UDS focuses more on research to impact on society

Professor Gabriel Ayum Teye, Vice Chancellor of the University for Development Studies (UDS) has said if the university was to make any meaningful impact on society, it must focus more on research and innovation.

“UDS must stay relevant to the needs of the global community and bring about development to the three northern regions through research and innovation”, the Vice Chancellor emphasized.

Prof Teye made these remarks when he addressed the 16th Congregation of the Wa Campus of the UDS in Wa, which saw the graduation of 1,848 diploma, undergraduate and graduate students at the weekend.

He said the university would strengthen relationship with communities in its catchment area, so as to enhance efforts towards bringing development to them.

It would also focus on the growth and development of academic programmes in the faculties, strengthen research and develop distance education, while also researching into areas of climate change, urban food production, sanitation, desertification, and energy.

The Vice Chancellor announced that the Dagomba-Gonja Project that sought to find out more on the traditions and cultures of two ethnic groups in the northern region with the purpose of providing the needed development to the area, would also be pursued vigorously.

Prof Teye urged the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) to collaborate with the University, to make use of the several reports on the communities in its catchment area, while it also considered sponsoring research projects at the University.

He announced that the UDS Medical School in collaboration with the Galilee International Management Institute (GIMI), launched a joint Medical Training Programme for persons across the globe, to have the opportunity to its unique medical programme.

The GIMI/UDS joint medical programme has received about 170 applications from across the country, and interviews for selection would be held this December for the programme to commence in January 2016.

The Vice-Chancellor appealed to government to give special consideration to the University to recruit the required personnel to facilitate quality training and service delivery.

Prof Stephen B. Kendie, Chairman of the UDS Governing Council, urged young university graduates to dissect their communities, and find out which service activities they could provide, or which simple technology they could use to provide goods and services to meet the felt needs of the people.

In that regards, he suggested that, there should be a well-structured and sustained collaboration between the Universities, Research Institutions, the National Board for

Small-Scale Industries (NBSSI), the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), and financial institutions, to provide adequate and useful information, entrepreneurship training, and start-up support for young graduates.