As part of their training, the 5th Batch of PhD students in WASCAL Climate Change and Land Use from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, paid a study visit to the WASCAL Competence Centre. This follows six months of classroom lectures at the Graduate School Programme at KNUST, Kumasi in Ghana.
The objective of the visit was for the students to present their research proposals to the scientists at the Competence Centre, seek advice and guidance to enrich their topics with the ultimate goal of contributing to the fight against the adverse impacts of climate change in West African countries.
Commenting on the objective of the visit, Prof. Forkuo said: “this is to allow students to seek advice, guidance and support from the scientists of the WASCAL Competence Centre to enrich their topic in the view of delivering high quality thesis with added values to the mitigation strategies against climate change in the sub region.’’’
The students were also given a guided tour of research facilities namely the High-Performance Computer (HPC) and the geographic information system GIS and Remote Sensing Laboratory. They also benefited from experts’ explanations on how the facilities operate in terms of data storage and management, capacity building trainings of scientists, students and consultants and remote accessibility of the HPC data for modelers across the region. In all, 11 proposals were thoroughly presented by students to scientists and fruitful comments and suggestions were provided.
Speaking on behalf of the Director of Research of the Competence Centre, Dr. Belko Abdoul Aziz Diallo, Head of Data Management Department, advised students to take advantage of the suggestions provided by the scientists in the development of their proposals in order to meet the challenges related to Climate Change for the benefit of the Sub-region.
The students also seized the opportunity to visit Boassa weather station and Dano Basin experimental catchment pilot site.
About the Doctoral Programme Climate Change and Land Use (CCLU)
The Doctoral Programme Climate Change and Land Use (CCLU) is focusing on capacity building at the doctoral level to help develop the knowledge necessary for sustainable land use and management in the face of climate change. The programme will train participants in data acquisition, analysis and interpretation of spatial data focusing on the use of remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS) and empirical and mathematical modeling tools related to climate change and land use in partnership with German institutions. This should contribute to strengthening human capacity in West Africa for developing appropriate adaptation strategies to manage the impact of climate change on land and to develop resilient land use systems.
