Prof. Smile Dzisi, first-ever female rector in Ghana

History was made at the Koforidua Polytechnic on the 1st of August 2015 when first female to ascend to the position of a rector in the annals of the history of polytechnic education in Ghana was inducted into office at the school's campus in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

Mrs Prof. Smile Gavua Dzisi, who has taught at the same Polytechnic for the past 16 years, beamed with smile throughout the ceremony which saw the assemblage of other rectors from some polytechnics across the country, families, friends, dignitaries, academics, and scholars from all walks of life.

The chairperson of the Koforidua Polytechnic Governing Council, Mrs Prof. Esther O. Sakyi-Dawson, praised Prof. Smile for scaling through a very tight and tough competition to beat her formidable male competitors to that position.

Prof. Sakyi-Dawson enumerated the various departments Mrs Dzisi had taught, her contribution to the steady growth of the Polytechnic from its embryonic stage to the present. She praised Prof. Dzisi for her vision, outstanding scholarship, innovation, commitment and her passion for excellence and her international exploits.

She called on the new rector to brace herself up for the tough task ahead which required hard work, dedication, commitment, innovation, teamwork and above all, the guidance of God to rise to the occasion. She further advised Prof. Dzisi to contact the governing council and other stakeholders for advice and direction for the betterment of herself and the school.

In her acceptance speech, Prof. Dzisi recounted her first visit to the Polytechnic in 2009, when she walked through a very dusty road to the 'One Block' Polytechnic at the time to look for an appointment as a young lecturer at the age of 28 from St. Roses Senior High School.

"I knew I had a vision, I knew I wanted to make a mark when I entered the school; thank God, today my dream has been realised. What really enthuses me is my contribution in raising this Polytechnic into a centre of academic excellence. I would like to see this polytechnic become a technical university in the not too distant future," she stated.

She assured the gathering and the students that she would roll out some strategic policies, programmes and plans to uplift the Koforidua Polytechnic to be one of the best, not only in Ghana but also in Africa. Consequently, she called on all stakeholders to team up with her to work towards the realisation of these noble ambitions.

Professor Dzisi, who was born in 1971 in the Volta Region, holds a doctorate degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, where she studied from 2005-2008. She received an award for the most distinguished PhD Thesis.

She holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Ghana, Legon and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science of Technology (KNUST), Kumasi. She had her secondary education at Mawuli Secondary school where she obtained both her GCE 'O' Level and GCE 'A' Level certificates. She is also a part time lecturer at GIMPA, Accra.

Before becoming the Rector, Madam Smile Dzisi was the Vice-Rector of the same school. She has also held various positions in the school, notable among them were Head of Department of Purchasing and Supply, Head of Marketing, Campus Coordinator, Director of Research and New Programmes, and Acting Deputy Registrar (Academic).

Prof. Dzisi has dozens of research papers to her credit. She has presented several international conference papers and has had many refereed papers published in international journals. She has reviewed several scientific journal articles and presented many technical reports.

For her outstanding scholarship, innovation, commitment and passion for excellence, Prof. Dzisi received several awards. She is a member of the following internationally recognised bodies: International Society for Professional Innovation Management(ISPIM), and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM).