UKZN PhD Candidate Appointed as Technology Transfer Officer in Ghana

UKZN PhD Candidate Appointed as Technology Transfer Officer in Ghana

UKZN PhD candidate, Mr Isaac Nketsiah has been appointed as the Technology Transfer Officer (TTO) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana, for the next six years.

Nketsiah is a Ghanaian international student currently reading for a PhD in Management titled: Developing Entrepreneurial Intent through Applied Social Cognitive Career Theory Approaches: A Case of Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana under the supervision of UKZN management and entrepreneurship experts Professors Thea van der Westhuizen and Rosemond Boohene.

Nketsiah’s PhD work seeks to develop entrepreneurial intent through applied social cognitive career theory approaches and create a model for understanding the management and leadership processes of entrepreneurship activities such as systems thinking, entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial mindset among micro, small and medium manufacturing firms in a developing country context.

As the TTO, Nketsiah is expected to bring his rich experience and extensive networks to position UCC as a regional emblem in terms of providing technology transfer services. He will also serve as the first point-of-contact and source of information on the UCC’s Intellectual Property portfolio, technology transfer and related matters for all external and internal stakeholders and partners. He will also work with the University Business Incubator, the Design Thinking and Innovation Hub, and other related sections/units to facilitate spin-off activities from various departments of the University.

He is confident that the knowledge gained from his PhD in Management at UKZN will afford him the management skills needed to manage a technical office such as the TTO.

Congratulating Nketsiah on his appointment, van der Westhuizen said: ‘This is a wonderful opportunity for Isaac to work with the full spectrum of the Entrepreneurial Triple H – Heart, Head and Hand. Through his doctoral research at UKZN focusing on developing entrepreneurial intentions, a predictor for entrepreneurial action, his new position is an important enabling role.’ 

Nketsiah is a research administrator with 12 years of experience. He holds a research Master of Commerce (Finance) and Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) degrees from the UCC; a certificate in Result-based Project Management: Monitoring and Evaluation from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg; and a certificate in Innovation and Information Technology Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. He has completed numerous specialised and advanced intellectual property courses from the World Intellectual Property Organization.

In May 2021, he was one of the recipients of awards from leading law firm Adams & Adams, Pretoria, for Registered Design Application at the South African Summer School on Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer hosted by UKZN.

At UCC, Nketsiah has contributed to policy instruments developed to guide its internal processes, notable among which include the Business and Enterprise Development Policy, Grants, Fundraising and Consultancy Policy as well as the Research Fund Policy for the UNESCO Category II Centre of Excellence, Institute of Educational Planning and Administration. He was also a member of the committee that developed the first-ever UCC Research and Innovation Reports, which have since received extensive critical acclaim.

Words: NdabaOnline

Photograph: Supplied