By Ghana News
Copyright ghanamma
By Philip Tengzu
Wa, UW/R), Sept. 26, GNA – The Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS) has opened its fifth Research and Development Conference, reaffirming its commitment to contributing to regional and national development through research.
The 2025 conference, on the theme: “Sustainable Pathways for Peace, Governance, and Inclusive Development in Africa”, reflected Ghana and Africa’s development priorities and aligned with the global Agenda 2030, particularly Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 on peace, justice, and strong institutions.
The three-day conference brought together over one hundred registered participants from institutions across the country, including the University of Ghana, the University for Development Studies, University of Cape Coast, and Ghana’s Ministry of Local Government, among others.
Speaking at the opening in Wa, Professor Emmanuel Kanchebe Derbile, the Vice-Chancellor of SDD-UBIDS said, “Indeed, without peace and effective governance, our aspirations for prosperity, equity, and inclusivity will remain elusive.”
He expressed hope that the outcomes of the conference would be maximised to uplift and propel development at the community, national, and continental levels.
The management of SDD-UBIDS had recognised that strengthening research and innovation was pivotal to positioning the University as a leading educational institution both nationally and internationally.
Prof. Derbile, therefore, indicated that the University’s Directorate of Research had begun putting in place appropriate policies and guidelines to achieve that goal.
He said the Research Directorate was also facilitating the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Risk Management Policies, which were prerequisites for accessing certain grants and partnerships.
“Management is committed to establishing a robust Grants Office that will serve as the institutional hub for sourcing, winning, and managing competitive research and development grants”, Prof. Derbile announced.
Prof. Frederick Dayour, the Director of Research at SDD-UBIDS, indicated that 90 abstracts out of 124 entries received were accepted and scheduled for presentation at the conference.
“In an effort to ensure that the papers presented at the UBIDS research conference become useful academic outputs, the Directorate of Research led the process of reviewing full papers for consideration for publication in last year’s conference book of proceedings.
These submissions went through a rigorous double-blind review process, leading to the publication of 17 papers of good scholarly standard”, he explained.
Prof. Dayour further noted that his Directorate continued to organise capacity-building seminars and workshops for staff and postgraduate students to nurture the skills needed for impactful research.
Mr Charles Lwanga Puozuing, the Upper West Regional Minister, said Africa’s challenges, including climate change, fragile peace, poverty, and youth unemployment, could be turned into opportunities for transformative change through sustainable, inclusive, and well-researched solutions.
He emphasised that such conferences transcended academic discourse to create a bridge between theory and practice, policy and action, and knowledge and impact, especially in a world where evidence-based decisions were crucial.
“Here in the Upper West Region, many of our most pressing challenges, from food insecurity and climate-induced migration to youth unemployment and the scourge of substance abuse, require not only policy responses but also rigorous academic inquiry”, Mr Puozuing indicated.
Edited by Caesar Abagali /Kenneth Oden Adade
