The O.R Tambo Africa Research Chair Initiative (ORTARChI) at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) invites eligible candidates from KNUST and other higher education institutions around the world to apply to join PhD research supervisory committees at the KNUST School of Business for the purposes of jointly supervising doctoral research works in the broad field of interrelations between technology entrepreneurship and employability.

Background

This Research Chair is one of the ten (10) O.R Tambo Africa Research Chair Initiative (ORTARChI) Chairs launched by the National Research Foundation of South Africa on October 27, 2020, as part of the 2020 Tambo Month Celebration. The O.R Tambo Africa Research Chair at KNUST has an overall objective of collaborating with academic, industry and governmental partners in Africa and beyond to enhance applied research in technology entrepreneurship and employability, engage relevant technology entrepreneurship stakeholders for research translation, and strengthen and expand postgraduate education in the area of health, agriculture and inclusive finance technology entrepreneurship. As such, in 2021/2022 academic year, the ORTARChI awarded scholarships to a number of PhD students under the Department of Marketing and Corporate Strategy in the KNUST School of Business. As a requirement, all graduate students of KNUST must undertake research and thesis associated examinations before completion of their programmes of study. To facilitate the process of improving higher research degrees, ORTARChI invites potential internal (within KNUST) and external supervisors to help supervise ORTARChI PhD students’ research work. The PhD students’ tasks would entail a deal of responsibilities and quality assurance processes to be carried out by the supervisory committees, in line with the guidelines of the School of Graduate Studies, KNUST.

Roles of the Committee

The PhD Supervisory Committee will consist of a minimum of three (3) and a maximum of five (5) members. All supervisory committees will be chaired by the ORTARChI Research Chair at KNUST. The Committee will, among others, be expected to:

1. Hold bi-monthly supervisory meetings to review PhD students’ research work
2. Write and submit progress reports on the PhD students’ research work at specified times
3. Ensure that all written work is of a high standard of expression
4. Provide guidance where appropriate, on:

• the nature of the research
• the redefinition or reshaping of the research questions

5. Attend seminars organized for the PhD students
6. Contribute at seminars to PhD students’ presentations
7. Provide feedback on students’ thesis drafts, and comment in a timely manner on the content and the drafts of the examinable work prior to submission to KNUST Graduate School 
8. Ensure that student’s research work and the production of all categories of examinable work are the candidate’s own work
9. Provide general support and encouragement to assigned candidates and protect the interests of the student as well as the University
10. Support the candidate to submit two (2) papers from the research to recognised academic and/or practitioner journals
11. Fulfil other obligations imposed by the University regarding theses supervision.

Qualification

Successful applicants must have a Doctor of Philosophy degree and published scholarly works in related topical areas provided below:

Topical Areas

• Technology entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Strategic management and international business strategy
• Technology management
• Logistics and supply chain management
• Leadership and entrepreneurship
• Industrial and labour economics
• Agricultural economics, agribusiness, and food technology research
• Natural resource governance and management
• Healthcare technology research, public health, clinical and social pharmacy
• Inclusive Finance, financial economics, Fintech entrepreneurship

Candidates are to indicate their research interests from the topical areas above in their application cover letter.

Remuneration

Attractive remuneration and research support fund package will be made available to each supervision committee.

Application Procedure and Contact

All interested candidates are welcome to submit their Curriculum Vitae, and a Cover Letter (2-pages maximum) that clearly indicates the candidates’ research interest and previous experience of supervising doctoral students to a successful completion. A single zip file containing all application materials must be submitted to the ORTARChI Research Project Manager, Mr. Michael Nyamekye at nyamekyemichael.ksb@gmail.com

The deadline for submission of all applications is 17:00 GMT, May 10th, 2022. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be invited to an interaction session on a date to be communicated.

For further information, you may contact Professor Ahmed Agyapong (Head of Marketing and Corporate Strategy Department) at deedat31@yahoo.com or Professor Nathaniel Boso (Dean of KNUST School of Business and ORTARChI Research Chair) at nboso@knust.edu.gh