By Prince Acquah
Cape Coast, March 29, GNA – The University of Cape Coast School of Business has honoured a total of 302 students who excelled academically at the 2024 edition of the Dean’s Award ceremony.
The awardees represent 7.61 per cent of the Business School’s level 200 to 400 population and comprised 186 males and 116 females.
The overall total number of awardees increased marginally from 297 in 2022 to 302 in 2023, representing 1.68 per cent.
The UCC School of Business Dean’s Award was instituted in the 2008/2009 academic year to recognise and motivate high-performing students from level 200 to 400 with a CGPA of 3.6 and above in each academic year.
This year’s edition was held on the theme: “Sustaining hard work and creativity” and was supported by the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana, GCB Bank, KMPG, and other partners.
Professor John Gartchie Gatsi, the Dean of the School of Business, congratulating the award winners, noted that 302 awardees out of the about 4,000 students were woefully inadequate and urged both lecturers and students to work assiduously to increase the number.
He also underscored the essence of skill acquisition in the world of work and entreated the students to acquire some skills as part of their studies before leaving school.
He observed that employers nowadays were not just interested in academic scores but also the skills graduates possessed, including leadership, data analytics and Artificial Intelligence.
In response to the trend, he said the school had made skills development an integral part of their training.
“So, we have a lot of work to do to ensure that we provide the minimum skills to our students before they leave here. We need to be intentional about it.
“If not so, we will be producing graduates who will not be relevant to today’s job market,” he said.
He announced plans to launch the 20th anniversary of the school and 50 years of teaching business in UCC in May this year and outlined some scheduled activities.
The school, as part of the celebration, would organise competitions for Senior High Schools within its catchment area and target students from deprived schools, especially females for admission during the next admission window.
Professor Gatsi also expressed the school’s resolve to increase graduate enrolment, indicating that the 214 students were woefully inadequate.
Mr Joshua Mortoti, the Executive Vice President and Head of Gold Fields West Africa, challenged the students to be intentional about their future and cultivate the habit of determination and hard work, citing his personal experiences.
He noted that the road to success was characterised by failures and required a lot of hard work, adding that the most important thing was to learn from their setbacks.
He also cautioned them to be conscious of the changing times and develop skills which reflected the times.
“Learning does not stop when you complete school. It is a lifelong endeavour and requires a lot of work,” he said and advised the students to develop strong communication skills as part of their skill set to enable them to present their ideas cogently.
The best talkers, he indicated, were mostly credited as intelligent and encouraged the students to take lessons in communication and presentation skills.
“Learn to collaborate and work with people and be a good team player; nobody can paddle the boat alone. You need other people to help your vision become a reality,” he added.
GNA