The Cape Coast Polytechnic has signed an affiliation agreement with the North Carolina Agriculture and Technical University in the United States of America to award some degree programs.
The programs include the Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Mechanical Engineering, Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering,
The Polytechnic has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Hague University of Applied Science in the Netherlands for an exchange training.
Dr Lawrence Atepor, Rector of the Cape Coast Polytechnic, said this at the 9th congregation of the Polytechnic in Cape Coast on Saturday, where 889 people were presented with Higher National Diploma in Business and Management Studies, Engineering and Applied Sciences and Arts.
He said the Polytechnic also has affiliation agreement with the University of Education, Winneba, to run a one year Diploma in Education Programme for interested students and that the first batch of 300 students have been enrolled in the programme since September 2012.
Dr Atepor said the affiliation between the Polytechnic and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology for the award of Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree in Building Technology has been finalised and that the first batch of students would soon be awarded their degrees.
He said the Polytechnic has been given the accreditation to run top-up degree programmes in some courses and that the second batch of students to pursue the two-year top-up Bachelor of Technology degree programme in Mechanical Engineering have been admitted.
Dr Atepor used the occasion to thank the Embassy of the United States of America for the introduction of a Community Colleges Initiative through which four students of the Polytechnic have already studied in some community colleges in the USA.
He urged the graduates to put their entrepreneurial training to good use by courageously daring to try the uncharted paths in the world of business.
Mrs Emilia Aning, Chairman of the Polytechnic's Council, appealed to the National Accreditation Board and the Ministry of Education to speed up the procedures for the granting of accreditation to run the top-up programmes.
"The desire to acquire more knowledge for personal development has increased greatly among our graduates and they would strive to reach the highest level of education if more training avenues are made available," she said.