics must now rely on specialised diagnostic equipment to accurately detect faults.

To support the training, the Centre provided diagnostic tools for practical sessions and appealed to the Obuasi Municipal Assembly to assist the mechanics in acquiring their own equipment.

He suggested that the Assembly could support the mechanics through a hire-purchase arrangement to enable them gradually pay for the tools while improving their services.

In a related development, the TCC has been designated as an international centre of excellence for engineering education and technology transfer under the auspices of UNESCO.

Prof. Davis said the recognition followed a global initiative by the World Federation of Engineering Organizations aimed at promoting engineering as a key driver of development.

He explained that Ghana applied for the TCC to be upgraded to a UNESCO Category II Centre of Excellence, a proposal that was recommended by UNESCO’s Executive Board and later endorsed by the organisation’s General Conference.

Following the approval, the Centre adopted a new name — the TCC International Centre for Innovation, Manufacturing, Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship (TCC-CIMET).

Prof. Davis indicated that the Centre is currently one of only five such engineering centres in the world and the only one in Africa mandated to support engineering development across the continent.

He added that the Centre operates under a tripartite agreement involving the Government of Ghana, UNESCO and KNUST, with a governing board made up of representatives from government, academia industry and UNESCO.