BlueCrest University College, Ghana has inaugurated its Industry Advisory Board, comprising members selected from key industrial sectors in the country.
The Industry Advisory Board will help BlueCrest and the region to fill the gap between academia and industry, thus resolving the issue of skills gap leading to the unemployment or underemployment of youth.
The advisory members will work actively and closely with BlueCrest in mentoring, co-teaching, enriching curriculum, launching new skill-based programs, research projects, and co-writing case studies to benefit all the stakeholders and students of BlueCrest.
Commenting on the role of the advisory board, the President of BlueCrest University College, Ghana, Dr. Anand Agrawal said the institution is excited about this new feat for the college.
“By partnering and collaborating with Industry players, we are able to provide a strong network for our students and staff to leverage on. As the popular saying goes, your network is your networth, that’s why the partnership and collaborations department is positioned to attract and work collaboratively with a network of corporates ready and willing to innovate with us, as we transform the phase of Education in Africa,” he said.
About Our Advisors
Foster Awintiti Akugri,
Head of Youth Banking – Stanbic Bank
Foster Awintiti Akugri is a computer scientist and process engineer by education, an entrepreneur by training, and a volunteer by passion. In 2015 he founded the Hacklab Foundation, an international nonprofit organization headquartered in Ghana with a focus on preparing the youth for future digital jobs through technology education and skills development. Since 2016, Hacklab has partnered and worked closely with global firms like Twitter, IBM, Vodafone, Standard Bank, University of Johannesburg, etc. to host the largest annual Hackathon Africa which convenes over 1000 tech professionals annually.
Foster was the youngest participant at the World Economic Forum’s 48th Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. He was listed among 30 under 30 Future of Ghana Pioneers, named Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leader by the Policy Center for the Global South, Morocco. He was also named amongst the Top 100 Most Influential Young Ghanaians and the Top 4 Most Influential Young Ghanaians in Science & Technology by Avance Media.
Foster has also received the President’s Outstanding Youth Prize in Science and Technology by the Millennium Excellence Foundation under the patronage of HRH Otumfour Osei Tutu II.
Frederica Brooksworth – Executive Director of the Council for International African Fashion Education (CIAFE)
Frederica Brooksworth is a British-Ghanaian Academic, Researcher, and Business Strategist.
She has taught at numerous universities and is a lecturer at the London College of Fashion, Conde Nast College of Fashion and Design. She has also worked with organizations such as the Business of Fashion, FashMash, and Style House Files developing educational programs and resources. She is the author of the forthcoming book ‘Fashion Marketing in Emerging Economies’ due to be published in spring 2022 by Palgrave Macmillan.
Frederica is currently undertaking a Doctorate in Education with a focus on closing the knowledge and skills gap through EdTech to innovate the African Fashion Education System. Brooksworth holds a Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Marketing and a Masters of Arts in Fashion Entrepreneurship and Innovation obtained from the London College of Fashion. In addition to this, Brooksworth has obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning. She also often undertakes Executive Education courses at Saïd Business School at Oxford University. Brooksworth is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Odelia Ntiamoah, Head – Joy Business, Multimedia Group
Odelia Ntiamoah is the only Media leader in Ghana invited by the BBC BIG TALK. She is also the only female leader for a business content brand in Ghana.
Over the past 15 years of her career, she has been selected amongst 100’s of journalists in Ghana to engage in high-level exclusive presidential interviews and became the only female multiple award winner in West Africa.
She has also won the IVLP program with the US embassy in the United States, a highly competitive program, which got her selected as the only Ghanaian candidate. Her story about a teacher trekking miles in the Northern region just to provide basic education for his pupils generated national conversation around Ghana’s poor rural education and resulted in the then Agric minister Kwesi Ahwoi invoking an emergency cabinet meeting with the Education Minister Naana Opoku Agyemang on best ways of improving access to education for rural children.
Odelia’s years in journalism appealed also to media competitors who fell on her to maximize her experience for content strategy and growth. One such company is the Multimedia Group Limited, where she currently heads the Business Programming Unit, which takes care of 12 media brands.
Here, she has been able to transform business programming and news content by transforming the business news department from an idle content provider to a viable revenue generator.
Sylvia Inkoom, Deputy Managing Director, UBA Ghana
Sylvia Inkoom is a banking professional and driven leader with a wealth of experience and expertise in national and international banking & finance. Sylvia is skilled at building and leading professional teams, client management, product design, and development. She is an influencer who demonstrates an immense understanding of the increasingly sophisticated needs of medium and large corporations in emerging markets.
Sylvia has 16 years of experience in the Banking Sector, specifically in Corporate Banking, Relationship Management, and Global Markets (Treasury). In Treasury, she specialized in fixed income, interest rates, equities, and exchange rates. She has several years in senior management roles and has overseen the negotiation, arrangement, and execution of landmark transactions across various sectors.
She holds a Certificate in Corporate Finance from the London School of Economics as well as a Certificate in Client Strategic Management from the University of Cape Town. She also has an MBA in Finance from the University of Ghana Business School.
Dr. Prince Kofi Kludjeson (Honorary Member)
CEO – CELLTELL
Dr. Prince Kofi Kludjeson, the Executive Chairman of Celltel Networks Ltd, a subsidiary of Kludjeson International Ltd., and a renowned Ghanaian business magnate and industrialist who stands out for his pioneering efforts in indigenous entrepreneurship.
He is well known in several areas in the information technology sector and recognized in corporate Ghana as a leader of the private sector’s development. He has many years of experience in the information technology and telecommunications industry.
CELLTEL Ltd, the first and wholly Ghanaian-owned mobile phone network company provides mobile cellular services, Internet business services, data, and Satellite solutions for schools and Health Facilities in Ghana and Africa as a whole in Collaboration with Hughes Corporation of the USA and Eutelsat of France.
He has served on many boards and councils such as:
– Executive Member, National Council of AGI: 2005-2007
– President, AGI: 2003-2005
– Executive Member, National Council of AGI: 2001-2003
– President, AGI: 1999 – 2001
– Chairman, Electricals and Electronics Sector: 1996 – 1999
– Member, Board of Trustees of National Science and Technology Foundation,
– Chairman, Chamber for Tourism Industry, Ghana
– President, Volta Development Forum
– Regional President, Lions Club International (District 403A)
– Zonal Chairman, Lions’ Clubs International (Zone 161)
– President, Ebony Lions Club of Accra
– Member, Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Ghana
– Chairman, Ghana Association of Mobile Network Operations
– Founding President, Have Technical Institute
He received the “Arch of Europe Gold Star Award” by the prestigious business initiative directions (BID) in France for his immeasurable contributions to the business world and the high standing and professionalism demonstrated by his prestigious performance.
The Global Centre for Transformational Leadership conferred the African Prize for Transformational Leadership and Doctoral Degree on him as Dr. Prince Kofi Kludjeson. Dr.Prince Kofi Kludjeson, in 2014 was the Key Note Speaker at the Harvard University Law School in Cambridge Massachusetts USA. He was again a special Guest Speaker at MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology Fat Laboratory to transform Tertiary Education in Ghana and Africa. Prince Kofi Kludjeson has accepted and lives up to several social community activities, which he has meshed smoothly with his entrepreneurial skills and drive.
