The Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana (IIPGH) in partnership with AFOS Foundation, Esoko, and Accra Technical University (ATU) have organized the 7th edition of the Industry-Academia dialogue, INDAC-TED.
This year’s edition focused on how technology is being deployed to enhance the creative industry was held at the Accra Technical University under the theme ‘Technology as an enabler of the Creative Industry’.
The dialogue brought together industry players, educators, students, policymakers, and regulators, among others to deliberate on how academicians and employers of the industries get on one stand to ensure that higher educational institutions are linked to contemporary industrial needs.
In a welcome address, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Accra Technical University (ATU), Professor Amevi Acakpavi said as part of efforts to improve the quality of creative artists produced in the industry, the institution is coming up with innovative programmes to equip students for the currents job market.
“We have potential already when it comes to creative arts and that is why we have a faculty of applied arts that offers varied programmes and we have recently the department of liberal studies and communication technology. We are striving to add up to our capabilities in terms of creative arts and very soon we shall be running master’s programme in fashion design and production,” he said.
Presenting on the overview of the dialogue, Operations Director for the Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana, Richard Kafui Amanfu said the dialogue has been constructed to bring together professionals that would provide participants with the requisite information needed to bridge the job market.
“Our vision as an institute is mobilize all ICT professionals under one professional body to positively influence the development, standardization and delivery of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) across Ghana and as such putting up this dialogue between o help achieve this objective,” he said.
Guest Speaker Presentation
In a presentation delivered by the Guest Speaker for the event, Maximus Amertogoh, Creative Art and Technology Consultant, it has become mandatory for persons within the creative industry to leverage technology as it is a tool to unlock potentials needed in the job market.
“Irrespective of the industry that you are in, you have to see how technology can boost that particular skill or qualification, so if you need to do some online courses or training in addition to the certificate, it will be of benefit because there are a lot of reports that shows that the labor force will require a lot of digital skills,” he said.
He stated that technology has bridged the gap between geography and personal interactions with over half the world’s population communicating to their consumers on a global scale across a vast array of formats and platforms
“Globally we have 5.1billion people using the internet and that is half of the world’s population with 4.7 billion people using social media and that simply means that technology gives you that opportunity to be able to connect with people irrespective of their geographical location. For the creative person as well as person within other field, this is a huge market place for you,” he said.
Panel Discussion
Founder and Creative Director for Animax Studios, Francis Brown sharing his perspective as a panelist on the theme: “Technology as an enabler of the Creative Industry” said the dialogue is a step in the right direction as it presents students the opportunity to learn from industry players whiles gathering the needed information required to upscale in their career.
“These dialogues are essential to us gathered here as students because we get to learn from not only ourselves but from experts that can help guide us on the right steps to take. Creativity is changing as well as technology and what you know today might not be the same tomorrow hence the importance of this gathering to help guide us,” he said.
Taking his turn, Sylvester Kofi Narh, Lecturer at the Department of Fashion Design and Textiles at the Accra Technical University (ATU) revealed that one challenge hindering the churning out of good creative is a result of the lack of understanding on the concept of division of labor in our educational centers.
“The challenges we find in our educational system has to do with our qualification, the people who should have the technical no how. A course like animation has a lot of department however one lecturer in a school will be tasked to handle multiple courses leaving them with barely little time to handle what their qualifications demands but that is the system in which we find ourselves,” he said.
Head of Marketing for Jobberman Ghana, Jemima Ashitey said: “If you are student who is doing accounting or any other course and still have a passion for the creative industry, you can still pursue it, it is never late as you can still work as an accountant and still be in the creative industry. It is an integrated industry and we need each other’s services to survive. Look into yourself and make the sacrifices that you have to make to grab the opportunities available because there are a lot of opportunities,” she said.
Other highlight of the event included a presentation from partners including, AFOS Foundation and DigiCAP.Gh project. The dialogue made room for a junior consultant to share their experiences on their journey so far.
Room was also made for a question and answer session that gave participants the opportunity to ask questions while suggesting what to do to break barriers in the job market. The last session of the dialogue also made room for a speaker and participants interactive sessions to network.
About IIPGH
The Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana (IIPGH) is a professional association which is made up of professionals in various domains of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) practice. The Institute is a connector of ICT professionals from Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), educational institutions, corporate organizations, start-ups, investors, and the civil society organizations to create a vibrant ICT ecosystem. We do this by mobilizing all ICT professionals, students, and businesses under one professional association/body to positively influence policy, development, standardization, and delivery of ICT across Ghana and beyond.
