Cape Coast, April 26, GNA – Dr Sam Esson Jonah, the Chancellor, University of Cape Coast (UCC), has called on universities in the country to inculcate cognitive, strategic and practical processes of design-thinking in students to solve present and emerging local and global challenges.
He said students across the world were being prepared for jobs that had not been created, technologies not yet invented, and to solve social problems not yet anticipated.
“This, therefore, demands well thought out assimilation of design thinking personalities and not business as usual”, Dr Jonah said.
He made the appeal at the launch of a Design Thinking and Innovation Hub christened ‘D-HUB’ by UCC.
The move was in affirmation of the University’s resolve to transforming the institution into a world class entrepreneurial one with a global competitive edge.
It envisioned to develop change agents in the University’s community, stimulate the establishment and growth of start-up firms and other businesses through design-thinking, technology transfer, diffusion of innovation and continuous improvement.
Its objective was hinged on utilising design-thinking and entrepreneurship to drive productivity while addressing problems associated with graduate unemployment, job creation and economic growth.
Dr Jonah said the concept of entrepreneurial university was necessary and more significant in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and international conflicts where efforts were being made to focus on new ways of doing things.
In that respect, universities are helping students to put their design-thinking tools to use to prepare them for businesses to optimise their services.
Currently, many economies are emphasising the urgency of changing the educational system to make it more responsive to the prospect and future needs of society.
However, Dr Jonah hailed the overwhelming support of the D-HUB innovation by the private sector saying it was a key step towards bridging the gap between academia and industry.
With his background and experience in business, he encouraged students to take full advantage of the facility to create jobs and team up with others to develop solutions that would help solve societal problems and challenges.
Professor Johnson Nyarko Boampong, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, said the institution was working together with stakeholders to maximise the social and economic benefits of key areas such as mining, agriculture, ICT, oil and gas, tourism, agro processing, horticulture and building and construction.
“UCC is further determined to expand its facilities and offer demand driven programmes integrated with practical and entrepreneurial courses, and actively translating its innovative research into sustainable development,” he said.
Likewise, the University would ensure it created a niche by providing quality, equitable and inclusive education that empowered the students to be independent, lifelong learners and responsible citizens with strong passion for job creation, to contribute to public service, Prof Boampong said.
Source: Ghana News Agency
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