The University of Environment and Sustainable Development, (UESD), visited Management of the Energy Commission., on Thursday, 1st July, 2021 at its Headquarters in Accra as part of its schedule to engage with stakeholders in the areas of energy and the environment.
The five member team from the School of Sustainable Development, SSD, which has Prof. Anthony Amoah as the Acting Dean included, Dr. Sam-Quarcoo Dotse, Head of the Department of Energy Sustainability and Economics. They were welcomed by the Director in charge of Technical Regulation of Electricity/ NG, of the Commission, Mr. Tony Blebo, who spoke on behalf of the CEO, Dr. Kow Joseph Essandoh-Yeddu. He was in the company of two other officers. The meeting washeld at the Conference room of the Commission.
Explaining the purpose of the visit, the Head of the delegation from UESD, Prof. Anthony Amoah said, the University considers the participation of industry players in the training of students very crucial. This is to ensure that graduates produced by the University are equipped theoretically and practical in their areas of study, especially within the energy sector. It is for this reason that the University is seeking partnership with the Energy Commission in four areas; namely, internship, data sharing and research collaborations, curriculum review and partnership in expertise transfer through teaching and exchange programmes.
After his submission, the Head of the Department of Energy Sustainability and Economics of the UESD, Dr. Sam-Quarcoo Dotse presented a brief power point presentation on the UESD and the programmes in his Department. He touched on the location of the University, the vision, mission, core values, and the programmes- with emphasis on the Department of Sustainable Energy and Resource, (DSER), which falls under the purview of the Energy Commission. He stated the programmes as; BSc. Energy and Resource Economics, BSc. Energy Sustainability, BSc. Environmental Economics and Policy, BSc. Sustainable Development, BSc. Water Resources Development and BSc. Aquaculture Resources Management.
On teaching and exchange programmes partnership, Dr. Dotse said, the two institutions can occasionally have staff cross carpets from industry to academia and from academia to industry. This, he believes will help persons in industry impart practical experiences to the students during lectures, seminars and symposia. He said Lecturers also can move into industry during sabbatical in exchange for industry experience for the classroom.
Dr. Dotse also threw more light on the proposed curriculum review partnership. He said, this is to give room for industry players like the Energy Commission to have a say in the courses, their significance and course content. This will give the University a direct feedback into the growing trends in industry.
On research and data sharing, Dr. Dotse said, the UESD is an institution rich in professional researchers who are ready to be consulted on any research projects and so both institutions can undertake joint research projects with its scholars. He also requested for internship for its students.
Dr. Dotse stressed that all the partnership areas mentioned were strategically designed to ensure that the students who graduated from the University were imparted with the full complement of both theoretical and practical knowledge to be able to identify real time problems and prescribe lasting solution.
In response, Mr. Blebo welcomed the proposal from the University of Environment and Sustainable Development, (UESD) to partner with the Commission in areas that are of mutual benefit to them, because there are opportunities to partner in the areas mentioned.
He said currently, the Commission is in partnership with a number of institutions like the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA and the Ghana Standards Authority, GSA, and it is glad the UESD is joining its fold.
Mr. Blebo, welcomed a Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions that will ensure that all the proposed partnerships are detailed and properly streamlined for maximum performance and realisation of set goals. He therefore urged the UESD to present a proposal as soon as possible.
He indicated that the Commission was fully interested in all the partnership proposals put forward by the University and would do all in their power to ensure that the relationship built between the two institutions is maintained for mutual benefit.
Mr Blebo shared the core mandate of the Energy Commission with the UESD team. This includes to: regulate and manage the development and utilization of energy resources in Ghana as well as to provide the legal, regulatory and supervisory framework for all providers of energy in the country, specifically by granting licenses for the transmission, wholesale, supply, distribution and sale of electricity and natural gas and related matters. He also spelt out the three key functions of the Commission; Regulatory, Energy Efficiency as well as Planning and Policy, including serving as the government’s energy policy adviser. The rest of the UESD team at the meeting were Dr. Michael Amfo-Otu, Head of the Academic Planning and Quality Assurance Unit and Mr. Daniel Ofori-Mintah Head of Community Engagement, Projects and Innovations Unit. From the Energy Commission side were: Mr. Salifu Addo, Director of Planning, Policy, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation (PPRM & E) and Mr. Simpson Attieku Principal Programmes officer, Energy Economics and Analyst.