Search

Mr. Isaac Nketsiah giving a presentation at the workshop

Staff of School of Graduate Studies Undergo Training on Turnitin

11 Sep, 2020 By louis Mensah

The Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy (DRIC) in collaboration with the Sam Jonah Library has organised a training workshop for staff of the School of Graduate Studies (SGS), on how to use the “Turnitin” (Plagiarism Check Software).    

  
Addressing participants at the workshop, the Turnitin Account Administrator of the University, Mr. Isaac Nketsiah, explained that ‘‘the University has instituted measures to reduce the level of plagiarism in postgraduate research work because postgraduate studies drive research work in every institution of higher learning’’. 
Mr. Nketsiah who is also an Assistant Research Fellow at DRIC explained that ‘’the Turnitin software is to help reduce the level of plagiarism and increase the potency and originality of research output’’. 

Workshop

Mr. Nketsiah reported that, at the beginning of the academic year, all first-year postgraduate students were scheduled to go through the training programme and indicated that currently about 80 per cent had been trained. He said plans had been made to train the remaining postgraduate students who were yet to participate in the workshop. He enlightened participants on UCC’s Plagiarism Policy and indicated that the policy provided an acceptable similarity index of below 20 per cent.

Participants listening to the presentation of the Resource Person

Benefits 

Describing the benefits of the programme, he noted that apart from the software being a diagnostic tool for checking potential plagiarism, it could also provide both the instructors and students with the platform to mark, score, and to make assessment and comments. He explained the number of people to enrol or register on the system, adding “We currently have the licence to cover 1,500 students; however, there is no limit to the number of instructors who can be registered by the system (Software)”.  On requirements for registration, he noted that only an institutional email address was needed to register each instructor or a student before they could have access to use the software.

Assignments

Mr. Nketsiah took the participants through the process of creating a class and setting assignments. He emphasised that during this stage, instructors were not supposed to submit students work into the standard paper repository as it could create serious problems for students. 

Participants

The e-Resource Librarian, Mr. Osman Imoro, who was a co-facilitator took participants through how they could interpret the similarity reports generated by the system. 
The Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Prof Sarah Darkwah, used the occasion to introduce the Turnitin desk officer, who is also the Assistant Registrar at the School, Mr. John Linscell Yen. 

Present were the Librarian, Dr. Mac-Anthony Cobblah; the Vice-Dean of SGS, Prof. Kankam Boadu, the Assistant Accountant, Mrs. Mavis Boadu, the Digital Librarian, Mr. Theophilus Ocran and Roseline MacArthur, a lecturer at Department of Vocational and Technical Education.
 

DRIC
Research News
The Vice-Chancellor and Registrar with the officials from GCB

Leadership of Central Regional GCB Bank Visits UCC

11 Sep, 2020 By louis Mensah

The leadership of the Central Regional GCB Bank has called on the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar of the University.

Purpose

Briefing the gathering, the team leader Mr. Martin Abofra, stated that the purpose of their visit was to formally congratulate the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar on their current appointments at the University. He indicated that the visit was very important to them because “the history of UCC cannot be told without mentioning GCB Bank.” Mr. Abofra, who is also the Central Regional Manager, noted that the bank remained committed and ready to work with prospective customers of the University. Assuring the full support of the bank, the Relationship Manager, UCC branch, Mr. Albert Ofori Addo, added that they were looking forward to reinforcing their relationship with the University in order to build a robust and vibrant partnership.

  Relationship

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong, expressed his profound gratitude to the leadership of the bank for its commitment to maintaining the long-standing relationship between the UCC and GCB Bank. He assured them of the readiness of the University to collaborate and work with them towards achieving the University’s core mandate and any other students’ entrepreneurial programmes, ideas, initiatives, and innovations in research that would create job opportunities for students who would complete UCC. 


The Registrar, Mr. Jeff Teye  Emmanuel Onyame, applauded the team for the honour and kind gesture and pledged the continuous support of the University. He was hopeful that the relationship between GCB Bank and UCC would continue to grow to foster a long-lasting partnership. 


Present were the Acting Director, Directorate of Public Affairs, Major (Rtd) Kofi Baah-Bentum; Vice-Chancellor’s Secretary, Ms. Elizabeth Yankah; Regional Business Development Manager (GCB), Mr. Eric Nyarko; Regional Sales Relationship Officer (GCB), Mr. Albert Antwi Obeng, and UCC Branch Manager (GCB), Mr. Richard Denakpor. 
 

Prof. Kwame Agyei Frimpong

Prof. Kwame Agyei Frimpong

Prof. Kwame Agyei Frimpong Receives African Plant Nutrition Outreach Fellowship Award

An Associate Professor at the Department of Soil Science, Prof. Kwame Agyei Frimpong has been awarded USD $5,000 for exploring innovative ideas on education, training, and communication programmes relevant to improving the use and efficiency of plant nutrients in African agro-ecosystems.


Prof. Frimpong and Prof. Bosede Olukemi Lawal of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Nigeria were the only two Africans who were conferred with the awards sponsored by the African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), and OCP Group.

Project

Prof. Frimpong’s project proposal centered on the promotion of effective soil fertility management in smallholder farming communities in Ghana. According to Prof. Frimpong, “This outreach is intended to contribute to improvement in the livelihoods of the beneficiary farmers through increased crop yields and farmer incomes”. He noted that the project was aimed at influencing farmer perceptions and addressing their socio-economic orientations through enhanced access to needed information.  


Prof Frimpong said it was expected that the outreach would lead to the design and future implementation of better-informed soil fertility and plant nutrition policies among the beneficiary farmers. “The outreach programme will use modern, effective and socially acceptable communication tools to generate evidence-based data and information on indigenous soil management practices, and incentives for effective use of fertilizer in two communities in Ghana,” he explained. 

Findings and Recommendations

Highlighting on the findings and recommendations, Prof. Frimpong indicated that the study would be used to design a fit-for-purpose advocacy and capacity building programme for smallholder as well as serve as the basis for a more comprehensive study across the country. “Ultimately, this will enhance the adoption and integration of more effective soil fertility management practices into the Planting for Food and Jobs’ policy (PF&J) towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of no poverty (SDG 1) and no hunger (SDG 2) through improved agricultural productivity and food security and job creation across the country,” he pointed out.
 

Staff Spotlight
The VC and Registrar with members of GAUA

VC, Registrar Meet Leadership of Unions

10 Sep, 2020 By louis Mensah

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Nyarko-Boampong and the Registrar, Mr. Jeff Teye Emmanuel Onyame, have held separate meetings with the executives of the various unions on campus.

The Unions are the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA), University Teachers’ Association of Ghana, (UTAG), Senior Staff Association, Universities of Ghana- (SSA-UoG)-UCC branch, and the Teachers and Education Workers Union, (TEWU).

The essence of the meetings was to elicit the support of the various unions and also get their inputs on board to help achieve the aims of the Vice-Chancellor’s vision for the University for the next four years.

GAUA

During the meeting with GAUA, Prof. Boampong called on members of the Association to come on board and work together to achieve his vision outlined for the University during his four-year tenure as Vice-Chancellor.“We call for your support to work together, let us work together to get the University to where we all want it to be”, he stated.
Speaking on the issue of motivation, Prof. Boampong indicated that it was their aim to motivate all members of staff so they would give off their best in terms of output. He indicated that: “When people are motivated then we can demand productivity”.


In his remarks, the National President of GAUA, Mr. Kwabena Antwi –Konadu, commended Management for the opportunity to discuss issues with the leadership of the association and pledged the support of members to help move the University forward. The President of GAUA appealed to Management to seriously consider issues concerning promotion of members. To this end, Mr. Antwi-Konadu urged them to look at the promotion document critically so as to deal with all the grey areas to engender a peaceful industrial environment. “It should not always be only paper consideration but real output and experience should also be counted and not trivialised”, he emphasised.


GAUA executives urged Management to ensure that Vice-Chancellors’ Ghana appealed to the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission to reconsider its decision to withdraw responsibility allowance for some Senior Members (non-teaching) who head sections because they were unqualified due to their present ranks.

The Registrar, Mr. Onyame responding to a suggestion for Management to avail themselves to the unions, said they were running an open- door policy and therefore, leadership of the unions could call on them whenever the need arose. 

UTAG

During the meeting with the executives of the University Teachers’ Association of Ghana, (UTAG) the Vice-Chancellor reiterated his call for their support to manage the University since they were important stakeholders. “You are a key stakeholder group; therefore, you are expected to help us with useful suggestions and support to do the work for the University”, he appealed.UTAG led by its president, Dr. Samuel Bert Boadi-Kusi, assured that they would do their best to support the new regime to take the University to a different level.

TEWU-SSA-UoG

The Vice-Chancellor and Registrar also met the executives of both Senior Staff Association-UCC and the Teachers and Education Workers Union. He called for partnership in expanding infrastructure for the University. Presidents for both SSA-UCC and TEWU assured Management that they were ready to contribute in that direction.
 

Bioinorganic Chemistry (Elective)    

The course will focus on the historical development of bioinorganic chemistry, a brief survey of chemical evolution, and the biogeochemical cycling of the elements. Topics such as   biomineralization, metals and metal complexes applied to therapy (antitumor metal complexes,

gold complexes in the treatment of rheunmatoid arthritis, and lithium therapy)  will be reviewed as well as physico-chemical methods used to study the equilibria, structures and kinetics of bioinorganic systems.

Course Code: 
CHE 422
No. of Credits: 
3
Level: 
Level 400
Course Semester: 
Second Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Chemistry

Surface Chemistry & Catalysis

This course seeks to provide an appreciation of the concepts at the interface and the effects of these interfacial properties on physical, chemical and biological interactions in nature. It covers key topics such as surfaces and interfaces, capillarity and mechanics of surfaces, adsorption and thermodynamics of surfaces,

surfactants and micelles, monolayers and Langmuir-Blodgett films, colloids and emulsions, and techniques for probing surface interactions. The course will also expose students to the definition and explanation/theories of catalysis, and heterogeneous catalysis related to surfaces. Other applications such as photocalysis using sensitizers embedded on solid supports will be discussed.

Course Code: 
CHE 416
No. of Credits: 
2
Level: 
Level 400
Course Semester: 
Second Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Chemistry

Natural Products II (Elective)

This course seeks to promote understanding of the significance of natural products in terms of their biosynthesis, biological activity and chemical synthesis, combining organic chemistry and biological chemistry. 

It will focus on the diversity of natural products and their roles in biological systems, the chemistry and biosynthesis of the major natural product classes and the synthesis of important natural products. 

A special emphasis will be placed on how chemical structure affects the physiological function of various natural products.

Course Code: 
CHE 412
No. of Credits: 
3
Level: 
Level 400
Course Semester: 
Second Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Chemistry

Electrochemistry  

The course will focus on the treatment of electroanalytical methods (potentiometric, voltammetric and polarographic methods) and the application of electromotive force measurements and activities in cell potential determinations.

Electrodes types and their fabrication, assessment of their performance characteristics related to sensitivity, selectivity coefficients, etc. The basic concepts of electrochemistry are first  reviewed.

Course Code: 
 CHE 427
No. of Credits: 
3
Level: 
Level 400
Course Semester: 
Second Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Chemistry

Aromatic & Heterocyclic Chemistry

This course introduces students to simple aromatics, heterocyclic and heteroaromatic compounds. Their classification, physical and chemical properties will be discussed. The reactions of naphthalene, anthracene and phenanthrene will be reviewed.

In addition, mechanistic rationales for the synthetic basis of aromatic chemistry that is practised today will also be presented. 

Course Code: 
CHE 425
No. of Credits: 
3
Level: 
Level 400
Course Semester: 
Second Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Chemistry

Pages