GTBank has handed over a refurbished computer lab to the Department of Computer Science at the University of Ghana (UG).
The facility is replete with computers, Internet access and a projector – all in a bid to augment efforts of the department and also make needed resources accessible to lecturers and students.
“We build ICT and computer labs for schools. Eventually, organised by this partnership, we have done this computer lab refurbishment whereby we have supplied them with computers, Internet access and a projector,” Divisional Head-Corporate Communication and Customer Experience, Agnes Owusu-Afram elaborated; adding that the bank hopes maintenance of the equipment and the facility at large will be top-notch.
In his remarks, Dean-School of Physical and Mathematical Science (SPMS), Professor Sandow Mark Yidana, indicated that the department – which is an aspect of the SPMS – plays a central role in the university because technology drives everything in today’s world.
He noted that as a public university that gets its support principally from the state, they are constrained in terms of resources; hence he commended the bank for supporting them and further described it as one of the “most extensive support we have received in recent times”.
Head-Department of Computer Science, Dr. Ebenezer Owusu, explaining the motive for calling on GTBank for support indicated that the department is a very strategic one offering several IT programmes, both at the undergraduate and Masters’ level, in addition to 14 other short courses; as a result, they are highly in need of infrastructure to support the work they are doing.
“We are running about 14 short courses which target almost everybody – in fact, from Junior High School (JHS) to people in managerial positions. So, you can see that we need a lot of infrastructure; and so, we consulted GTBank, a very strategic partner, to come to our aid – and today you can all witness the beautiful thing you see here,” he elaborated.
According to Professor Yidana, the short courses is currently being run by the department were prompted by demand from industries, and are strategically designed to respond to pertinent industry-related challenges.
As part of the handing-over ceremony, the bank organised a hackathon wherein students were tasked to do a live demonstration of the two customer centric solutions (AI-based customer service chatbot and machine learning model for customer churn or retention prediction) they have developed.
The hackathon had two groups for each customer-centric solution with three members, who presented their innovations to those gathered at the event. At the end, the second group for both presentations won the competition and were awarded a plaque plus a cash prize of GH¢5,000, while the runner-up received a cash prize of GH¢3,000.
For his part, Chief Finance Officer-GTBank, Dr. Calleb Osei, advised students to ensure anytime they are tasked to develop a solution for a business entity, they should ensure that it meets market needs and is easy to implement.
“The fact is that for those of us in the business field, we don’t have time. Once it is delivered, it should be able to meet requirements. So, it is extremely important that you understand what the market wants from us – so that whatever you develop can immediately be implemented in the market space,” he advised
“I wish that very soon you will have this school (SPMS) developing apps and products for the business world to come and buy. It will give you a lot of revenue-streams,” he stated – adding that the world is moving toward their direction and what is required of them is to understand what the market wants, and as they do that more partners will come to their aid.
Ms. Owusu-Afram mentioned that GTBank will further develop the innovations students demonstrated, and further keep their partnership with the school – enabling them to see how their work has resulted in impacting the bank or the business.
