By Nasratu Kargbo
The University of Sierra Leone has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of West of Scotland to improve quality management by providing capacity-building programmes to enhance the knowledge and skills of students and businesses in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector.
Speaking on the 16th May 2023 at a ceremony to sign the MOU, Country Representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Maziatu Swaray said that the partnership will not only be beneficial to university students but also to SMEs. She explained that SMEs can improve their product and employ students who would add value to their businesses.
She stated that she hopes the University of West of Scotland will help SMEs to improve their quality management in order to be competitive in the global market.
Swaray said the MOU will enable the USL to offer ISO 9001 courses, which according to the UNIDO representative is a globally recognized standard for quality management systems that has been adopted by many institutions across the world to improve their processes, products, and services.
She added that by offering ISO 9001 courses, the USL will be equipped to provide its students with the skills and knowledge to succeed in a competitive and changing environment.
Swaray said this will increase jobs, increase economic growth, and the living standards of Sierra Leoneans. “I am very confident that the ISO 9001 courses being offered in partnership with the University of West of Scotland will benefit students, SMEs, and the economy of Sierra Leone,” said Swaray.
A representative from the University of West of Scotland Dr. Evi Viza said the partnership will be beneficial to both parties, noting that they can learn from Sierra Leone and help the institution do things with quality and standard. Viza added that joining forces could change the future for the better by improving lives by providing quality education and economic growth.
She explained that what they do is combine students’ innovation, academic experiences, and knowledge of businesses and factor them for progress.
Viza gave a brief background on their institution, stating that they have fifteen thousand students across five campuses with four in different parts of Scotland and one in London.
Minister of Technical and Higher Education (MTHE) Professor Alpha Tejan Wurie said quality is very important, explaining that with the increasing number of students gaining admission to tertiary institutions, quality should be assured.
The Minister said that one of the benefits he would wish the country can derive from the partnership is confidence, noting that the country has the institutional memory and already know what to do but finds it difficult to do the needful.
“It is time we put quality into what we do in all aspects of life,” said Wurie.
He said the government wants to make sure that each region in the country has a university, noting that “There is now reengineering of higher education; we have to expand higher education for there to be productivity in Sierra Leone”.
Delivering the Keynote address on behalf of the Minister of Trade and Industry Nguanya Massaquoi said incorporating ISO 9001 in the Institute of Public Administrative and Management (IPAM) University’s curriculum will greatly help the nation, its people, and businesses to grow and understand the relevance of standard in the execution of their daily activities.
The Quality Management Systems Training Hub will be based at the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM).
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