The Sunyani Technical University (STU) is in the process of sending 20 Staff to Fanshawe College of Engineering, London Ontario, Canada to be trained in Electric Vehicle Fundamentals.
This follows a collaboration between STU and Fanshawe College that has won a CAD 470,000.00, Canadian Government grant, under the BCDI 2030 Scholarships.
The Vice-Chancellor, Ing. Prof. Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah, who announced this, said visa application processes for the selected members of staff had reached an advanced stage.
Speaking at the first session of the 17th Congregation of the university in Sunyani, the Vice-Chancellor said the participants will travel to Canada from January 17th to February 2nd, 2025, and will be accompanied by two Management staff for the 2-week train-the-trainer programme, plus additional online tuition hours back in Ghana.
“The e-vehicle scholars will return to help the University mount programmes in e-vehicle fundamentals and commence research, development and manufacturing at the Ghana Gas Centre of Excellence for Electric Vehicles and Industrial Welding Technologies, STU”, he further said.
Academic programmes
According to the Vice-Chancellor, the University currently runs 87 accredited academic programmes made up of eleven Master of Technology (M-Tech), 28 bachelor’s programmes (BTech and BSc.), 23 Higher National Diploma (HND), five Diploma and 20 other Non-Tertiary TVET programmes.
He announced that the University had started Apprenticeship and other TVET training programmes at the National Proficiency I (NP1) and National Certificate I (NC1) Levels on the National TVET Qualifications Framework, under CTVET, adding that three fully sponsored Certificate/Apprenticeship programmes were underway at the University.
“Under the Phase IV of the Ghana TVET Voucher Project (GTVP), through the sponsorship of the Government of Ghana and KFW/GIZ, training of 80 Master Craft Persons (MCPs) from various Trade Associations at the Proficiency I (NP1) Level, through the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), is currently underway at the University. The training spans eight months and it is free for learners, as the KfW/GIZ pays all fees to the University on behalf of learners”, he explained.
The Vice-Chancellor also said the training of 120 Apprentices associated with the 80 MCPs under the Voucher Project for 6 months was also on-going at the University, saying: “This programme is also free as it falls under KfW/GIZ sponsorship.”
“Furthermore, the University has received accreditation from CTVET for 9 Trade Areas, including Electronics Engineering Technology, Automotive Engineering Technology, Computer Software Development, Welding and Fabrication, etc., to train Learners for a 1-year duration at the National Certificate 1 (NC1) Level, under a World Bank Funding source. Currently, registration of Learners is underway with some 900 prospective learners registered already for the training to commence in January 2025. Applicants only need to have completed JHS or SHS to qualify to enroll.”
He urged all prospective students and learners, both local and foreign, to take advantage to enroll on these innovative and industry-driven programmes at the STU to acquire the requisite knowledge, technical and professional skills that will make them readily employable and entrepreneurs for the future, to reduce the prevailing high unemployment rate in the country.
Graduation statistics
A total of 1,126 graduands were awarded Bachelor of Technology (B-Tech) degrees in Engineering, TVET, Applied Science and Technology, Built Environment and Applied Art, as well as Business and Management Studies disciplines.
Out of the graduation list, 769, representing 68.3%, are males, whilst 357, representing, 31.7% are females. In terms of distribution according to classes, 176 (15.6%) obtained First Class, 743 (66.0%) obtained Second Class Upper Division, 204 (18.1%) obtained Second Class Lower Division and 3 (0.3%) obtained a Pass.
Distribution in terms of type of discipline indicates that, Engineering, Science and Technology, TVET and Applied Art programmes recorded a total of 797 (70.8%) of the total graduands, compared to Business and Management, which recorded 329 (29.2%) of the graduating class.
The 17th Congregation Ceremony of STU was under the theme: “Employability and Job Creation: Leveraging Technical and Entrepreneurial Skills Training.”