GCAA to sponsor Aerospace Engineering course

Accra, March 1, GNA - The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has initiated a process for the GCAA Board to approve an annual grant of 20,000 dollars towards the establishment of a degree course in Aerospace Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi.

The course to be undertaken by the School of Engineering is being established with the support of Boeing International Corporation and the Washington State University of the USA.

Captain Joe Afriyie Boachie, Director General of the GCAA, announced this at the inauguration of the Ghana Aerospace and Aeronautics Society (GAAS) in Accra on Monday.

The Society, the first in West and Central Africa was born out of the first Aerospace Education Forum initiated and hosted by Boeing International Corporation in Accra in October, last year. The main objective of GAAS is to expand and enrich the aerospace and aeronautics industry in Ghana and the West African Sub-Region by advancing technology, learning and also promote the professionalism of those engaged in these careers.

Captain Boachie said the forum organized in October brought together some of the major stakeholders in the local aviation industry to deliberate on ways of assisting to develop aerospace education in Ghana and the Sub-Region through the synergy of their joint support - financial, material and moral.

He said the forum unanimously agreed to support the aerospace education in Ghana and pledged various contributions.

Captain Boachie, who is also President of the Society, said the Ghana Air Force and Ghana Airways pledged to put at the disposal of the aerospace programme the expertise of their engineering and technical personnel as well as the use of their facilities and equipment in facilitating the course.

The Boeing International Corporation pledged to finance periodic visits of aerospace engineering experts and lecturers from the United States to service the programme at KNUST.

Mrs Lauratte Koellner, Executive Vice President of Boeing International Corporation, said the Society would act as a catalyst for information flow and creative exchanges by providing access to a world-class repository of published and electronic aerospace knowledge.

It would in addition advocate technological leadership, encourage continued investment in the progress of aerospace in Ghana and influence public policy while being the gateway for other West and Central African countries to strengthen the aerospace industry and link it to global activity.

Mrs Koellner, who is also the Chief People and Administration Officer of the Boeing Company, said through the interaction of such societies, industry, academia, military and government, there would be a continuous and substantial improvement of the aerospace industry within the Sub-Region.