Dr. Sam Somuah has been appointed the Interim Chief Information Technology Officer of the newly established University of Ghana Computing Systems with effect from February 13th, 2012.
Dr. Sam Somuah, will operate under the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research Innovation and Development) and also with the assistance of the implementation committee. His main duty will be to provide strategic leadership for the development and management of the University of Ghana Computing Systems (UGCS).
Dr. Somuah graduated from the Ohio State University with a Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering. He has membership in the following professional associations. Computer Society of the American Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), New York Academy of Sciences, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Association of Corrosion Engineers (USA) and American Society of Metals.
Dr. Sam Somuah comes to this position as an experienced IT professional with more than twenty years’ experience in Teaching, Research and Development, Business Management and Leadership in Information Technology. He has a proven track record on enterprise and client server environments, complex integration system solutions, Data Centre Architecture, Business System Analysis, Project Management, Computer Networks and Systems, and Software Development.
From the year 2006 to 2010, he was the Director General of the Ghana Information and Communications Technology Directorate (GIICTED) of the Ministry of Communications, now the National Information Technology Agency (NITA). He previously worked as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Government of Ghana, playing a leading role on e-Government, the development of an Enterprise Architecture as well as an Interoperability Framework for Ghana. The Automation of the Revenue Agencies through a PPP arrangement and the provision of a secured Government Network to interconnect all Government Agencies throughout the country, as well as the development of a National Data Center are among initiatives that he led in its implementation.
Dr. Somuah has been actively involved in various ICT related issues within the Government of Ghana having served as an IT Policy Advisor at the Office of the President, from the year 2001 to 2006. He was the lead organizer of the first ever Roundtable Conference on developing a National ICT Policy in 2001. As Chair of the e-Government Strategy Committee of the Government he was instrumental in developing a comprehensive e-Government Roadmap for the country.
Dr. Somuah also previously worked for about sixteen years in the USA and Saudi Arabia where he was involved in Teaching, Research and Development at the Fontana Corrosion Center of the Ohio State University and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia.
The establishment of the University of Ghana Computing Systems (UGCS) and appointment of a Chief Information Technology Officer is in line with a decision by the University of Ghana Council to create a unit to be responsible for the management of all Information Technology resources of the University.
