Kumasi Technical University (KsTU) in collaboration with its partners has organised the 6th International Conference on Applied Sciences and Technology (ICAST) 2020. The two-day event which was held through virtual means due to COVID-19 had as its theme “Technical and Vocational Education: The Bedrock for National Development”. The annual Conference is aimed at bringing together researchers, experts and academics from educational institutions as well as various communities to exchange and share ideas and knowledge through discussions of a wide range of issues. It was held by breaking the participants into various parallel sessions for presentations and subsequent discussions virtually based on the chosen disciplines.
In his welcome address, the Vice-Chancellor of Kumasi Technical University Ing. Prof. Nana Osei-Wusu Achaw whose institution organised the Conference gave a brief but thought-provoking address. He emphasised that equipping members of our society with the essential skills which have their base on Technical and Vocational training is actually the way to go. He said, that is the reason the Government of Ghana has committed and still pumping so much resources into the development of Technical and Vocational education which is the real game-changer.
According to the Vice-Chancellor, such a move will eventually give impetus to the county’s quest to break away from over reliance on government for employment after schooling. He also noted how the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that countries all over the world should strive for self-reliance. He finally emphasised that it is only Technical and Vocational education that will rapidly propel Ghana into real advancement and development.
Giving his opening address, the Chairman for the Planning Committee of ICAST 2020 Dr. Felix N. Engmann disclosed that the Planning Committee worked diligently to gather resources and ideas to ensure that the organisation of the virtual Conference was successful. Dr. Engmann stated that the main objective of the event was to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas, insights, experiences, research findings and knowledge among academia, industry, policy makers and civil society institutions which was evident in the diverse backgrounds of participants who were gathered on the virtual platform. He said, it would further broaden the frontiers of knowledge and disciplines such as Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Applied Arts, Built and Environment, among others.
He revealed that a total of 55 abstracts were received and taken through rigorous scrutiny by reviewers to ensure that the best manuscripts were selected for presentation at the Conference. However, a total of 33 manuscripts were submitted for presentation at the Conference. He stated that manuscripts which were used for those presentations at the Conference were based on the recommendations of the reviewers.
The Conference was attended by participants across the globe through a virtual platform with the keynote address given by Prof. Dr. Satyanarayana Narra, a Senior Scientist from Brandenburg University of Technology, Germany. The closing address for ICAST 2020 was also delivered by Prof. Rashmi Bhardwaj, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), New Delhi (India).