Department of Biomedical Engineering Organizes Vacation Internship Training for Students

Prof. Boateng Onwona‐Agyeman, Dean, School of Engineering Sciences addressing students at the training 

The maiden edition of an in-house vacation internship training for students of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Ghana has been opened at a brief ceremony by Prof. Daniel Kwadwo Asiedu, Provost, College of Basic and Applied Sciences. 

The rationale for this initiative was premised on the fact that in spite of the critical essence of an industrial attachment to provide students an exposure to the work environment, most companies do not have a well-structured training program for internship which makes it difficult to measure students’ performance. The result-oriented nature of the industrial environment also makes it extremely busy to serve as a skills development training center for students.  Additionally, due to the increasing student enrolment, the Department is experiencing difficulties securing placement for its students although internship is a requirement for graduation. 

In line with this programme, the Department has invited experienced resource persons from the medical engineering fields including Ghana Health Services to organize a 9-week practical internship training for students. This timely initiative will train students specifically on the installation, management and maintenance of medical equipment in the healthcare sector. The facilitators include Ing. John Zienaa (Chief Clinical Engineering Manager, Ghana Health Services), Ing. Eric Sackey Mensah (Ashanti Regional Clinical Engineering Manager, Ghana Health Services), Ing. David Anderson (Senior Clinical Engineering Manager, Presbyterian Health Services), Ing. Isaac Dapaah (Principal Radiographer, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital) and Mr. Douglas Tetteh Ayitey (Senior Laboratory Technologist). 

Dr. John Kutor, a senior lecturer at the Department responsible for teaching Bioinstrumentation, used the occasion to give a brief background on Bioinstrumentation highlighting the continuous progress the Department has made over the years. He indicated that the Department had employ the Mobile Lab Services of Korsika Energy Research and Services Limited (KERSL and emphasizes that the use of the mobile Lab services had changed the paradigm of lab experiments in Bioinstrumentation from the traditional electronics to the use of both instrumentation sensor hardware and software in the Bioinstrumentation lab.

Dr. Elvis Tiburu, Head, Department of Biomedical Engineering seized the opportunity to appeal to the healthcare sector, NGOs and philanthropists to donate equipment to facilitate the training of students.  

Prof. Boateng Onwona‐Agyeman, Dean, School of Engineering Sciences in brief remarks charged the students to take advantage of the practical-oriented internship training programme to acquire the needed skills to develop their careers in the field of study. 

In a related development, the Department through the effort of a team of health professionals led by Ing. Eric Sackey Mensah, a post graduate student of the Department has received a set of laboratory equipment from St. Martins Hospital, Agroyesum in the Amansie West District and Agogo Presbyterian Hospital in the Asante Akyem North District of the Ashanti Region.

The laboratory equipment which included an Aesthetic machine, spectrophotometer, BP Apparatus, Microscope and Patient monitor was donated as part of efforts to support the newly introduced in-house Vacation Internship Training programme for Biomedical Engineering Students. Handing over the equipment to the Department, Ing. John Zienaa, indicated that purpose of the gesture was to provide students with practical skills needed to help solve problems in the society.

Receiving the equipment on behalf of the Department, Professor Boateng Onwona-Agyeman expressed gratitude to the team. He indicated that practical training of students was necessary as it augment what they study during lectures. He assured the students that the School of Engineering was poised to provide them with world-class training. Professor Onwona-Agyeman also assured the donors that the equipment will be used for its intended purposes and a routine maintenance will be undertaken to ensure that they last longer.

Present at the donation were Ing. David Anderson, Ing. Isaac Dapaah, and Dr. Elvis Tiburu.

A group picture of officials after the event