The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George has called for the “One Million Coders programme” to become a mandatory requirement for university graduation, saying graduates must acquire relevant digital skills to become competitive in the modern world.

According to him, the rapid transformation of sectors such as healthcare through technology makes it necessary for universities to equip students with practical digital skills alongside their traditional academic training.

“Now professionals including doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers and teachers could no longer afford to operate without adequate knowledge of technology," he said.

The Minister made the call when he visited the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) at Ho on the second day of his tour of the Volta Region to inspect digital projects and assess the implementation of government’s digital skills initiatives.

He said the One Million Coders programme was designed to provide industry-tailored skills in areas including data management, data analytics, Artificial Intelligence, programming, coding and prompt engineering, which could complement students’ academic qualifications and improve their employability.

Mr. Nartey George said the programme should be regarded as a professional skills component of university education, similar to professional courses undertaken after completing conventional academic programmes. 

He explained that graduates needed additional practical skills to successfully transition from the classroom into the world of work.

He commended UHAS for its decision to integrate selected One Million Coders courses into its academic programme.

“I want to use this opportunity to urge the university to ensure that students nearing graduation undertake specialised courses so that the knowledge and certification remained fresh when they entered the job market." 

The Vice Chancellor of UHAS, Professor Lydia Aziato, said the university has received 200 Core i5 laptops under the programme but appealed to the Minister to increase the allocation to enable the institution to meet the needs of its student population of about 11,000. 

She said the university also needed improved internet connectivity, a computer laboratory or e-library and support to develop its ICT infrastructure.

“On behalf of the management of the university, I want to appeal to your good office to increase the allocations to enable us meet the needs of the student population of 11,000. We are hoping this humble appeal will be considered by your honourable office," she stated.

Prof. Aziato asserted that UHAS is particularly interested in courses covering Artificial Intelligence, data science and analytics, digital literacy, programming and emerging technologies, noting that the university is positioning itself as a hub for Artificial Intelligence in healthcare. 

She added that the institution was also exploring the possibility of repurposing an existing disaster recovery data centre into a central facility to support UHAS and other sister institutions in the area.

The Director of ICT at UHAS, Patrick de Souza, also highlighted challenges confronting the university’s ICT department including inadequate personnel, equipment, data-centre capacity and internet connectivity. 

Sam George assured the university of his ministry’s commitment to deepening the partnership and supporting efforts to integrate digital skills into healthcare education, stressing that technology-driven training is essential to preparing the next generation of health professionals.