Back and Next - Back and NextUTG Vice-Chancellor, Andreas Steigen’s speech
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Your Excellency the President of the Republic of The Gambia, Chancellor of the University of The Gambia,
ALHAGI DR. YAHYA A. J. J JAMMEH
The Vice-President of the Republic of The Gambia,
AJA DR. ISATOU NJIE-SAIDY,
My Lord Chief Justice of The Gambia, Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly,
Honourable Secretary of State for Higher Education, Research, Science & Technology,
Honourable Secretary of State for Basic and Secondary Education,
Other Secretaries of State present,
Honourable Members of the National Assembly,
Secretary General and Head of Civil Service,
Permanent Secretary of the Department of State for Higher Education, Research, Science & Technology,
Permanent Secretary of the Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education,
Other Permanent Secretaries present, Representatives of the UN-system and other international bodies,
Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps,
Venerable Religious Leaders,
Chairman and Members of the Council of the University of The Gambia,
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and University Registrar,
University of The Gambia, Members of Senate,
University of The Gambia, Distinguished Invited Scholars,
All other invitees, Members of the Media.
And last, but not least: COLLEAGUES AND STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE GAMBIA! All protocol respectfully
observed!
Ladies and Gentlemen!
@COMMEMORATION:
Let us first commemorate those who have departed since last convocation:Professor J. O. Mogbo, Professor of Chemistry, Mrs Isatou Barrow, student, Department of Economics and Management, Mr Momodoulamin Ceesay, student, Department of Economics and Management, Mr Kalilu Jaiteh, student, Department of Science and Tecchnology, Mr Ebrima Jallow, student, Department of Economics and Management, Mr Yankuba Jarjue, student, Department of Economics and Management, Mr Saikou Jawara, student, Department of Economics and Management, Mr Joseph Pa Mendy, student, Department of Nursing. MAY THEIR MEMORY BRING YOU COMFORT!
Please raise and join me in one minute of silence.
@INTRO REMARKS:
Convocation day is a milestone in an academic career. It is a day to remember and retain for the graduate’s family and friends. For the graduate it is the first stepping-stone on a life-long career.
For the university proud to educate the candidates, graduation ceremonies are signposts on the academic path towards increased institutional quality, relevance, and social impact.
The graduands presented to you today are our tribute to government and society.
@WELCOME:
It is a pleasure and a privilege to welcome you all to the Fourth Convocation Ceremonies of the University of The Gambia on this 26th day of January in 2008.
A special welcome to the Chancellor of the University of The Gambia, his Excellency the President of the Republic, ALHAGI DR. YAHYA A. J. J JAMMEH, and his spouseas well as the Vice-President, AJA DR. ISATOU NJIE-SAIDY.
@GUESTS TO RECOGNISE:
Please allow me to recognise the following guests:
Professor Sory Camara and his wife from the University of Bordeaux in France
Professor Femi Ojo-Ade from St Mary’s College, Maryland, US
Dr Ebrahim Malik Samba, retired WHO African Regional Director
Mr Mathiew Ndure, retired registrar of WAEC
Eight Norwegians under the leadership of Ms Linda Veraasdal. They are in The Gambia to study responsible tourism.
To all our distinguished guests, scholars and stakeholders, I salute you for responding to our invitation.
@TO THE STUDENTS:
Dear graduands, class of 2007!
Your achievements deserve our compliments. Your academic education has prepared you for working in a society that is rapidly changing. Academic and intellectual skills prepare you to participate in this ongoing transformation, to the benefit of you, your family, and your country.
When you start working to earn your living, you will realise that the quality of work done by people varies a lot. It is a fact that everybody can produce and present quality work.
Whatever work it is. Because quality is a life style. It rarely takes more time or is more expensive. It is just an attitude, just – quality. Aim to be a quality worker!
Future challenges to mankind, Africa, The Gambia, may seem overwhelming. With climate change, population growth, emerging diseases, and so on. But this is how the world has always been. I do not believe that our forefathers and –mothers had an easier life. However, they had very different everyday challenges.
Use your education to work for the common good. Prepare yourself for creativity and wisdom. Be a seeker; look for the new challenges, possibilities, perspectives, and solutions. Work with others because people need people. Common sense is not so common, we all need to develop our creativity to meet a changing and challenging world that require that new solutions are developed and brave decisions made.
@ON UNIVERSITY MATTERS:
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
To day I will concentrate on the ongoing developments at UTG.
This is the fourth convocation in the history of UTG. Today the number of graduates is 176, bringing the total number of graduates up to 649. This year the second batch of medical doctors graduated. With those 12, the total number of educated doctors at the University of The Gambia is 23 so far. This is a fine achievement and indicates that we are on track.
@WHAT A UNIVERSITY IS
A university is a unique institution. Its existence and achievements are built on confidence and confidence only. That is why academic fraud is so severely punished by academia, and a university is so sensitive to false accusations and gossip.
A university is a place to produce science-based knowledge using scientific methods developed and tested over centuries. The institution brings global products of research to society for its scrutiny and use.
Academic freedom entails the right and duty to pursue research using the appropriate methods and to publish your finds. Together with its twin sister, academic responsibility, it is the functional basis of a university.
It entails the right and duty to analyse and criticise what other researchers have published; - and the sometimes very uncomfortable obligation to submit to your peers’ criticism of your publications!
It entails the duty to replace ignorance with sound, testable science-based knowledge.
It gives no right to venture into irrelevant or low quality research for selfish or destructive purposes.
Academic freedom is not the freedom to misuse project funds for other activities than for those they are approved.
Academic freedom is not the freedom to do nothing!
The university is a place to take the brave steps to traverse frontiers of knowledge never crossed before and succeed or fail!
Universities are members of the international academic society. Any university will be critically scrutinised, even academically investigated, by your peers at other universities, whether you are prepared for it or not.
This craves quality control in research and teaching, and autonomy, independence, and integrity in all activities. It is also important to develop a certain academic specialisation and focus. You cannot do everything.
Methodological transparency and accountability and the ability to publish the unexpected and sometimes embarrassing results and conclusions, but also a strong will to admit and correct failures in research. Research results must be presented and published in such a way that they can be controlled and corrected by other researchers.
@A GAMBIAN UNIVERSITY
Every university is special in its own way. What then, is a Gambian University? Can there be an institution uniquely identified as THE University of The Gambia. - Of course, it can!
A Gambian University should be an institution producing knowledge relevant to progress focusing on the improvement of human resources for the development of the nation. In every action, development should be the focal point of attention.
The second focus should be how to get optimum academic quality out of the resources available and increase the quality of the human resources accessible.
This university should give opportunities to all Gambian youths willing, eager, and qualified to go for an academic career.
However, this is not enough:
Our graduates should develop and leave the university with the will to serve the nation, acknowledging that development demand sacrifices.
I am not a historian, but I challenge them to give me one example where a good society was built without sacrifice and its sister virtue solidarity, from those who had something to sacrifice.
In every society, there are those who have been able to collect a variety of privileges for themselves. Many of them are protecting those prerogatives the best they can. They hardly understand or accept that when we are talking about development for all and for the common good, it is to their benefit too.
-------
How can we secure that UTG is a university for Gambian development?
Let me give you some examples on what we are into just now:
@RELEVANCE:
We have taken the first steps towards a curriculum reform looking at content and procedures. In this process, we conferred with some of the stakeholder Departments of State. This will continue and UTG wants to seek collaboration and co-financing to produce candidates well adapted to The Gambia’s needs.
I am a firm believer that it is possible to increase relevance without compromising on academic quality and standards.
@RECRUITMENT:
Last year we started access courses and opened for parallel tracks to the graduate programmes. We intend to go further.
Senate have approved the establishment of a Bridging year from senior secondary school to degree programmes at UTG in collaboration with Gambia College. In partnership with the Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education, we have suggested actions that will strengthen and increase the number of secondary school teachers. It will open for new career tracks for teachers already in the system.
We have suggested measures that within relatively few years can bring the Gambian WASSC exams results to pole position in the Sub-region. This may be done at relatively low cost.
@MASTER PROGRAMMES +
In 2007 UTG started its first Master Degree Programme in African History.
In collaboration with Leeds Metropolitan University, we started a Master Programme in Health Promotion and Environmental Health with students from The Gambia and the Sub-region.
We are to sign a MoU with UniversitÈ de Limoges in France to start a Master Programme in French at UTG.
We are also at an advanced stage in developing a Master in Economics.
I hope to be able to present the upcoming master programmes to Senate for recognition this academic year.
I am also pleased to inform you that we are developing a tailor-made bachelor in accounting and finance in collaboration with the Directorate of Treasury.
@INAUGURATION OF PROFESSORS:
In 2007, the first two professors ever installed in the Gambia gave their inaugural lectures in the presence of the Chancellor, Alhagi Dr. Yahya A. J. J Jammeh. This was a milestone in academia in The Gambia and we expect more professors to follow.
@RESEARCH FOUNDATION
UTG is looking into the possibilities of establishing a research foundation within the university for activities it chooses not to place in the university itself. For instance, consultancies done by staff members, larger interdisciplinary research programmes, administration of strategic programmes, etc. Thus, staff at UTG benefit in their research from the administrative services of the foundation.
UTG has been pledged some funding for competitive research from the World Bank through PCU, and resources for a think tank for development from UNDP.
The foundation can also serve as transitory home for institutes with external funding that later can be reorganised to university departments.
A foundation is a good tool for accountability, quality control and peer review of reports issued in the name of the university.
Within the research foundation, one can develop extensive collaboration with parastatals to bring research out to them.
A developmental university must co-operate with the private sector to be relevant to development. This is one of UTG’s priorities in the coming years. We hope to develop models of collaboration that brings mutual benefits and strength to all partners. This is a challenge UTG is prepared to meet and the establishment of a research foundation is an important tool to facilitate externally financed projects.
@TERTIARY INTEGRATION:
I am pleased to say that our line minister and his ministry, Department of State for Higher Education, Research, Science, and Technology, are strongly committed to a successful tertiary integration.
Integration opens a historic window of opportunities. Complete integration with all tertiary institutions co-located in Faraba Banta will open opportunities nobody ever envisaged.
From other integration processes I have witnessed, I request to give this advice to the Government: "Do not let vested interests hamper integration". A half-hearted attempt to please everybody will fail, even be destructive. A few individuals must not be allowed to weaken, even destroy the integration progression.
And to the integrating institutions: Do not get stuck in never-ending discussions on how to organise. You will have to adjust anyhow. Have the guts to take brave decisions, and if necessary fine-tune and rearrange. Integrate all institutions in Faraba Banta and build a fantastic university!
Harvard, Oxford, Sorbonne is not the yardstick.
Our measuring stick is how the integrated UTG can support and create development in The Gambia and the Sub-Region.
Because of its diversity, the integrated university will be an essential partner to all public and private sectors in the Gambia.
@CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT:
In collaboration with the Department of State for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, GTTI and UTG, a highly respected NGO in Norway, Aktive Fredsreiser ("Travel for Peace" in English), has donated funds to build a house with computer labs, offices and lecture halls at Kanifing.
The construction has started and when completed the NGO will hand the house over to the university. All this money has been collected from private persons in Norway to support the development of The Gambia and UTG.
Last year the Chancellor Alhagi Dr. Yahya A. J. J Jammeh invited the Norwegian architect firm Sn¯hetta to develop a master plan for the campus in Faraba Banta. In a month, this plan will be presented and campus development will enter a new phase.
@STAFF
The members of staff at UTG is not working under optimal conditions. Let me, on behalf on all of us gathered here; thank the staff for their efforts sometimes under difficult circumstances. This goes to all support and administrative staff from the cleaners to the University Registrar, and to the academic staff.
Many things are going on in UTG just now and you have hard times ahead. There is a lot of work to be done to build our institution further. The development of UTG depends on your unconditional support to the institution. The campus in Faraba Banta will give you much better working conditions, but it is what you accomplish before UTG is moved to the new campus that will generate the success of that enterprise.
Let me express special thanks to the part-time staff. Without your efforts, there might not have been a UTG. I hope that the salary increase we were able to give last year shows our dedicated part-timers how much we appreciate their contributions.
@THANKS:
The University continues to receive benefactions from a variety of sources. Principal among these have been:
_ Technical assistance for the Medical Programme from the Government of Cuba
_ Support from WHO to the School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences
_ Colleagues from several teaching hospitals and universities in the Sub-region and beyond have rendered services to the Medical School
_ Research grants to members of staff from CODESRIA and WHO
_ GPPC (Gambia Printing and Publishing Corporation) former known as BPMRU, Gambia College/School of nursing, GTTI, MDI, MRC, ITC (Classrooms and labs)
_ Republic of China, Taiwan (Scholarships and computers)
_ The support we get from PADEF is highly appreciated
_ Sabre Foundation and the Foundation for West Africa donated 15000 scientific books and text-books, very generously mediated by:
_ GAWFA Gambia Women’s Financial Association
_ Trust Bank is very supportive and facilitates in the collection of tuition fees from our students
_ Let me also thank our line ministry, the Department of State for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, for their efforts and encouragement.
_ Let me convey thanks to Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education and all the other Departments of State that have supported UTG
_ Let me not forget to thank GRTS who so generously gives us time on the air.
Special thanks goes to our integration partner, MDI. UTG spends a lot of money on renting lecture rooms, but thanks to generous help from MDI’s management, this cost is now reduced. Let me explicitly mention Alieu Tarju who has been instrumental in this respect.
I seize this opportunity to convey our profound thanks and appreciation to parastatals, institutions and individuals who have donated generously towards the funding of the convocation ceremonies. They are all mentioned in the Convocation Book. Let me; however, inform you that the Chancellor himself donated almost 2/3 of the cost of the convocation ceremonies. He has also pledged to do this in the coming years!
Thank you all for your generosity!
We want to be good receivers of gifts. And if we are not always up to it, I apologise. UTG is a small institution, and we have to work in sequence, do one thing at a time. We are not staffed to work in parallel.
CONCLUSION:
Before I finish I will convey personal thanks to the Chancellor of the University of The Gambia, His Excellency the President of the Republic of The Gambia, Alhagi Dr. Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh for his steadfast devotion and support to UTG and our students.
It takes time, patience, and commitment to develop a university; it is expensive and craves continuous government support to be sustainable. For each step up in quality, investments and running cost increases exponentially. Nevertheless, there is no alternative to a high-quality national academic institution.
It is my strong conviction that UTG now has reached a stage in its development when it can take off. However, it craves that all stakeholders increase their support to the university. I encourage all parents to send their children to the University of The Gambia. Especially those who can afford to send them abroad. It is an important signal of confidence that will strengthen the young institution.
The Chancellor has pledged 15 professorships to the university. In my opinion, this is the most important event since UTG was established. It will boost quality in education and research. It will make it possible to reinforce activities meeting national needs. It will expose the university nationally and internationally.
This injection of academic competence will change the university entirely. In the context of the integration, the 15 professorships are even more significant. I hope it will encourage private institutions to donate the same number of professorships to UTG in the coming years as needs are acknowledged.
For any university the support and interest in the institution by the Head of State is a principal asset. I feel confident that the relationships based on mutual respect between State House and UTG will continue and develop further.
Your Excellency, as Chancellor you are not only rendering oral support to the UTG. You also support the institution and our students through magnanimous personal contributions and scholarships. This is paramount for the development of the institution.
As Vice-Chancellor of the University of The Gambia I thank you for this!
Thank you all for your attention!
as 25.01.08
ALHAGI DR. YAHYA A. J. J JAMMEH
The Vice-President of the Republic of The Gambia,
AJA DR. ISATOU NJIE-SAIDY,
My Lord Chief Justice of The Gambia, Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly,
Honourable Secretary of State for Higher Education, Research, Science & Technology,
Honourable Secretary of State for Basic and Secondary Education,
Other Secretaries of State present,
Honourable Members of the National Assembly,
Secretary General and Head of Civil Service,
Permanent Secretary of the Department of State for Higher Education, Research, Science & Technology,
Permanent Secretary of the Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education,
Other Permanent Secretaries present, Representatives of the UN-system and other international bodies,
Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps,
Venerable Religious Leaders,
Chairman and Members of the Council of the University of The Gambia,
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and University Registrar,
University of The Gambia, Members of Senate,
University of The Gambia, Distinguished Invited Scholars,
All other invitees, Members of the Media.
And last, but not least: COLLEAGUES AND STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE GAMBIA! All protocol respectfully
observed!
Ladies and Gentlemen!
@COMMEMORATION:
Let us first commemorate those who have departed since last convocation:Professor J. O. Mogbo, Professor of Chemistry, Mrs Isatou Barrow, student, Department of Economics and Management, Mr Momodoulamin Ceesay, student, Department of Economics and Management, Mr Kalilu Jaiteh, student, Department of Science and Tecchnology, Mr Ebrima Jallow, student, Department of Economics and Management, Mr Yankuba Jarjue, student, Department of Economics and Management, Mr Saikou Jawara, student, Department of Economics and Management, Mr Joseph Pa Mendy, student, Department of Nursing. MAY THEIR MEMORY BRING YOU COMFORT!
Please raise and join me in one minute of silence.
@INTRO REMARKS:
Convocation day is a milestone in an academic career. It is a day to remember and retain for the graduate’s family and friends. For the graduate it is the first stepping-stone on a life-long career.
For the university proud to educate the candidates, graduation ceremonies are signposts on the academic path towards increased institutional quality, relevance, and social impact.
The graduands presented to you today are our tribute to government and society.
@WELCOME:
It is a pleasure and a privilege to welcome you all to the Fourth Convocation Ceremonies of the University of The Gambia on this 26th day of January in 2008.
A special welcome to the Chancellor of the University of The Gambia, his Excellency the President of the Republic, ALHAGI DR. YAHYA A. J. J JAMMEH, and his spouseas well as the Vice-President, AJA DR. ISATOU NJIE-SAIDY.
@GUESTS TO RECOGNISE:
Please allow me to recognise the following guests:
Professor Sory Camara and his wife from the University of Bordeaux in France
Professor Femi Ojo-Ade from St Mary’s College, Maryland, US
Dr Ebrahim Malik Samba, retired WHO African Regional Director
Mr Mathiew Ndure, retired registrar of WAEC
Eight Norwegians under the leadership of Ms Linda Veraasdal. They are in The Gambia to study responsible tourism.
To all our distinguished guests, scholars and stakeholders, I salute you for responding to our invitation.
@TO THE STUDENTS:
Dear graduands, class of 2007!
Your achievements deserve our compliments. Your academic education has prepared you for working in a society that is rapidly changing. Academic and intellectual skills prepare you to participate in this ongoing transformation, to the benefit of you, your family, and your country.
When you start working to earn your living, you will realise that the quality of work done by people varies a lot. It is a fact that everybody can produce and present quality work.
Whatever work it is. Because quality is a life style. It rarely takes more time or is more expensive. It is just an attitude, just – quality. Aim to be a quality worker!
Future challenges to mankind, Africa, The Gambia, may seem overwhelming. With climate change, population growth, emerging diseases, and so on. But this is how the world has always been. I do not believe that our forefathers and –mothers had an easier life. However, they had very different everyday challenges.
Use your education to work for the common good. Prepare yourself for creativity and wisdom. Be a seeker; look for the new challenges, possibilities, perspectives, and solutions. Work with others because people need people. Common sense is not so common, we all need to develop our creativity to meet a changing and challenging world that require that new solutions are developed and brave decisions made.
@ON UNIVERSITY MATTERS:
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
To day I will concentrate on the ongoing developments at UTG.
This is the fourth convocation in the history of UTG. Today the number of graduates is 176, bringing the total number of graduates up to 649. This year the second batch of medical doctors graduated. With those 12, the total number of educated doctors at the University of The Gambia is 23 so far. This is a fine achievement and indicates that we are on track.
@WHAT A UNIVERSITY IS
A university is a unique institution. Its existence and achievements are built on confidence and confidence only. That is why academic fraud is so severely punished by academia, and a university is so sensitive to false accusations and gossip.
A university is a place to produce science-based knowledge using scientific methods developed and tested over centuries. The institution brings global products of research to society for its scrutiny and use.
Academic freedom entails the right and duty to pursue research using the appropriate methods and to publish your finds. Together with its twin sister, academic responsibility, it is the functional basis of a university.
It entails the right and duty to analyse and criticise what other researchers have published; - and the sometimes very uncomfortable obligation to submit to your peers’ criticism of your publications!
It entails the duty to replace ignorance with sound, testable science-based knowledge.
It gives no right to venture into irrelevant or low quality research for selfish or destructive purposes.
Academic freedom is not the freedom to misuse project funds for other activities than for those they are approved.
Academic freedom is not the freedom to do nothing!
The university is a place to take the brave steps to traverse frontiers of knowledge never crossed before and succeed or fail!
Universities are members of the international academic society. Any university will be critically scrutinised, even academically investigated, by your peers at other universities, whether you are prepared for it or not.
This craves quality control in research and teaching, and autonomy, independence, and integrity in all activities. It is also important to develop a certain academic specialisation and focus. You cannot do everything.
Methodological transparency and accountability and the ability to publish the unexpected and sometimes embarrassing results and conclusions, but also a strong will to admit and correct failures in research. Research results must be presented and published in such a way that they can be controlled and corrected by other researchers.
@A GAMBIAN UNIVERSITY
Every university is special in its own way. What then, is a Gambian University? Can there be an institution uniquely identified as THE University of The Gambia. - Of course, it can!
A Gambian University should be an institution producing knowledge relevant to progress focusing on the improvement of human resources for the development of the nation. In every action, development should be the focal point of attention.
The second focus should be how to get optimum academic quality out of the resources available and increase the quality of the human resources accessible.
This university should give opportunities to all Gambian youths willing, eager, and qualified to go for an academic career.
However, this is not enough:
Our graduates should develop and leave the university with the will to serve the nation, acknowledging that development demand sacrifices.
I am not a historian, but I challenge them to give me one example where a good society was built without sacrifice and its sister virtue solidarity, from those who had something to sacrifice.
In every society, there are those who have been able to collect a variety of privileges for themselves. Many of them are protecting those prerogatives the best they can. They hardly understand or accept that when we are talking about development for all and for the common good, it is to their benefit too.
-------
How can we secure that UTG is a university for Gambian development?
Let me give you some examples on what we are into just now:
@RELEVANCE:
We have taken the first steps towards a curriculum reform looking at content and procedures. In this process, we conferred with some of the stakeholder Departments of State. This will continue and UTG wants to seek collaboration and co-financing to produce candidates well adapted to The Gambia’s needs.
I am a firm believer that it is possible to increase relevance without compromising on academic quality and standards.
@RECRUITMENT:
Last year we started access courses and opened for parallel tracks to the graduate programmes. We intend to go further.
Senate have approved the establishment of a Bridging year from senior secondary school to degree programmes at UTG in collaboration with Gambia College. In partnership with the Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education, we have suggested actions that will strengthen and increase the number of secondary school teachers. It will open for new career tracks for teachers already in the system.
We have suggested measures that within relatively few years can bring the Gambian WASSC exams results to pole position in the Sub-region. This may be done at relatively low cost.
@MASTER PROGRAMMES +
In 2007 UTG started its first Master Degree Programme in African History.
In collaboration with Leeds Metropolitan University, we started a Master Programme in Health Promotion and Environmental Health with students from The Gambia and the Sub-region.
We are to sign a MoU with UniversitÈ de Limoges in France to start a Master Programme in French at UTG.
We are also at an advanced stage in developing a Master in Economics.
I hope to be able to present the upcoming master programmes to Senate for recognition this academic year.
I am also pleased to inform you that we are developing a tailor-made bachelor in accounting and finance in collaboration with the Directorate of Treasury.
@INAUGURATION OF PROFESSORS:
In 2007, the first two professors ever installed in the Gambia gave their inaugural lectures in the presence of the Chancellor, Alhagi Dr. Yahya A. J. J Jammeh. This was a milestone in academia in The Gambia and we expect more professors to follow.
@RESEARCH FOUNDATION
UTG is looking into the possibilities of establishing a research foundation within the university for activities it chooses not to place in the university itself. For instance, consultancies done by staff members, larger interdisciplinary research programmes, administration of strategic programmes, etc. Thus, staff at UTG benefit in their research from the administrative services of the foundation.
UTG has been pledged some funding for competitive research from the World Bank through PCU, and resources for a think tank for development from UNDP.
The foundation can also serve as transitory home for institutes with external funding that later can be reorganised to university departments.
A foundation is a good tool for accountability, quality control and peer review of reports issued in the name of the university.
Within the research foundation, one can develop extensive collaboration with parastatals to bring research out to them.
A developmental university must co-operate with the private sector to be relevant to development. This is one of UTG’s priorities in the coming years. We hope to develop models of collaboration that brings mutual benefits and strength to all partners. This is a challenge UTG is prepared to meet and the establishment of a research foundation is an important tool to facilitate externally financed projects.
@TERTIARY INTEGRATION:
I am pleased to say that our line minister and his ministry, Department of State for Higher Education, Research, Science, and Technology, are strongly committed to a successful tertiary integration.
Integration opens a historic window of opportunities. Complete integration with all tertiary institutions co-located in Faraba Banta will open opportunities nobody ever envisaged.
From other integration processes I have witnessed, I request to give this advice to the Government: "Do not let vested interests hamper integration". A half-hearted attempt to please everybody will fail, even be destructive. A few individuals must not be allowed to weaken, even destroy the integration progression.
And to the integrating institutions: Do not get stuck in never-ending discussions on how to organise. You will have to adjust anyhow. Have the guts to take brave decisions, and if necessary fine-tune and rearrange. Integrate all institutions in Faraba Banta and build a fantastic university!
Harvard, Oxford, Sorbonne is not the yardstick.
Our measuring stick is how the integrated UTG can support and create development in The Gambia and the Sub-Region.
Because of its diversity, the integrated university will be an essential partner to all public and private sectors in the Gambia.
@CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT:
In collaboration with the Department of State for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, GTTI and UTG, a highly respected NGO in Norway, Aktive Fredsreiser ("Travel for Peace" in English), has donated funds to build a house with computer labs, offices and lecture halls at Kanifing.
The construction has started and when completed the NGO will hand the house over to the university. All this money has been collected from private persons in Norway to support the development of The Gambia and UTG.
Last year the Chancellor Alhagi Dr. Yahya A. J. J Jammeh invited the Norwegian architect firm Sn¯hetta to develop a master plan for the campus in Faraba Banta. In a month, this plan will be presented and campus development will enter a new phase.
@STAFF
The members of staff at UTG is not working under optimal conditions. Let me, on behalf on all of us gathered here; thank the staff for their efforts sometimes under difficult circumstances. This goes to all support and administrative staff from the cleaners to the University Registrar, and to the academic staff.
Many things are going on in UTG just now and you have hard times ahead. There is a lot of work to be done to build our institution further. The development of UTG depends on your unconditional support to the institution. The campus in Faraba Banta will give you much better working conditions, but it is what you accomplish before UTG is moved to the new campus that will generate the success of that enterprise.
Let me express special thanks to the part-time staff. Without your efforts, there might not have been a UTG. I hope that the salary increase we were able to give last year shows our dedicated part-timers how much we appreciate their contributions.
@THANKS:
The University continues to receive benefactions from a variety of sources. Principal among these have been:
_ Technical assistance for the Medical Programme from the Government of Cuba
_ Support from WHO to the School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences
_ Colleagues from several teaching hospitals and universities in the Sub-region and beyond have rendered services to the Medical School
_ Research grants to members of staff from CODESRIA and WHO
_ GPPC (Gambia Printing and Publishing Corporation) former known as BPMRU, Gambia College/School of nursing, GTTI, MDI, MRC, ITC (Classrooms and labs)
_ Republic of China, Taiwan (Scholarships and computers)
_ The support we get from PADEF is highly appreciated
_ Sabre Foundation and the Foundation for West Africa donated 15000 scientific books and text-books, very generously mediated by:
_ GAWFA Gambia Women’s Financial Association
_ Trust Bank is very supportive and facilitates in the collection of tuition fees from our students
_ Let me also thank our line ministry, the Department of State for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, for their efforts and encouragement.
_ Let me convey thanks to Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education and all the other Departments of State that have supported UTG
_ Let me not forget to thank GRTS who so generously gives us time on the air.
Special thanks goes to our integration partner, MDI. UTG spends a lot of money on renting lecture rooms, but thanks to generous help from MDI’s management, this cost is now reduced. Let me explicitly mention Alieu Tarju who has been instrumental in this respect.
I seize this opportunity to convey our profound thanks and appreciation to parastatals, institutions and individuals who have donated generously towards the funding of the convocation ceremonies. They are all mentioned in the Convocation Book. Let me; however, inform you that the Chancellor himself donated almost 2/3 of the cost of the convocation ceremonies. He has also pledged to do this in the coming years!
Thank you all for your generosity!
We want to be good receivers of gifts. And if we are not always up to it, I apologise. UTG is a small institution, and we have to work in sequence, do one thing at a time. We are not staffed to work in parallel.
CONCLUSION:
Before I finish I will convey personal thanks to the Chancellor of the University of The Gambia, His Excellency the President of the Republic of The Gambia, Alhagi Dr. Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh for his steadfast devotion and support to UTG and our students.
It takes time, patience, and commitment to develop a university; it is expensive and craves continuous government support to be sustainable. For each step up in quality, investments and running cost increases exponentially. Nevertheless, there is no alternative to a high-quality national academic institution.
It is my strong conviction that UTG now has reached a stage in its development when it can take off. However, it craves that all stakeholders increase their support to the university. I encourage all parents to send their children to the University of The Gambia. Especially those who can afford to send them abroad. It is an important signal of confidence that will strengthen the young institution.
The Chancellor has pledged 15 professorships to the university. In my opinion, this is the most important event since UTG was established. It will boost quality in education and research. It will make it possible to reinforce activities meeting national needs. It will expose the university nationally and internationally.
This injection of academic competence will change the university entirely. In the context of the integration, the 15 professorships are even more significant. I hope it will encourage private institutions to donate the same number of professorships to UTG in the coming years as needs are acknowledged.
For any university the support and interest in the institution by the Head of State is a principal asset. I feel confident that the relationships based on mutual respect between State House and UTG will continue and develop further.
Your Excellency, as Chancellor you are not only rendering oral support to the UTG. You also support the institution and our students through magnanimous personal contributions and scholarships. This is paramount for the development of the institution.
As Vice-Chancellor of the University of The Gambia I thank you for this!
Thank you all for your attention!
as 25.01.08
Author: DO
See Also - See Also