The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Professor John Kwaku Mensah Mawutor, has called on engineers and young professionals to combine technical competence with integrity, innovation and an entrepreneurial mindset to address Africa’s development challenges. He made the call at the opening of the Engineering in Africa Conference 2026 at UPSA on Thursday, 10 September 2026.
Organised by the National Society of Black Engineers, Ghana (NSBE Ghana), in collaboration with UPSA through the UPSA Enterprise and Innovation Centre (UEIC), the three-day conference brought together engineers, academics, industry leaders, policymakers and students. It ran from 10 to 12 September under the theme “Engineering Africa’s Future: Innovation, Infrastructure and Impact”.
Prof. Mawutor emphasised that technical expertise needed to be supported by sound management, responsible financing and institutions capable of sustaining engineering solutions.
“An engineering solution requires sound management if it is to serve people consistently. It needs a workable business model, responsible financing and institutions that can maintain it,” he said.
His remarks placed the long-term usefulness of innovation at the centre of the discussion. Beyond developing a technology or completing an infrastructure project, he highlighted the need to consider how solutions would be financed, managed and maintained to meet the needs of the people they served.
The Vice-Chancellor’s call for integrity also highlighted the responsibility that accompanied professional competence. His message underscored the importance of ethical judgement and accountability in the use of resources to advance sustainable development.
Prof. Mawutor noted that UPSA’s philosophy of “Scholarship with Professionalism” provided a basis for connecting academic knowledge with practical responses to societal challenges. He encouraged collaboration across disciplines, linking engineering expertise with leadership, entrepreneurship and institutional capacity.
Addressing students, he urged them to recognise their communities as places where meaningful innovation could begin.
“To our cherished students, do not wait until graduation to begin solving problems. Start with something you understand in your community. Ask questions, learn from others and test your ideas. The confidence to become an entrepreneur grows through doing the work,” he advised.
The conference brought students into dialogue with professionals whose experience could inform the development of practical ideas.
