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Appointment of Dr. David Teye Doku as Deputy Director of DRIC

24 Sep, 2020 By peter Otoo

The Vice Chancellor has on behalf of the University Council, appointed Dr. David Teye Doku as Deputy Director of the Directorate of Research Innovation and Consultancy (DRIC) of the University of Cape Coast effective 1 September 2020. He joins Dr. Mrs Dorcas Obiri-Yeboah who was recently appointed by the Vice Chancellor to a similar role at DRIC. 

Dr. Doku holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Public Health with concentration in Epidemiology from the School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Finland, in June 2011. He is currently a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana where he teaches courses in Epidemiology and Public Health, including Social Epidemiology, Advanced Epidemiology and Global Health at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Dr. Doku is also an Adjunct Professor (Docent) in Public Health at the Tampere University, Finland. 

Publications

Dr. Doku has seventy-five (75) scientific publications in Scopus-indexed journals. This makes him second in UCC’s all-time list of contributors to our university rankings. His H-index of 28 is the highest any UCC scholar has on Scopus. He is an Associate Editor of the reputable BMC Public Health journal (Global Health Section). His main research interest includes: Health Inequalities; Global Health; Maternal and Child Health; and Health Behaviours. Over the past eight years, Dr. Doku has successfully supervised nine PhD theses, three of them as the principal supervisor and the others as the co-supervisor. He has also served as an examiner for PhD thesis in other universities in Ghana, South Africa and Finland. 

Awards

Dr. Doku has won a number of awards including: twice as Best Evolved Researcher of UCC (2016 and 2019); Co-supervisor of an Outstanding PhD Thesis, School of Graduate Studies, UCC (2016); and Outstanding doctoral student of the year (2010), School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Finland. He has also won external research grants and consultancy awards. Dr. Doku was part of a 12-member expert

team invited by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to the Strategic Meeting on Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in West Africa on Scaling up Contact Tracing in the three affected countries during the heat of the Ebola outbreak in 2014. He has research and academic networks in several countries, including South Africa, Norway, Canada, USA, Germany, Sweden and Finland.

It is expected that Dr. Doku will bring his rich experience, scholarly acumen and extensive research collaboration networks to position DRIC as a regional emblem of research excellence and outstanding consultancy services. 

 

DRIC
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Research News
Dr. Eric Debrah Otchere

Dr. Eric Debrah Otchere

Dr. Eric Debrah Otchere named as a CASBS Fellow 

The Head of the Department of Music and Dance, Dr. Eric Debrah Otchere, has been selected to join the prestigious Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) Class of 2020-21 Fellows. (https://casbs.stanford.edu/news/casbs-announces-2020-21-fellows)  

Dr. Debrah is one of the only two Africans selected as a fellow of CASBS and also the only one in the field of Music.  Dr. Otchere’s selection was based on the merits of his proposed work on “Pacing within sonic spaces: a psychology of music and work” (https://casbs.stanford.edu/people/eric-debrah-otchere ) and his previous track record. These include being a fellow of as the African Humanities Program (AHP), American Council of Learned Societies (2015, https://www.acls.org/research/fellow.aspx?cid=1ED52548-9337-E511-941D-000C29879DD6); Post-Doctoral Fellow at Rhodes University (2016), a Presidential Fellow of the African Studies Association (USA, 2016, https://africanstudies.org/asa-news/winter-2017/an-interview-with-2016-asa-acls-presidential-fellow-eric-debrah-otchere/); and most importantly, an Iso Lomso Fellow (https://stias.ac.za/fellows/eric-otchere/ ) of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (STIAS).  Dr. Otchere’s appointment as a CASBS Fellow is between September 1, 2020, and May 28, 2021.

CASBS

Established in 1954 at Stanford University, CASBS is a leading incubator of human-centered knowledge that facilitates collaborations across academia, policy, industry, civil society, and government to collectively design a better future.  Through its Fellowship program, the Center brings together deep thinkers annually to advance understanding of the full range of human beliefs, behaviors, interactions, and institutions.  CASBS alumni include 27 Nobel Laureates,
24 Pulitzer Prize winners, 51 MacArthur Fellows, 26 National Medal of Science winners, 
604 Guggenheim Fellowship winners, 159 National Academy of Sciences members, and hundreds more who are members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Political & Social Science. 
 

Staff Spotlight
Vice-Chancellor with the delegation from AIMS Ghana

Officials from AIMS Ghana Call on UCC Vice-Chancellor

17 Sep, 2020 By louis Mensah

Two officials from the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Ghana have called on the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong.
    
The two officials are the President of AIMS, Dr. Prince Koree Osei, and the Scientific Administration Manager, Ms. Rhoda Mahamah. 

Purpose

Explaining the purpose of the visit, the Dean of the School of Physical Sciences, UCC, Prof. Emmanuel K. Essel, who accompanied the two officials noted that AIMS had been in a relationship with UCC since its establishment in Ghana. He indicated that the visit was to congratulate the Vice-Chancellor and Registrar on their appointment and also deepen the collaboration between the two institutions.

Collaboration

On his part, the President of AIMS-Ghana, Dr. Osei said  the Institute had worked with UCC, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the University of Cape Coast to train students in Mathematics at the postgraduate level. “AIMS is concerned about Mathematics in Africa so we select talented students and they are trained by topnotch lecturers from Universities across the world” he explained.  Dr. Osei further indicated that, AIMS Ghana provided an innovative and relevant curriculum for students in a 24-hour learning environment. 

AIMS Africa

Giving the background of the Institute, Dr. Osei noted that AIMS was Africa’s first and largest network of centres of excellence for innovative postgraduate training in mathematical sciences. According to him the focus of the Institute was to shape the continent’s future through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, public engagement and research. He stated that there were five centres of excellence in five African countries namely; South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon and Rwanda. He added that  AIMS was working to operate 15 centres of excellence across Africa by 2023.
   
The President of AIMS said the Institute with the support of the Ministry of Education was in the process of introducing Master of Science in Teacher Education to beef up the training of teachers for the senior high schools and teacher training colleges. He said the programme would focus more on content adding “We have realised that content is a major problem for most Mathematics teachers in Ghana. We want them to visualize and apply mathematical concepts in solving problems”.

STEM Education

Responding, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Boampong, stated that Mathematics permeated all aspect of our life and therefore, commended AIMS Ghana for promoting Mathematics not only in Ghana but Africa in general. He noted that as part of his vision for the University, a programme in STEM Education would be introduced at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels to train more scientists. He indicated that the University’s programmes would be reviewed in order to avoid duplication. He said in order to inculcate honesty and moral values in students, ethics would be introduced ethics as a vital component of all programmes being ran in the University.

UCC-AIMS Partnership

Prof. Boampong indicated the University’s readiness to partner AIMS Ghana to produce more scientists for the country and the continent. “We want to collaborate with you to introduce innovative programmes that will produce the best scientists who will be problem solvers. Our doors are open for joint research and projects”. He said UCC would continue to support AIMS to realise its vision of promoting Mathematics in the continent.

Present at the meeting were the Registrar, Mr. Jeff Teye Emmanuel Onyame; Dean, School of Graduate Studies, Prof. Sarah Darkwah; Head of Department of Mathematics, UCC, Prof. Ernest Yankson; Ag. Director of Public Affairs, Major Kofi Baah-Bentum and Assistant Registrar, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, Mrs. Elizabeth Yankah
 

Department of Theatre and Film Studies Observes One Week Celebration for Late Mr. Elolo Gharbin

16 Sep, 2020 By peter Otoo

The Department of Music and Dance in collaboration with the Department of Theatre and Film Studies has held a performance to observe the one-week celebration of the late Mr. John Elolo Kwame Gharbin, a lecturer. 

The celebration was held at the Faculty of Arts quadrangle to commemorate the death of the lecturer which occurred on Tuesday 7th September 2020.  The ceremony was accompanied by drum appellations, dance performances, dirge and an elegy to the late lecturer for a peaceful transition and a perfect rest. A moment of silence was also observed to show respect to the late Mr. Gharbin. 

Messages

The Head of Department of Music and Dance, Dr. Eric Debrah Otchere, said, “Tears are not enough to show the emptiness we feel.” He noted that the programme was their collective effort to commemorate the loss of their brother. “We are here to remember our brother in ways we cannot express with words”, he explained.

The Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dora Francisca Edu-Buandoh, expressed heartfelt words concerning the late Mr. Gharbin. She shared; “One thing we should all keep as a legacy from Elolo is his laughter. He was a great performer. We have lost a great colleague, a friend, and a teacher”.

The Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Prof. Kwame Osei Kwarteng, also shared heartfelt words about the late Mr.Gharbin  saying “He was like a biological brother, a colleague and a friend to me”. He advised the gathering to love their neighbors as themselves since death did not discriminate adding, “Death is what makes a king and a slave the same”

The immediate past Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Prof. J. B. A. Afful, described the late lecturer as a person who was simple, humble and related well with others.

There were condolence messages from present dignitaries such as the Director of Coastal TV, Mr. Selete Nyomi; UTAG President, Dr. Samuel Bert Boadi Kusi.

Dignitaries

Other dignitaries present at the programme were Heads of Department in the Faculty of Arts, Prof L.K. Sam Amoah, Prof. Victor Yankah, Prof Lawrence Owusu-Ansah, Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Saboro, the Executive Secretary of PANAFEST, Rabbi Halevi Kohain; and Prof Florian Carl. The bereaved family of the lecturer, performers from PANAFEST, and students from the Faculty donned in mourning cloths were also present to honor the gathering.

The late Mr. John Elolo Kwame Gharbin worked as a lecturer in the University for 16 years. He is the first lecturer to be appointed as a lecturer at the Department of Theatre and Film Studies. He was also a former head of Department and a member of the Local Organising Committee of PANAFEST.

Credit: Esther Mawulolo Kporvi

News
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

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