On Wednesday, August 17, 2022, Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, and Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Global Peace Ambassador, inaugurated the Academic City University College, a premium Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics tertiary institution.
The campus inauguration event drew participants from the government, diplomatic community, business community, traditional authorities, and academia, among others.
Speaking at the event, the Vice President, Dr. Bawumia, charged Academic City to lead digital manufacturing.
Dr. Bawumia said there is the need to explore and support a move into digital manufacturing as Ghana has a probable comparative advantage in the area.
Digital manufacturing is a technology-based approach to production that links different data silos and processes in the manufacturing lifecycle so that stakeholders can make better business decisions both comprehensively and at each step.
The Vice President said: “We believe that as you move into Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, and 3D printing, we need to leverage all of these into the manufacturing sector,” adding that there are many parts like medical parts, car parts that can be 3D printed.
Dr Bawumia said: “I am going to challenge [the President of Academic City] Prof. [Fred] McBagonluri, who is an inventor and has already written a lot on the issues of manufacturing so the mechanics in Suame can use a lot of parts that Ghana could manufacture digitally and export.”
He urged the University to help move into digital manufacturing to create more jobs and more incomes for the people of Ghana “And we will support you and work with you through the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission”
The Veep said that the vision of Academic City is not only in line government’s vision and goals but also in tune with global human resources demand, noting that its establishment to provide innovative programmes for churning out well-equipped graduates to become relevant in the job market could not be overemphasised.
He said the Government of Nana Addo-Dankwa Akuffo-Addo would continue to foster and support the partnership between government, universities, research institutions, and the industry at large to actualize the country’s digitalization goal.
Academic City University College’s Address – Prof. Fred McBagonluri
Prof. Fred McBagonluri said, “Our vision is to become a world-class centre for learning, innovation, and entrepreneurship, where future leaders are nurtured for global leadership and national development.
He said the inauguration marks the beginning of the Presidential Charter in 2023, which would build confidence in parents across the sub-region, leading to the creation of a new and dynamic workforce.
He said the world needs a workforce that finds opportunities in complexity and elevates the aspirations of a nation, noting that Government alone cannot educate all but can create the right conditions to encourage and support private equity to augment its efforts.
Academic City University College – The Chairman’s Address
The Chairman and Founder of Academic City University College, Mr. Dev Varyani said a country’s higher education system, with all its flaws, remains a key part of its strategic reserve, and that governments need to support all the serious players in the industry.
Mr. Varyani said the school believes that the actual meaning of education is action, “So we put action to our words and deeds and built this campus to achieve our vision; and lastly, we didn’t want to confuse education with wisdom”.
He noted that the role of the teacher is to create the conditions for invention rather than provide ready-made knowledge, adding that education should be a rewarding experience, which allows people to think, imagine, question, doubt and solve problems.
