Four students of the University of Cape Coast School of Business swept all the three prominent awards at a Joint Conference held at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. The students who presented their business plans at the Joint Conference were Emmanuel Prah and Prince Arthur (Atlantic Ocean Tour Ltd.); Ernest Nketia Quidoo (Nexlinks Company Limited) and Patrick Sunkyebe (Aloemed Company Limited). The 5th Joint Conference of the Cape Coast (UCC), Bonn Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (BRSU) and University of Nairobi (UoN) formed part of the collaboration that exist among the three universities. Patrick Sunkyebe whose business idea is honey production received € 6, 000 as the overall winner whilst Ernest Nketia Quidoo was awarded €5, 000 to start his Tourism development project and Emmanuel Prah and Prince Arthur who placed 3rd position received € 4,000 for their business plan on Surfing. Briefing the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah on the awards, the Dean of the Centre for International Education(CIE), Prof. (Mrs) Rosemond Boohene, said UCC entered into collaboration with BRSU on Teaching for Development: Entrepreneurship and Economic Development in Africa in 2012 and since then the two partners had been organising annual joint conferences on rotational bases in Germany and Ghana. He noted that the University of Nairobi was later included in the collaboration and hosted the 2017 edition of the conference. Prof. Boohene explained that prior to the conference, each university was expected to select some students or staff with laudable business plans for competition out of which the best three would be awarded with a cash prize. Responding, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, said he was excited that UCC was making strides in many areas. He commended the lecturers for coaching the students to win such important awards adding “you have done well for making the projects of the students into reality and I believe it will help them to become entrepreneurs after school.” He advised the students not to relent but work hard to project the image of the University positively. At the same ceremony, the Dean of the School of Physical Sciences, Prof. David Kofi Essumang also informed the Vice-Chancellor that Dr. Martin Anokye of Department of Mathematics and Statistics, has been adjudged the Best Research Presenter at the International Conference on Applied Physics and Mathematics (ICAPM) held in Frankfurt, Germany. Prof. Essumang said Dr. Anokye’s paper entitled “Dynamics of Price Stabilization: Continuous – Versus Discrete-time Cobweb Models with Buffer Stock,” also won the Best Content Paper at the conference. The Vice-Chancellor congratulated Dr. Anokye on his effort and said it was the collective responsibility of all members of the University Community to lift high the name of UCC. “If we win, we win together and if we sink, we sink together” Prof. Ampiah stressed. He urged the various Colleges, Faculties and Departments to earmark funds for conferences and workshops and therefore praised the Department of Mathematics and Statistics for supporting Dr. Anokye to the conference. The Vice-Chancellor called on departments in the School of Business to team up with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics to develop models in areas of common interest noting that this could be a good starting point for the two departments. Present at the meeting were the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. George K. T. Oduro and Registrar, Mr. John Kofi Nyan. Others were Dr. Siaw Frimpong (Vice Dean, School of Business); Dr. N. K. Howard (Head, Department of Mathematics and Statistics); Dr. (Mrs) Mavis S. Benneh Mensah (Head, Centre for Entreprise Development); Dr. Edward N. A. Amarteifio (Coordinator, UCC Business Incubator), Mr. Dominic Owusu (Lecturer, School of Business, UCC) and Mr. Phanuel Wunu (Senior Research Assistant).  

The University of Cape Coast, UCC, is holding a two-day orientation programme for newly-admitted students for the 2017/2018 academic year. The two-day event is aimed at providing useful information that would be helpful to the new students and also make their life on campus comfortable. Addressing the students, the Dean of Student Affairs, Prof. Kwoaw Edjah, noted that UCC puts a premium on discipline. Prof. Edjah advised the fresh students to respect the rules and regulations of the University and implored them to diligently read the Students' Handbook, which regulates the conduct and activities of students on campus. "You have to read and understand [the Students' Handbook] if you don't understand come for tutorials, I will give you tutorials to understand the rules that bind you on campus here. Rules that will make you very happy and rules that will make you stressful if you break them." he told the freshmen, who converged at the Congregation Grounds. Prof. Edjah admonished them to take their studies seriously and make judicious use of the library. "The library should take more of your time because it is the reason why you are on campus, " he cautioned. When faced with emotional and academic challenges, he asked the students to patronise the activities of the Guidance and Counselling Centre in the various halls, office of the Dean of Students, Departments, Colleges and Sections. The Dean of Students advised them not to consult unprofessional people in their resolve to deal with their problems on campus. “...Don't Consult wrongly, when you don't understand something, seek counsel from senior members and profession counsellors in their halls” the Dean added. He also pointed out that the University was a secular institution and noted that everybody was free to worship. However, he urged them not to join unrecognised and unregistered associations and clubs in the University and advised them to always seek clarification from the Dean of Students Affairs Office before enrolling. Touching on Distressed Students Reporting Protocol (DSRP), he told the fresh students that if they noticed 'abnormal' or strange signs among their colleagues, they should report such cases to DSRP of the Office of the Dean of Students Affairs for prompt action. According to the Dean, some of the obvious signs included "inappropriate anger, emotional change, social withdrawal, drug and alcohol abuse, sudden change in hygiene and appearance, resistant to change on unreasonable limit. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. George K.T. Oduro, advised fresh students against acts of occultism and advised them to study well. He said they should do their best to make life on campus enjoyable, adding that " a lot depends on you if you want to be successful or a failure in the University". He advised them to market UCC wherever they found themselves. In a welcome address, the Registrar of the College of Humanities and Legal Studies, Dr. Alexis Akanson, noted that UCC thrives on quality, discipline and dedication to work. "In this University, quality is our watchword, dedication to work is one of our principles and the students’ success is our key principle", he stated. He urged them to be dedicated and committed to their responsibilities and advised them to put the name of the University first and other aspirations second. The Provost of the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Prof Livingston Sam-Amoah, who chaired the function, advised them to take their lessons seriously and asked the students to attend lectures regularly and prepare adequately in order to obtain excellent marks in examinations. Resource persons, representing the various sectors of the University, enlightened the freshmen about the operations of their office. These included the Dean, Centre for International Education, Prof. Rosemond Boohene who spoke about International Students Matters and Exchange Programmes; Head of Electricity Section, Mr. J. W. Ansah spoke about Energy Conservation; Director of Centre for Gender Research Advocacy and Documentation, Dr. Genevieve Adukpo made a presentation on Sexual Harassment and Gender Issues in the University. \ Others were the Ghanaian Director of Confucius Institute, Prof. Ishmael Mensah who briefed students on the Chinese Proficiency Programme; Dr. Precious Mattah made a presentation on Academic Planning and Quality Assurance Issues; ADO 2 Ishak Abdullah and STN 01 J. W. Mensah also spoke about Fire Safety. The President of the Students Representative Council, Tony Henry Arthur; President of UCC Local Chapter of National Union Ghana Students, Prince Mintah Obour, also had the opportunity to address the fresh students. Present at the programme were Provosts, Deans, Heads, among other professionals in the University.

A lecturer at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Dr. Martin Anokye, has been adjudged as the Best Research Presenter at the International Conference on Applied Physics and Mathematics (ICAPM) held in Frankfurt, Germany. The Conference, held on 4th-5th August 2017, was aimed at presenting novel and fundamental advances in the fields of Applied Physics and Mathematics. It also serves to foster communication among researchers and practitioners working in a wide variety of scientific areas with a common interest in improving Applied Physics and Mathematics related techniques. During the conference, Dr. Anokye was decorated with “TheIIGold Medal” best presenter. Dr Anokye’s paper entitled “Dynamics of Price Stabilization: Continuous – Versus Discrete-time Cobweb Models with Buffer Stock,” also won the Best Content Paper. Co-authored by Prof. Francis T. Oduro, from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, the paper discussed price stabilization of a commodity that takes one unit of time (season) to produce and on an assumption that, it was sold in a single market. Thus, in a situation, the research paper pointed out, where price volatility of a commodity was inevitable, the Delay Differential Equation (DDE) mathematical model could be used to curb it. Additionally, the Delay Model was applied to reflect Ghanaian market setting where price of food commodities was sharply affected by a slight rise in price of certain essential commodities such as crude oil and electricity as opposed (in sharp contrast) to Ezekiel’s Model where price could not be reviewed simultaneously and rather be reviewed only at the end of the season. The conference, held every year since 2014, brought together leading researchers, engineers and scientists in the domain of Applied Physics and Mathematics interest from around the world.