GCUC holds its 16th graduation ceremony for 2023/24 academic year
Garden City University College (GCUC) in Kumasi has successfully held its 16th graduation ceremony for students of the 2023/24 academic year.
This year’s graduation ceremony continues the institution’s tradition of celebrating academic achievement and excellence.
The institution’s efforts to provide quality education have been recognized, and this graduation ceremony is a celebration of their achievements.
It was held on Tuesday, December 17, and Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at the college campus at Kenyasi, in the Kwabre East Municipality of the Ashanti region.
The 16th graduation ceremony was on the theme ‘Navigating the Future in Higher Education: The Role of Innovation and Strategic Leadership’.
Degrees were awarded to deserving students in Nursing/Midwifery, Medical Lab Technology, Physician Assistance Studies, Dental Therapy, Accounting with Computing and Accounting.
Others were Banking and Finance, Economics with Statistics, Human Resource Management, Environmental Science, Marketing, Information Technology (IT), and Management.
Guest speaker for the event, Andrew Osei Akoto, a chartered accountant and business consultant at the KPMG, called for innovation in higher education.
He stated that the world is evolving faster than ever, driven by advancements in technology, globalization, and the demands of an unpredictable labour market. Yet, many higher education institutions are still using curricula designed for an industrial-age economy.
Andrew Osei Akoto quoting Albert Einstein, said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” To solve the situation, he called for innovation in curriculum, strategic capacity-building for staff, and institutional agility.
“Curriculum innovation is not just about new content or courses; it also requires a thorough rethinking of delivery methods. Institutions that fail to adapt risk becoming relics of the past, while those that embrace innovation become the architects of the future,” he cautioned.
To the graduands, Andrew Osei Akoto asked them to stay curious by investing in themselves through continuous education, embrace failure, create teamwork across disciplines and cultures, and take bold practical steps toward their visions.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Prof Otchere Addai-Mensah, who also spoke during the event, said the world is characterised by rapid demographic changes, globalisation, and technological advancement.
He added that people’s expectations of health services are constantly evolving, with demands for specialised healthcare and services on a rising trajectory.
“While this may pose some challenges to the existing healthcare systems, it also presents boundless grounds of opportunity, especially if the tertiary institutions offering health courses have anticipated these emerging needs and designed training programmes to prepare their students to respond to them,” he also said.
“To effectively navigate these changes, tertiary institutions, especially the private ones, must embrace innovation and have the ability to anticipate and prepare their students for the challenges of the future,” he noted.
In conclusion, Prof Otchere Addai-Mensah said, “Private tertiary institutions, like all institutions of higher learning, must stay grounded in their core mission of the pursuit of knowledge and the development of human resources that provide solutions to the challenges of society.”
GCUC, affiliated with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), also offers a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Nursing and a Master of Public Health (MPH.)
For students who may not have gained direct admission to universities, GCUC offers a two-year diploma program as a bridge.
Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com/Francis Appiah
