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A total of 198 students have graduated from the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) after completing a four year academic programme in Renewable Energy Engineering, Natural Resources and Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Of the number, 154 were pioneer students admitted in 2012, whilst the rest were students who enrolled in the post diploma programme mounted by the University.
Addressing the maiden congregation, which was attended by dignitaries including politicians, chiefs, academicians, students and parents at Sunyani, President John Mahama, who was the special guest of honour charged the fresh graduates to focus on self-employment and the private sector where a lot of opportunities exist.
UENR, a publicly funded university in the Brong Ahafo Region, was established with the mandate to provide higher education, disseminate knowledge and undertake research related to energy and natural resources. It was inaugurated on November 17, 2012 with 154 foundation students and the induction of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Mrs Esi Awuah.
The university currently runs 19 undergraduate programmes in Sunyani and Dormaa Ahenkro campuses respectively and had established two research centres since its inception.
President Mahama said the public sector employs about 600,000, and therefore offered very little opportunities for employment and admonished the graduands, six of whom were first class students, to strive to become employers rather than employees.
“You needed to be focused on the private sector and self-employment where opportunities were wider and I have no doubt that you will make huge impact on the world of work as employers” the President added.
The President paid tribute to the late President J.E.A. Mills, whose vision led to the establishment of the university and noted that his administration was advancing that vision to ensure that all regions had public universities.
Stressing the crucial role UENR was expected to play in national and global development, the President said “the university must become an epitome of knowledge in science and technology in Africa”.
President Mahama said although the university was confronted with some challenges, “it has demonstrated formidable strength within its short period of existence and stated that government has taken note of the challenges.
He directed the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to place priority on UENR in the provision of infrastructure in the short term and announced that in the medium term, the government was sourcing Korean Exim facility, which would go to develop the Eastern Region University and UENR.
He said GH¢10 million out of the GH¢30 million seed money promised for the UENR had been released to the university, promising that the government would make good its promise to release the remaining amount.
In a report to congregation, Prof. (Mrs.) Esi Awuah, Vice Chancellor enumerated some of the achievements of the university and indicated the preparedness of UENR to chart a new path in higher education in Ghana.
In research, for instance, she said the School of Engineering was engaged in consultancy work with the British Department for International Development (BFID) on a project called ‘Baseline Study of Riparian Communities in the Volta Basin Ghana’, as well as a research project on strengthening innovations and technology dissemination for sustainable development in cocoa and coffee value chains in Western and Eastern Africa.
Prof. Awuah said the UENR had also established two research centres, the Earth Observation Research and Innovation Centre (EORIC) and the Centre for Climate Change and Gender Studies (CCCGS) with the mandate to promote, facilitate and support the acquisition and application of geospatial technologies and data as well as promoting, coordinating, facilitating and disseminating research and development initiatives to deal with the nexus between climate change and gender in Ghana and beyond.
Prof J. S. K. Ayim, a former Vice-Chancellor of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and chairman of the University Governing Council, appealed for increased government funding to enable UENR to deliver on its mandate.
He asked the graduands to conduct themselves and be guided by the core values of UENR as they enter the world of work.
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