The role that universities and research institutions play in the advancement of technology in Ghana is exactly what the Department of Computing Sciences and Engineering of VVU is offering. VVU provides intelligent, knowledge and value based system of higher education that equip students with the capacity to analyse problems and provide realistic theoretical and pragmatic solutions. These projects have been showcased at different exhibitions in VVU and many think tanks have been engaged in round table discussions and public lectures to bring to the fore suggestions that are relevant in addressing Ghana’s challenges with respect to technology.
In the Department, the annual Information, Communication Technology (ICT) exposition, initiated by Prof. Clement Dzidonu, former Head of Department of Computer Science at VVU and current President of Accra Institute of Technology (AIT) in 2005 has seen many cutting-edge projects that are of national interest. Notable among the projects that have been adopted or adapted are: Arms and Ammunition Allocation; Monitoring and Control System for West Africa ALLinWad Church Management System for the Seventh-Day Adventist Church; and the Port and Container Rent Management System in Takoradi Habour. Other projects worth mentioning that provide national solutions, that would be of interest to Government in her quest to digitize the economy are as follows: A Secured E-voting System for Ghana; Online Road Safety Management System; Census Management System; Church System (All In West-Central Division Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church); Transportation Management System; Ghana Post Management System; The Fuel Identification Systems Oil Refineries; Online Payment Portal; and A research based on Fire Alert Communication System(Case Study: Ghana National Fire Service).
Over the years, VVU has been running on generic Information System solutions developed by its own graduates in the areas of School Management, Hostel Management, Human Resource Management, Transport Management, Hospital Management, Financial Management, and Cafeteria Management.
The enterprising faculty that have engineered these innovative researched projects have been Dominic D. Damoah, Henry Quarshie, Kofi Sarpong Adu-Manu, John Kingsley Arthur, Ronky Francis Doh, Joseph Abandoh-Sam, Prince Y.O. Amoako, Ebenezer Laryea, and Winfred Larkotey. The rest are Robert Akpalu, George Laryea, Charles Adjetey, Edward Danso Ansong, Isaac Wiafe, Abraham Bamfo Boakye, Lewis Maxwell Selby, Emmanuel Prah, and Kwaw Annan. The faculty has worked tirelessly with students over the decade to develop the dexterity of students in research projects and capacity building for technology competencies.
Among the key personalities who have attended the previous exhibition are Mr. Ernest Attuquaye Armah, Former Deputy Minister Communications and Member of Parliament for Trobu-Amasaman; The late Prof Kofi Awoonor, Chairman, Council of State; Dr. Ferdinand Katsriku, Head of Computer Science Department, University of Ghana; Dr. Jamal Deen Jamal; Director, PhD Programmes University of Ghana; Hon. Benjamin Aggrey-Ntim, former Min. of Communications; Hon. D. A. Nii Noi Adumuah former Adentan MCE; Dr. Samuel Somuah former D. G. GICTD.
This year marked the 10th edition of the ICT EXPO 2017 under the theme “LEADING THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION IN GHANA”. The theme was carefully chosen to be in-line with government’s vision of digitizing most government services and our national life. The event was held at the Seth Laryea Multi-purpose Centre at VVU on the 8th of December, 2017. The following hardware and software solutions were presented by our own students.
- Soil Nutrients Indicatory and Advisory System
- SMS Based LPG Weight and Leakage Detection system
- Augmented Reality Video Game on Recycling for kids
- GPS based road traffic sign detection
- Smart Irrigation Using Raspberry Pi
- Robotic Prosthetic Leg
- Electrical Energy Consumption Regulatory System
- An E-classroom for JHS and SHS based on GES curriculum
- Design and implementation of an opinion mining based product evaluation
The exhibition was chaired by Prof. Benjamin Aggrey-Ntim former Minister of Communication. The Guest Speaker for the function was Mr. Abudu Abdul Ganiyu who represented Prof. Ken Attafuah of National Identification Authority(NIA). Also, the panel of judges who presided over this year’s competition were Dr. Ferdinand Katsriku, Dr. Jamal-Deen Abdulai from of the University of Ghana, and Prof. Aggrey-Ntim doubling as the lead judge.
Prof. Aggrey-Ntim in his opening address mentioned that the future of technology was Artificial Intelligence and Robotics and so called on all researchers, faculty, and students to pay attention to these areas. The Guest Speaker, Mr. Ganiyu also reiterated that the level of achievement with technology by the citizen of a nation was an indication of their economic development. In other words, the more the integration of technology, the better the economy.
Presenters at the event were engaged in a harmonious and intellectual competition. The ultimate prize was won by Benedict Acka Boakye whose research project was supervised by Mr. John Kingsley Arthur a lecturer of the Information Technology Department, VVU. Benedict developed an intelligent system using a Micro controller board with GSM to detect the level of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium in the soil and advice farmers on which crop is more appropriate to be grown. The second prize was won by Prophet Elijah whose research project was supervised by Kofi Sarpong Adu-Manu. Elijah used micro controller board with GSM and a prototype of pre-paid meter to help buy and share with families and friends ECG credits. The third prize was also won by Bill Frimpong whose research project was supervised by Dominic Damoah, a senior lecturer of the Computer Science Department. Bill designed an efficient prosthetic leg with gyroscope and Adriano board which creates a better balance and minimal human energy requirement for movement by amputees.
It is obvious that the tremendous and enormous effort by the Departments of Computing Sciences, and Engineering in training the manpower necessary for achieving our national goals of digitization is yielding positive results. At this point we wish to call on the Government, the public, and private organizations to partner with the University to propel these innovative and creative prototyped solutions to real implementations. This in no doubt will improve the economy of Ghana. We also seize this opportunity to ask parents and wards to consider Valley View University first, when seeking admissions in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering and related programmes.
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