The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR), has held its maiden “Open Day” event, granting over 2000 students from various primary, junior and senior secondary schools in Accra access to its research facility to gain insight into the institutes day-to- day research activities while being encouraged to develop interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
“We have opened our facility for young students from 15 schools to come and see what we do as an institute. We want them to have practical experience concerning how things are done in our labs. This, we hope will help whip up their interest to opt for the science subjects when it is time for them to do so. The experience being gained today will also to a large extent dispel the myth surrounding science as being the most difficult subject to read,” Michael Fokuo Ofori, Professor and Head of Immunology Department at NMIMR noted while speaking to the media at the event held in Accra.
He added that the faculty will continue to do its best to encourage young students who he described as future leaders to get into STEM and innovation.
He further indicated that the institute has been instrumental in solving some of the science problems that had bedeviled the country in the past, citing the crucial role it played in fighting the Covid 19 menace, bringing its name to the fore.
The “Open Day” event is a precursor to the institute’s Annual Research Meeting (ARM) for year 2023, themed Strengthening Research Capacity to Mitigate Current and Future Disease Threats: Bridging the Research-Policy Divide.
The ARM is in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Ghana and is expected to bring together research scientists and policy makers to discuss some of the research NMIMR has done over the year and to add their inputs to its agenda for the following year.
Senior Research Fellow at the Bacteriology Department, NMIMR, Dr. Adwoa Asante-Poku, in an interview with the B&FT noted that: “We invited the students to come and see firsthand what they are learning in their textbooks, to see the experiments in action so that they will appreciate more what they are learning so when it comes to examination, they will be in a better position to answer the questions. This forms the basis of the “Open Day.”
Simon Annor, a student of St. John’s Grammar Senior High school who participated in the hands-on lessons told the media that: “People have the perception that science is a very difficult subject and therefore when they are in school, they want to ignore it but I beg to differ. Today for instance, I have learned how to use the centrifuge and the microscope among other things. I take my studies seriously and I will advise my colleagues to do so too”.
