UESD holds 5th matriculation ceremony

The University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) at Somanya in the Yilo Krobo Municipality in the Eastern Region has held its fifth matriculation for 455 newly admitted students made up of 229 males and 226 females. 

The matriculants, who were admitted into the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences and the School of Sustainable Development as junior members into the university’s academically and socially stimulating community, pledged their allegiance to the authority of the university through a matriculation oath and the honour code of the university.

The Vice-Chancellor of the UESD, Prof. Eric Nyarko-Sampson, in his address, said the admission of the new students showed a steady rise in fresh men and women from 78 in January 2021 when the university was established.

He said with the accreditation of new career and market-oriented academic programmes, he was confident that the university would see an increase in numbers in the coming academic years, and therefore, called on the government to help complete the phase two project of the university, including the administration building, in order to create enough spaces and working tools for the university.

Vision, mission

Prof. Nyarko-Sampson stated that the vision of the university was to be a centre of excellence in knowledge gathering and dissemination in the area of environment for public good, which leads to the mission to produce graduates who are well equipped with relevant knowledge and skills to be agents of change in the environment and sustainable development.

To the students, the Vice-Chancellor said talent and luck might just happen to anyone by chance, but learning was a skill and practice that could be accomplished with diligence, adding “what you will become in future depends on how well you take your chances in life.”

He, therefore, urged them to be adventurous, innovative, use their time in creative ventures, dare to think outside the box, continue to dream big and above all they should not be afraid to take initiatives even when they made mistakes.

Entrepreneurship  

Prof. Nyarko-Sampson said as the students started the pursuit of their formal academic life in the university, they must be thinking about how to inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurship into their academic life.

“You are strongly reminded to be determined never to graduate from UESD after four good years, only to join the association of unemployed graduates in Ghana.

You must dare to start thinking about a business idea today, even when you think you have knowledge to become an entrepreneur,” he stressed.  

Two of the matriculants, Christabel Owusu Boahin, and Andrews Asante Addai, who spoke on behalf of the students, said the world faced unprecedented environmental challenges from the looming threat of climate change to the pervasive issue of pollution and depletion of vital resources and the UESD is the place where they could acquire knowledge and innovation to address the challenges.

“This university will equip us with knowledge and skills necessary to become analysts for change in the realm of environment and sustainable development,” they said.

The students drew the attention to some challenges they started encountering as fresh men and women, which included the scarcity of essential facilities such as commercial areas, hostels, sports complexes and benches for relaxation, and urged the administration to take steps to address those needs, which would significantly enhance their social interactions and their overall well-being in the university.