Frank Amankwah
Baton Rouge
Summary
I am passionate about driving operational excellence and continuous improvement through data-driven process optimization, quality control, and Lean Six Sigma methodologies. I have a proven ability to solve complex problems, enhance workflow efficiency, and maintain rigorous quality standards within fast-paced environments. My exceptional teamwork and communication skills enable me to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams to achieve project goals, and maintain seamless operations. As a detail-oriented self-starter with a strong work ethic, I am recognized for my ability to work effectively, unsupervised, and rapidly acquire new technical skills to meet evolving challenges.
Overview
8
8
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Graduate Research Assistant
LSU Department of Industrial Engineering
Baton Rouge
01.2025 - Current
- Organize and manage project documentation for research activities.
- Assist in designing and implementing experimental protocols.
- Analyze data to assist professors with various projects.
- Attend professional conferences to present research findings and network with peers in the field.
- Collect data by executing planned research protocols.
- Conduct literature reviews to support ongoing research projects.
Awards and Assistantship Coordinator
LSU Graduate School
Baton Rouge
02.2024 - 01.2025
- Monitored Graduate School awards and assistantships for eligibility and policy adherence, while conducting individual and group training sessions for campus departments and student employment partners.
- Reviewed graduate assistantship hires in Workday for accuracy and completeness, and organized the call for competitions to coordinate application submissions for university and foundation awards through campus systems.
- Provided regular reports on all activities, participated in cross-training to support, and assisted with monthly ledger reconciliation and other needs in the Finance and Administrative Office
Graduate Assistant
LSU Graduate School
Baton Rouge
09.2022 - 12.2023
- Entered admissions data, verified records and documents, and organized both physical and digital files.
- Communicated with student applicants regarding required documents and imaged a variety of documents.
- Generated queries from CRM (Slate) and accessed and downloaded LSU Ledgers from the information management system.
Co-founder and Business Manager
Disaster Relief Systems (DRS)
Leipzig
10.2020 - 04.2023
- Developed business plans, sales strategies, new market entry strategies, and wrote grant proposals.
- Represented the organization on international platforms, coordinated projects, and managed social media marketing, procurement, finance, and accounting.
Student Research Assistant
Social CRM Research Center e.v - University of Leipzig
Leipzig
10.2019 - 03.2021
- Wrote grant proposals, assisted in developing new academic modules, conducted market research, and helped with scientific paper publications.
Industry-Academic Internship
Conoscope GmbH
Leipzig
09.2020 - 12.2020
- Managed international cooperation projects, conducted market research, and developed products while managing innovation.
Innovation Project Lead
Leibniz Institute for Surface Modification (IOM) & Internationalization Offensive Saxony (IOSax)
Leipzig & Dresden
04.2019 - 08.2019
- Conducted market research and product benchmarking, and developed market entry strategies.
Customer Relations
Ghana Oil Company Limited
Accra
09.2017 - 08.2018
- Managed customer complaints and analyzed feedback to improve services.
- Conducted proactive customer outreach and promoted special offers to drive upselling.
Education
Ph.D. - Industrial Engineering
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA12-2027
Master of Public Administration (MPA) -
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA12-2023
Master of Business Administration (MBA) - Small Business Administration and Management
University of Leipzig
Leipzig-Germany10.2020
Bachelor of Arts - Social Work With Sociology
University of Ghana
Accra-Ghana05-2017
Skills
- LSU Campus Systems ( Mainframe, Workday, Slate, Onbase, InfoReady, BlackBaud, Geaux Grants, Bengal, etc)
- Project Management and CRMs (HubSpot, Trello, Slack, etc)
- Policy Development and Analysis
- Website Development and Management
- Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint Point etc)
- Data Analysis and Management (SQL,Tableau, JMP, R, & SPSS)
- Visualization, Flowchart, Process Mapping(Miro,Canva & Visio )
- Communication (Mailchimp & Omni Campaign Manager)
Grant Writing Experience
Jan 2023-Dec 2023 I Technology startup grant ($ 125,000), Saxony Development Bank-Germany
- Goal: Expansion of start-up,
- Role: Lead of Business Plan Development
Dec 2021-Dec 2023 I Green Start-up Program Grant ($ 124,104) -DBU, Germany
- Goal: To develop prototypes of Portable Water Purification Units
- Role: Grant writing Lead
Jun 2021-May 2022 I EXIST Business Start-up Grant ($ 125, 000), Germany
- Goal: To establish an innovative and technology-based startup
- Role: Planning and writing grant proposal
Jun 2021-Sep 2021 I Crowdfunding via EcoCrowd, Germany ($ 3,000)
- Goal: To develop prototypes of Portable Water Purification Units
- Role: Fundraising Lead
Jul 2020-June 2021 I Centre for International Migration and Development Grant ($44,000), Germany
- Goal: To introduce informatics education (Coding) to deprived schools in Ghana
- Role: Project planning and writing grant proposal
Interests and Qualities
Qualities: Good interpersonal skills and a strong written and oral communication skills,
Interest: Entrepreneurship, sustainable development issues, philanthropism, public speaking and presentations, traveling, creative writing, and volunteerism
Accomplishments
23rd Sep, 2025 I The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi
• 2025 Phi Kappa Phi Love of Learning Award
14th Dec, 2023 I Louisiana State University, USA
• The Astrid Merget Award for Commitment to Public Service and Citizenship
Oct 2021 I AsiaBerlin Submit, Berlin-Germany
• Business Pitching
Jun 2021-Jul 2022 I EXIST Scholar, Leipzig University, Germany
• Scholarship for building a technology-oriented and knowledge-based start-up.
19th Nov 2020 I Founders Night, Leipzig, Germany
• Best Business Idea Award Winner, 2020
March 2020- August 2020 I German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD Scholarship)
• Scholarship for industry-academia Internship
May 2017 I University of Ghana- EFS Hall
• Best Entrepreneur of the Year Award - 2016/2017 academic year
• 2025 Phi Kappa Phi Love of Learning Award
14th Dec, 2023 I Louisiana State University, USA
• The Astrid Merget Award for Commitment to Public Service and Citizenship
Oct 2021 I AsiaBerlin Submit, Berlin-Germany
• Business Pitching
Jun 2021-Jul 2022 I EXIST Scholar, Leipzig University, Germany
• Scholarship for building a technology-oriented and knowledge-based start-up.
19th Nov 2020 I Founders Night, Leipzig, Germany
• Best Business Idea Award Winner, 2020
March 2020- August 2020 I German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD Scholarship)
• Scholarship for industry-academia Internship
May 2017 I University of Ghana- EFS Hall
• Best Entrepreneur of the Year Award - 2016/2017 academic year
Certification
Dec 2023 I American Red Cross, USA
- Certificate of Completion: Basic Life Support and First Aid
Affiliations
7-10 April 2025, National Home Performance Conference, New Orleans, US
• Volunteer and Oral Presentation Moderator
30th April, 2024 Graduate Research Conference, LSU, USA
• Oral Presentation Moderator
March, 2024 I InnerFaith Prison Ministry, USA
• Volunteer for prison missions
27th-30th Sept, 2023 I SECoPA 2023, Atlanta- Georgia, USA
• Oral Presentation of a Conceptual Paper
Jun 2022I Intershutz-2022 (world's leading trade fair for firefighters), Hanover-Germany
• Product Exhibitor
19th-22nd Apr,2022 I Arqus European University Alliance, Lyon-France
• Scholarship for Business Pitching Competition
Oct 2019 & Oct 2020 I Industrial-academic workshop, Brazil &Germany
• Implementation of Social CRM Module in Brazilian Universities
Jun 2015-Jul 2017 United Nations Student Association, University of Ghana
• Head of Economic Growth and Development Team, and a volunteer for various UN programs on campus
• Volunteer and Oral Presentation Moderator
30th April, 2024 Graduate Research Conference, LSU, USA
• Oral Presentation Moderator
March, 2024 I InnerFaith Prison Ministry, USA
• Volunteer for prison missions
27th-30th Sept, 2023 I SECoPA 2023, Atlanta- Georgia, USA
• Oral Presentation of a Conceptual Paper
Jun 2022I Intershutz-2022 (world's leading trade fair for firefighters), Hanover-Germany
• Product Exhibitor
19th-22nd Apr,2022 I Arqus European University Alliance, Lyon-France
• Scholarship for Business Pitching Competition
Oct 2019 & Oct 2020 I Industrial-academic workshop, Brazil &Germany
• Implementation of Social CRM Module in Brazilian Universities
Jun 2015-Jul 2017 United Nations Student Association, University of Ghana
• Head of Economic Growth and Development Team, and a volunteer for various UN programs on campus
Languages
4,5,3,5
References
- Professional & Academic II Dr. laura Ikuma II Industrial Engineering Department II LSU, US II likuma@lsu.edu
- Professional II Crystal Herbert II LSU Graduate School II Senior Assistant Dean of Finance and Administration II crystalh@lsu.edu
- Academic II Dr. Holly L Peterson II Louisiana State University II Department of Public Administration II hollypeterson@lsu.edu
Timeline
Graduate Research Assistant
LSU Department of Industrial Engineering
01.2025 - Current
Awards and Assistantship Coordinator
LSU Graduate School
02.2024 - 01.2025
Graduate Assistant
LSU Graduate School
09.2022 - 12.2023
Co-founder and Business Manager
Disaster Relief Systems (DRS)
10.2020 - 04.2023
Industry-Academic Internship
Conoscope GmbH
09.2020 - 12.2020
Student Research Assistant
Social CRM Research Center e.v - University of Leipzig
10.2019 - 03.2021
Innovation Project Lead
Leibniz Institute for Surface Modification (IOM) & Internationalization Offensive Saxony (IOSax)
04.2019 - 08.2019
Customer Relations
Ghana Oil Company Limited
09.2017 - 08.2018
Ph.D. - Industrial Engineering
Louisiana State University
Master of Public Administration (MPA) -
Louisiana State University
Master of Business Administration (MBA) - Small Business Administration and Management
University of Leipzig
Bachelor of Arts - Social Work With Sociology
University of Ghana