The International Programmes Office has officially presented Ms. Rachael Opoku-Afriyie, a former Teaching Assistant at the Department of Forest Resources Technology of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources to the Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, Professor Mrs. Rita Akosua Dickson at the Council Chamber on 8th August, 2023.
The Dean of the International Programmes Office (IPO), Prof. Daniel Y.A. Duah indicated that Ms. Afriyie is the winner of the maiden edition for the 2023 cohort of the McCall MacBain Scholarships to study at the McGill University in Quebec, Canada. Professor Duah stated that 230 Teaching Assistants and National Service Persons from KNUST applied for the scholarships with Ms. Afriyie emerging as one the 30 shortlisted applicants and also made it to the final 10 nominated by KNUST to go through the Africa region competition stage.
Rachael subsequently emerged as one of the top 8 from the continent and joined 38 others from the world for the finals in Canada. In the end, Rachael was one of the ten winners to be nominated outside Canada to pursue postgraduate studies and will be privileged to obtain leadership training and attend conferences of her choice during her studies. Rachael is due to start graduate school in August 2023.
In her congratulatory message, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dickson, expressed her excitement in Ms. Afriyie’s excellence and achievement. She praised her for her sacrifices and preparations towards this remarkable journey and wished her well in her future endeavours. She encouraged her to continue to be an ambassador for her family, KNUST and Ghana.
In responding to the Vice-Chancellor’s remarks, Ms. Afriyie expressed her sincerest appreciation to her family, supervisor, Department, College, the International Programmes Office and KNUST for their immense support.
In a related development, Prof. Duah presented 10 shortlisted applicants out of 67 who have been endorsed by KNUST for the second cohort of the 2024 Boursiers McCall MacBain Scholarships. He added that the applicants had been assessed in the following criteria; exceptional character, community engagement, leadership potential, entrepreneurial spirit, academic strength and intellectual curiosity. The Vice-Chancellor blessed them and wished them well in the next steps of the application process.
Present at the meeting were Prof. Ben K.A. Banful, Provost of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Prof. Benjamin Campion, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources; Dr. Nat Owusu-Prempeh, Head, Department of Forest Resources Technology; Dr. Collins Ayine Nsor, Senior Lecturer, Department of Forest Resources Technology; and Mrs. Yvonne Baiden, Assistant Registrar of the International Programmes Office.
