The Newmont Delegation Right in a Meeting wth UMaT Officials
A five member delegation from Newmont Ghana Gold Limited has paid a working visit to the University of Mines and Technology. The delegation was led by the Vice President for Sustainability and External Relations, Newmont Africa, Madam Adiki Ayitevie and the Regional Vice President, Human Resources, Awo Quaison-Sackey, Briefing the Vice Chancellor on the purpose of their visit, Madam Adiki explained that they were in UMaT to strike a strategic partnership with the University which they hope would be mutually beneficial.
According to the team, Newmont had a national level Corporate Social Responsibility programme and one of the pillars of the programme focuses on education which is termed Tertiary-Secondary Skills Enhancement Programme (T-SSEP). This programme according to the team has under it the Newmont Global University Strategy. This strategy aims at partnering 3 Universities in Ghana including UMaT as part of efforts to create sustainable economy and to continue to impact the lives of the people in the areas they operate. According to the Regional Talent Management Manger, Madam Georgina Bartels, a key element of the University programme was that selected Senior Leaders within the Company in the Africa Region would be Executive Sponsors to help establish Strategic and Valued partnership with the Universities concerned. These Universities she said should offer courses that are relevant to Newmont’s business needs. These courses include Mining Engineering, Metallurgy or Minerals Engineering, Geomatic Engineering and Earth Science or Geological Engineering.
Madam Georgina Bartels indicated that the Relationship they seek to establish will grow in 3 primary directions including the University graduate to be a key feeder into the professional jobs within Newmont, Student engagement - this will allow Newmont an opportunity to engage directly with the students of UMaT and academic partnerships to enable Newmont to work at the appropriate levels within the University to achieve mutual goals including Newmont Executive Sponsors liaising and engaging UMaT Faculty to ensure alignment to industry and Newmont’s needs. She was impressed about the fact that UMaT would be the hub for the training of mining engineers for Newmont.
The Newmont Delegation and UMaT Staff in a Group Photograph
Welcoming the delegation to UMaT, the Vice Chancellor, Prof J. S. Y. Kuma expressed his happiness for making it a point to come to UMaT to pay the visit with the aim of establishing this important partnership. He gave them a brief history of the University and indicated that UMaT was a specialised institution that trains engineers in the fields of Mining, Petroleum and other engineering programmes. According to Prof Kuma UMaT students are given real hands-on training in their studies and this, he emphasised, made them always stand out and ready for the job market. Prof Kuma promised the commitment of UMaT for the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will soon be signed. He expressed his excitement for the fact that the MoU would include internships which he emphasised would help the students to strengthen their practical skills, provide the avenue for consultancy services and collaborative research for staff. He was happy that there was a desire by the delegation to have the MoU signed soon.
Present at the meeting were Assoc Prof V. A. Temeng, the Pro Vice Chancellor, Mr A. K. Doku, the Registrar of UMaT, Assoc Prof Samuel Ndur, the Vice Dean of FMRT and Mr Paul Yeboah, the University Relations Officer.
Source: Paul Y. A. Yeboah, Assistant Registrar and Head, University Relations Office
