GCTU Students to Benefit From Industry-relevant Skills
In its determination to deliver on its mandate to provide practical training to its students, GCTU has signed an MoU with GCB in the area of skills training and internship for its students on Friday, 7th June 2024 in the Vice-Chancellor’s boardroom.
The partnership aims to nurture students and create a skilled workforce, capable of addressing the ever-evolving challenges in a real-world cybersecurity environment. The students will also be mentored by experienced professionals from the bank to enhance their professional growth.
In his welcome remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa, gave a brief background of GCTU and noted that the University is now a fully-fledged public university. “This institution has been in existence for some time now and has gone through several transformations. We have been given a special mandate by Parliament to be an ICT University,” he stressed.
He indicated that with this singular mandate, GCTU is training individuals to meet the human capital needs of the nation and the experts that are required for the current digitalization agenda that the government is pursuing aggressively.
Prof. Afoakwa elaborated that with this partnership, the University is poised to deliver on its mandate to provide practical training to its students so that they can fit seamlessly into industry and contribute to national development. He added, that GTEC has given GCTU the authorization to run several ICT-related programmes like Cyber Security. “This is an important agreement since GCB is the largest bank in Ghana with many branches across the country and it has existed for 70 years.
Plans are far advanced to establish a Centre for Innovation, Technology, Skills and Entrepreneurial Development. This will be inaugurated by August with a setup of over 100 computers with experts from all over Africa who are willing to come and train various institutions in Ghana in Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence and many ICT related programmes relevant to the development of our nation. We look forward to a longer relationship,” he said.
The GCB Deputy Managing Director of Operations, Mr. Emmanuel Odartey Lamptey stated, that GCB is a leading player in Ghana’s banking industry, with 185 branches across the country and complemented by various innovative and digital solutions.
“The role GCB has played over the years is enormous. Helping individuals, SMEs and corporate institutions to achieve financial well-being and meet their banking needs,” he said.
He emphasized, that apart from delivering superior client services, today’s world of banking needs to prioritize digital banking, which is so critical. “It is very important for a bank to be innovative and intensify digital banking, but it comes with a major risk like cyber fraud. We dominate in this market through digital leadership banking since we continue to invest in cyber security,” he indicated.
Mr. Lamptey expressed his enthusiasm about this partnership and said, GCB is committed to bridging the ever-widening gap between classroom learning and real-world application. “We have opened our doors to partner your institution to contribute to the practical training opportunities for your students. As a result, they will come out as world-class students,” he said.
Earlier, the Head of the Industrial Liaison Department (ILD), Mr. Ahmed Antwi-Boampong, noted that in line with the VC’s vision to make GCTU the Silicon Valley of West Africa, the ILD was established to vigorously engage industry and to provide practical training for students. He gave an overview of the partnership and the efforts that culminated in the drafting of the MoU.
