The Chairman of the Governing Council of Sunyani Technical University (STU), Prof. Samuel Awuah-Nyamekye, has called on graduating students to harness their skills for entrepreneurship and national development, urging them to embrace innovation and bold enterprise creation as they transition into the world of work.
He made the call during the University’s 18th Congregation Ceremony held on Friday, December 12, 2025, at the Nsiah-Gyabaa Auditorium.
Delivering his address, Prof. Awuah-Nyamekye said the theme for this year’s ceremony, “Sustainable Skills Development for Global Job Creation and Employability,” reflects a global shift from credential-based education to competency-driven learning that meets the demands of an increasingly digital, interconnected economy.
He noted that STU’s newly approved Strategic Plan (2026–2030) is fully anchored on the Education 5.0 model, which emphasizes innovation, industrialization, and the integration of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality into teaching and learning.
According to him, the framework expands the traditional university mandate of teaching, research, and community service to include innovation and industrialization, with the goal of nurturing “future technology and entrepreneurial giants.”
Education 5.0, he explained, aligns with global trends that demand human-centered, technology-integrated, and socially impactful skills necessary for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Translate skills into enterprise
Prof. Awuah-Nyamekye urged the graduates not to leave their skills idle but to transform them into businesses that can address real challenges in their communities. “You don’t need millions to start,” he said, citing global enterprises like Microsoft and Airbnb, which began in modest settings.
He encouraged graduates to identify pressing local needs, such as renewable energy, digital solutions for small enterprises, and affordable agricultural technologies, and develop innovations that can serve these gaps.
He further emphasized the importance of partnerships and mentorship, adding that STU’s Business Incubation Centre, alumni networks, and industry partners remain ready to support graduates. “No great enterprise is built alone,” he stressed.
STU Appeals Board
The Council Chairman also announced the inauguration of a five-member STU Appeals Board on December 10, 2025. The Board, he said, will hear staff promotion appeals, employment-related disputes, and student grievances.
He noted that all staff and student concerns must now be addressed by the Appeals Board before proceeding to any external legal system.
Land encroachment, staffing challenges
Prof. Awuah-Nyamekye expressed deep concern over ongoing encroachment on the University’s land, revealing that 35 out of STU’s 163 acres have been taken over by encroachers and warned that the University would soon take necessary action to reclaim the land, insisting that the encroachers “are merely squatters.”
He also appealed to the government for urgent financial clearance to recruit more lecturers. The University, he explained, is grappling with a high attrition rate and expanding academic programmes, resulting in student-to-lecturer ratios exceeding Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) standards.
A Charge to the graduating class
In an inspiring message to the 2025 graduating cohort, Prof. Awuah-Nyamekye challenged them to become innovators and problem-solvers rather than passive job seekers. “Ghana does not lack opportunities; it lacks bold young innovators willing to seize them,” he declared.
He encouraged the graduates to dream big, start small, and build solutions that can create jobs for others.
“The future belongs to those who can transform ideas into impact,” he said, reminding them that they represent a generation equipped to convert local challenges into global solutions.
Prof. Awuah-Nyamekye concluded by affirming the Council’s pride in the achievements of the graduands, urging them to step confidently into the world and contribute meaningfully to society: “Let your journey be defined not by what you expect the world to give you, but by what you choose to create for the world.”
For his part, the Vice-Chancellor of Sunyani Technical University (STU), Ing. Prof. Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah, has reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to sustainable skills development as a catalyst for national growth, urging government, industry, and communities to deepen collaboration to prepare Ghanaian youth for the evolving global job market.
The Vice-Chancellor announced major infrastructural breakthroughs, including a GHC 72 million GETFund approval for Phase II of the Science Park Project, as well as funding for teaching and learning equipment.
Achievements
He also celebrated recent achievements such as STU’s recognition as the Best SDG Teaching and Learning Institution in Africa (2025), and the Department of General Agriculture’s award at the 41st National Farmers’ Day.
STU has also secured four fully funded Russian scholarships for further studies in engineering and celebrated the success of its female engineering students who won the national WINE Debate Challenge.
Gov’t’s interventions
The Bono Regional Minister, Joseph Addae Akwaboah, said sound education is founded on strong structures, including the availability of professional teachers who are well motivated, provision of adequate infrastructure, and a congenial teaching and learning environment among many other factors.
“This explains why this government, under the leadership of His Excellency, John Dramani Mahama continues to support the educational sector with favourable policies and programmes to help the sector contribute significantly towards the developmental agenda of the country”, he further said.