The Chancellor, Sir. Dr. Sam Jonah, has stated that the goal of graduate studies is to expose students to methods and standards of research needed to work professionally at the frontiers of knowledge.
"Research-oriented training conveys the importance of keeping pace with a subject, the knowledge of which is always changing. It nurtures intellectual curiosity and a creative response to problems", he said.
The Chancellor said this at the 6th session of the 50th congregation held for graduates of the School of Graduate Studies at which a total of 1307 students were presented with their degrees. Dr. Jonah told the graduands that the training they had received was valuable to operate in all areas of work, indicating that "Whether one is in teaching in a university, conducting research in government, industry or private enterprise or pursuing a professional career"'. He noted that each of the graduands had the potential for leadership, adding they had already been imparted with leadership skills and, therefore, they should seize the opportunities to address them to the benefit of society.
Presenting his annual report to congregation, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, noted that the 6th session was very significant because it marked the first semi-annual graduation ceremony of the School of Graduate Studies. According to the Vice-Chancellor, it had become needful to institute such an arrangement to ensure that students, who completed their programmes of study in June or July, would not have to wait until March the following year. He indicated that another session had been scheduled for March 2018.
Prof. Ampiah announced that in order to open new gateways for knowledge, research and academic exchange, 20 local and international collaborations were established. "MoUs were signed to symbolize commitment on the part of the University and these institutions for development of meaningful outputs". "We believe these gateways will create many opportunities for students, faculty and staff members by providing new avenues for both local and international ".
The Vice-Chancellor indicated that 16 PhD, 72 M.Phil, 12 Master of Nursing, 154 MCom/MBA, 176 MSc and 534 M.Ed, 307 MA and 32 PGDE/ PGCE were presented. He said the University had not relented on its core mandate of ensuring the relevance of graduate programmes for promotion economic, social, scientific and technology development of our dear country. "Pursuant to this mandate, the School of Graduate Studies in collaboration with other colleges, have either introduced or repackaged several MPhil/PhD programmes. He said the Board of the school of Graduate Studies, Academic Board and management would take these programmes through the accreditation process in order to mount them during the 2018/2019 academic year.
Prof. Ampiah said graduate studies would soon become the driving force in UCC’s continuous contribution to national human resource growth and also help sustain the national development agenda. He announced that the School of Graduate Studies was introducing more flexible programmes in choices and mode of delivery through implementation of Joint and Dual Degree Programmes, in line with international best practice. "Indeed, this is the way to go now with the increasing demand of employers for employee versatility", he noted.
The Vice-Chancellor mentioned that lack of office space was the major challenge facing the School and expressed the hope that work on the permanent building would be completed on schedule. “Work on the permanent building being funded by GETFund has stalled due to lack of funds", he said. Notwithstanding this, the Vice-Chancellor said he was hopeful the sector ministry would help accelerate the physical development of the Graduate School.