The Royal Bank in $50,000 partnership deal with KNUST

The Royal Bank has signed a three-year partnership agreement with the KNUST’s College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) to reward the University’s distinguished staff and students.

This deal was brokered by the Centre of Business Development, KNUST, to pave way for The Royal Bank-CASS Awards held under the theme: "Rewarding High Performance".

The Bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Robert Kow Bentil, noted that high performing institutions, no matter the size or sector, must adopt “Good People Practices”, which help to build and sustain strong employment relations.

“As a bank we are convinced that a successful partnership between the corporate world and academia will help harness true potentials of our students and also help bridge what I call ‘Textbook-Fieldwork Gap’ which exists between the corporate world and our universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions,” he stated.

Mr. Kow Bentil urged the university authorities, workers and students to create an atmosphere of shared responsibility for the success of the university.

Guest Speaker at the Awards Day, Dr. Eugene Atiemo, Director of the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) of the CSIR, noted that rewarding high performance provides the catalyst and motivation for innovation and high performance in any enterprise.

He therefore recognized that reward is important in engaging people and motivating them to give their best work to deliver on organizational strategic priorities.

Whiles acknowledging hardworking students are hard to come by in this present era of digital-assisted efforts, Dr. Atiemo said rewards and awards motivate students to work harder.

He added that “hardworking, intelligent and highly-trained lecturers and non-academic staff are very essential and constitute the oxygen needed to keep the University alive and running. They are hard to get and sometimes very difficult to keep. It is therefore very important to use any means to retain your valued human resource and motivate them to their fullest potential.”

Provost of the College of Art and Social Sciences, Prof. Sam Afrane, says the institution of the Awards Day is to appreciate people within the College who have distinguished themselves in their different pursuits.

“By recognizing people’s dedication, commitment and results, you boost their morale, enthusiasm and eventually increase in productivity,” he observed.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh