A Professor with the Department of Geography and Environment at the University of Western Ontario Prof. Isaac Luginaah has called on the government and other stakeholders in education to prioritize funding for research by building a national research framework.
Delivering a lecture at the University of Cape Coast on the theme: “UCC @60 in the Horizon: where is our research headed?” organized by the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy, he said there is a weak system for research funding adding that without policy framework, research is underdeveloped.
“Ghana still lacks a dedicated research policy framework and with the adoption of technologies, we basically fall behind the Chinese and others to do what they do and we also take that and run because we do not have any framework and we are missing out on opportunities,” he said.
He, therefore, advocated for the university to introduce more interdisciplinary Researches to build the capacities of students and put the university at the top when it comes to research.
“The whole notion of encouraging teamwork is now the new norm because of the complexities of global problems so if we do not start thinking differently, then we will be left behind” he emphasized.
In a remark, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast Professor Johnson Nyarko Boampong stressed that research is one of the most important factors when it comes to the academic growth of every university. He therefore reiterated the University’s commitment to improving infrastructure to boost research and academic work.
He said, “as a university, we are also doing well but we have not gotten to the level that we need to be. So as management we are going to improve upon the infrastructure to make sure we have the basic infrastructure in place to enable us to do research”.
The public lecture brought together Directors, lecturers and students from the various faculties in the university to deliberate on how best research can be encouraged and improved in the University of Cape Coast.
Source: Vera Siripi/ATLFMNEWS
