CSIR College of Science and Technology gets new President

The Board of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) College of Science and Technology (CCST), has appointed Professor Mark Appiah, as the new President of the College.

Professor Appiah, whose appointment took effect on March 2nd, 2020, was the Deputy Director of CSIR Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) and served as the Vice-Chairman of the Institute’s Internal Management Board.

As an Adjunct Professor in Tropical Forestry at the University of Eastern Finland, Professor Appiah’s academic interests range across tropical forestry, silviculture, sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation and social forestry, and had authored or co-authored over 40 publications in these areas.

He was instrumental in the creation of a partnership between the CSIR and the University of Eastern Finland (UEF), which led to the establishment in 2012 of the Masters in Bio-economy and Natural Resources Management Programme at CSIR-FORIG campus in Kumasi.

As a Deputy Director of FORIG, Prof Appiah guided the Institute’s efforts in research initiatives and supported the implementation of the climate change post-graduate education, hosted at CSIR-FORIG.

He has also initiated and led in the implementation of several national and international forestry and education collaborative projects funded by agencies such as the Academy of Finland, International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), the World Bank, and the Finish Foreign Ministry through UEF.

His projects have significantly helped improved forest management and biodiversity in Ghana.

He is a member of several professional organizations including the Society for Ecological Restoration, the Finish University Partnership for International Development (UniPID), the African Forest Forum (AFF) and the Global Partnership of Forest Landscape Restoration and currently turning his scholarly focus on higher education and leadership to help expand both Ghanaians and international students’ opportunities for post-graduate education.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Kumasi, Professor Appiah said the CCST, which was affiliated to the University of Cape Coast was devoted to providing quality education that addressed the challenges of industries, businesses and local communities.

He said these goals could be achieved through excellent teaching and learning as well as innovative research and public engagement, adding that, the strength of CCST was its staff, who had experience in developing applied technologies and students who had the imagination and an appetite for solving problems of society.

Professor Appiah said CCST had excellent IT, library and laboratory facilities in all its various campuses and field stations located strategically across the different ecological zones of Ghana, which facilitated innovative research, teaching and learning-by-doing.

He said the college offered programmes in Natural Sciences and Environmental Management at various Master’s degree levels including MSc/Mphil in Climate Change and Integrated Natural Resources Management.

Additionally, the College offered Master of Philosophies in Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Food Science and Technology, Fisheries, Soil Health and Environmental Resources Management and Industrial Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology.

Professor Appiah, said in addition to these graduate programmes, the College offered short-term training in entrepreneurship to equip students with skills that would enhance their employment.

He said plans were underway to roll out post-graduate programmes in Materials Science and Engineering as well as Doctorate level programmes and appealed to students to take advantage and enrol in the courses, which had flexible terms both in instructional time and fee payment.