A new Centre for Computational Thinking (CCT) has been inaugurated at the University of Cape Coast (UCC).
The Centre, adjacent Lecture Theatre (LT) 13, First floor, was set up with assistance from the UCC Alumni Association of North America and Shodor, USA, in collaboration with the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program (CADFP) and administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE).
The CCT houses a 20-node computational cluster and a computer laboratory with twenty (20) computers for use by students and faculty for the purposes of teaching, learning and research.
The Centre will be under the supervision of the School of Physical Sciences of the College of Agricultural and Natural Sciences (CANS).
Inaugurating the Center on behalf of the Pro Vice Chancellor, Prof. Rosemond Boohene, the Director of the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy (DRIC), Prof. Frederick Ato Armah, expressed appreciation to the UCC Alumni Association of North America for pooling resources to assist the School of Physical Sciences.
According to him, computational thinking was not exclusive to physics or mathematics, stressing that it could be applied to all disciplines.
“As an Environmental Scientist, I know that we can use it a lot for climate change research,” he added, referring to Computational thinking.
Prof. Armah entreated faculty and students to seize the opportunities of the CCT to form partnerships with other colleagues in different disciplines.
“…If I am in physics and I am working on a problem using computational thinking, how does that resonate with somebody who is working in Environmental Science or Biochemistry,” he noted, citing an example to buttress his point.
He told the gathering that University Management was in full support of the initiative.
UCC Alumnus, Prof. John Kofi Dogbe takes guests at the launch on a tour of the facility
For his part, an Associate Professor of Chemistry and Physics and Carnegie Fellow, Barton College, USA, Prof. John Kofi Dogbe, who is an alumnus, noted that the initiative was the collective effort of members of the UCC Alumni Association of North America to give back to their alma mater.
He asked beneficiaries of the Center to take good care of the equipment, to prolong their lifespan.
The Dean of Physical Sciences, Prof. Emmanuel K. Essel, in his remarks expressed gratitude to the Alumni Association for the gesture and assured them the equipment will be put to great use.
The Provost of CANS, Prof. Moses Jojo Eghan, chaired the inauguration which was attended by faculty and students.
Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC