We can all testify that in Ghana project works have always been in hardcopy format with a lot of students being compelled to print thrice the number of pages for corrections and rectification of errors before the final work can be printed and binded.

A student is expected to process at least three copies as final works, one for himself, one for the Department and one for the School.

Technology has been defined as using requisite skills and knowledge is making tasks flexible and less expensive and as the definition goes, its actually the opposite of What Tertiary institutions in Ghana, set for Dynamism are practising.

Ghana imports a lot of A4 papers into the country for the sake of some of these reasons and yet we still do not have efficient and effective way to store these works to keep them safe. Some of these works occupy physical space instead of electronic space in the Internet where it can be encrypted and protected from unauthorized access and destruction by some nocturnal animals such as rats and also being duplicated by some unreliable humans who see the content unpermitted.

Project works have been a backbone for solving problems in the society but with the way we produce them and  keep them calls for a review of our ways.

Hardcopy is very expensive in a sense that if there are errors after some chapters are printed by the students for scrutiny, one has to print again at another cost instead of using the electronic means which seeks to economize the little we have, I know this won’t sound well for printing presses in Ghana but dynamism seeks to stay and make us innovative.

The electronic method will mean sending it to the supervisor via email in Jpeg or Docx format and after which the supervisor can use editors including jpeg editor, image to text editor apk, Word, PDF viewer to analyse and make comments of the work sent via email, instead of so many papers being brought into the systems for Fettles we can do without.

Most project works after 10years are burnt into ashes to allow space for others, this is an unhealthy practice which causes ozone layer depletion, degrades the land they are burnt on, causes waste of resources as money just goes waste on try and error.

If projects are in PDF format or Document formats, it becomes small in size, easy way to handle as it doesn’t occupy space, it can be duplicated to any number at no cost with  just instructions like (Ctrl+C) and (Ctrl + S) respectively instead of spending money and time on printing and reprinting, this method allows for easy editing and reviewing. It also allows easy accessibility as one can log into the online account the project works are saved to access them without third parties gaining access to them, you only need a password and a User ID to store your project works, you can also categorize them online according to departments and preferences by a click, which will be a bit hectic  and burdensome if they are physical books.

Some online platforms to store files at no cost are: i. https://jumpshare.com ii. googledocs.com iii. https://dropbox.com

iii. https://cloud.com iii. https://mediafire.com

Survey by Tuorimuo Elvis Philip proved each Final year students in Ghana spends at least Ghc120.00 on project work process only and per the statistics from the Ghana National Service Scheme, 102,000 students leave tertiary institutions annually, this concludes that Ghc12,240,000 can be saved annually if project works and their processes are made digital.

This will also motivate graduates to boost their computer literacy skills as it will be a necessity to be a successful graduate.

By: Tuorimuo Elvis Philip

BA Human Resource Management

University of Education, Winneba.

HND Information And Communication Technology

Wa Polytechnic