The Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy (DRIC)of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has launched its maiden Research and Innovation Week.
The week-long event, themed: “Funding Research and Innovation for Sustainable Development: The Role of State and Non-state Actors,” is aimed at celebrating research activities that are closely aligned with the thematic areas in the UCC Research Agenda and research interests across the University.
Widely known for its research-driven agenda, UCC has been at the top spot in Ghana and West Africa and among the top universities in Africa for four consecutive years in the Times Higher (THE) World University Rankings (WUR).
In 2024, the reputable U.S News and World Report Global Universities Rankings ranked UCC as the best (No.1) University in Ghana, and among the best universities in Africa and globally.
The Research Week includes various events such as a research exhibition, panel discussions, public lecture, presentations on cutting-edge research from Colleges of the University as well as other units, and the 9th Research Awards and Grants ceremony.
Launching the inaugural Research and Innovation Week, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong, said the event offered the platform to appreciate the research and innovative works conducted by faculty members across the various Colleges and other units of the University.
“The event also allows us to reflect on what else can be re-engineered from our research endeavours to serve as catalytic avenues in providing sustainable solutions to the ever-changing world,” he added.
Prof. Boampong expressed optimism that the event would provide academia, industry, and other stakeholders the opportunity to collaborate and collectively design approaches that address current challenges confronting the nation.
The Vice-Chancellor admitted that research played a critical role in socio-economic development and charged Colleges in the University to continuously embark upon interdisciplinary research geared towards addressing issues across all the sectors of the economy in order to achieve the Global Sustainable Development Goals.
VC-UCC, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong (middle) visiting one of the stands at an exhibition mounted as part of the Research and Innovation Week celebration
He called on participants to dispassionately dialogue on innovative and sustainable ways of securing or generating funds specifically towards advancing cutting-edge research and innovative solutions to current and emerging challenges.
Prof Boampong continued: “Irrespective of the difficulty in providing adequate funding for cutting-edge research activities, our faculty have demonstrated commitment, ingenuity, creativity and tenacity in pushing the frontiers of academic research endeavours.”
He stressed that faculty had also expanded partnerships with industries and organisations both locally and internationally to overcome resource constraints while ensuring that our research was not only groundbreaking but also responsive to real-world needs.
“This has had a positive rippling effect on our performance on the research quality pillar in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings as the topmost in the sub-region,” he said.
As an institution,” the Vice-Chancellor pointed out, “we are striving to promote a conducive environment that supports cutting-edge research.”
From January 2023 to July 2024, he said the University had supported 120 faculty members with over 1.8 million cedis to attend conferences and workshops abroad.
He noted that the University would continually support faculty members to pursue external grants to fund their research projects, expressing the hope these efforts would culminate into the quality research supportive environment that UCC seeks to establish.”
He advised participants to establish networks for collaborations for more impactful research and innovation.
For his part, the Director of DRIC, Prof. David Teye Doku, indicated that funding was the lifeline of impactful research and admitted that it was one of the greatest obstacles confronting universities.
He urged participants to brainstorm on ways to generate funding to help the socio-economic development of the country.
Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC