Category: Science

The Vice-Chancellor of Covenant University (CU) in Nigeria, Professor Abiodun Humphrey Adebayo, has paid a one-day working visit to the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).

The visit on Tuesday offered the two institutions the opportunity to open discussions on possible collaborations while exploring new academic opportunities of mutual benefit.

Prof Adebayo, who is also a member of the governing board of the Association of African Universities (AAU), remarked that his visit was also to deepen existing ties between CU and UPSA.

He commended the management of UPSA for making deliberate efforts to position the university as a world-class higher education provider in both academic and professional disciplines.

“I must say you are doing great,” Prof. Adebayo said. “But we can do greater things if we work together. Covenant University and UPSA have a lot in common, so we can leverage our uniqueness to take our respective institutions to the next level.”

Vice-Chancellor of UPSA, Prof Abednego F. O. Amartey, thanked Prof Adebayo for his visit, describing it as timely and very fruitful.

He said Covenant University and UPSA have enjoyed some good relationships over the past few years, and it was time the relationship was taken a notch higher.

Prof Amartey mentioned that CU, just like UPSA, is among a few universities that rely on internally generated funds to meet their developmental needs.

Prof. Amartey said: “It is great to have like-minded people around you. UPSA’s principle of self-reliance is what has brought us thus far, and we are happy to partner with an institution that equally believes in and shares our dream.”

Prof Abiodun Adebayo later toured some facilities on campus, visiting the Joshua Alabi Library, the Justice Aryeetey Lecture Block, the Kofi Ohene-Konadu Auditorium, the J.K. Antwi Astroturf, the Students’ Center, and the Ewuntoma Medical Centre.

Covenant University is a private Christian university in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. It is affiliated with Living Faith Church Worldwide and a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Association of African Universities, and the National Universities Commission.

Source: University of Professional Studies

Sunyani, Feb. 16, GNA – The Sunyani Senior High School (SUSEC) and the United States-based Brookland Middle School have been awarded an ‘Excellence in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Innovation’.

The two schools formed a Bi-National team and received the award at the 2022 World Smarts STEM Challenge (WSSC) Virtual Global STEM Expo, held in the United States.

Funded by the US-based National Science Foundation, the WSSC was organized by the IREX, in partnership with the North Carolina State University, and Karen Peterman Consulting.

Under the challenge, contesting schools in Ghana and the USA were made to collaborate, identify and tackle a problem in their communities in connection with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 11 and 13.

The United Nations global goal 11 focuses on Sustainable Cities and Communities, while the SDG 13 focuses on climate action.

SUSEC and the Brookland Middle School produced a waste processing system, that converted human excrement to biogas, manure, and liquid fertilizer.

The Nkoranza Senior High School also partnered with Mckinley Middle School which also received an award in STEM Application for their work on Brickz, an application that encourages families to recycle plastic waste into bricks.

Osudoku Senior School also collaborated with the MacFarland Middle School, and they were also awarded for Cross-Cultural collaboration for their work on Carbon Monoxide Neutralizers.

The best live pitch award went to the Achimota Senior High School, which partnered with the Oyster Adams Bilingual School for their excellent work on the Green Lantern, a device that helps people gain access to a stable form of renewable energy, using the same amount of water in cyclic motion.

The All-Star Award also went to the Edinaman Senior School, which collaborated with the Ron Brown College Preparatory High School for their work on the SS Purifier, a device that provided a sustainable way to smoke and preserve fish to maintain clean air in the environment for local fishmongers.

Briefing the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the challenge, Mr Gabriel Afram, an Information Communication Technology tutor who mentored the SUSEC team described the challenge as insightful which had highly enlengthened the students on how to use technology to solve societal problems.

He said STEM had enormous opportunities, adding that all the participating teams had been accepted into the New York Academy of Sciences while scholarship opportunities had been made available for contestants intending to further their education in the United States.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dagliga (U/E), Feb.15, GNA – Mr Roger Atidoor, Head teacher of Dagliga Primary School in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region, has appealed to Government, Non-Governmental Organisations and philanthropists to help renovate the school to enhance teaching and learning.

He said the school, which was in such a deplorable state, posed a lot of danger to the pupils and teachers and as a result, affected teaching and learning.

A visit to the school by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) revealed that almost all plastering of the school block has been removed with visible cracks on the walls including concrete floors while some of the designed blocks of the veranda were weak, shaking and the verge of collapse.

The doors and windows of some of the classrooms were either completely removed or half removed without locks.

At the basic one school, more than half of the chalk board was removed, compelling the teacher of the class to write on the remaining portion of it.

Mr Atidoor expressed worry that safety of staff and the pupils could not be guaranteed going forward if immediate help was not in sight for the school to be renovated.

He said apart from the school feeding the pupils benefiting and the relentless efforts of the teachers, there was nothing in the school block that was appealing to motivate the pupils.

’’I salute the pupils for coming to school and that is because children by their nature want things that are attractive but when you look at this school, absolutely nothing looks attractive apart from the feeding and the efforts by teachers in ensuring teaching and learning goes unabated,’’ he said.

He added that the school with a total population of 185 pupils was also faced with the problem of inadequate furniture and stated that basic one had 40 pupils with nine dual desks, in basic four, there were 29 pupils with seven dual desks and likewise the other classrooms.

Ms Agnes Anamoo, District Chief Executive Officer, confirmed the challenges and appeal for renovation by the school authorities to the GNA when contacted.

According to her, the school had been added to a GETFUND social intervention project to be renovated, and said the school stood to benefit from a Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) project.

The SOCO project is a multi- country US$450 million credit facility to be implemented in Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Benin with the aim to provide support to the Northern parts of the Gulf of Guinea Countries which suffer instabilities due to food insecurity, climate change, conflict and violence.

She appealed to the general public to come to the aid of the school because of the dire nature of the issues and the unforeseen circumstances that may pose a threat to the lives of staff and pupils of the school.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, — The Kinbu Senior High School in Accra is the winner of the 2022/23 Fidelity Bank and Prince’s Trust International Enterprise Challenge.

The school, which featured an all-female team, presented an innovative green business concept of turning palm kernel waste generated from making palm oil, into briquettes to replace the use of charcoal and wood cooking fuel.

The environmentally friendly alternative to traditional cooking fuel was compact and smokeless and devoid of any harmful effect to human health.

The school has, therefore, received seed money from Fidelity Bank to start the process of registering their business and to build on their business idea and turn it into a viable commercial entity.

The Challenge was organised by the Prince’s Trust International (PTI), in partnership with Fidelity Bank Ghana and Environment 360.

The programme aims at inspiring an entrepreneurial spirit and equipping young people with the requisite skill-set and know-how to run an enterprise.

It also seeks to encourage young people to be socially responsive and responsible, by channeling their creative prowess to make a positive impact on their community.

Additionally, the programme is geared towards developing the participants’ confidence and providing experienced guidance to enable them to make informed decisions about their future.

The inclusion of climate literacy modules provides participants with the principles of sustainable development, and the importance of considering environmental impact alongside profit.

Supported by business mentors, young participants explore the stages of setting up and running a business through a digital business simulation game.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Edward Effah, Founder of Fidelity Bank, expressed delight with the diligence and business acumen demonstrated by the students.

“Looking at the ideas presented by our students today, I can confidently say that Ghana, indeed, has a bright future,” he said.

Mr Effah who is also member of the Prince’s Trust International Africa Advisory Board, added that: “The ability of these young ones to develop environmentally friendly green business ideas and the confidence with which they articulated these ideas is quite impressive.

“I am, particularly, impressed with their level of environmental awareness, and I believe such programmes will go a long way to help Ghana and Africa achieve the SDGs.”

In all, 25 teams participated in the 2022/23 edition of the programme with five teams eventually shortlisted for the finals.

The five finalists were then given four sessions with a green business mentor to support each team to fine-tune their business ideas with particular emphasis on a cost and profit structure, as well as effective sales pitching techniques ahead of the final event.

The five teams are Team Mervs from Kinbu SHS, Team Doyen from Sacred Heart SHS, Teams Texco and Flow from His Majesty’s SHS and Team Phoenix from Brainy Brain SHS.

Mr Eric Frempong Amponsah, Marketing of Fidelity Bank, said education remained a key pillar for the Bank as it tried to serve the community through its social impact initiatives.

“Fidelity Bank is proud to partner with Prince’s Trust International on this programme and we look forward to working with Prince’s Trust International on future projects,” he added.

Prince’s Trust International was founded by King Charles III, of England, formerly the Prince of Wales, to help tackle the global crisis in youth unemployment.

The organisation works with local partners across 18 countries to deliver employability, education and entrepreneurship programmes, including the Enterprise Challenge.

Fidelity Bank is Ghanaian Bank, which currently serves approximately two million customers in 75 branches across Ghana.

The bank has two subsidiaries, Fidelity Asia Bank Limited, which is a wholly owned subsidiary in Malaysia and Fidelity Securities Limited, an asset management firm.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Kumasi – Ghana needs a gender equality strategy to help change social norms and perception on women economic participation in traditional male dominated environments.

Professor Fredrick Kwaku Sarfo Kantanka, Vice Chancellor of the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AMMUSTED), said it was important the country to develop strategies to bring women at par with their male counterparts in all fields of endeavour.

Prof. Sarfo Kantanka, said this in an address read on his behalf at a gender responsive pedagogy training of trainers workshop organized by AMMUSTED for 25 trainers from some selected technical institutions in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi, in Kumasi.

A gender responsive pedagogy tries to integrate gender into the fabric of teaching and learning, which includes the process of curriculum design and approaches to its assessment.

The three-day workshop, which was supported by the World University Service of Canada (WUSC), aimed at equipping the participants with requisite skills, knowledge and attitude to empower them to respond adequately to the learning needs of females and males through the use of gender approaches.

It was also to enable the participants to acquire and develop an integrated set of knowledge and skills on gender TVET and other subject areas.

It is a five-year collaborative project initiated by Innovative in Non-Traditional Vocational Education and Skills Training (INVEST) and funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

Prof. Sarfo Kantanka said AMMUSTED’s mandate was to provide higher education in technical, vocational and entrepreneurial training for job creation and economic development.

He said it was time to bring together a diverse network of students, volunteers, schools, governments and businesses to share the vision of TVET for accelerated development of the country.

Mrs Gladys Quansah, an advisor and coordinator of the project, encouraged the trainers to work hard to ensure that the models of the workshop reduced gender-specific barriers to women’s economic participation.

They should also work hard to promote and enhance access to decent work for marginalized women to high growth in non-traditional trades.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The University of Mines and Technology in collaboration with Ladies in Mining and Allied Professions Ghana (LiMAP-Gh) and AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Limited (AAIL), held its second day of the students’ mentorship programme dubbed ‘Start Right, End Well’, for first-year students of the School of Railway and Infrastructure Development (SRID), Essikado. The programme, which took place on Friday, 3rd February 2023 was held under the theme, ‘Undergraduate Study – Purpose, Plan, Steps and was aimed at equipping the newly admitted students with the requisite knowledge to guide their transition into the University and to make the best of themselves in order to achieve their set goals.

The Dean of SRID and Chairman for the event, Associate Professor Issaka Yakubu in his welcome address commended AAIL for setting the pace as the first mining company to visit the SRID Campus since its establishment in 2021. He also thanked AAIL for their continuous support of the University’s programmes. Associate Professor Yakubu said that SRID will continue to support LiMAP programmes and also serve as the fulcrum to push the agenda of LiMAP within the Sekondi-Takoradi Municipality and its environs in order to guide students through their tertiary academic journey.

The Guest Speaker for the occasion Mr Stephen Adjei, Senior Manager-Sustainability, AAIL who spoke on behalf of Mr Samuel Boakye Pobee, Managing Director, AAIL expressed gratitude to the Management of the University for the opportunity given to AAIL to mentor students to enable them to take key decisions in life. Mr Adjei advised the fresh students to focus on their studies and avoid indulging in activities and keeping companies that could sway them from their set goals.

Mr Adjei disclosed that employment selection in companies such as AngloGold Ashanti is keenly contested and highly competitive and that opportunities are usually given to outstanding students. He, therefore, encouraged the student to take their studies seriously by engaging in active group studies, asking questions in class, having personal studies in the library, doing research on their own, seeking help from lecturers and authorities as well as having a personal timetable. According to Mr Adjei, having a personal timetable will guide them to follow a planned itinerary and be disciplined as well as enable them to focus on the essentials.

In his address, Mr Adjei encouraged the students to make good use of opportunities presented by industry to make the best of themselves. He indicated that AngloGold Ashanti in its quest to promote quality education will continue to sponsor and participate in educational programmes, provide scholarship opportunities to students, offer internships and national service opportunities, as well as open their doors to students for site visitations.

The programme also provided an oppourtunity to be mentored by a Professional Counsellor. Ms Peace Sitsofe Kploanyi, an Assistant Registrar at the University’s Counselling and Student Support Unit, and resource person for the programme also made a presentation.

Speaking on the theme, Ms Kploanyi urged the first year students to find and know their purpose in life and their reason for pursuing their degrees. She said that identifying that purpose is key to directing their life as adults. According to Ms Kploanyi in order for any person to achieve their goals and aspirations, they have to aim, run and give their best to a purpose. She also mentioned that purpose can sometimes be found through problems, passion, lack and other life experiences and that there are actions to take to achieve them. She advised students to set goals which will lead to the achievement of their purpose such as setting targets for their academic scores and study habits and also setting key indicators to show that they are on track. She encouraged students to gather more information from the classroom, useful associations and groups like LiMAP to guide the achievement of their purpose.

In her presentation Ms Kploanyi further outlined that commitment, purpose before emotions, tying milestone tokens to achievements and mastering emotions are major steps to be taken to achieve one’s goals. She urged the students to seek help from mentors to find their purpose and hoped that the mentorship programme will prepare them for their journey in the University and make them productive and career-ready at the end of the four-year period.

The second edition of the “Start Right End Well” programme was well attended by representatives of AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Limited (AAIL), members of Ladies in Mining and Allied Professions (LiMAP), Staff of the University, Members of Faculty, and Students from the various programmes in the University.

Source: University of Mines and Technology

Accra, – MTN Ghana Foundation has opened entries for 2023 Bright Scholarship programme for interested learners who need support to further their education.

The entries, commenced from January 1, 2023, and end on May 31, 2023.

A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency said that the scholarship seeks to ease the financial burden on students and parents by catering for the cost of tuition, accommodation and providing some renumeration for recipients.

The scholarship is opened to first year and continuing students pursuing first degree programmes in any public tertiary institution in Ghana.

Beneficiaries will be selected from all sixteen regions of Ghana with special consideration given to students from the six newly created regions, including North East, Savannah, Ahafo, Bono East, Western North, and Oti region.

Students, who qualify must be a first-year student or enrolled as a regular student in a degree programme at any Ghanaian public tertiary institution or pursuing vocational and technical skills training, be a brilliant student with an excellent academic record and be able to demonstrate financial need.

Moreover, student must be of good conduct, hardworking, and have excellent academic results, student must be proven to be without any academic disciplinary issues and must not be serving a bond to be of good behavior and also, being involved in extra-curricular activities as a continuing student is a plus.

The statement encouraged interested applicants to visit scholarship.mtn.com.gh for this year’s application process, which would only be online and free to applicants.

The Executive Secretary of MTN Ghana Foundation, Mr Robert Kuzoe said, following the award of 300 scholarships over a period of three years from 2018 to 2020 was in fulfilment of MTN’s 20th Anniversary celebration.

The Foundation in 2022 launched the reloaded edition where it awarded scholarship to another batch of one hundred students in 2022.

“This year we are opening entries to reward the next 100 students for the 2023/2024 academic year”, he said.

MTN Ghana Foundation was established in November 2007 as the vehicle to select and implement MTN’s Corporate Social Investments. The Foundation has three areas of focus, which are health, education, and economic empowerment.

From its commencement to date, the Foundation has undertaken 158 major projects across the country, including 87 Education Projects, 53 Health Care Projects, 13 Economic Empowerment Project, and four Community Support Initiatives.

Source: Ghana News Agency