The German-West African Centre for Global Health and Pandemic Prevention (G-WAC) in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has held a day’s orientation for its students.

A statement issued by the KNUST, copied to the Ghana News Agency said the programme was aimed at orienting students on the G-WAC scholarship, course registration for PhD students, the programme duration, the reporting timeline and appointment of supervisors.

Professor Alexander Yaw Debrah, the Graduate Committee Chairman of the College of Health Sciences (CoHS), who took the participants through the Course Registration procedures and the Programme duration, indicated the importance of students getting off-head information about their PhD program and the number of years they would need for their research since they are being funded by G-WAC.

Professor Debrah urged the students to work hard to complete their research within the four-year, full-time research study period stipulated by KNUST and G-WAC’s funding schedule, since the financing period would not be extended beyond four years.

Dr Daniel Opoku, a lecturer at the School of Public Health, KNUST, also presented on Funding Requisition/Reimbursement, Acquisition of Logistics, Progress Report, and Conferences.

The G-WAC is a new Centre established in the College of Health Sciences, KNUST.

It seeks to address the existential threat of pandemics to the health and welfare of people through trans-and-interdisciplinary research projects targeting both the main drivers of pandemics and the key pillars of resilient health systems in the World Health Organisation (WHO) framework using One Health approaches.

The Centre collaborates with Technical University Berlin, Charité-Medical University Berlin and the University of Bonn, all in Germany.