A three-member delegation from the Akenten Appiah-Menkah University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED), led by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Frederick Kwaku Sarfo, joined other academics in Leipzig, Germany, from February 7-8, 2025, for the first preparatory meeting regarding the Erasmus+ KA2 Capacity Building project, co-funded by the European Union.
Other members of the delegation were the Dean of Faculty of Applied Sciences and Mathematics Education (FASME) and National Coordinator for the Project, Prof. Yarhands Dissou Arthur; and a Lecturer at the Department of Management Studies Education, Dr. Courage Simon Kofi Dogbe.
The Leipzig project kick-off meeting was to evaluate the project deliverables, plan project start-up activities of partner institutions from Ghana, Slovakia, and Germany, and create the opportunity for networking among the partners.
The Ghana National Coordinator of the Project, Prof. Dissou Arthur, explained upon returning from Germany that, AAMUSTED had been tasked to spearhead the communication activities of the project. He said that would involve engaging with relevant stakeholders, including potential users, promoters, and investors. He said the University would also collaborate with Int@E to develop a website for the project and publish all related materials via professional magazines, newsletters, Internet portals, other mass media outlets, etc.
He said the Project Coordinator, Steinbeis Beratungszentren GmbH, Germany, and the other project partners – Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU), Bolgatanga Technical University (BTU), all from Ghana, and the Slovak University of Agriculture (SUA) in Nitra, Slovakia, and Int@E, Germany – were also tasked with key responsibilities to ensure the smooth take-off and execution of the project.
According to him, the €394,185.00 project would run for two years and it would seek to empower Ghanaian training providers and learners to enhance their digital marketing readiness for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
“As part of the project deliverables, digital marketing laboratories would be established in AAMUSTED, BTU, and CCTU to help in training TVET staff and students in digital marketing as well as TVET industry players,” he indicated.
Prof. Yarhands said the project provides for about 60 Ghanaian participants to be trained in Slovakia and Germany to help in knowledge transfer and sharing, adding that the trainings have been planned for April and July 2025 respectively.
He was happy that participants of the project will engage in Digital Marketing co-creation activities, in addition to skill training of teachers/trainers and mentors in areas including innovative tools, online pedagogies and teaching techniques, cutting–edge technologies, and trends in Digital Marketing.
“Ultimately, the project will identify and define future skills that would be necessary for TVET graduates in the digital era and align them to the unique local Ghanaian context,” he explained.
