The University of Ghana today joined Google’s initiative, Google Apps Supporting Programs (GASP) at a short ceremony at Legon. The launch which was attended by university officials, faculty members, administrators, staff and students of the university, was performed by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ernest Aryeetey. In his address, Prof. Aryeetey said that through this, the University hopes to be partnering with cutting-edge technologists to provide the most innovative technologies available and which will ultimately enable students to better handle new technology when they move on to the world of work. He was hopeful that the students, the immediate beneficiaries of the first phase of the programme, will maximize the opportunity this presents.
Earlier in his introductory remarks, the Interim Chief Information Technology Officer of the University of Ghana Computing Systems (UGCS), Dr. Sam Somuah, noted that with the Google Apps initiative, University of Ghana students now have a platform that offers the best integration opportunities, scalability and user-friendliness. Dr. Somuah also revealed that Google has also provided an Infrastructure Grant in an agreement worth GH¢186,977.70
Ms. Estelle Akofio-Sowah, Google Ghana Country Manger in her remarks said that Google is desirous to get more Ghanaian students online by improving access to the internet and helping universities to take advantage of the internet’s many opportunities. She applauded the University of Ghana for being the first institution in Ghana to join this platform and said all students will now have access to a lifetime email address and 25 GB of storage space. Ms. Akofio-Sowah also demonstrated to the excitement of participants, a live Google ‘hang-out’ session during which she interacted with two Google management staff in Mauritius and the United Kingdom.
Recalling the journey that had ultimately resulted in today’s programme, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Academic & Student Affairs, Prof. Kweku Osam applauded all who had worked towards this and singled out Ms. Ama Dadson of the UGCS for her passionate plea for the University to join the initiative. He was happy that with the collective resolve and hard work of the entire team at the UGCS, history was being made today.
Prof. Chris Gordon, Acting Director of the Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies (IESS), who spoke on the “Potential of Google Apps for UG Campus and Classrooms”, said the IESS accepted the challenge to act as “guinea pig” for the pilot stage. He noted that there has been considerable change in the way students interact with the world as well as in the availability of technology that can access the web. He added that this had led to a situation where everyone can be a creator and consumer of web content, which he said provides increased opportunities for collaboration.
Prof. Gordon said that even though there are positive and negative factors likely to influence the uptake of Google Apps, the University can look at ways of accessing these and take advantage of Google Apps, for example in curriculum development, in lecturer-student interaction and in class exercises. He cautioned users of releasing too much personal information, arguing that this could sometimes be misused.
Three Google Student Representatives of the University of Ghana spoke about their experiences as Google Ambassadors, highlighting the numerous benefits that students stood to gain from the GASP platform, for example, research and other assignments and applications.
Johnson Azorlibu and Isaac Kofi Mensah were adjudged the winners of the Trivia Contest organized as part of the event. Google also gave out memorabilia to those who had earlier registered as well as those who attended the programme.
The University of Ghana joins Vaal University of Technology, the University of Free State and the University of Johannesburg amongst other Universities in Africa to “go Google’. So far, Google Apps for Education has been deployed in over 30 universities not only across sub-Saharan Africa, but also in the United States of America.
The programme provides the Google Apps for Education suite, comprising email, drive, calendar, groups, documents and sites, and strengthens existing ICT services of participating universities through a combination of infrastructure grants, technical consulting and training.
