To mark its first anniversary, the University of Cape Coast’s Design Thinking & Innovation Hub organised an open house for staff, faculty, students and members of the community.
The one-day event, which took place at the Emmanuel Adow Obeng Central Administration Building, featured impressive activities, including showcasing of businesses in its incubation programme, indoor entrepreneurship games, a clinic offering one-on-one advisory service on issues of entrepreneurship, financial management, career guidance and psychosocial support.
The over 200 participants present were inspired as they interacted with beneficiaries of the digital hub who, in themselves, are members of UCC teams winning US$30,000 and US$40,000 respectively at the just-ended Kosmos Innovation Centre Agritech Challenge Pro.
The all-important essence of the digital hub was underscored with the presence of key stakeholders, namely: Vice Chancellor Professor Johnson Nyarko Boampong and other directors & officers.
Addressing participants on the purpose of the gathering, Director of the Design Thinking and Innovation Hub Dr. Mrs. Keren Naa Abeka Arthur indicated that the event had been created to share successes and key achievements of the hub in the past year and, very importantly, to unveil the many opportunities available at the hub to many who are yet to interface with it.
With a BSc from Ashesi University, MBA and PhD from University of Exeter – UK, Dr. Arthur believes that through its programmes, the hub has already started transforming individuals, businesses and, very importantly, students of the university who in themselves form a critical mass of society.
Acknowledging its partners, including SIC, Hollard Insurance, Prudential Bank, Kosmos Innovation Centre, the director advocated for more organisations to reach out in funding, sponsorship and mentorship for the hub.
As a senior lecturer of the University of Cape Coast, she commended management and all staff for the mandate of the hub to provide professional skills development, business development support, business incubation and acceleration services, career support and community service through solving societal problems using entrepreneurship, design thinking and continuous improvement.
Moving forward, the hub is looking forward to working with more young entrepreneurs and focusing on the commercialisation of inventions and creative outputs in the university community.
