The University for Development Studies (UDS) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Open Labs NIIT-Ghana, an Information Technology (IT) education centre, to provide digital learning programmes for regular and distance-education students.
The partnerships will also help train students in acquiring IT-knowledge to meet industry requirement after school. It is hoped this move will contribute to the digital transformation of northern Ghana where e-learning is low.
According to the Vice-Chancellor of UDS, Prof. Gabriel Ayum Teye, the university has been instrumental to major developments in northern Ghana, and it will explore all available opportunities to help enrol more people to get university education, especially, in North.
“Getting students to participate in academic work during the pandemic period has been a big challenge for management to ensure equal access to education in our operational areas. Despite the effort of government and the private sector in contributing toward the provision of digital platforms that provide quality education, lack of access to the equipment continues to impede development; and support from the NIIT will help the university achieve at least one of its initiatives in providing the needed resources to nurture the future leaders to meet demands of the market,” Prof. Ayum Teye said.
He stressed that the support from NIIT will be another milestone in bringing the much-needed change, as students will not have to travel long hours to access university education.
He also stated that with the upsurge in demand for technology professionals, this partnership will help many of the students prepare themselves to fit in the workplace.
Director of OpenLabs, Dr. Sujith Jayaprakash, said NIIT OpenLabs is the most trusted brand in the IT training and consulting sector, and has been collaborating with the public and private sectors to enhance digital education in Ghana.
“We are currently working on digitising more industry-relevant programmes in business administration. The centre recently launched a scholarship scheme for graduates of selected Senior High Schools in the country to learn topics like programming for beginners, graphic design, introduction to database and web development through its online platform,” Dr. Jayaprakash said.
He stressed that for BECE students, the organisation has some innovative programmes – like Certificate in robotics, software and hardware, and basic office 2016 – which can be completed in a month.
He also urged university students to take the maximum benefit from this partnership and upgrade themselves to work in the competitive environment ahead of them.
