VC Lauded For Lifting Up UPSA Image Globally

The Vice Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Professor Okoe Amartey, has been lauded for turning the University into a fully-fledges marketing-oriented nationally-competitive and globally recognized University.
Over the years, the UPSA which was then Institute of Professional Studies (IPS) was believed to be without any recognition and positive image, but today, the UPSA becomes the University of the moment; under Professor Okoe Amartey.
At a Public Lecture which he (Professor Okoe Amartey) addressed, the Executive Director and Director of Chartered Institute of Marketing – Ghana (CIMG) Kwabena Akuamoah Agyekum described Professor Okoe Amartey as a worthy VC who has turned the University around and given it an image that spurs its recognition worldwide.
According to him Prof Amartey who has been awarded CIMG Marketing Man of the Year 2018, joined UPSA 10 years ago as a lecturer at the Department of Marketing and after his appointment as VC, successfully embarked on creating faculty partnerships with other Top Universities across the world.
It has been acknowledge that the contributions of past leaders and the transformation under Prof Joshua Alabi at UPSA have been tremendous.

Kwabena Akuamoah Agyekum however noted that the former Vice Chancellor Professor Joshua Alabi, had also made outstanding contributions towards transforming the former Institute of Professional Studies into a global status University; a legacy upon which Prof. Amartey has built and continue to build.

He mentioned that Joshua Alabi had left an outstanding legacy in the University.

Kwabena Akuamoah Agyekum noted Prof Amartey has also been on the University Partnership drive, building partnerships with Universities in UK, Canada, Italy, US, Nigeria and Sierra Leone; a partnership that hinges on effective faculty research collaborations and academic programs.
He also commended Prof Amartey for leading the drive for the establishment of the Vice Chancellors Endowment Fund which awarded scholarship packages to 31 of its brilliant but needy students for the 2019/2020 academic year.
According to him, the Fund Is to improve access to University Education in Ghana by helping brilliant but needy students receive free undergraduate education at UPSA and that so far, 31 students; comprising 11 continuing students have received scholarship packages for the 2018/2019 academic year, and 20 new beneficiaries.
He also mentioned that the Fund will also be awarding about 55 scholarships.
Prof Amartey has also been overseeing the Business Incubator for students in the University which was established to assist young professionals turn ideas into viable ventures.
The Centre is now serving as the nexus between critical knowledge (theory) and practice for business start-ups in order to enhance teaching, research and learning activities.
Kwabena Akuamoah Agyekum noted that the ingenuity of Prof Amartey in the establishment of the Business Incubator has brought quality practical business tools closer to the students as young professional entrepreneurs and as well, brought business acumen to the University Community and promoting competitiveness in the delivery of entrepreneurial skills.
He said: “A Prolific writer, Professor Amartey has written 70 articles,” adding that Professor Amartey’s works have also been in the areas of research.“He has won a number of awards, locally and internationally, with the latest being the prestigious Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2016, which was presented to him at the 76th Meeting of Academy of Management (AOM) annual conference held in Anaheim, California,” he lauded Prof. Amartey.
The Lecture
Delivering his lecture on the Topic: “Public Sector Marketing: A Catalyst For National Development,” Prof. Abednego Feehi Okoe Amartey indicated that Ghana’s Public Sector can leverage on Marketing techniques to achieve organizational goals by considering organizational re-design, establishing marketing culture and marketing mindset, build brand equity and establishing strategic partnerships.
He said there is the need for government to insist on marketing training for all Public Sector Organizations where further recruitment into the Public Service must be tied to marketing literacy.
Prof. Abednego Feehi Okoe Amartey said public sector firms need to adopt modern-day marketing practices, improve service delivery and ensure effective client service.
According to Prof. Okoe Amartey, marketing has become the best planning platform for public agencies that want to meet citizens’ needs and deliver real value, hence public service can add the extended marketing mix elements to other marketing techniques that will help transform their communications with stakeholders and improve their performance.
Talking on the importance of marketing in public sector, Prof. Abednego Feehi Okoe Amartey said it helps public sector organizations understand their customers’ needs, create value-based offerings and deliver these offerings.”
“Once a satisfactory value is created, public sector organizations could then charge their realistic value for the services delivered. The Public as customers will evaluate the cost and benefits, and assess through value judgments whether it is value for money or not.”
He therefore indicated that embracing marketing as a capacity and process and applying the techniques will help “improve public sector delivery and create a new public sector that is fit-for-purpose and that guarantees a Ghana Beyond Aid.”