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African governments to invest in advanced research to
facilitate development
Cape Coast, Oct.25, Ghanadot/GNA - The head of
the Laser and Optic Fibre Centre (LAFOC) at the University of
Cape Coast (UCC), Professor Paul Kinsley Buah-Bassuah on Monday
called on African governments to invest in advanced research to
enable their scientists play a leading role in the "new
frontiers of science".
He said there is the need to refurbish all te ching laboratories
to serve as centres of excellence in advanced research, to help
the universities attract expertise from other countries.
Prof Buah-Bassuah was speaking at the opening of a two-week
international workshop on "Multispectral Light Emitting Diode
(LED) Imaging Microscopy for Applications in Agriculturaland
Biomedical Diagnostics" at the UCC.
Scientists from Kenya, Mali, Cote d'Voire, Senegal and Ghana are
attending the workshop organised by the UCC in collaboration
with Uppsala University in Sweden and is aimed at "enhancing
hands-on project using laser technology to research into
Agriculture and biomedical sciences".
After the workshop, each participating country is expected to
assemble its own equipment for the programming of research
activity in their countries.
The Vice-Chancellor of UCC, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang
in her welcoming address expressed gratitude to the
International Science Programme (ISP) of Lund Institute of
Technology in Sweden for building a new programme of research
(imaging microscopy) and for
"bringing research to the doorsteps of laboratories of
developing countries".
She said the workshop will cover programmes like "elements of
electronics, laser optics,'spectroscopy, image processing,
computer programming and statistical analysis data".
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said LAFOC has used Swedish funded
equipment to make a breakthrough in solving agricultural
problems and was confident that the new programme being
introduced will be put to good use.
She appealed to the ISP to maintain Ghana and Senegal as the
Centres of excellence for research to benefit the West African
sub-region.
Prof. Ahmadou Wague, President of Laser Atomic Molecular (LAM)
Network, said his outfit in collaboration with ISP and other
organizations had assisted several African countries especially
Senegal in the area of scientific research.
He however expressed regret that the lack of equipment and
skilled personnel in many laboratories in the Sub-Region was
impinging on effective research and urged the beneficiary
countries to avail themselves of the opportunity the ISP was
offering to develop their own equipment.
GNA
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