Sharing his thoughts about the remarkable progress the university college has made over the last 10 years, Dr Darkwa said: “I see a university which taps into the creativity of each of its students; I see a university which integrates technology across all disciplines and throughout the campus.
“I see a university that is moving in the direction of distributed distance and open learning; I see a university which is dedicated to serving as a community resource for the economic and technological development of this country.”
“I see a university where the concept of service to the community and the world threads throughout our curriculum.
“I see a university which will move away from students success in terms of credits and grades and will focus more on its students development as compassionate, creative and cultured human beings well prepared to have in a technologically, sophisticated and economically independent global village.”
“And today, am happy to say we are well on our way to achieving that vision.”
Mrs Julian Owusu Ansah, the Registrar of GTUC, said: “I have been impressed by the involvement of staff and faculty members of the University College.
“They carry their job responsibilities seriously, they have wide professional experience and they bring an amazing array of skills to the table. We are people who know how to get things done and how to get everyone involved.”
“Together we are an incredibly rich resource to GTUC and to ourselves. One of the things we have done over the past 10 years is to teach and imbibe in each and every member the importance of growing together as one big family and that is what we refer to us the spirit of GTUC.
She said the University College derives its knowledge from learning and would continue to introduce top-notch academic courses, expand infrastructure, and boost teaching and learning to make students learn at their own comfort for proper assimilation of knowledge.
Mrs Afua Amankwah Sarkordie, Head of Department, University Relations, said: “When we talk about the GTUC brand, we are referring to a number of branding values, we talk about innovation, convenience, flexibility, international partnerships and collaborations.
“We talk about uniqueness, a matchless ability to provide a type of tertiary education that is not common in this country or in fact this part of Africa.
“We are talking about an institution that is committed to providing students with programmes and courses that are underpinned by current technologies.
“Almost 25 percent of our students come from destinations beyond Ghana. These students come to us because we are offering them education that provides employable skills and as we celebrate this milestone, we appreciate all our partners for giving us the opportunity to service them these past ten years.”
Mr Samuel Nunoo, the President of Students Representative Council, said: “GTUC has come a long way. Over the short period I have studied here, I have seen the university grow and transform.
“The University College remains committed to the delivery of quality ICT education, underpinned by excellence, integrity and the freedom of students to think outside the box.”
“On behalf of all my colleagues I wish GTUC a happy 10th Anniversary.”
Over the past 10 years, GTUC has expanded tremendously in infrastructure, courses and human resource capacity.
The University College now has a population of about 8,000 students pursuing over 28 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. It has also established working and mutually beneficial partnerships with over 20 reputable institutions and universities around the globe.
It has its roots in Ghana Telecom’s flagship Training Centre, which was one of a kind in West Africa.
It was first used as a Royal Air Force Training School during the Second World War and subsequently handed to Cable and Wireless to train Telecommunications Technicians for British West African Countries – Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia.
The Training Centre progressed rapidly through deregulation and privatization to become the main source of teaching and certification in Telecommunications Engineering for Ghana Telecom employees as well as other institutions in Ghana and West Africa.
In 2005, Ghana Telecom’s management upgraded the infrastructure and equipment to modern standards in preparation for converting the training centre into a university for telecommunication and multimedia engineering and information technology.
On November 01, 2005, GTUC was given approval to continue its preparation for accreditation from the National Accreditation Board (NAB).
On March 30, 2006, the University College was given accreditation and registered under regulation 12(1) of the Tertiary Institutions regulations, 2002, L.I. 1700, to run eight programmes.
The programmes included Diploma in Telecom Engineering, BSc Information Technology, BSc Computer Engineering, BSc Informatics, BSc Telecom Engineering, BSc Mobile Internet Communication, MSc Telecom Management and MSc Telecom Engineering.
Three new programmes were later accredited by NAB which enabled the University College to offer Diploma in Information Technology, BSc (Top Up) in Information Technology and BSc (Top Up) in Telecom Engineering.
The primary target for the “Top Up” programmes is for holders of Higher National Diploma (HND) who look for ways to upgrade to degree status.
The University College is described as technology training hub in the sub region and was officially inaugurated on August 15, 2006, by His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, former president of Ghana.
Source: GNA/News Ghana
