Participants in a group photo. Joining them is Dr. Michael Kodom (6th from left) of ISSER, one of the facilitators for Week One
The Data Management and Analysis Short Course 2021 started this week with over 60 participants, underscoring the time-held appreciation – among individuals and organisations – for the ISSER Professional Short Courses Programme.
Dr Cynthia Addoquaye Tagoe, Coordinator of the Short Courses Programme noted that while this course traditionally records a high number of participants, the number of participants at this year’s Data Management and Analysis Short Course is remarkably one of the highest.
“It is exciting and heartening to see so many professionals eager to learn and equip themselves with the latest skills. We warmly welcome our cherished participants and commit to giving them value for money and an all-round participant satisfaction for which our Short Course Programme is known,” she said.
“We thank our stakeholders for the opportunity to partner them to address skills gaps and boost the productive capacity of professionals, which is core to ISSER’s mission,” she added.
Dr Addoquaye Tagoe, Coordinator of the Short Courses Programme
Some of the participants, who represent professionals from various public and private sector organisations, spoke on why they signed up for the course. Dr Akosua Sika Ayisi, Deputy Director of Public Health, Ghana Health Service, Greater Accra said: “As a public health physician, I work with a lot of data. We do data analysis to understand public health trends and events occurrence. This course is thus a refresher for me.”
Mrs Ofori and Mrs Atiemo during a health break
Similarly, Mrs Mami Dufie Ofori, Executive Secretary of Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC), who is participating in the course alongside her colleague, Mrs Nancy Atiemo, Head of Legal and Board Secretary (PURC), noted that the work of her organisation is data-intensive. Her aim in participating in the programme is, thus, to boost her data management and analysis capacity, as well as acquire skills that will enable her to better support the extensive digitisation drive her organisation is set to embark upon.
The Data Management and Analysis course will run for two weeks (4 to 15 October 2021), featuring theory and practical sessions – on how to manage and analyse data using tools such as SPSS and STATA – with experienced facilitators from ISSER and elsewhere. Organisations represented include Cocoa Marketing Company, COCOBOD, Volta River Authority, Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Education Service, and Office of the President. Others are Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Office of the Administrator General, National AIDS/STI Control Programme, ABSA Bank and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, among others.
The Data Management and Analysis Course will be followed by the final two courses for the year - Project Cycle Management and Survey Techniques Using CAPI and NVIVO which will run from Monday 18 to Friday 29 October, 2021 and Monday 1 to Friday 12 November, 2021 respectively.
