Professor John Kwaku Mensah Mawutor is the Vice-Chancellor of UPSA
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Professor John Kwaku Mensah Mawutor, has challenged newly-graduated postgraduate students to become solution-oriented leaders who tackle real-world challenges with innovation and determination.
He made this call during the university’s 2025 School of Graduate Studies congregation on October 3, 2025, where a total of 939 students graduated across various disciplines.
The graduating class comprised 42 Master of Philosophy, 14 Master of Business Administration, 154 Master of Arts, 129 Master of Science students among others.
Delivering his address, Professor Mawutor described unemployment as “one of the greatest deceptions humanity has faced,” urging graduates to change their mindsets and rather view problems as opportunities for creativity and enterprise.
“Tell yourself you carry ideas, skills and creativity.
“Wherever there’s a problem, there must be a solution. Whilst others lament over problems, look out for solutions. That’s the only way we can develop ourselves, develop UPSA and develop Ghana as a whole.”
He encouraged the graduates to face the world with confidence and resilience, stressing that their ability to create solutions would determine their success and contribution to national development.
The Vice-Chancellor ended his address with a prayerful benediction, invoking divine guidance and peace upon the graduates as they transition into the next phase of their careers.
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The ceremony’s Guest of Honour and First Chancellor of UPSA, Drolor Bosso Adamtey I, who is also a Member of the Council of State, delivered an inspiring keynote address that emphasised the transformative power of applied knowledge.
He noted that while knowledge is powerful, it is not enough on its own.
He added that what truly transforms nations is how knowledge is applied with purpose and conviction.
Sharing a deeply personal story, Drolor Bosso Adamtey recounted how, as a young boy in the 1960s, a teacher humiliated him for being left-handed and predicted that he would not amount to anything.
That experience, he said, taught him an invaluable lesson that no one’s opinion should define one’s destiny.
“If God has not said it, no one’s opinion has the authority to determine your destiny,” he told the graduates, adding that; “Poor minds only take, but rich minds create, build and give. True success is not measured by what you consume, but by what you contribute.”
He further urged the graduates to think beyond Ghana and Africa and to see themselves as global leaders capable of competing on any stage.
Ghana, he stressed, does not need handouts but partnerships.
He also stated that the world does not need more followers but visionaries and builders who can stand toe-to-toe with anyone globally.
The Valedictorian, Nana Kwabena Akowuah Appiah, graduated with a Final Cumulative Grade Point Average (FCGPA) of 3.96.
A former student of Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School, Legon, Nana Kwabena pursued a Bachelor of Business Administration degree at UPSA before advancing to the postgraduate level.
AM/AE
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