Chiefs and elders of the nine adjoining communities of the University have commended the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong, and Registrar, Mr. Jeff Teye Emmanuel Onyame, for visiting and interacting with them in their respective communities.
They described the visit as historic since none of the past leaders of the University formally introduced themselves to the traditional leaders upon their assumption of office.
Apewosika
Welcoming the Vice-Chancellor and Registrar, the Family Head of Apewosika, Abusuapanyin Odasanyin, and his elders thanked the Vice-Chancellor for the visit. The spokesperson of the elders, Nana Nkwantabisa, said the visit was a sign of great things to come. He said the community was strongly behind them and would continue to work for the progress of the University. “We are tenants on the same land and if this University succeeds it affects members of the community,” he noted.
On his part, the Vice-Chancellor said the visit was to introduce themselves as the new leaders of the University. He noted that though UCC was situated on their land the services of the University was for the entire country and beyond. “We have workers and students from all over the country and the world and as such we indigenes of the communities close to the University should live together in peace,” he stressed.
Prof. Boampong noted that the UCC could only thrive if community members recognised that they were partners in the development process. “We don’t want a situation where there will be misunderstanding which could lead to agitations from members of the adjoining communities,” he emphasised.
Kokoado
From Apewosika, the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar visited the Chief of Kokoado, Nana Kweku Enu III, and his elders at his palace,. The Vice-Chancellor re-echoed his call for peaceful co-existence between the University and the communities. “We know Kokoado is one of the closest communities and we share the land together but we need to be each other’s keeper,” he stated.
Nana Kweku Enu III, said the Vice-Chancellor and Registrar had earned his respect for visiting him and his elders. He was optimistic that their leadership would bring a new wave of positive change in the University. “We are touched by the move you have taken at this early stages of your leadership and pray for God’s guidance that you achieve the vision you have set for yourselves,” he prayed.
Kakumdo
At the Chief of Kakumdo’s Palace, Nana Kofi Edu IV, was full of praise for the Vice-Chancellor and Registrar for the courtesies they had accorded him and his elders. “I don’t even know what to say because just yesterday we met you at the Omanhen’s palace and today you are here to introduce yourselves to me,” he narrated. Nana Kofi Edu IV who is also the Gyaasehen of Oguaa Traditional Council said he was confident that the two leaders would make a momentous impact on the University of Cape Coast with the manner in which they had begun their administration.
The Vice-Chancellor said the visit was the first of several interactions he would be having with the chiefs and elders of the adjoining communities to deliberate on ways of collaborating to help the University to achieve its vision and mission. He noted that his doors were opened for discussion on issues of mutual interest to the University and the communities.
Other Communities
The Vice-Chancellor and Registrar visited the remaining six communities and interacted with their chiefs and elders. These communities are Kwaprow, Akotokyir, Kwesi Prah, Amamoma, Ankaful, and Duakro. The chiefs and elders of the various communities called for scholarship and job opportunities for the indigenes.
The Registrar’s Department Welfare has visited two members who recently retired from the services of the University at their separate residences.
The two retired senior members are the immediate past Registrar, Mr. John Kofi Nyan and former Headmistress of the University Junior High School, Mrs. Kate Frimpong.
Purpose
Explaining the rationale for the visit at the residence of Mr. Nyan, the President of the Welfare group, Rev. Isaac Baafi Sarbeng, said, it was to find out how the former Registrar and his family were faring and to express the gratitude of members to him for his exemplary working relationship during his tenure as the Registrar. “Even though you were our boss, you worked with us as our senior brother, you always consulted us on issues before decisions were taken”, he said.
Rev. Baafi said the group was hopeful that, though he has retired from active service, he would continue to serve wherever he found himself now. “Yours is to serve humanity and we are sure that you will continue to do that for the good of humanity” he urged. “Our visit depicts the friendship that existed between you and your colleagues or staff in general,”he said.
Mr. John Kofi Nyan
Mr. Nyan in his response thanked the group for the love they had shown him in appreciation for his contribution to the University and the society at large.
Mr. Nyan could not hide his joy and noted that “I’m so happy, so touched, so honoured. I can’t even say how grateful we are for your visit”. He urged members of the Welfare to continue to do their best to project the image of the University both far and near. He thanked the leadership of the Welfare for the good work and urged them to sustain the scheme. The group presented a portrait of former Registrar and other gifts to him.
Mrs. Kate Frimpong
At the residence of Mrs. Kate, Rev. Sarbeng told her that the group was there to present a token of gift to her and also express their appreciation to her for working with them over the years. He said the presentation should have taken place early but due to the COVID -19 pandemic, it was deemed right to visit her and present the gift and also find out how she and the family were doing. “So, this is following the usual practice of seeing -off our retiring colleagues each year”, he noted. He assured her that, the doors of the University would always remain open to her so she could call on them whenever the need arose.
Mrs. Frimpong said she was surprised at the visit and thanked the team for coming to see her at her abode.
Fifth Call for Proposals for Research Support Grants
03 Sep, 2020
Intent
As an academic institution established to advance the socio-economic development of Ghana through cutting-edge research and linkage with industry, the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has been focusing its research agenda (Education and Environment for Sustainable Development) on the development agenda of Ghana. In order to foster global transformation and align our research endeavours to international policy agenda, faculty and staff of the University have been undertaking research driven by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
As part of measures to realise the agenda of global visibility, international competitiveness and social impact, the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy (DRIC) and the University Management announce the fifth call for proposals for Research Support Grants (RSGs) for the 2020-2021 academic year. The RSGs aim to encourage researchers to conduct high-quality research of national and international relevance.
This Call will put premium on proposals that demonstrate strong promise regarding relevance to:
society;
industrial linkage;
national development orientation;
impact on the University’s visibility; and
contribution to knowledge and innovation.
The 2020-2021 Call is structured in five (5) parts:
Individual RSG;
Group-Led RSG;
Inter-Departmental RSG;
Policy and Practice-Oriented (University-wide) RSG; and
RSGs for Non-Teaching Senior Members.
The offering of RSGs will provide a groundswell of research evidence that will attract bigger funds for the engagement in large-scale research that will yield a wider impact at the national and international levels.
a. Individual RSG
This RSG will be competed for at the Faculty and College levels;
Maximum amount of money available for individual will be Eight Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢8,000.00) for the College of Humanities and Legal Studies (CHLS), College of Education Studies (CES) and College of Distance Education (CoDE); and Twelve Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢12,000.00) for the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences (CANS) and College of Health and Allied Sciences (CoHAS);
In each College, three (3) of the individual RSGs will be on offer;
Evidence of submission (under review) of the paper for publication in Scopus- or Web of Science-indexed journal should be submitted to DRIC in eight (8) months (October 2020 - May 2021); and
Submission of end of research project report (soft copy) to DRIC.
b. Group-Led RSG
This RSG will be competed for at the Faculty and College levels;
Maximum amount of money available for group-led will be Thirteen Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢13,000.00) for the CHLS, CES and CoDE, and Fourteen Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢14,000.00) for CANS and CoHAS;
In each College, three (3) group-led RSGs will be on offer;
Evidence of submission (under review) of the paper for publication in Scopus- or Web of Science-indexed journal should be submitted to DRIC in eight (8) months (October 2020 - May 2021); and
Submission of end of research project report (soft copy) to DRIC.
c. Inter-Departmental RSG
This RSG will be competed for at the College level;
Maximum amount of money available for this RSG will be Thirty-Five Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢35,000.00);
In each College, one (1) RSG in this category will be on offer;
Evidence of submission (under review) of the paper for publication in Scopus- or Web of Science-indexed journal should be submitted to DRIC in twelve (12) months (October 2020 - September 2021); and
Submission of end of research project report (soft copies) to DRIC.
d. Policy and Practice-Oriented (University-Wide) RSG
This RSG will be competed for at the University level;
Maximum amount of money available for this RSG will be Fifty-Five Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢55,000.00);
Two (2) RSGs in this category will be on offer;
Evidence of submission of the paper (under review) for publication in Scopus- or Web of Science-indexed journal should be submitted to DRIC in twelve (12) months (October 2020 - September 2021); and
Submission of end of research project report (soft copy) to DRIC.
e. RSGs for Non-Teaching Staff (Senior Members)
This category of RSG will be competed for at the University level by non- teaching senior members;
Two (2) individual RSGs (maximum of Eight Thousand Ghana Cedis [GH¢8,000.00] each) and two (2) group-led RSGs (maximum of Thirteen Thousand Ghana Cedis [GH¢13,000.00] each) will be on offer;
Evidence of submission (under review) of the paper for publication in Scopus- or Web of Science-indexed journal should be submitted to DRIC in eight (8) months (October 2020 - May 2021); and
Submission of end of research project report (soft copy) to DRIC.
Eligibility
The eligibility criteria are as follows:
The Call is open to all Senior Members (teaching and non-teaching) at post;
Principal/Lead investigators should be less than 60 years of age at the time of submitting application for the grant. Applicants on sabbatical, post-doctoral and study leave are not eligible to apply as principal/lead investigators, but as co-investigators.
Eligible applicants may participate in more than one project as a Co-Investigator, but shall submit only one application as a Principal Investigator. If an applicant submits two or more applications as a Principal Investigator, all the applications will be disqualified.
Grantees who have not completed (not shown evidence that their manuscripts are under review) the implementation of their University-sponsored research projects are not eligible to apply for this grant.
Assessment of Proposals
Proposals will be assessed at multiple levels.
a. Individual/Group-led RSG
The Director of DRIC in consultation with the Dean of Faculty/School concerned will constitute a team of three (3) assessors for the assessment of the applications. There will be two (2) assessors from the Faculty/School and the third one from a cognate Faculty/School. In a case where the Dean is an applicant, the Director of DRIC in consultation with the Chairperson for the DRIC Management Committee will constitute the assessment team at the Faculty/School level. Applicants will be required to make an oral presentation on their proposal to the team of assessors.
The Director of DRIC in consultation with the Provost of College concerned will constitute a team of three (3) assessors to assess and identify the top three applicants for each of the two categories of awards. In a case where the Provost is an applicant, the Director of DRIC in consultation with the Chairperson for the DRIC Management Committee will constitute the assessment team at the College level.
The DRIC Management Committee will vet the outcome of the assessment from both the Faculties/Schools and Colleges.
b. Inter-Departmental RSG
The Director of DRIC in consultation with the Provost of the College concerned will constitute a team of three (3) assessors to review the applications.
Applicants will be required to make an oral presentation on their proposal to the team of assessors.
The DRIC Management Committee will vet the outcome of the assessment.
c. Policy and Practice-Oriented (University-Wide) RSG
The Director of DRIC in consultation with the Chairperson of the DRIC Management Committee will constitute a team of three (3) assessors from the University to review the applications.
Applicants will be required to make an oral presentation on their proposal to the team of assessors.
The DRIC Management Committee will vet the outcome of the assessment.
d. RSGs for Non-Teaching Senior Members
The Director of DRIC in consultation with the Chairperson of the DRIC Management Committee will constitute a team of three (3) assessors from the University to review the applications.
Applicants will be required to make an oral presentation on their proposal to the team of assessors at a Ghana Association of University Administrators facilitated forum.
The DRIC Management Committee will vet the outcome of the assessment.
e. Assessment will be guided by the following:
Eligibility and track record of the lead investigator
Team composition and capability - expertise, gender, academic rank, track record, involvement of graduate students, multi-disciplinary and experience;
Strength of proposal in addressing needs of industry, solving societal challenges, contributing to national development, and advancing the frontiers of knowledge;
Originality/Innovativeness – Necessary sanctions will be applied, if evidence is found that the research has already been conducted;
Inter-disciplinary nature of the proposal;
Feasibility of the proposal within the timeframe and budget ceiling;
Evidence of collaboration with industry;
Knowledge sharing/dissemination strategies;
Overall impact to reposition the University;
Data and code management and archiving strategies;
Completion of previous DRIC-UCC sponsored RSG; and
Oral presentation and defence of proposal by applicants.
Outline of Proposals
Title - (20 words maximum);
Background/Context - Knowledge of literature (300 words maximum) - [5 marks];
Research Objectives/Hypotheses/Questions - (300 words maximum) - [5 marks];
Significance/Relevance - Industry-linked, society-relevant, national development oriented, contribution to knowledge and innovation (800 words maximum) - [15 marks];
Methodology - (where applicable) provide the study design, population, interventions, sample size and sampling strategy, follow up procedures and laboratory investigations; data collection, data management and analytical approach; quality assurance, ethical considerations (all sponsored research shall seek ethical approval from an appropriate institutional review board), etc. (1,500 words maximum) - [25 marks];
Impact and Knowledge Sharing - Strategies and pathways for ensuring wider impact at the national, regional and local levels (1,200 words maximum) - [20 marks];
Evidence of Collaboration with Industry (300 words maximum) - [10 marks];
References - Send bibliographic references as an appendix;
Work Plan - Spell out activity and timeline of each investigation in weeks/months within the given period of time spelt out in this Call. The work plan will not be changed, if the proposal is awarded the grant. It may only be changed after advice from the College monitors in question, consideration by the DRIC Management Committee, and upon receipt of a written approval from DRIC - [5 marks];
Project Team - Expertise, relevant qualifications and roles and responsibilities of all team members (600 words maximum) - [5 marks]; and
Budget - not exceeding the stipulated amount for each category. A budgeted amount will not be changed on any grounds, if the proposal is awarded a grant - [10 marks].
Submission, Notification, Timelines and Monitoring
Date of Announcement: Friday, 28th August, 2020.
Proposals (one block soft copy) should be submitted to DRIC (dric@ucc.edu.gh) by
Friday, 25th September, 2020 for all applications.
Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their applications on or before Friday, 9th October, 2020. Comments and suggestions on unsuccessful applications will be discussed and shared with the applicants concerned.
Monitoring teams will be constituted at the College level and University level (for non-teaching senior member grantees) to oversee the activities of the researchers during the implementation of the research. All correspondence from grantees to DRIC will be through the Monitoring Teams
Expected Outcomes
Upon receipt of the award, grant awardees are expected to deliver the following outputs to DRIC through their Monitoring Teams:
Inception report - By the end of the second week
Presentation at the Faculty/College (for teaching staff) or the Registrars’ Department Meeting (for non-teaching staff) on objectives and methods - By the end of the fourth week
Preliminary results - By the end of the first quarter of the duration of the grant received
Submission of progress report - By the end of the second quarter
Presentation and vetting of draft final manuscript - By the end of the third quarter
Submission of paper to journal indexed in Web of Science or Scopus - Within the fourth quarter
Stakeholder engagement (for the inter-departmental and university-wide RSGs) - By the end of the fourth quarter
Publication of research results in Web of Science or Scopus database
Appropriate acknowledgement of DRIC and UCC of their contribution to any publications resulting from the research
Awards Ceremony
In October 2020, an award ceremony will be organised for the RSG awardees.
The application form for the RSGs can be accessed from DRIC’s Office electronically, either by email sent to all colleagues or downloaded from the University’s website. Soft copies of the completed application forms should be submitted by email via dric@ucc.edu.gh
Fifth Call for Applications for Best Researcher Awards In UCC
03 Sep, 2020
Background
The institution of the Best Researcher Awards (BRAs) in the University of Cape Coast (UCC) is considered as one of the programmes to reward its outstanding researchers. The BRAs are awarded to exceptional scientists and scholars for their outstanding achievements in the field of research. The Awards are dispensed annually to deserving staff of the University at the Research Awards and Grants (RAG) Ceremony organised by the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy (DRIC).
The Call for Applications for Best Researcher Awards for 2020-2021 Academic Year puts on offer Forty-One Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢41,000.00).
The research awards are:
Best "College-Level" Researcher
Best "Evolving" Researcher
Best "Evolved" Researcher
"Outstanding" Researcher
"Distinguished" Professor
Criteria for Research Awards
Best Researcher Awards
The Best Researcher Awards (BRAs) shall be offered to University teaching staff who engage in research and have earned excellence for themselves and the University because of the importance and remarkable characteristics of their research work. Candidates for the award should have been confirmed as employees of the University and also, should be less than 60 years of age at the time of submitting application for the award. Evidence of research output of applicants for the award must clearly indicate the applicant’s full time affiliation with the University. Researchers on leave, either within the University or outside, are not eligible.
Candidates for the BRAs shall be categorised into five groups, namely ‘College-Level’, ‘Evolving’, ‘Evolved’, and ‘Outstanding’ Researchers, and ‘Distinguished’ Professor, which shall lead to five awards. Eligibility to participate in the ‘Evolving’, ‘Evolved’ and ‘Outstanding’ awards is based on number of years as an academic (both within and outside the University). Applicants for the Best ‘Evolving’ Researcher Award (BERA) should have up to six (6) years of experience as an academic. In the case of Best ‘Evolved’ Researcher Award (BEdRA), eligibility is restricted to staff with more than six (6) years of experience as an academic. Candidates must have at least ten (10) years of experience as an academic to participate in the ‘Outstanding’ Researcher Award (ORA). An applicant is allowed to apply for one out of the three Awards (BERA, BEdRA and ORA).
The following outlines the specific criteria for eligibility into each of the five categories of the BRAs:
Best College-Level Researcher Award
The award (BCLRA) shall be offered at the College level. Funds will be provided by DRIC to the Colleges for administrative facilitation of the processes at the College level.
The prize shall be awarded to a teaching staff in each of the five Colleges with the most cited publications in Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) indexed journals.
There shall be one award for each College [A financial award of Three Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢3,000.00) per College].
The winner must be a teaching staff of the University and affiliated to one of the five Colleges of the University and must be 60 years of age or below.
Aspirants for the award must have published, at least, six (6) papers in the last three years preceding the 2020-2021 Academic Year.
Three of these publications must have attracted a minimum of fifteen (15) citations each on Google Scholar. However, an applicant’s presence on ResearchGate and non-self-citations as evidenced by articles on Scopus will be considered more favourably.
Staff with the following will have an advantage:
Publications in refereed journals indexed in Thomson Reuters master journal list (either Science citation index or Social Science & Humanities citation index).
College level public lecture:
Each of the BCLRA winners is expected to deliver a lecture on his/her winning research at a forum at his/her college. DRIC will coordinate this arrangement.
Best Evolving Researcher Award
The following criteria shall be followed to identify the BERA:
Aspirants for BERA should have been employed in the University for a maximum of six (6) years.
The candidate should submit evidence of, at least, twelve (12) publications. Candidates who have published in refereed scientific journals indexed in Thomson Reuters master journal list (either Science citation index or Social Science & Humanities citation index) or Scopus or Web of Science will be considered more favourably.
Eligible applicants should show evidence of contributing to the visibility of the University through received citations of published articles and research grants from donors and funders. Candidates with, at least, One Hundred (100) Google Scholar citations (non-self) shall be considered favourably. In addition, an applicant’s presence on ResearchGate, Publons and Scopus will be considered more favourably.
Aspirants should demonstrate engagement with policymaking and decision-makers. Among the evidence to be considered are; evidence of policy/news briefs, roundtable discussion with policymakers and interactions/engagements with the media (either electronic or print) on policy matters.
Beneficiary of BERA shall receive a plaque and financial award of Four Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢4,000.00).
The winner of the BERA shall make a presentation on his/her scholarly research portfolio/endeavours at the RAG Ceremony.
Best Evolved Researcher Award
The following criteria shall be employed to identify the BEdRA:
Aspirants for BEdRA should have been employed in the University for, at least, six (6) years and must be below 60 years.
The candidate should submit evidence of, at least, twenty (20) publications. Candidates who have published in refereed scientific journals indexed in Thomson Reuters master journal list (either Science citation index or Social Science & Humanities citation index) or Scopus or Web of Science will be considered more favourably.
All the publications should have a cite score of 1.0.
The research output should be a mix of both single authored and multiple authored papers.
Eligible applicants should show evidence of contributing to the image of the University through received citations of their published articles. Candidates with, at least, Two Hundred and Fifty (250) Google Scholar citations (non-self) shall be considered favourably. However, an applicant with ResearchGate and Scopus citations will be considered more favourably.
Aspirants should demonstrate engagement with policy. Among the evidence to be considered are; evidence of policy/news briefs, roundtable discussion with policymakers and interactions/engagements with the media (either electronic or print) on policy matters.
Contenders for BEdRA should show evidence of either singularly or in collaboration with other researchers written research proposals or received research grants or contracts in the last five academic years preceding the 2020-2021 Academic Year.
Beneficiary of BEdRA shall receive a plaque and financial award of Six Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢6,000.00).
The winner of the BEdRA must be willing to make a presentation on his/her scholarly research portfolio/endeavours at the RAG Ceremony.
Outstanding Researcher Award
Aspirants for ORA should have been employed in the University for at least ten (10) years.
The candidate should submit evidence of a minimum of twenty-five (25) publications in the last ten years. Candidates who have published in refereed scientific journals indexed in Thomson Reuters master journal list (either Science citation index or Social Science & Humanities citation index) or Scopus or Web of Science will be considered more favourably.
All the publications should have a cite score of 2.0.
The research output should be a mix of both single authored and multiple authored papers.
Eligible applicants should show evidence of contributing to the image of the University through received citations of their published articles. Candidates with, at least, Four Hundred (400) Google Scholar citations (non-self) shall be considered favourably. However, an applicant with ResearchGate and Scopus citations will be considered more favourably.
Applicants should have successfully supervised at least three (3) PhD candidates either as Principal Supervisor or Co-Supervisor in the last ten (10) years preceding the 2020-2021 Academic Year.
Aspirants should demonstrate engagement with policy. Among the evidence to be considered are; evidence of policy/news briefs, roundtable discussion with policymakers and interactions/engagements with the media (either electronic or print) on policy matters.
Contenders for ORA should show evidence of either singularly or in collaboration with other researchers written research proposals or received research grants or contracts with a money value of at least Three Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢300,000.00) in the last three academic years preceding the 2020-2021 Academic Year.
The beneficiary of ORA shall receive a plaque and financial award of Seven Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢7,000.00).
The winner of the ORA must be willing to make a presentation on his/her scholarly research portfolio/endeavours at the RAG Ceremony.
Distinguished Professor Award
One applicant will be awarded for this category. Applicants for DPA should be full-time active faculty members of UCC at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor with Considerable International Recognition (CIR). The notion of CIR requires contextualisation within the broad area of research undertaken at UCC. In other words, there is not a priori set definition, but research and scholarly work must be placed in the context of the diverse academic research practices that characterise humanities, social science and natural science research in Ghana and internationally.
In the context of UCC, indicators of CIR that DRIC will use to evaluate applicants include but not limited to:
Creative work which has been the topic of scholarly books, articles or chapters in books outside Ghana;
Performances or exhibitions at prestigious venues outside Ghana and which have been reviewed in a scholarly manner;
Commissions for art, compositions, plays, designs from outside Ghana;
Citations and h-indexes, i.e., a reflection of the influence on the research of others, but with due acknowledgement that these vary greatly depending on disciplines and even sub-disciplines and the databases used for their calculation. These can never be used as a hard and fast rule as a measure of CIR, but can provide valuable guidance;
Impact Factors of journals, where known, otherwise in internationally recognised quality journals with a wide readership;
Books/monographs published by well-known international publishing houses and used by international researchers as scholarly texts;
Invitations to contribute chapters to books published by well-known international publishing houses;
Invitations to write major reviews on the topic of specialisation;
Invitations as keynote/plenary speakers at high profile international conferences;
Invitations to act as external examiner of PhD theses by prominent scholars in the field;
Co-supervisors of PhD students with prominent scholars in the field;
Awards by international scientific societies/organisations;
Leader of or leading role in international collaborative research projects;
Invitations to serve on or become a member of Editorial Boards of Journals;
Number of manuscripts reviewed for international journals based on Publons record
Serving on committees of international societies, advisory boards, conference organising committees, international research programmes, etc.;
Convenor/organiser of international conferences; and
Winning of research grants of at least Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand UnitedStates Dollars (250,000 USD) in the last five years.
The beneficiary of DPA shall receive a plaque and financial award of Nine Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢9,000.00).
Composition of Assessment Team and Criteria for Assessment
Evaluation of BERA, BEdRA, ORA and DPA shall be done at the university-wide level. The Award Assessment Team members are not allowed to compete for the Awards. DRIC will constitute the Team in consultation with the Chairperson for the DRIC Management Committee. A representative each from DRIC, Colleges concerned and the UCC Committee for Staff Recognition will be part of the Assessment Team.
For the BCLRA, applications shall be evaluated at the College level. The Assessment Team shall be composed of the Provost and Deans and a representative each from DRIC and the UCC Committee for Staff Recognition. In the case of CoDE (where there are no Deans), two senior professors shall be co-opted into the College Assessment Team. The implication is that Provosts and Deans are not eligible for these college awards.
All applications will be validated against the eligibility criteria set out by DRIC.
The assessment of applications shall be guided by the criteria and procedures set out herein.
Accessing Application Forms and Deadline for Submission
An alumnus of the School of Business, Mr. Ernest Atuobi Aboagye, has been adjudged the best African student in the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Strategic Case Study Examination held in February 2020.
Mr. Aboagye scored 102 marks making him the overall best among his peers from other African countries. He is also expected to nominate his favourite Management Accounting lecturer for an Award.
Statement
A statement released by the Associate Director, Academic Engagement of CIMA indicated the 2020 awards will also award Academic Excellence by recognising Universities where top students were trained. “Early this year, the CGMA University and Academic Center of Excellence has launched the CIMA Academic Partner Excellence Awards to recognize Academic Partners who have worked tirelessly to equip CIMA-qualified graduates and students for future-ready careers, the statement added.
The statement further indicated that “This category is not open for nomination. A central CIMA committee confers the award and the eligibility is based on pass rates”.
Profile
Mr. Aboagye graduated with first class in Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from UCC and later had his national service as a Teaching Assistant at the then Department of Accounting and Finance at the School of Business from 2014 to 2015. He currently works with Absa Bank, Ghana as the Strategy Analyst of the Financial Decisions Support Team of the Bank. He has rich working experience with some reputable organisations in the country including Temple Investments Ltd, Accra, an investment bank, where he was a Financial Analyst and at the same time an Accountant at Accra College, a private medical university in Accra from January 2016 to May 2019.
A past student of the School of Agriculture, Mr. Andrew Kojo Morrison has donated assorted Sakata vegetable seeds valued at ¢7, 000 to the School to support practical sessions at the Teaching and Research Farm.
The donation was made up of carrot, broccoli, carrot, watermelon, squash, onion, beetroot, cucumber, cabbage, and cauliflower seeds.
Presentation
In his remarks at a ceremony to present the seeds, Mr. Morrison noted that as a former student and Teaching Assistant at the School, he realised that students always had difficulty in getting seeds for their project work. He noted that the donation was to support the School to provide students with good seeds for their projects on the field. “I decided to remember my past and see how I can support my younger brothers and sisters at the School of Agriculture by giving this token amount of seeds,” he explained.
Mr. Morrison who is a former President of Ghana Association of Agriculture Students (GAAS), UCC chapter, indicated that after his national service, he was inspired to establish Seed Hub Classic, a vegetable import and distribution company in 2018. “Seed Hub is the sole distributor of Sakata seeds in Ghana. Our seeds are one of the best you can find in the world and the Teaching and Research Farm has purchased some of our seeds already and they can attest to its quality and high yield,” he noted.
Call to Alumni
Mr. Morrison urged his alumni colleagues to support the School to enhance its training of students to contribute meaningfully towards the development of the country. “I believe this will motivate the students and also serve as an example for my colleagues and other former students who are out there making it in life to look back to the School that gave us the opportunity and training to be where we are now,” he added.
He thanked the Dean and lecturers of the School for the opportunity and pledged his continuous support from time to time.
Response
The Dean of the School of Agriculture, Prof. Elvis Asare-Bediako, who received the seeds thanked Mr. Morrison for the donation. He said the General Agriculture programme of the School was not only aimed at preparing students to become professionals in the Agriculture sector of the economy but also to create their own jobs after their studies. “We want our students to be ‘Agripreneurs’ and not only focus on white-collar jobs,” he pointed out. He assured that the seeds would be given to students to help them undertake their project work. Prof. Asare-Bediako called on other past students of the School to emulate the gesture.
Testimony
The Acting Head of the Teaching and Research Farm, Dr. Ebenezer Gyamera, said he could attest to the quality of the Sakata seeds adding that “The seeds are very superior in terms of disease resistance and it is high yielding too”. He said the profit margin for cultivating the Sakata seeds was far higher as compared to the ones from the ordinary market.
Present were the Vice-Dean, Prof. Henry De-Graft Acquah and some lecturers in the School of Agriculture
The Vice-Chancellor has on behalf of the University Council has appointed Dr. (Mrs.) Dorcas Obiri-Yeboah, as the Deputy Director of the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy (DRIC), with effect from 1st August 2020.
A seasoned academic, her qualifications include BSc., MB.ChB, MSc, and PhD. Her research interests include sexually-transmitted infections, clinical microbiology and immunology, Antimicrobial Resistance, HIV/AIDS, Human Papilloma virus (HPV), Molecular epidemiology, and Oncology. She is a prolific and accomplished scholar and some of her research works have appeared in high impact journals including PLoS One, Parasitology Research, AIDs and Behaviour, Annals of Global Health, Malaria Journal, American Journal of Otolaryngology, Virology Journal, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Journal of Public Health in Africa, and BMC Journals (Women’s Health, Cancer, Health Services Research, Pediatrics, Infectious Diseases).
Publications
Dr. Obiri-Yeboah is globally visible and has close to 60 publications in Scopus-indexed journals indicating that she is third in the all-time list of UCC faculty and first in the female category in terms of the number of scholarly output in Scopus. She has an active and extensive network of research collaborators across the African continent and beyond. She is present on all scholarly online platforms including Publons, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate. She has close to 80 peer-reviewed international journal articles on Google Scholar.
Awards
In 2020, the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) in the UK and Taylor & Francis Group jointly announced that Dr. Obiri-Yeboah had won the best journal article prize for a paper on “Epidemiology of cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) among a cohort of HIV-infected and uninfected Ghanaian women” which was published in BMC Cancer.
Outreach Services
Dr. Obiri-Yeboah continues to offer clinical service at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital particularly with the HIV/STIs and Tuberculosis units under the Public Health Department. In addition, she supports the National AIDS/STI Control Programme and other National and International agencies supporting health delivery in Ghana. She is currently a member of the National Paediatric HIV Acceleration Plan task team and an Advisory Board member for the West African Network of Excellence for TB, AIDS and Malaria (WANETAM).
She is the immediate past Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery and has previously served as the Head of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in the School of Medical Sciences, UCC for six years.
A lecturer at the Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Dr. David Larbi Simpong, has donated a teaching microscope, and based-sledged microtome with accessories valued at 11,500 Euros to the Department to enhance teaching, research, and practical sessions.
In his remarks at the presentation, Dr. Larbi Simpong said the donation was to augment the existing laboratory equipment of the Department in order to expose students to cutting-edge technology in the Medical Laboratory Science profession. He said the teaching microscope was procured through a grant he won from DAAD for completing his studies within record time at the Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain Research, Universität Leipzig, Germany. “I thought it wise to use my Small Equipment Grant of 1,500 Euros as a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Scholar, to purchase the teaching microscope for my Department at UCC,” he explained.
Dr. Simpong indicated that the Microtome and the cutting knives worth 10, 000 Euros were presented to him by Prof. Dr. med. Thomas Arendt, Director, Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain Research (PFI), Leipzig, Germany, to enhance his research back in Ghana.“I indicated to Prof. Dr. Arendt my intention to continue the research I started in his laboratory upon my return to UCC and so this equipment is very appropriate” he noted.
He indicated that with the equipment, students and researchers could cut thin sections of tissue for histological or histopathological studies. He indicated that the items would facilitate the Department’s plans of establishing a brain research laboratory which would be the first of its kind in Ghana.
Basic Functions
Explaining the basic functions of the equipment, Dr. Simpong indicated that the Microscope was very advanced, and it could be used to visualize stained tissues, take micrographs, and teach students among others. The based sledged microtome will be used to produce thin sections of biological tissues for staining and visualization. He added that, in histopathology laboratory, microtome and microscope are key equipment needed. “While the device will enhance research at the Department and the School at large, it will promote practical training of Medical Laboratory Scientists at UCC,” he emphasised.
Appreciation
Receiving the equipment on behalf of the Department, the Acting Provost of the College of Health and Allied Sciences, Dr. Emmanuel Kwasi Abu, thanked Dr. Simpong for the gesture. He noted that the equipment would boost laboratory work at the Department.
Dr. Abu announced that approval had been given for the establishment of a laboratory complex for departments in the School of Allied Health Sciences (SAHS) at the basement of the 25 no. Lecture Theatre Complex.
Present were the Head of Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Dr. Isaac Dadzie; Faculty Officer, Mr. Atta Yeboah-Sarpong, Vice-Dean, SAHS, Dr. Desmond Omane Acheampong and some lecturers and staff of the Department of Medical Laboratory Science.
