The International Institute of Welding (IIW) has conferred the Chris Smallbone Award on Dr. Emmanuel Afrane Gyasi at its 77^th Annual Assembly and International Conference in Rhodes, Greece on July 7, 2024.

The Chris Smallbone Award is conferred on an outstanding individual who has contributed significantly to improving the global quality of life through the optimum use and innovation of welding and joining technologies in their region and internationally.

Dr Gyasi has been phenomenal and instrumental in promoting welding and allied joining technologies in Ghana, and internationally. His track record can be traced back to the year 2013. His master’s thesis completed in the year 2013 was a research work on Quality, Productivity and Economy in Welding Manufacturing – Case Study: West Africa.

He spent several months studying and researching the state of welding in Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. While in Ghana, he made field trips to large companies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the informal and formal sectors. His research revealed the need to establish a national welding organisation so that welders and other welding professionals in Ghana can be trained according to internationally agreed standards and be fully recognized worldwide.

He then decided to establish a national welding association to champion the cause because as of 2013, there was no formidable welding society in Ghana promoting IIW education, qualification and certification framework linked to the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO). In that same year, the Ghanaian Institute of Welding was established to champion the cause, with support from a few colleagues who bought into the vision of promoting best welding practices in Ghana.

Since 2013 until today, Dr Gyasi has been promoting welding and allied joining activities in Ghana and internationally. His doctoral and post-doctoral research was on the feasibility of using artificial intelligence and robotic systems in welding and manufacturing-related applications for quality assurance, productivity, and profitability. He received a research grant of EUR 35,000 from the Academy of Finland for the project called “Manufacturing 4.0 – strategies for technological, economical, educational and social policy adoption” supervised by the Laboratory of Intelligent Machines, LUT. He also received EUR 28,000 from the Foundation for Economic Education (Liikesivistysrahasto) Finland as a post-doctoral (PoDoCo) grant award for the project called “Improvement of laser cutting systems and business model through robot digitalization and smart factory concepts.”

Dr Gyasi has initiated and participated in several projects in welding with institutions such as the European Union, Christian Aid, German Development Agency (GIZ), Newmont Akyem Development Foundation, Kumasi Technical University, Koforidua Technical University, Accra Technical Training Centre, National Vocational Training Institute, Government Technical Training Centre, and Ghana Atomic Energy Commission. He has been dedicated to supporting companies and agencies in West Africa, especially departments of the Ghana government in building welding capacity to tackle skills shortage and creating decent job opportunities for the youth. His contributions in establishing the Ghana Welding Bureau (GWB) with the support of the Petroleum Commission of Ghana and other stakeholders, see Ghana’s participation in IIW activities nationally, regionally, and internationally.

Dr Gyasi has been a reviewer for the Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing (FAIM) Conference, whose scientific papers are published by Springer and Elsevier. He was one of the reviewers for the IIW NWC-SDGs Reports edited by Chris Smallbone. He advocates for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). He is a member of the technical commissions II and XII of the IIW. He has over twenty (20) publications in the Web of Science and other social portals.

In an interview, Dr Gyasi mentioned “He is deeply honored and humbled to receive such a prestigious lifetime award from the International Welding Community and considers the award as a call to higher service to humanity and a lifelong duty to perform”. He stated that IIW has a membership of 52 countries all over the world, therefore, he recognizes and values the significance of his selection for the Chris Smallbone Award and does not take it lightly. He also said, “The award received serves as a symbol and encouragement for me to work harder and I invite everyone on board in serving the international welding community.”

Dr Gyasi expressed his gratitude to the leadership of the International Institute of Welding, the responsible member countries of IIW, and thanked the following: The CEO of IIW – Dr. Luca Costa, the President of IIW – Prof. Thomas Bollinghaus, IIW Board of Director – Prof. Paul Kah, the leadership of the Working Group – Regional Activities, IIW Past President (2005-2008) – Chris Smallbone, Member Societies of Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Serbia, the leadership of Ghana Welding Bureau, and the leadership of the Petroleum Commission of Ghana. Finally, he thanked his colleagues, friends, and partners who have cooperated and collaborated in promoting welding and IIW in Ghana, and internationally.

Referencing the UN SDGs as pillars for socio-economic development, Dr. Gyasi emphasised that “Ghana needs a comprehensive industrial policy to accelerate the UN SDGs in the country. As industry provides solutions, new industrial policies dedicated to specific sectors shall drive new development in welding.”

He also said the four megatrends captured in the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation’s (UNIDO) 2024 industrial development report need to be considered when developing an industrial policy. These megatrends are – Energy Transition, Fourth Industrial Revolution, Global Rebalancing, and Demographic Transition.’’

Dr Gyasi stated that moving forward the agenda for promoting welding and allied joining technologies in Ghana should be tactically pivoted on:

a. Building a national welding capacity to the benefit of Ghanaians generationally

b. Developing welding skills and competencies for academia and industry

c. Tackling skills shortages in welding now and in the future

d. Identifying welding jobs in all sectors of the economy and growing them sustainably

e. Fostering employment through entrepreneurship avenues and creating new career paths and jobs in welding and allied manufacturing technologies

Dr Gyasi finally said "Through welding, we can build Ghana as a welfare state as welding holds so much potential in turning the fortunes of Ghana. Therefore, if given the chance and the necessary tools, he will practically show the road map to establish structures to achieve such a goal".