The Accra Institute of Technology (AIT) has defied all odds and become a leader in producing PhDs in Ghana, one of Africa’s major centres of learning.
Once described by a Nigerian journalist as a “potter cabin university” with the registrar’s office labeled as a “two by four cubicle”, the AIT success story provides a model on Africa’s pathway to knowledge and skill development in a more globalised economy. And it is worthy of emulation.
Captained by Professor Clement Dzidonu, a world renowned Computer Scientist, backboned by eminent academics in the Board of Trustees (BoT) including Prof Edward Ayensu (Formerly of World Bank Inspection Panel) as Chairman, Prof. Ivan Addae Mensah (Former Vice Chancellor, University of Ghana) as Vice Chairman, Prof. Jophus Anamuah Mensah (Former Vice Chancellor of University of Education, Winneba), and Prof. Samuel Adjepong (Former Vice Chancellor, University of Cape Coast), the AIT has been built on a solid rock of knowledge champions.
In this league are also Prof. William Otoo Ellis (Former Vice Chancellor, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology), Very Rev. Ama Afo Blay (Former Director General of Ghana Education Service), Dr. Grace Bediako (Former Government Statistician) and Mr. K.S. Yamoah (Former Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange). All of these academic have helped AIT to lead the way in terms of production of quality PhDs in the country, and the rest of the continent to set the pace in knowledge engineering.
Through its partnership with Open University of Malaysia, the Accra Institute of Technology has produced Eighty-One (81) PhDs since 2016. This translates into an average of Fourteen (14) PhDs per year. This is unprecedented and a great achievement for a young private university like AIT. Considering the fact that the PhD per capita of Ghana is alarmingly low, the contributions of AIT in bridging this gap cannot be underrated. More importantly, the partnership has fostered the new direction of knowledge-sharing across continents to close the gap deep learning and development.
Did this Come Easy? Not at all! To offer, run and graduate students on an internationally benchmarked Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree programs in Ghana is by all standards a herculean task. As a non-religiously denominated or related private university which is school fees driven with no support from government nor any other organisations, running PhDs can be very expensive. After paying supervisors, external examiners and reviewers, PhD Research Committee members, internal and external moderators, etc, the university retains virtually nothing and makes no profit. This explains why most of the private universities shy away from this daring venture since it is not financially worthwhile.
Additionally, getting supervisors and external examiners to mentor these PhD students is another huge task. Running PhDs in special areas like Business Administration, Information Technology, Engineering and Education come with so many difficulties in attracting supervisors and external examiners who dully qualify to mentor the students.
However, AIT has surmounted this hurdle with collaborations with several internationally recognized universities with competent Professors who have been working hard to produce these PhDs.
Speaking at the 18th graduation of AIT, held on 17th December, 2022 at the ultramodern Knowledge City Campus in Kokomlemle, where AIT graduated Sixteen (16) PhDs at a goal, the President of AIT could not hide his joy especially having led his team to make this huge contribution to academia in the country.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
PICTORIAL EXPLAINER: How To Identify Fake New Naira Notes
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released security features to help identify fake new naira notes. According to CBN’s template, the Security features to look out for are the following…
Ondo Councils’ Workers Shut Down Assembly Over LG Autonomy
LOCAL government workers under the aegis of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ondo, on Tuesday, stormed the State House of Assembly, threatening a showdown with the lawmakers over the signing of local government autonomy…
FG To Discontinue Cash Withdrawal From Public Accounts
The Federal Government is putting the final touches to all necessary measures to stop cash withdrawal from federal, state, and local government accounts. The Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Modibbo Hamman Tukur, revealed…
Reps Probe Crude Oil Sales Over $2.4bn Revenue Loss
The House of Representatives on Tuesday unveiled plans to investigate the allegation bothering on the alleged loss of over $2.4 billion in revenue accruing from the illegal sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil export from 2014 till date…
Emefiele/DSS Tango: Falana Asks Judiciary To Treat Civil Liberty Cases Equally
LEADING rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, on Tuesday addressed the controversial move by the nation’s secret police to arrest and detain the embattled Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele…
EDITORIAL: CBN’s New Cash Withdrawal Limits
As a follow-up to its redesign of the N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently announced a new policy that mandates deposit money banks and other financial institutions to ensure that…
and then