It’s a common story for many outreach-driven Centres of Excellence. They have world-class research. They have field expertise. They also have a mandate that genuinely matters and a community that depends on them to deliver. What they don’t always have is the toolset, the time, or the institutional muscle to publicise their work.
The Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Centre – Kumasi (RWESCK), based at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and led by Prof. Richard A. Buamah, a professor of Water Treatment Technologies with nearly three decades of experience in water supply and environmental quality monitoring, runs research programmes and engages in public and community educational outreaches across Ghana and the region.
A meeting in Morocco Prof. Buamah first encountered the Learning Curve team at the Association of African Universities (AAU) workshop in Morocco. His own words capture what happened next:
“When our paths first crossed in Morocco during the AAU workshop, we were unaware of the comprehensive packages on offer that could so effectively meet our needs and position us for future growth.”
What started as a conversation became a programme. Learning Curve provided 100 Adobe Express licences and facilitated an eight-week training initiative aligned to Adobe Express micro-credentials designed for the staff and students at KNUST’s Centre of Excellence.
Training structured around real outcomes
Each module, tied to Adobe Express micro-credential provided a recognisable communications outcome that participants could carry back into their own work:
- Design fundamentals: interface, templates, layout, colour, typography
- Job Applications Essential: CVs, cover letters, portfolios
- Social Media Content Creation: branded campaigns, audience targeting
- Storytelling Through Short-Form Video: storyboarding, captions, transitions
- Community Event Marketing: flyers, brochures, posters, digital media
- Podcast Essentials: cover art, logos, promotional visuals
- Small Business Marketing: marketing collateral for entrepreneurial work
- Product Pitch with Generative AI: AI-assisted ideation and pitch design
What participants walked away with
Training feedback revealed that the overwhelming majority of staff and students rated the learning experience as either Very Good or Excellent. Most arrived having never used Adobe Express before. By the end, most participants rated themselves Confident or Very Confident using it.
One staff member noted the most useful part of the training was learning, “the use of the applications for preparation of presentation materials, posters, flyers, and ways of dissemination of information via social media handles.” For a Centre whose mandate includes public and community educational outreach, this was the exact outcome required.
One student reported that the standout was, “resume and cover letter writing, video editing, and content creation for impactful storytelling, marketing of products using Adobe Express.” Another said the most useful part was being able to take, “a word document into a PowerPoint presentation and the making of posters with ease.”
Participants reported that they walked away able to do specific, named pieces of work they couldn’t do before.
Prof. Buamah’s view
The clearest measure of impact came from the Centre’s Director himself. Eight weeks after the programme concluded, Prof. Buamah wrote on behalf of RWESCK:
What this looks like as a model
For other African universities, centres of excellence, and research institutes facing the same gap, strong subject expertise, and growing pressure to communicate it visibly, the RWESCK programme offers a usable shape:
For RWESCK, the work continues. The tools are in hand. The skills are in place. And, in Prof. Buamah’s words, the tone for advancement has been set.
The Bottom Line
Learning Curve delivered the full solution, allowing RWESCK to turn deep technical expertise into clear, designed, shareable communications. Lecturers now teach with sharper materials, and students step into the job market with portfolios and pitches they can stand behind.
To discover how Learning Curve can help your institution build the same capability, contact us today.


