Mantrac Ghana Limited has donated a live Caterpillar (CAT) 3406C Engine, worth $20,000 to the Autotronic Laboratory of the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Takoradi Technical University’s (TTU), to aid in students’ practical lessons.
The CAT 3406C engine was donated to the University to support the Caterpillar Technician for Africa online learning programme and to provide students a practical feel of an industrial engine.
Mr Andrew Sarson, the Component Rebuild Centre Operations Manager of Mantrac, in his introduction, indicated that Caterpillar and Mantrac were happy to nominate TTU as a beneficiary of Caterpillar 3406C re-manufacture diesel engine.
According to Mr Sarson, aside theory, students must also be given a practical feel of what they are taught to help in their studies, adding, “We look forward to collaborating with TTU on the Technician for Africa Programme, which is designed for Africans seeking new and exciting careers as service technicians.”
He encouraged the university authorities to adopt the Technician for Africa programme as part of the engineering department curriculum and that the programme would give students an added advantage over their counterparts from other universities, in terms of technical skills and practical know-how.
Professor John Frank Eshun, the Vice-Chancellor of the TTU said the donation was timely as the University, through its recently-launched five-year strategic plan, was looking forward to such appropriate industry support in order to achieve its mandate of a true Technical University that produces industry-cut technicians.
“The Council, management and students appreciate Mantrac for coming to our aid with this equipment for training. We believe the academia-industry relationship that you have shown must be an example to all companies in our catchment. We need to interact with industry to find out their problems to enable students to solve these problems.
“That is why these technical universities were established to enable a strong relationship with the industry. We will make good use of the equipment and keep interacting with you to see how best we can redesign our curriculum to meet your needs and to address the needs of society,” he said.
James Tawiah Kwame Aggrey, the Principal Technician at the Electro-Tronic Laboratory, explained how essential the live engine was for their training, saying that, “We can use this engine for demonstrations and parts identification for students. After schooling, these are the exact components you are going to work with. So, we train students on how to identify, for example, the turbocharger, how it is fitted and how it looks,” he said.
Mantrac Ghana, as part of the donation used the opportunity to extend an invitation to the TTU Engineering Department to visit its ultra-modern Component Rebuild Centre at Ewusiejoe for a further practical feel of what they are learning.
