The College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences (CANS) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), in collaboration with the National Nuclear Research Institute (NNRI) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), has held a strategic partnership workshop aimed at establishing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two institutions.

The programme sought to promote cooperative collaboration in research, education, and the application of nuclear technology.

In her welcome remarks, Prof. Rofela Combey, Provost of CANS, expressed delight at hosting the NNRI-GAEC team.

“Strategic partnership is key to us in this new phase of our College, and we look forward to this engagement,” she indicated.

Additionally, Prof. Combey stressed that the College is committed to advancing teaching, research, and related scientific pursuits through such collaborations.

Provost of CANS, Prof. Rofela Combey

Mr. Emmanuel Kwesi Boafo, the Manager at the Nuclear Reactor Research Centre (NRRC)-NNRI, provided insights into the operations of the Ghana Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-1), owned by GAEC and operated by the NNRC-NNRI.

He explained that the facility is a low-power Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) of the tank-in-pool type, with cooling achieved through natural convection and reflection.

He highlighted the potential for academic and research collaboration, stating, “We look forward to a mutually beneficial collaboration.”

He further noted that the reactor’s application and utilisation span from education and training, research and development, and neutron activation analysis.

This includes undergraduate and postgraduate training in nuclear technology, reactor operation, modelling and simulation, neutron activation analysis (NAA), gamma spectrometry and research in reactor physics.

The NRRC-NNRI delegation also included Dr. Henry Cecil Odoi, Principal Research Scientist, and Mr. Henry Obeng, who is with the Maintenance and Operations section.

Mr. Emmanuel Kwesi Boafo, the Manager of NRRC-NNRI during his presentation

The event forms part of ongoing discussions to formalise an MoU between CANS-UCC and GAEC, which will serve as a framework for joint projects, resource sharing, and capacity building in nuclear science and technology.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC