The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Media, Arts and Communication (UniMAC), Professor Eric Opoku Mensah, has outlined an ambitious vision to transform the institution into the leading centre for communication and media education in Ghana and across West Africa, saying the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) demands a fundamental rethink of how future media professionals are trained.

Speaking on Joy FM's Personality Profile programme with Lexis Bill, Prof. Mensah said UniMAC must reposition itself to produce graduates equipped with the knowledge and practical skills required to thrive in an increasingly technology-driven global communication industry.

He explained that the convergence of AI with journalism, broadcasting, advertising, public relations and digital communication has significantly altered professional practice, making it imperative for tertiary institutions to redesign their teaching methods and curricula.

"My central vision is to ensure that it becomes the centre of excellence of first communication education in Ghana and the sub-region is concerned. Look, Lexis, you understand this business well, I mean, from a professional. The way communication has changed, especially in the age of AI, things are different now."

He noted that artificial intelligence has transformed almost every aspect of communication, from newsroom operations and advertising to political campaigns and audience engagement.

"Whether with advertising, whether it's broadcast or journalism, everything is now very different. Look at how chatbots do things, you know, and how even communication is changing when it comes to campaigns and all of that. So if you're a training institution like UNIMAC, then you need to understand how the university positions itself to deliver the kind of pedagogy that is needed to train 21st-century AI-driven communication well."

Call for greater investment

While acknowledging the progress made by UniMAC since its establishment through the merger of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) and the Ghana Institute of Languages' School of Communication Studies, Prof. Mensah said much more investment was needed if the university was to compete with leading international communication institutions.

He appealed to the government to prioritise funding for the country's only specialised media and communication university.

"If we look at where we are, yes, we are doing well, but there's a lot more we need to do and that will require so much resources. That is sometimes even beyond our ability as an institution. You need a lot of investment from the government because this is the only communication or media specialised university in the country, and if you want it to be a centre of attraction, then we need to do a lot more."

According to him, expanding student accommodation, establishing state-of-the-art artificial intelligence laboratories and modernising teaching facilities would significantly improve the university's capacity to train globally competitive graduates.

"Government needs to invest more. That is where I think we need to get to by being able to have hostels, by being able to have state-of-the-art AI labs in the different areas of our operations so that any product from our university will be able to stand tall anywhere you place him/her, you know, whether BBC or CNN..."

Prof. Mensah also reflected on the historic role of the former Ghana Institute of Journalism, describing it as one of the country's most important post-independence institutions.

He recalled that GIJ, established two years after Ghana attained independence, was founded as part of Dr Kwame Nkrumah's broader vision to empower Africans to tell their own stories and shape the continent's narrative.

He explained that Nkrumah viewed journalism and communication as strategic tools in Africa's liberation struggle and therefore encouraged the training of media professionals from across the continent in Ghana.

Positioning UniMAC as Africa's media education hub

The Vice-Chancellor said although UniMAC currently attracts international students, enrolment from across Africa falls short of the institution's original continental mandate.

He said the university must reclaim its position as Africa's preferred destination for specialised communication and media education.

Prof. Mensah observed that UniMAC occupies a unique position within the sub-region as a specialised communication university and should leverage that advantage to become a continental leader in professional media training.

"I don't think in the sub-region there's any specialised media education university like ours and therefore, my dream, in some ways, is to make sure that we occupy that space and be able to deliver that kind of professional training," he concluded.