Accra Poly sets up research and innovation centre

24-11-08
Page 55

THE Accra Polytechnic has set up a research and innovation centre to promote research in the areas of applied science and technology.
“With the passing of the Polytechnic Act, polytechnics have now become autonomous. Progression is assured and research is encouraged so as to facilitate innovation and the development of best practices for industry,” the rector of the polytechnic, Dr Festus Addo-Yobo, said at the 16th matriculation of the polytechnic last Saturday.
In all, 2,246 freshmen and women out of the 3,441 qualified applicants were formally admitted to the polytechnic.
Dr Addo-Yobo further announced that the polytechnic had set up a Students Hardship Fund to support students who genuinely needed money for academic activities, and, therefore, urged students who needed support to take advantage of the facility.
He said the polytechnic had embarked on a programme to provide the applied sciences, arts and technology education in a student-centred manner.
According to him, the polytechnic was piloting the competency-based learning scheme in two departments — Fashion Design and Mechanical Engineering.
“We are also implementing an ambitious programme to provide e-library facilities in all our reading rooms. We can down-load textbooks, research papers, among other things, from databases for reading,” he said, adding that “we will soon reach agreements with donors so that we can print copies of relevant pages of books for students”.
Dr Addo-Yobo said the courses offered in the polytechnics were closer to what the market demanded and, therefore, expected “polytechnic graduates to make use of a large percentage of what is taught in the classroom so as to make an impact in the market”.
He said having realised the importance of polytechnic education to its industrialisation process, the country had invested so much in providing infrastructure and other facilities to train more people.
He urged the freshers to overcome academic obstacles and think big while on campus, saying that “I want Accra Polytechnic to become the breeding ground for future entrepreneurs”.