Skip to main content

Personality of the Week: Mr Philip Ankrah

Mr Philip Ankrah, our maiden personality of the week

In our maiden Personality Dialogue, we meet Mr Philip Ankrah, a final year Metallurgical Engineering student who tells us more about himself and shares ideas with us. Learn and Enjoy.

Who is Mr Philip Ankrah?
Philip Ankrah is a God-fearing, industrious and passion-driven stalwart.

What was your experience like in secondary school?
High school was great and very challenging but I was highly determined to make it to KNUST, so we fought for it desperately. Sometimes, I had to spend the whole night in a classroom. I was tagged with certain uncomfortable names because I loved to be behind my books most of the times but we never heeded to people's noise.

Metallurgical Engineering, were you given the programme or you really wanted to do it? What informed your decision if you chose it?
Metallurgical Engineering was the programme I wanted to read. You know, my mentor made me understand that Metallurgical and Materials Engineering are the future and pivots of Engineering Technology.

How has the programme been so far?
 The programme has been very interesting.
The programme has really broadened my scope.

Why KNUST among all the other institutions in the country and beyond?
KNUST is the Tertiary institution I had always wanted to attend. Moreover, it's one of the few tertiary institutions that offer the programme I wanted to read.

How has KNUST and Kumasi been all this while? (The people, the culture, environment)
KNUST is one of the best tertiary institutions to realize and maximize your potentials; KNUST has shaped me into a more needful and responsible citizen.
I have met a lot of people and have learnt how to tolerate people from different backgrounds.

Has there been any challenge pertaining to Metallurgical Engineering?
Yes, there have been challenges pertaining to Metallurgical Engineering. It has not been easy since day one.
 The Department has done so well with the introduction of the Arizona State University Scholarship; and making it possible for first-years to go on field trip.
But there is a need for the refurbishment of our lab and the difficulties with regards to internship opportunities for students in the Department.

What positions have you held so far in your academic life?
 I was the President of MATESA for the 2018/2019 academic year. Currently, I'm the GESA Senate Speaker.


Speaker of GESA Senate. Please tell us briefly about your work as Speaker?
A Senate Speaker is the main administrator of the GESA Senate who works hand-in-hand with the departmental heads and GESA Executives to make GESA a better place for the next generation.

What are some leadership skills you possess?
I believe I have the spirit of leadership; I'm a selfless and an industrious leader who cares so much about the success of others.

Please tell us how you are able to manage social and academic responsibilities?
In order for one to manage their social and academic responsibilities, they have to plan their activities daily.

Any achievements or special awards?
I won the student leader of the year in my association, MATESA, and I also won the best departmental President in my College (Engineering) for the 2018/2019 academic year.

What or who inspires you?
My source of inspiration is this: I believe I have a great responsibility to take care of people in my country and Africa at large, and to make Ghana a highly recognized country in the world.

What is your vision and mission in life?
My vision is to fulfill my purpose in life and my mission is to help others (Africans) maximize their potentials and help serve my country.

Which extracurricular activities do usually engage in?
I like football and I can play football. I like playing FIFA; I love dancing  and I love to be in the House of God.

Any favourite motivational quote?
"This world is a very dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." ~ Albert Einstein

How do you see the Department so far? Are there any improvements you would want to see?
The Department has improved, especially with the introduction of the Arizona State University Scholarship opportunity, and making it possible for first-years to go on field trip. In terms of academic performance and scholarships, there should be permanent internship slots, and the training skills we are yet to receive from Newmont Ghana.

What is your take on campus relationships as a student?
As a university student, you must know yourself very well; whether you can be in a relationship and still focus on your academics and be sound-minded. If you can't do that just, don't go into it.

What do you think about the way we are taught here in the university?
I wish much attention would be given to practical, project works and a focus on making our educational system more technological.

The Core of Engineering Technology, what does this mean to you?
The Core of Engineering Technology simply means the pivot, the central point, the fundamentals and the most vital aspect of technology.

What should we expect from you in the next few years?
I would like to get settled and then start giving back to society, establish my own company and get ready to serve my motherland, Ghana.

Please share with us your last words.
Now, this message goes to everyone, let's not give up on our dreams and visions. Imagine that Bill Gates and Aliko Dangote, who have employed more than 100,000 people, gave up on their dreams and visions; and again imagine that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who played a great role in fighting for the independence of this country gave up on his vision.

These people wouldn't have only terminated their visions and dreams alone but they would have ended up killing the vision and the dream of a nation, so never give up on your dreams and visions.

Comments

See Also

Personality of The Week: Dr Frank Ofori Agyemang

Dr F.O. Agyemang, MATESA POTW Meet Dr Frank on this week's  Personality Dialogue show. He tells us about himself, shares his knowledge and experience with us. This is an exclusive, in-depth interview with the nanomaterials expert, deliberately enjoy the show to the very end. Who is Dr Frank Ofori Agyemang? I am from Jakobu, a town in Amansie Central district close to Ashanti Bekwai, Obuasi Road. I have a large family, with many step siblings. My dad passed away while I  was writing my PhD dissertation. I am married with a kid. Well done Doc Please tell us about your education. Growing up I have always loved to be an engineer. We were the first batch of WASSCE students (2006). I completed Kumasi Academy, popularly known as Kumaca. Before I applied for admission to KNUST, I read a lot about the programs I chose, including Materials Engineering though Pharmacy was my first choice. Before I chose MSE, a friend who was schooling outside introduced me to it, I th...

The Chemistry between Matter and Communication

[Opinion - 5 min read] In this article, I use communication and language; matter and material interchangeably. Basically, both are related in this way – without matter, there is no communication, meaning that matter is the object of communication. The aim of this write-up is for us to appreciate the fact that communication is a key factor in our daily living and hence we must pay critical attention thereof. Let's understand some underlying terms herein as we move on. Communication is the means by which different matter relate with other; it can be verbal or non-verbal, interpersonal or intrapersonal, etc. We communicate mainly through our actions, speech and thoughts. Matter is what makes up the physical world; the things that can be seen or felt, including people and other material in the environment. [Read also: Dear Writer!  ] Having gotten these, let us now look at how communication (language) affects material (matter) in these four well-known areas: Busin...

Personality of The Week: Julius Boakye Kakrah

Our Personality for this week is an outstanding gentleman who aspires to be a magnate in the field of Mining. Aside sharing with us his knowledge and experience, he reminisces a humorous experience at his alma mater and you just want to read the interview to the end. Mr  Julius Boakye Kakrah Who is Mr Julius? I am Kakrah Boakye Julius, born on May 22, 1998. I hail from Bekwai in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. I am the last born of four children. What was your experience like in secondary school? I am an alumnus of St. Augustine's College in Cape Coast and I offered General Science. I had many experiences but one I really remember is my first 3 weeks in school. I looked much like someone who has been in the school for long so I usually used to send and punish my own mates.  St Augustine's College also helped me shape my lifestyle especially the way I dress. Metallurgical Engineering, were you given the programme or you really wanted to do it? What informed your dec...

Personality of The Week: Dr. Mensah-Darkwa

Our Personality for this Week is none other than Dr. Kwadwo Mensah-Darkwa. Below is a profile of the senior lecturer popularly known as Dr. Darkwa.  PROFILE SUMMARY Dr. Kwadwo Mensah-Darkwa (KMD), is a senior lecturer at the Department of Materials Engineering, KNUST. He is also the College Examinations Officer. His offices are located at PB 319 and the College Examinations Office. Some of the courses he teaches include Introduction to IT, Strength of Materials, MATLAB, Numerical Methods. He is quite known among his students to be IT-oriented due to the  neoteric gadgets he employs in his lectures. EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND He studied General Science  at Ghana National College ,  Cape Coast, where he obtained his SSCE . He then gained admission to KNUST  to read B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering  where he completed in  June 2004  with First C lass H ono urs degree. At the North Carolina A&T State University (NCAT), Greensb...

New 'Artificial Leaf' That Converts Carbon Dioxide Into Fuel

Scientists have created an “artificial leaf” to fight climate change by inexpensively converting harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) into a useful alternative fuel. The new technology, outlined in a paper published on November 4, 2019, in the journal Nature Energy, was inspired by the way plants use energy from sunlight to turn carbon dioxide into food. “We call it an artificial leaf because it mimics real leaves and the process of photosynthesis,” said Yimin Wu, an engineering professor at the University of Waterloo who led the research. “A leaf produces glucose and oxygen. We produce methanol and oxygen.” Making methanol from carbon dioxide, the primary contributor to global warming, would both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide a substitute for the fossil fuels that create them. The key to the process is a cheap, optimized red powder called cuprous oxide. An hour-long chemical reaction creates the engineered red powder that is the key to new technology to tur...

Personality of The Week: Mr Ebo Quansah

Mr Ebo Quansah, Personality of The Week To  begin this month's Alumni Awareness session of the Personality Dialogue a former Teaching Assistant of the Department. He is an old student of GSTS in Takoradi. He tells us about himself and shares with us some knowledge and experience so far. Enjoy the read. Who is Mr Ebo Quansah?  Ebo-Quansah is the second born among five siblings. I was born and brought up in Manso-Wassa, where I had my basic education. I am that individual who is interested in researching into scientific problems. What was your experience like in secondary school? I had my Secondary school education at Ghana Senior High Technical School (GSTS). And you can attest to the fact that GSTS is one of the finest second cycle institutions in the country. Besides the quality of academic work, the high level of discipline the school instigates into its students really helped shape my life. For that I will always be proud of my alma mater. Talking of fond memorie...

MATESA SPORTS SEAT - Exclusive Interview

Mr Kwame Attakora-Seater of The Week This is the maiden edition of Sports Seat. It is an exclusive interview with the Sportsmen of MATESA - published weekly. The first interviwee to sit on Sports Seat is Mr Kwame Boakye Attakora. He tells about himself, MATESA and also sports (football). Who is Mr Kwame Boakye Attakora? I have always found this question very complex to answer mainly because as a person I am constantly evolving as a result of my experiences but I guess basically i am a Fante-Ashanti boy working towards making my hopes and dreams a reality. What was your experience like in secondary school? Secondary School was fun, like all my experiences. I was in Achimota School between 2010 and 2013. Funny thing is I didn’t actually plan on going there. Growing up my dream secondary school was PRESEC, Legon but I ended up at Achimota due to an error on my part when I was selecting secondary schools to attend. I chose PRESEC, Legon but mistakenly wrote down the Ac...

The Reason for The Season

Almighty, you could have snapped us into a blip to avenge for our unruly stubbornness and cruelty. You could have hypnotized us from the beginning of time to follow you with nothing called free will. No urge to disobey, steal or kill. But you chose to send your begotten son. In the beginning, you could have corrected sin and immorality yet allowed men to dwell in their carnality and later show them your sovereignty. Leaving His comfort zone, He came down to live as one of us. He was betrayed for a few denominations, chastised on several occasions but chose our salvation over condemnation. And for our sake He was condemned to death. To the wisdom of man, it was an improper fraction but to God a perfect solution.Though sinless and blameless, He bore the crossed burdened with our sins. Under the Heavy cross bathed in blood and sweat, he fell three times yet didn’t give up. He was poised to accomplish this mission of our salvation. Nailed to the cross, blood oozing from every part o...

Personality of The Week: Mr Asare Bediako

Asare Bediako - POTW On today's Personality Dialogue train we meet a very fine gentleman who is also the Rep for  his class - Metallurgical Engineering 1. He shares with us his knowledge and experience. Kindly enjoy the interaction. Who is Mr Asare Bediako?  Asare Bediako is a positive young gentleman who is self-motivated and passionately aspires to make a change in society. He is strongly interested in Youth Activism, Entrepreneurship and Leadership. What was your experience like in secondary school? I attended Adventist SHS in Bantama. It was a great and quite an interesting place to be. I was famously tagged "The king of Latin," because I always loved and used Latin quotes in all formal speeches I made. Metallurgical Engineering. Were you given the programme or you really wanted to do it? What informed your decision if you chose it? My dream program was Pharm D. I was not interested in metallurgy when it was first offered me; I had no passion to offer t...

Personality of The Week: Ing. Dr. Mrs. Bennetta Koomson!

Dr Bennetta Koomson, Personality of The Week Our Personality of the Week is a dainty, gorgeous, and adorable lecturer of the Department, Ing. Dr. Mrs. Bennetta Koomson, popularly known as Dr Koomson. Get to know about her. Profile Ing. Dr. Mrs. Bennetta Koomson is a Minerals Engineer and a lecturer of the Department of Materials Engineering. She began lecturing at KNUST in 2012. Her office is in Room 325 of the Petroleum Building (PB). Education She had her B.Sc. in Minerals Engineering at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). She also holds an MPhil and PhD in Minerals Engineering where she studied at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and the University of South Australia, but her degrees awarded by the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa. In her PhD study, she worked on a research project:  “ Nanolithosorption of arsenic from mine waters ,” together with other renowned scientists and engineers: E. K. Asiam, Willi...