Regentropfen University College (RUC) says it is designing its academic programmes around skills and development gaps in the Upper East Region rather than expanding its offerings simply to increase the number of courses available.
Founder and President of the institution, Rev. Fr. Dr Moses Asaah Awinongya, said the university’s programme choices are informed by areas where students and professionals in the region have limited opportunities for advanced training.
That approach, he said, informed the introduction of three postgraduate programmes: an MPhil in Aquaculture Technology, an MSc in Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education.
“We have chosen these ones because we think they are the ones that currently serve the needs of the Upper East Region,” he said.
Rev. Fr. Awinongya said the decision reflects a broader philosophy at Regentropfen that tertiary institutions should identify gaps within the communities they serve and develop programmes that respond to them.
But he said the university was deliberately avoiding the rapid introduction of several programmes at once.
According to him, every new programme comes with accreditation requirements as well as demands for qualified academic staff, infrastructure and other resources.
He warned that increasing programmes and student numbers without corresponding investment in facilities and academic capacity could affect the quality of training.
“We want to ensure that our infrastructure grows to match the distance,” he said.
The university is therefore seeking to align the introduction of new programmes with the development of the infrastructure and human resources required to support them.
Rev. Fr. Awinongya said RUC was considering additional postgraduate programmes, including possible programmes in health-related fields, but their introduction would depend on whether the institution had the facilities and personnel needed to deliver them effectively.
Expansion beyond Namoo
That approach is also influencing the university’s plans beyond its current campus at Namoo in the Bongo District.
Rev. Fr. Awinongya said the institution has been given a large parcel of land in Togo for the development of another campus.
Rather than simply replicating the programmes offered at Namoo, he said future programmes at other campuses could be designed around the particular needs of the communities they serve.
The same thinking applies to emerging economic opportunities in the Upper East Region.
Rev. Fr. Awinongya said the university had considered introducing mining-related programmes as far back as 2014 but had not proceeded because of the substantial financial and infrastructure requirements associated with engineering education.
Collaboration with another tertiary institution, he said, could provide an opportunity to pursue such programmes in the future.
Building a research hub in the Upper East
Beyond teaching, Rev. Fr. Awinongya believes tertiary institutions in the Upper East Region should work together to build the region’s research capacity.
He questioned why organisations seeking to conduct research in the region should routinely rely on institutions from southern Ghana when universities and researchers based in the Upper East could potentially undertake such work.
He identified Regentropfen University College, Bolgatanga Technical University and the University of Technology and Applied Sciences as institutions that could collaborate on research, investment and academic programmes.
“We are going to get more into collaboration with the existing university and tertiary institutions here in the Upper East Region and in the North,” he said.
Rev. Fr. Awinongya said such collaboration could eventually include joint or double-degree programmes, allowing institutions to combine their expertise and resources rather than attempting to develop every programme independently.
For Regentropfen, he said, the long-term ambition is to develop stronger faculties, attract experienced academics and build research capacity capable of making the institution and the Upper East Region more attractive to organisations seeking research partnerships.
But he maintains that growth should be driven by identifiable needs rather than the number of programmes an institution can advertise.
Under that approach, the university intends to gradually introduce programmes that it believes can produce the skills, research and expertise needed to address challenges within the communities it serves.
Rev. Fr. Awinongya believes stronger local tertiary institutions could also help the Upper East Region retain more skilled professionals, attract investment and reduce its dependence on institutions elsewhere for specialised expertise.
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