On 29 May 2025, the College Board met with the newly appointed Chairman of the University’s Governing Council, Akyamfour Asafo Boakye Agyemang-Bonsu. As part of a working visit, the Council Chair expressed his intention to familiarize himself with all the Colleges. This visit formed part of his broader effort to gain a deeper understanding of the university’s operations and engage directly with each college.
On May 29, 2025, the College Board met with the newly appointed Chairman of the University’s Governing Council, Akyamfour Asafo Boakye Agyemang-Bonsu, as part of his working visit. During the meeting, the Council Chair emphasized his commitment to familiarizing himself with all Colleges, aiming to gain a deeper understanding of the university’s operations. This visit marked a key step in his broader effort of engaging directly with each college which he hopes will help him his administration of the university activities.
The Provost delivered a detailed presentation to the Council Chair and his team, beginning with the college's history and highlighting its recent initiatives. He emphasized the college’s active contributions to all the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), underscoring its commitment to global sustainability efforts. A standout achievement is the Brew-Hammond Energy Centre’s (TBHEC) leadership in developing Ghana’s Renewable Energy Master Plan, which now serves as a national framework for advancing renewable energy policies and implementation.
The Provost highlighted the college's current structure, comprising three faculties. However, recognizing the significant growth and maturity of certain departments, a proposal has been put forward to expand them to five faculties. This expansion aims to enhance academic specialization and research capacity. He also emphasized the College’s unwavering commitment to research, innovation, and human resource development. To support these priorities, faculty members are provided with opportunities to visit partner universities with advanced infrastructure, helping with high-end research and fostering global academic collaboration.
He also highlighted the College’s recognition of the importance of work-life balance as a strategy to reduce and ultimately prevent burnout. As part of these efforts, the college organized a retreat to Maaha. Additionally, the Provost informed the Council Chair of the college’s ongoing dedication to fundraising, outlining several initiatives undertaken to support its growing needs.
He emphasized the college’s external engagements and strategic partnerships, including faculty internships facilitated by MODEC. He also used the occasion to thank GRIDCo for sponsoring the renovation of the Levine Conference Hall, the venue for the meeting.
The Council Chair expressed his enthusiasm upon hearing about the College’s achievements and ongoing initiatives. He shared that his vision is to move the University “from excellence to elegance.” He observed that the College appears to foster more collaboration than other colleges and emphasized the importance of promoting teamwork over working in silos. He was particularly pleased with the collaborative efforts and the societal impact the College is making.
The Chair also commended the College for its pioneering advancements in AI and firmly stated that he is not "AI-phobic." He stressed that AI should be integrated into every discipline, especially engineering, and that the College must play a key role in the university’s upcoming strategic initiatives.
He made mention of his longstanding connection with The Brew-Hammond Energy Centre, highlighting his early contributions to its development and his support for its climate change agenda. He expressed delight at the Centre’s continued progress.
Raising environmental concerns, the Council Chair underscored the issue of vehicular emissions and presented a challenge to TRECK. He tasked the College with taking the lead in advancing green hydrogen technologies, emphasizing the need to establish a legal and regulatory framework to ensure both safety and feasibility. Once this foundation is in place, he noted, the College can move forward with production efforts, positioning itself at the forefront of sustainable energy innovation.
He proposed that the AI Principal Investigator, Professor Jerry John Kponyo, collaborates with traditional leaders to develop an automated system for transcribing meeting proceedings from local dialects into English for record-keeping purposes. He also remarked that, given the College’s achievements, it is well-positioned to lead intentional interdisciplinary collaborations.
As the visit drew to a close, Nana Asafo Boakye invited suggestions from attendees. A key issue raised was the need to integrate startups and industry professionals into the teaching process. Faculty members acknowledged that involving industry in teaching helps bridge the gap between theory and practice, better preparing students for the demands of the working world.
The council chair expressed his appreciation to the College for their warm reception and brought his visit to an end with a tour of the Innovation Lane.
