Executives captured in a photo
The Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU) has signed a landmark MOU with the AKOA Group. The AKOA Group is a forward-looking Africa based holding company with varied interests in the real estate (Square Mile Homes), entertainment (Mybet. Africa) and beverage industries (Aqua Blue Mineral Water).
GCTU is a public University in Ghana mandated by statute to run information and communication technology-based courses. The university has a Faculty of Computing and Information Systems, Business School and Faculty of Engineering and boasts the most diverse array of IT based undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Ghana.
The MOU signed between AKOA Group and GCTU focused on the availing of internship and national service opportunities for GCTU students and the provision of critical human capital for the medium to long term growth of AKOA.
The MOU also covered the provision of the advisory services to AKOA by GCTU faculty and the creation of mutually beneficial partnerships between the two institutions.
After the signing of the industrial partnership MOU, the two parties also signed a 6-month service management advisory agreement under which AKOA will make a GHS12,000.00 donation monthly to a Vice Chancellor Research Support Fund. These donations will be made for 6 months, starting September 2024 and ending in February 2025.
UNDER the service management agreement GCTU staff will also provide training for AKOA staff and also sit in monthly reviews of AKOA sales and marketing performance.
Speaking at the event, the Vice Chancellor of GCTU, Professor Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa noted that GCTU has a clear vision to become the Silicon Valley of West Africa. He noted that the University was following a strategic plan which was the basis for the radical transformation the University was undergoing.
He noted that University was experiencing a strong increase in undergraduate and postgraduate student enrolments and indicated that a new postgraduate semester was beginning on September 21st with brand new programmes like an MSc in HR and Informatics, MA in E-Business and Marketing Strategy, Msc and MPhil in Digital Marketing to name a few.
He also indicated that in the last year new PhD Programmes have started in Computer Science and new ones are also starting in IT. He noted as well that the University had signed several MOUs recently with several local and international organizations and therefore the AKOA Agreement was very welcome.
As a University, the VC noted that GCTU was also well on its path to becoming a research-intensive University by committing a good percentage of its budget to supporting small research projects and conference travel within and outside of Africa.
He also noted that the volume of globally recognized research was also increasing with several faculty winning conference and journal excellence awards in the last year.
The VC also noted that he had introduced a novel 20 by 30 Programme where a deliberate mentorship programme had been established to groom faculty to become Professors. In the last year the University has produced 10 new Professors and the research intensity of GCTU was improving.
The Vice Chancellor Research Support Fund will be used to support the VC's 20 by 30 Programmes to fund specialized training for the participants of the program by getting globally renowned faculty to deliver lectures to this group. The Director of Research reports that the 20 by 30 Group is growing, and VC's Research Support Fund will also be applied to publishing 20 by 30 Annual Reports and other capacity building programmes.
On their part, executives of AKOA led by the General Manager, Mr. James Pobee noted that it was a great privilege to work with the GCTU Brand. They indicated their willingness to work closely with GCTU faculty and students for the mutual benefit of the two organizations. They also indicated that their staff will be available to give occasional practitioner lectures to GCTU students if the need should arise.
The colourful ceremony ended with a photo taking session and verbal commitments of both parties to make the MOU and Service Management Agreement a consummate success.
https://squaremilehomes.com
https://akoabeverages.com
https://www.mybet.africa/sport
