The 11th edition of the Universal Merchant Bank Ghana Tertiary Awards (UMB GTA) 2024 was launched in Accra Wednesday, to celebrate outstanding student's achievements.
The launch was preceded with the opening of nominations for the 53 categories for the awards scheme.
The nomination which was officially opened on May 1, would end on August 1 this year, and has new categories such as Best Student in Environmental Sustainability, Best Student in Tourism and Hospitality and Best Student in Mental Health Advocacy
Launching the awards ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of UMB GTA, Mr Richmond Amofa-Sarpong, said UMB GT award was one of the highest award Scheme granted to the 540,000 students within the 303 Tertiary Institutions, as a form of recognition of their works and efforts in the development of the country.
He noted that, the award scheme was to celebrate students whose lives had changed society positively, through their contribution to improve society despite being students.
"The Award Scheme provides a platform to celebrate students with great achievements, an innovative and dynamic framework for the exchange of ideas in developing knowledge, connecting institutions, and students, equipping students with skills of picking up leadership roles, inspiring and empowering them to affect the economic development and bring social change," he stated.
The CEO noted that, the awards scheme since its inception in 2014, had produced over 200 Winners who were well-known and had worked so hard for themselves and the country.
Being the best tertiary institution awards scheme, Mr Amofa-Sarpong said it had produced most celebrities such as Anita Akuffo, Fella Makafui, Maame Serwaa, among others, who were thriving in their careers and also serving as role-models to the young ones.
He urged all tertiary students to file their nominations to be part of this year's outstanding awards ceremony to become the next UMB GTA queen.
He stated that the main night would come off in the first week of November 2024 due to election activities in December.
"It's important to acknowledge students whose initiatives influence our society and country positively because student demographic is an important tool for national development," he noted.
Mr Amofa-Sarpong noted that, this year's UMB GTA category included GTA Student of the year, a prestigious award that honours the overall outstanding student who had excelled in academics, leadership, extracurricular activities, and contributions to the student community, Best Student in Community Development, Environmental Sustainability, Tech and Innovation, and Best Student in Civic Engagement,
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Other included, Best Student in Humanitarian and Volunteer services, Educational Technology, Tourism and Hospitality, Leadership in Politics, Inclusive Arts and Culture Promotion, Start-Up, Digital Content Creator, Global Citizenship, Green Technology Innovation, and Mental Health Advocacy.
