About the Endowment Fund
Background to The Endowment Fund
Institutions of Higher Education all over the world, as a means to address funding gaps in their Programmes, have resorted to the use of endowment funding mechanisms. In places such as Europe, the United States of America, and Australia, the endowment fund mechanisms have been the main source of funding for graduate training, through the provision of scholarships and procurement of equipment for the training of graduate students.
Growing student population
Ghana has a growing student population both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. We however face funding constraints with our institutions losing their brilliant students, which our College of Health Sciences is no exception, to Western countries. This is due to attractive scholarships, incentives and a conducive environment for higher learning and research. This has contributed to the country’s grapple with the brain drain of our talented and brilliant graduates.
Our focus for the Fund
The College of Health Sciences, KNUST, under the auspices of its provost has established an Endowment Fund that is focused on creating opportunities to retain Health Sciences graduates in Ghana in order to ameliorate some of the developmental challenges confronting the health sector of Ghana.
The College of Health Sciences currently has two research centres: KCCR and GWAC as well as laboratories in departments and units which have supported the training of postgraduate students in the College sometimes with Funding from these Centres. The intervention from the Centres has created a lot of opportunities through the provision of scholarships which has led to an increase in postgraduate enrollment.
To ensure that the gains achieved are consolidated, there is the need to establish a College of Health Sciences Endowment Fund. This has duly been assented to by the University Council as well as the Management of the University.
Purpose/Aims of
The Endowment Fund
The purpose/aims of the CHS Endowment Fund are as follows:
1
To promote the training of health professionals of high quality
2
To undertake research in the area of health, especially investigating the local diseases
3
To provide scholarships for graduate and undergraduate training
4
To procure essential equipment and tools for research related to graduate training for health professionals
The CHS Endowment Fund
Advisory Board
The Pro Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, Kumasi, Professor Ellis Owusu-Dabo, inaugurated an Advisory Board for the College of Health Sciences (CHS) Endowment Fund. The members comprising alumni and other eminent professionals in the health and other sectors will help advise, raise funds, and oversee the operations of the CHS Endowment Fund among others as stated in their terms of reference.
See Advisory Board Members
Fund Management Company
MATREX Limited is responsible for raising money for the CHS Fund.