As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt the smooth running of academic work, the Ghana Chamber of Mines, has installed a smartboard technology for teaching and learning at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), at a cost of GH¢173,871.62.
The Chairman of the Governing Board of the Ghana Chamber of Mines’ Tertiary Education Fund, Dr. Stephen Kofi Ndede, speaking at the launch of the smartboard said it is with the aim of bringing UMaT closer to its vision of becoming the Centre of Excellence in Africa for the training of world-class professionals in mining.
“Covid-19 has taught us a lot of lessons and one of such lessons is how physical presence or location should not be a hindrance to work or study. As a mining industry, we re-adjusted our work programs to enable non-technical staff to work from home during the height of the pandemic, however, productivity was not negatively affected. It was therefore not out of order when the Governing Board received a request from the University for this technology to be procured to aid virtual teaching and learning, which fits into UMaT’s agenda of enhancing internationalization and visibility.”
“The Ghana Chamber of Mines, through the Governing Board has installed this equipment which is worth GH¢173,871.62 (USD29,977.87) with the aim of bringing UMaT closer to its vision of becoming the Centre of Excellence in Africa for the training of world-class professionals. This amount catered for the procurement and installation of hardware and software components of the SMART Board 7086R series interactive flat panel with iQ; SMART TeamWorks software and Accessories. Fifteen (15) lecturers and IT Officers from the University have since been trained on the SMART Board Technology“, he said.
Dr. Stephen Kofi Ndede pleaded with the management of UMaT to ensure that the SMART Board technology is maintained.
At the same event, Dr. Ndede also highlighted the Chamber’s award of a research grant to three faculty members and post-graduate students to equip them to undertake various inquiries into topics that are relevant to the mining industry.
“Three (3) faculty members are being awarded a total of GH¢173,246 (USD29,870), while seven (7) post-shortlisted graduate students shall receive a total of Ghc170,359.92 (USD 29,372.4). Additionally, industry supervisors will be assigned to the post-graduate researchers to ensure mutual benefits between industry and academia. Being the first of recipients of the research grant support area under the Tertiary Education Fund, the entire University and Chamber have high expectations of you. We are looking forward to seeing the outcome of your research and how your work will impact the mining industry“, he added.
Dean of UMaT School of Post Graduate Studies, Professor Grace Ofori Sarpong, told Citi News the Chamber of Mines’ support will drive home its vision.
“We are very grateful to the Chamber of Mines Tertiary Education Fund for the good works they are doing to support UMaT. We know this will go a long way to benefit UMaT, because, with this support, it seems everybody in UMaT is covered and it will benefit the country at the end of the day”, she said.