By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Sumbrungu (U/E), Oct 4, GNA – Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, the Government Statistician, has underscored the need for effective collaboration between the Ghana Statistical Service and Universities to help address developmental challenges confronting the country.
The Government Statistician stressed that the GSS was not only established to service government alone, but to partner with other stakeholders to help fight against corruption and ensure accountability and transparency.
He said there was revolutionary change and explained that it was against that background that the GSS had generated rich data and developed many data apps including the GSS StatsBank online which contained relevant data to solve societal problems.
Professor Annim made the call when the Ghana Statistical Service in collaboration with the Bolgatanga Technical University (BTU) in the Upper East Region, organised a programme, dubbed “2024 Statistical Data-Hackathon Competition”, at Sumbrungu, the main campus of the University.
The Hackathon aimed to raise awareness of the GSS StatsBank and to promote the use of census data for policy-relevant research.
It requires teams to compete for 36 hours to develop an innovative statistical product primarily using census data from the StatsBank.
Based on the empowerment, the students of BTU who were put into groups namely team Lucky, Fishe, Golsa, Akukula and Jaguar to compete for the occasion, undertook research in the areas of Consumers/ Producers Index, Poverty Hotspots in the North, Neonatal Mortality, Drought in the North and Gender Equality, using the Ghana Statistical Service online databank. They showcased products during the competition session.
The occasion, on the theme “Unlocking Data Potential: Innovate for Impact”, also attracted Heads of Department, Lecturers, students, assembly members and Chiefs and people of the area
Professor Annim stated that there were over 300 million unique statistics generated by the GSS which could be tapped and complemented with other sources for research and urged lecturers of the various universities in the country to make good use of them to promote development.
Speaking at the event, Dr Benjamin Apam, the Regional focal person for the 2024 Hackathon, explained that, the purpose of the Hackathon was not just about competition but it was a platform for collaboration and learning where students have had the opportunity to engage deeply with the GSS StatsBank, the mentors, their colleague students in different fields as well as staff of the GSS.
According to him, through the Statistical Data-Hackathon Competition, the students explored how integrated datasets could be leveraged to solve some of the most pressing challenges facing the nation and the world today.
He expressed happiness about the products the students developed and stressed that they had the potential of contributing to sustainable development.
The winners, first and second runner ups were Golsa, Akukula and Jaguar, respectively.
The GSS gave them certificates and GH₵5,000.00, GH₵3,000.00 and GH₵2,000.00 respectively and they will also represent the university at all the Technical Universities Hackathon at the national level competition.
Also in attendance was the board chair of GSS, Dr Grace Badiako.
GNA
