The University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) has received 200 laptops from the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Hon. Samuel Nartey George, and the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) to support digital skills training under the government’s One Million Coders Programme.
The donation was announced during Hon. Samuel Nartey George’s working visit to the university as part of his two-day tour of the Volta Region to inspect digital learning centres and rural telephony infrastructure.
The Vice-Chancellor of UHAS, Professor Lydia Aziato, expressed gratitude to the government for including the university in the programme, describing digital technology as increasingly essential to modern healthcare delivery.
She noted that healthcare systems globally were adopting electronic health records, wearable devices, digital monitoring systems and other technology-driven tools to improve patient care.
“We have noted that healthcare globally has moved digital,” Professor Aziato said, adding that the university was positioning itself to become a hub for artificial intelligence in healthcare.
She disclosed that the university had received 200 Core i5 laptops, which its ICT team had assessed and confirmed were suitable for use.
Professor Lydia Aziato said UHAS intended to integrate courses offered under the One Million Coders Programme into its academic curriculum to ensure students acquired digital skills alongside their professional healthcare training.
The proposed courses include introductory artificial intelligence, data science and analytics, programming and coding, data literacy, productivity tools and emerging technologies.
According to the Vice-Chancellor, the university was considering making selected courses compulsory for students at different levels of their academic programmes, subject to approval by the relevant academic authorities.
She explained that introducing digital skills training would help prepare students to use technology effectively in their future healthcare careers.
The Vice-Chancellor, however, appealed for additional support, noting that the 200 laptops would serve approximately 11,000 students.
She also highlighted challenges relating to internet connectivity across the university’s campuses, inadequate ICT personnel and equipment, and the absence of a central library and computer laboratory.
Professor Lydia Aziato further appealed for support to repurpose an existing disaster recovery data centre to serve as a central facility for hosting the university’s data and potentially supporting other institutions in the area.
Responding to the concerns, Hon. Samuel Nartey George described UHAS as a critical partner in the government’s digital skills agenda and stressed the importance of preparing healthcare professionals to work in an increasingly technology-driven environment.
He said medical and allied health professionals needed skills in data management, analytics, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to complement their specialist training.
The minister explained that the One Million Coders Programme was designed to equip participants with practical, industry-relevant skills that could improve their readiness for employment.
He welcomed the university’s plan to integrate the programme into its curriculum and encouraged it to ensure students received relevant training before completing their studies.
On the request for more laptops, Hon. Sam George acknowledged that 200 devices were a small number relative to the university’s student population but said the donation was intended to serve as an initial phase.
He explained that the ministry would monitor how the devices were used and assess student participation before considering additional support.
“These laptops are state resources; it’s government money we use to buy them, and so we don’t just want to put them there and let them become white elephants,” he said.
The minister added that other universities had received additional devices after the ministry observed effective use of their initial allocations.
He assured UHAS that further support could be considered based on enrolment, participation and evidence of effective utilisation of the laptops.
The donation forms part of the government’s broader efforts to expand digital skills training and equip students with competencies relevant to the changing demands of the workplace.
