At the graduation ceremony, Proficiency Certificates were conferred on the Ladies as follows: 24 in Bricklaying and Tiling, 53 in Computer Graphics and Photography, 7 in Electricals, 21 in Hardware and Networking, 20 in Web Development and 12 in Automotive Engineering.

In a brief address, the Pro Vice Chancellor, Prof. Peter O. Boamah, welcomed staff of BTU and CAMFED and the graduands to the graduation ceremony. He noted that, graduates from tertiary institutions in Ghana continue to struggle to find jobs after graduation, and called for support for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) including clearly articulated policy on science, technical and vocational education since TVET is the surest way to deal with graduate unemployment.

He also expressed appreciation to CAMFED for sponsoring the program. He particularly advised the Ladies to apply the knowledge, skills and expertise acquired to develop themselves and to expand the Ghanaian economy. He urged them to continue to learn from experienced people and to shun temptations and vices of their trades.

The Program Manager of CAMFED, Mr. Christian Zico in an address extolled the efforts of the Ladies for venturing into male dominated areas. He said, “We are proud of you gallant and self- motivated young women for your demonstration of incredible levels of commitment and resilience throughout this seven weeks of intense training amidst challenges. You remained focus and kept your heads above the waters to break barriers and to rewrite the narrative of male dominated areas.” Mr. Zico urged the Ladies to be entrepreneurial in running businesses that will increase their income and create opportunities for other young people in their respective communities. The Ladies also received start-up kits to enable them set up their trades/business.

Miss Mahami Kusumu (right) receiving start-up kits from the Training Coordinator, BTU

Miss Mahami Kusumu, on behalf of her colleagues expressed profound gratitude to CAMFED and BTU for sponsoring and training them. She said, “We thank CAMFED and BTU for giving us these skills. We are ready to work. If you have any building work, call us, we will come and do it for you.”

The ceremony was attended by Key Officers of the University, Deans, Directors, and Facilitators including some media persons and graduands. 

At the ceremony, the University conferred Bachelor of Technology degrees and Higher National Diplomas on a total of 324 graduates of the 2020 year batch – 185 male and 139 female. 44 of them obtained 1^st Class.

In a short welcome address, the Council Chairman of the University, Prof. Francis A. Abantanga, welcomed members of the congregation and reminded them about issues of COVID-19. He called on them to avail themselves for the vaccines as well as religiously stick to all the protocols on the prevention of COVID-19.

He also expressed appreciation to the Government of His Excellency, President Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo and all appellate institutions for continuously supporting the University to enable it compete favourably with its peers. He urged faculty to work effectively and committedly in order to justify the conversion and to make BTU the first choice Institution for Ghanaians who want technical university education and in the sub-region. He particularly advised the graduating students to remain law-abiding citizens and to lead their communities into beneficial ventures devoid of underhand dealings and conflicts. 

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Samuel Erasmus Alnaa, reported to the Congregation that five (5) new market-driven programmes (HND in Banking and Finance, Automobile Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Medical Laboratory Technology, and Mechanical Engineering) were mounted to broaden the academic sphere, to enhance the University’s status and relevance in corporate-academia.  He added that the University had also introduced four-year degree and top-up programmes (BTech) in most of its programmes and was on course to introducing master of technology programmes in consolidating the University’s ambition to become a preferred tertiary institution and a technology village. 

He appealed to government for additional infrastructure in the areas of a lecture hall theatre complex and staff accommodation which are contingent for the smooth running of every academic institution and to enable the University mitigate its current lecture room space deficit. He thanked the government of His Excellency, President Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo for the financial clearance to employ new staff which has increased the staff numbers and capacity of the University. 

Prof. Samuel Alnaa urged the graduating students not to become complacent or give up when they are faced with difficulties but rather use their entrepreneurial skills and training to face the difficulties head-on.  He noted that hard work, perseverance and dedication pay in life. 

The University in collaboration with the Alumni Association awarded prizes to graduates who excelled in their fields of study. Out of the many prizes ranging from best performing graduating student of the various departments to best performing graduating student of each of the three schools, Miss Achaab Matilda emerged as the best over-all female performing graduating student and the over-all best performing graduate of the 2020 batch. She received a citation and an undisclosed amount from the Chairman of Council of the University.

The ceremony was attended by the University’s Governing Council, Principal Officers, Deans, Directors, Heads of Department and first class graduands of the 2020 batch including Registrars and Directors of Finance of sister Technical Universities and officers of some state investigative departments. 

The University in collaboration with CyberGhana, a non-profit organization in Ghana, on Tuesday, November 3, inaugurated an ultramodern cyber security center at the Sumburungu campus of the university in Bolgatanga.

The 24-sitting capacity laboratory is established to train individuals interested in learning cyber security, information technology, artificial intelligence as well as software development.

CyberGhana’s ultra-modern laboratory is designed to engage interested persons locally at the laboratory, as well as individuals who prefer to participate via online platform due to proximity challenges.

Delivering his inaugural address, Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Samuel Alnaa said the centre had come at a time that will help lift the image of the university.

Executive Director of CyberGhana, Sam Aduafo Owusu, in an interaction with the media, observed that “There are hundreds of young people who are looking for an opportunity to excel in ICT and security.

“…so now that I am able, I remain resolute to champion a course which will ensure young people explore their dexterities to end the cycle of lack and poverty in deprived communities in this country.” He continued.

CyberGhana’s Assistant Project Manager in charge of security engineering, David Davor, disclosed that apart from Bolgatanga Technical University, two other universities in the country have collaborated with CyberGhana to set up similar laboratories in their respective campuses.

“As fate would have it, Cape Coast, Bolgatanga, Sunyani Technical Universities and the surrounding communities opened their doors to us in the pursuit of our goal to train Ghanaians to acquire industry skills in the area of ICT and security. Therefore in the same spirit, we are excited to announce to you that Sunyani Technical University and Cape Coast Technical University have their cybersecurity centres as well.”