UG has climaxed the 2023 Day of Scientific Renaissance of Africa (DSRA) celebrations with a high-level panel discussion on the theme, ‘Nurturing Resilience: Adopting Technology, Embracing Humanism.’
The event was a culmination of weeks of activities at the College level to commemorate this year's Day of Scientific Renaissance of Africa (DSRA).
In her welcome address, the Chairperson and Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo noted that DSRA is celebrated on June 30 each year to remind African governments and its people of the critical roles played by science and technology in national development. She added that the event is organised to recognise the continent's substantial participation in the advancement of current scientific and technology efforts.
Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, UG Vice-Chancellor
“The University of Ghana, steadfast to achieve its vision of becoming a research-intensive university and a key player in the realisation of the science and technology goals of Ghana and Africa, is proud to champion this celebration”, Prof. Amfo emphasised.
Professor Felix Ankomah Asante, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (RID), complimented all the colleges and departments on their presentation of scholarly works and the well-run events throughout the month.
Prof. Felix Ankomah Asante, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (RID)
“This year’s celebrations at the college-level have generated even more interest and created the platform for the University to engage more with the community around us and demonstrate the contributions we have made and continue to make in their daily lives. We congratulate our researchers, scientists and scholars in all disciplines for the splendid display of scholarship”.
A panel discussion featured accomplished academics, IT professionals and entrepreneurs who, among other things, advocated for faculty and students to receive training in the use of technology tools to improve teaching and learning on campus.
A cross-section of guests at the event
The panel was made up of Professor John Effah, Professor of Information Systems, University of Ghana; Ms. Farida Bedwei, Software Engineer and Disability Rights Advocate; Professor Irene Egyir, Dean, School of Agriculture, University of Ghana; Mr. Joseph Owiredu, Graduate Student, UG Business School/ CEO, Fihankra ComTech LLC and Mr. Derry Dean Dadzie, Technology Entrepreneur and Digital Transformation Consultant /CEO, Heritors Lab.
Taking his turn on the panel, Professor John Effah commended Management’s strategy which is anchored on VC’s vision of enhancing stakeholder experience through digitalisation.
“We have come a long way as a University in promoting humanism and technology; from lecturers just standing to teach students to the use of power point presentations. This University like so many others had to go through the devastating effects of COVID-19 and as such, teaching and learning had to be halted in the middle of a school year.”
Professor John Effah, Professor of Information Systems, University of Ghana
He mentioned the introduction and use of the learning management system, ‘Sakai’, but noted that because it was heavily loaded, different applications were tried during the pandemic to see which would work.
“I must add that we need more resources, more laptops and through the Vice-Chancellor’s One Student One Laptop scheme, I believe digitalisation will improve in the University of Ghana. So that is how far we have come as a University,” Prof. Effah stated.
Technological Engineer and Digital Consultant, Mr. Derry Dean Dadzie in answering the question on whether Africa should be catching up with the rest of the world in terms of Technology believes that there is the fundamental infrastructure such as the connectivity we need as a continent so as to improve Technology across Africa. Mr. Dadzie asserted that the University of Ghana as a beacon of education in Ghana must find creative and indigenous ways of enhancing the infrastructure needed to solve world problems.
Mr. Derry Dean Dadzie, Technological Engineer and Digital Consultant
Dean of the School of Agriculture, Professor Egyir, in her submission on food security, remarked that farmers and food producers need to be educated on the various technological advancements so as to maximise productivity. The Agribusiness Professor lauded the efforts of the University of Ghana and the various departments associated with Agriculture for taking a keen interest in exploring more efficient ways to farm to develop healthy crop produce for the rest of the Nation.
Professor Irene Egyir, Dean of the School of Agriculture
“There is the need for intensified advocacy in our rural areas on the new mechanical equipment which they can use for the production of our farm products. The University of Ghana has a vision and it says that we want to become a world-class research-intensive University. Through that vision, research has and is still being conducted in areas such as poultry production,” she noted.
Mr. Joseph Owiredu, an Information Technology Engineer, used his experience as a graduate student entrepreneur to inspire other students to identify problems in their surroundings and work together to solve them using the basic knowledge they have. He shared a technological solution to enhance personal security on campus using Artificial Intelligence functionalities. He noted the solution could send notifications to campus security on riots and other security issues.
Mr. Joseph Owiredu, an Information Technology Engineer
Software Engineer and disability rights activist, Farida Bedwei, in taking her stance on inclusivity and humanism emphasised that there can be a lot more activism done to aid people with disability. This, in her opinion, will eventually go a long way toward boosting the confidence of individuals like herself to engage in and contribute to societal growth. She also advocated for the inclusion of people with disability in decision making, as they are in the best positions to make input on matters affecting them.
Farida Bedwei, Software Engineer and disability rights activist
The panel discussion ended with an extensive question and answer session.
As part of the occasion, Seven E-Textbooks on various academic disciplines, authored by UG Lecturers were launched at the event. The E-Textbooks were sponsored by the Building Stronger Universities (BSU) project and championed by the Office of Research, Innovation, and Development (ORID).
Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo launching the books
Prior to the launch, Prof. George Obeng Adjei, Coordinator of the project, gave a background of the textbooks and acknowledged the various authors. He noted that the textbooks are in electronic format to reduce costs for the students, adding that they were written with African contextual information.
Prof. George Obeng Adjei
The books span areas such as Medicine, Agriculture, Human Resource Practice, Information Systems, Forensic Science, Artificial Intelligence, Foodborne Infections. The authors are Professor Richard Boateng, Professor Eric Sampane Donkor and others, Prof. Samuel G.K. Adiku, Prof. Obi Berko Damoah, Dr. Grace K. Ababio and Dr. Ebenezer Badoe.
The event was moderated by renowned media personality Shamima Muslim. The University of Ghana Jubilee Choir also provided musical interludes.
Media Personality, Shamima Muslim, (far right) moderating the session
Also present at the event were Pro Vice-Chancellor, Academic and Students Affairs, Professor Gordon Awandare, the Registrar, Mrs. Emelia Agyei-Mensah, Provosts, Deans, Directors and a cross-section of members from the University community. In attendance were students from the Presbyterian Boys Senior High School (PRESEC) and Nana Ansah Sasraku III (Mamfehene) together with students from three Basic Schools at Mamfe-Akwapim.
A group photo of dignatries at the event
Please find below links to stories on the events held by various academic units to mark the 2023 Day of Scientific Renaissance of Africa (DSRA) celebrations.
