The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, has briefed the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament and the general public on the measures the university is implementing in order to make it competitive.
The vice chancellor emphasized that the measures being rolled out at the institution are being guided by a broader strategic plan that is set in place to run from 2024 to 2029. She also did not mince words with having to embrace the premiership status of the university.
“You rightly described us as a premier university. We are being guided by our strategic plan, which is running from 2024 to 2029. And we have articulated our vision to achieve global impact through innovative research, teaching, and learning, using a technology-driven and a people-centered approach. And therein, we have five strategic priorities.”
Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana
Under the strategic plan, the institution’s vision, which is geared towards making it competitive on the global stage, is captured in five strands, referred to by the Vice Chancellor as “five strategic priorities.”
These strategic priorities include “a transformative student experience, impactful research, commitment to faculty and staff, engagement and partnership, and sustainable resource mobilization and stewardship.”
Speaking in reference to the first strategic priority, ‘the transformative student experience,’ the Vice Chancellor explained that there has been the modernization of lecture rooms with the appropriate technological tools for teaching and learning.
She further stated that the common lecture theaters have been modernized with technological equipment that enhances teaching and learning in order to meet the growing technological demands of the world.
“We have in there appropriate technological equipment to make teaching and learning more interesting. And we are doing this at the unit level as well, the school and department level. We are also supporting our students, particularly our graduate students.”
Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana
Professor Amfo further stated that the University of Ghana has established a dedicated grant designed to provide financial support to students, with particular focus on postgraduate scholars. This initiative, she said, aims to assist them in undertaking and completing the research component of their academic programs, thereby enhancing scholarly output and innovation.
“We have instituted a grant to support the research work of graduate students, because research is what drives a university. And we realize that students needed support, particularly when it comes to the research component of their work. So, we have instituted a grant to support students in that regard.”
Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana
The Vice Chancellor also noted that through their hard work and collaborative drive, the institution has been able to secure support from partners such as the MasterCard Foundation.
She further noted that some major projects being undertaken by the university, in collaboration with its partners, generate revenue. This income, she noted, is strategically reinvested to provide financial support for students, with a particular emphasis on postgraduate scholars, helping them pursue their academic goals and complete their studies successfully.
“We have also been fortunate to, of course, through our hard work, get support from MasterCard Foundation. For example, there are two major projects that are ongoing at the university, the Africa Climate Collaborative and the INCABUM project, which focuses on nutrition and agri-food systems. And through that, we get support to sponsor students at the graduate level.”
Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana
The Vice Chancellor also emphasized that the support from the institution’s internal revenue generation is not limited to only students but extends to the youth of the country as well, given that the institution also trains this youth in issues relating to climate sustainability and nutrition and agri-food systems.
The Vice Chancellor therefore emphasized that the University of Ghana is poised to pursue all five strategic priorities as they seek to place the institution among its peers, noting that the reflection of the fourth strategic priority can be seen in the institution’s engagements and partnerships.
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