A total of 346 students, made up of 171 males and 175 females, are to undergo a four-year course in Natural and Environmental Sciences and Sustainable Development.

The students, at the end of the courses, will be award BSc Chemistry and Biological Sciences, BSc Biological and Mathematics Sciences, BSc Geography and Earth Sciences, BSc Mathematics, BSc. Chemistry and Mathematical Sciences and BSc Environment and Public Health.

Others are BSc Environmental Management, BSc Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, BSc Nature Conservation Management, BSc Sustainable Development, BSc Energy Sustainability, BSc Water Resources Development, BSc Aquaculture Management, BSc Energy and Resource Economics, BSc Environmental Economics and Policy, BSc Water Sanitation and Hygiene, BSc Chemistry and Physics and BSc Physics and Mathematical Sciences.

The students, at a matriculation ceremony, took the matriculation oath and declaration of the honour code administered by the Registrar of the university, Mary Abena Agyepong.

Primary focus

The Vice Chancellor of UESD, Professor Eric Nyarko-Sampson, reminded them of their primary focus for enrolling into the university to successfully go through their prescribed academic programmes, and to graduate on time.

He entreated them to take advantage of the facilities available as much as possible to develop themselves and also prepare for the future opportunities and challenges.

“As management of the university, we will do all within our ability to ensure that academic work goes on smoothly as possible. We cannot promise you everything, but we can promise the necessary things,” he indicated.

Internet service

Prof. Nyarko-Sampson announced that the university had reached an agreement with the university’s internet service provider to double the university’s current internet bandwidth from 45 MBPS to 90 MBPS at a cost of GH¢10,500.00 per month.

He said management of the university was waiting to sign the service order form for the upgrade to begin, explaining that the doubling of the bandwidth was to ensure that the internet service on the campus aids academic, administrative and research work.

“The university’s library is stocked with the best databases of academic resources comparable to others.

This is because the university is a member of the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Ghana (CARLIGH), and therefore, subscribes to databases which other universities subscribe to.

“There is sufficient information in there to assist you to complete your programme of study. Just visit the university library,” he advised.

Students’ services

He said the office of the Dean of Students Affairs had been restructured to provide them with counselling services, advising services, financial services and technological services, among others and advised the students to visit the office if they had bothering issues.                  

Two of the matriculating students, Princess Micah and Anita Ansah Boafo, who represented the students, jointly stated that they all came to the university with expectations and they were, therefore, hopeful that UESD would help them nurture new personalities and expand their social network.

The Chairman of the Governing Council, Prof. Jonathan Narh Ayertey, assured the students that the university was committed to providing an education that would not only equip them with skills and knowledge to succeed in their chosen fields but also empower them to make a positive impact on our environment.