GCTU Seals Partnership With The University Of Kwazulu-Natal
GCTU’s growing track record of world-class institutional partnerships gained further credence as the Vice-Chancellor put pen to paper on another groundbreaking MOU. This latest partnership agreement, which was signed on Tuesday, 25th July 2023, sees GCTU enter into an exciting collaboration with the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in South Africa.
The MOU signing, which took place at the Vice-Chancellor’s Secretariat, was attended by a team from UKZN, as well as GCTU’s Senior Management, namely, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa, the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Robert Ebo Hinson, and the Registrar, Emmanuel Baidoo. Also in attendance were the Director of University Relations, Dr. Nusrat-Jahan Abubakar, the Director of Internal Audit, Mr, Kennedy Oppong Fosu, and the Director of Finance, Mr. Ernest Yaw Apraku.
In his capacity as the Chair of the signing ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor kicked off proceedings by welcoming the team from UKZN, before providing a brief background of the University. He spoke about the University’s current public status and its accompanying mandate, as well as the University structure, faculties and his vision for the University. Specifically, regarding his vision for the University, Prof. Afoakwa highlighted the University’s anticipated development, saying, “We are building our infrastructure to include high-rise buildings so we can change the landscape and transform the University into a technology hub. We aim to complete this transformation in 8 years and we need the support of world-class institutions like yours to help us along the road.”
Prof. Stephen M. Mutula, the Dean and Head of School of Management, IT and Governance at UKZN, then spoke on behalf of the visiting contingent, similarly giving an insight into their University’s programmes, collegiate structure and its history. Prof. Mutula concurred with Prof. Afoakwa’s belief in the power of collaboration and also alluded to the remarkable similarities between the visions of two institutions, with innovation, student experience and excellence in teaching and learning featuring prominently in the strategic objectives of both institutions. Prof. Mutula added that as South Africa’s 3RD best University, and the 4th best in Africa overall, UKZN is proud of its heritage and has an obligation to contribute to the African continent in a variety of ways. He affirmed that the Management of UKZN is poised to collaborate significantly with GCTU, and he looked forward to seeing the partnership grow from strength to strength. Prof. Afoakwa also affirmed his anticipation of what he believed would be a very fruitful partnership, pointing to the fact that the collaboration had already hit the ground running as 19 Phd and 7 M.Phil. Candidates from GCTU would be enrolling on fully-paid scholarships with UKZN.
The ceremony ended with the traditional signing of the MOU documents in the Vice-Chancellor’s boardroom, after which those in attendance moved to the Graduate School for an engagement with the Phd and M.Phil. Candidates. The engagement session proved to be highly insightful, with the UKZN team offering some informative perspectives regarding the application process, visa requirements and the general structure of the programmes.
As an institution, we are highly excited at the prospect of yet another very promising collaboration. GTCU’s commitment to excellence and innovation in teaching, learning and research will undoubtedly benefit from this latest partnership and we commend Management for its continued foresight and initiative in this regard.
