The British High Commissioner to Ghana, Her Excellency (H.E.) Harriet Thompson, has applauded the University of Cape Coast (UCC) for its commitment to impactful research aimed at addressing pressing societal challenges.
During a courtesy call to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong, H.E. Thompson expressed admiration for the University’s growing global research reputation.
Her visit was part of an effort to familiarise herself with the innovative research activities of two UCC faculty members, Prof. Robert Sarpong Amoah and Prof. Ernest Teye, both from the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences.
Prof. Amoah and Prof. Teye have embarked on pioneering projects under the African Agriculture Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (AAKTP), funded by the United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI).
H.E. Thompson projected these efforts as exemplary and underscored UCC’s strong track record in independently securing research grants from reputable UK institutions without requiring direct governmental mediation.
“UCC continues to distinguish itself with its high-quality research and ability to attract funding from leading UK research agencies. This is something we are very proud to support,” she noted.
She pledged the commitment of the British High Commission to deepen existing collaborations and explore new avenues for partnership with UCC.
“There are several opportunities beyond the bilateral relationships between our two governments. We will continue to ensure that institutions like UCC benefit from research and innovation support from the UK,” she added.
In his remarks, Prof. Boampong expressed profound appreciation to H.E. Thompson for her visit and recognition of the University’s research accomplishments.
He was hopeful that the visit would further strengthen UCC’s relationship with UK research institutions.
“Research grants remain a vital source of Internally Generated Funds (IGF) for the University, supporting academic activities, infrastructural and operational needs,” he stated.
“Our consistent performance in the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings topping Ghana and West Africa for four consecutive years and placing among the top seven universities in Africa—has been driven partly by our research income.”
Prof. Boampong appealed for greater support from the British High Commission to help UCC gain access to more funding opportunities, particularly those targeting scalable research solutions for national and regional development.
The visit also featured presentations by the two lead researchers.
Prof. Ernest Teye demonstrated a novel, hand-held, rapid, and non-destructive testing device designed to assess the quality of agricultural products such as rice, palm oil, and palm cream concentrate.
The device has been used to support Praise Export Services, a local export company based in Pokuase and other manufacturing companies, to detect palm oil adulteration and ensure the integrity of palm cream before export.
Prof. Robert Sarpong Amoah presented on the development of a solar desiccant dryer for cassava starch. The project focuses on producing a cost-effective drying solution to enhance the efficiency and quality of starch production for a leading local manufacturing company, Tropical Starch Company Limited in the Central Region.
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Source: Documentation and Information Section
