A three-day workshop was held in Takoradi at Ray Bow Hotel from 8th September to 10th September, 2016 to discuss and finalize the third year work plan and also review the second year annual report of the USAID/UCC Fisheries and Coastal Management Capacity Building Support Project. Major highlights of the workshop was to account and report on progress of the Project at the end of Year 2 and also discuss and plan several activities for Year 3. The Project Manager, Dr. Denis Aheto, therefore highlighted some of the achievements including the improvement of students’ performance, renovation of the laboratory at DFAS (now Fisheries and Coastal Research Laboratory) and lectures’ offices, purchase of four vehicles, a research vessel, and short-term technical supports for development of various training manuals. He also announced that a website has been developed for Center for Coastal Management (CCM) which would be launched soon, and that a journal and a knowledge management system called ‘FishCoM GHANA’ are ready to be launched in year three. Dr Noble Asare, Head of Department briefed the participants on some of the challenges they have encountered in year two. Notable amongst them were the delay in the release of funds, some procurement challenges and delay in the renovation of the lecturers’ offices due to ill health and passing of the consultant. Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boapong the Dean of School of Biological Science represented the Vice Chancellor praised the project team for good work done and assured them for his unflinching support. The participants commended the project team and its board for the massive achievements chalked at the end of second year of the project life cycle. They also expressed their satisfaction to the well thought-out work plan that has been formulated by the project team for year three. The participants made significant suggestions to the year three work plan which were accepted by the project team. It was agreed that the project team will have regular meetings with the administration team comprising finance, audit, stores and procurement departments to thrash out any outstanding issues and also bring to their notice any new developments concerning the project. It was recommended that the project team should put in place a communication system to enable them continuously publicize the numerous success stories of the project. Participants at the workshop were impressed with the organization.

The 4th International U6 Conference has been held at the University of Cape Coast with a call on Higher Education Institutions in Africa to play active and meaningful roles in the development of their respective countries while contributing towards the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).

U6 Conference

The U6 started as collaboration between the Universities of Cape Coast and Illorin but has been expanded to include other universities. It is a forum that brings together, academics, administrative and professionals to brainstorm on varied topics that affect society. The theme for 2016 conference is “Addressing The Sustainable Development Goals Through Collaborative and Transnational Research”.

Opening Remarks

Opening the conference, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. D. D. Kuupole, said such conferences afforded opportunity for participants to examine common issues confronting society and determine how participants could collectively help to find the needed solutions. He urged participants to come out with a position paper on the theme for submission to the relevant authorities.

Familiarity with SDGs

The keynote speaker, Prof. E. E. Ehile, averred that currently, the SDGs were better known to higher education sector more than the Millennium Development Goals were in the 2000s. He noted that during the first five years of the introduction of the MDGs, most higher education institutions did not know much about them: there were those that felt that eradicating extreme poverty, achieving universal primary education, reducing child mortality were the responsibility of government.

However, Prof. Ehile asserted that higher education institutions were better poised now to contribute to the SDGs. “A quick look at the SDGs shows that they cover a very wide range of specific areas such as agriculture, health, gender equality, water and sanitation, energy and industry. In fact, many of them [higher education institutions] are already contributing to these areas”, he said.

SDGs and MDGs

Prof. Ehile reminded participants that there were some key differences between the MDGs and the SDGs. Explaining that unlike the MDGs, which had only 8 and 21 targets, the SDGs comprise ambitious set of 17 goals and 169 targets.

“Also, while MDGs targeted mainly low-income countries, the SDGs are directed to all countries of the world”, he said.

Explaining further, Prof. Ehile said the process of arriving at the SDGs differed from that of the MDGs. While the latter was drafted by a relatively small group with limited consultations with relevant stakeholders, the SDGs were crafted by a group of not less than 70 countries including developing ones, which took into consideration the recommendations of not just governments but also eminent persons in academia, the private sector and civil society.

The keynote speaker, who is also the Secretary General of the Association of African Universities, said the most important thing was the strategy higher education institutions should adopt to contribute to the SGDs. To this end, Prof. Ehile said there was the need for the SDGs to be supported at the national levels and urged ministries responsible for higher education institutions to promote the SDGs by introducing them into their education policies. He said the SDGs provided an opportunity for collaboration and partnerships such as South-South and North-South cooperation and asked participants to ensure that “we do not miss such great opportunities”, he concluded.

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. George K. T. Oduro, who chaired the opening ceremony, noted that the SDGs could not succeed without university education.

A ceremony has been held to formally sign Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) and Affiliation Agreement (AA) between the University of Cape Coast (UCC) on one hand and nine affiliated institutions on the other.

The Affiliation Agreement formally places these institutions directly under the supervision and mentorship of the UCC as required by the National Accreditation Board.

Affiliated Institutions

The institutions are the Catholic University College of Ghana, Christian Service University College, Community College, Hopkins Health Training Institute and Maranatha School of Midwifery. Others are Nyansapow College, Oak City International College, West End University College and Wisconsin International College.

Confidence in UCC

The Vice-Chancellor in his remarks thanked the institutions for their decision to work with the UCC while they had the option to do so with other chartered universities in the country. That according to the Vice-Chancellor was an indication that the institutions had a lot of confidence in the quality of tertiary education UCC has been offering to Ghanaians.

Prof. Kuupole reminded them that every relationship had its own challenges, but the key thing was to try and turn them into opportunities. “If we are hard with our requirements, it is not deliberate to frustrate you and the process. Rather it is because we are also under close scrutiny by the National Accreditation Board (NAB) and National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE)”.

Prof. Kuupole therefore called on the affiliated institutions to bear with the UCC adding, “When it calls for us to be hard, we will be hard, when the time comes for us to play too will do so”. “We want you to understand why and how we do our things; it is because UCC stands for the best”, he stated. “I can see the zeal to succeed, but let me remind you that if you get into education to make profit, you will fail. But if you set out to provide a service to the people other things will be added and you will succeed”, he stressed.

Gratitude to UCC

In a remark made on behalf of all the institutions, Ambassador James Victor Gbeho of the Nyansapow College, commended the University for its immense role, commitment and contribution to the establishment of each of the institutions present.

Present at the ceremony was the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. G. K. T. Oduro, Registrar, Mr. J. K. Nyan, Acting Director of Academic Affairs, Mr. Jeff Onyame and Mr. Justice Boateng of the Institutional Affiliation Office.

A staff at the Institute for Development Studies, Dr. Shaibu Bukari, has donated 10 reflective vests to the University Security Section.

Dr. Bukari, who pursued his Ph. D. at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom, said he has observed that most campus security officers have been operating without reflective vests which according to him was dangerous as they needed to be visible at night.

Dr. Bukari praised the immense contributions of the Section personnel in controlling traffic and insisting on discipline on the roads. He called on his colleagues who travel abroad to emulate his exemplary donation to the Section.

The Head of the Security Section, Mr. Johnson Agyemang, who received the items on behalf of the Section, expressed his warmest gratitude to Dr. Bukari for his kind gesture. He noted that the reflective vests would notify drivers of the presence of the Security officers on the road and thereby deter drivers and other motorists from committing offences on the road.

Mr. Agyemang appealed to other benevolent academics and institutions in the University community to support the Section in their untiring efforts to ensure comprehensive safety on the roads.

In a related development, Dr. Shaibu Bukari has presented 10 litter pickers to the UCC Environmental Health Section. He said the gesture would improve environmental sanitation in the University community.

Dr. Shaibu noted that the litter pickers would help campus sanitation officers from using their bare hands to pick litters on the ground. He said this at a short presentation ceremony at the premises of the Section.

Receiving the items on behalf of the Section, the Head of Environmental Health Services, Salisu Mohammed Yussif, thanked the Dr. Shaibu for the donation. He said the donation was timely and would enhance the sanitation conditions on campus.

Mr. Yussif assured the donor that the items would be used for its intended purpose so as to prolong its lifespan. He also appealed to other public-spirited individuals to support the Section to enhance environmental sanitation on campus.