Winner Of The Challenge, Regi Ankrah Loving Life At RGU

Reginald Ankrah

Postgraduate student Reginald Ankrah (26) won a scholarship to Robert Gordon University (RGU) after taking part in The Challenge, an Apprentice style reality TV show in Ghana.

He started his MSc Information Engineering course at the School of Computing Science and Digital Media in January and tells Nexus how he has found his time at RGU so far.

I'd always wanted to pursue my postgraduate education at Robert Gordon University (RGU). I had previously been offered a place in September 2012 but couldn't accept it at the time due to financial constraints.

I received an email from RGU last year stating they were sponsoring The Challenge and that the winner gets a full scholarship to study at the university. I also received a call from my previous Head of Department who happens to be a graduate of RGU and encouraged me to try out for the Challenge.

I was reluctant to apply at first because I doubted myself and felt I wouldn't be up to par. The Challenge required that to succeed you have to be highly creative, innovative and very intelligent. However, I felt I owed it to my deceased father to at least give it a try because he always believed in me and told me I was meant for greater things. To honour his loving memory, I took the boldest step ever in my life, and entered the Challenge.

The Challenge tasks were meant to test the contestants in all aspects of academia and real life situations. Among the tasks we were set was drafting a viable business plan, designing and modelling a 3D futuristic mobile technology, shooting a documentary, developing a marketing plan and taking part in a treasure hunt.

I had mixed feelings when I was told I had won The Challenge - on one hand, I was filled with joy and excitement for winning and on the other, grief for the fact that my father wasn't there to witness this great achievement in my life.

I did my undergraduate degree in Computer Network Management at Koforidua Polytechnic but I wanted to hone my skills in the area of Object Oriented Programming, Databases, Web Development and Data Mining. Information Engineering is the perfect course to help me acquire such expertise.

I already have an IT business running back home and I hope to use the expertise I gather from RGU to design and develop good systems to assist in the area of data gathering, specifically in statistics. This will foster good productivity within businesses and institutions back home in Ghana.

The course is very interesting and involving. There are several resources available both on the Campus Moodle platform and in the Library. The lecturers are very helpful and exciting in the teaching.

I've settled into Aberdeen really well. I have very good accommodation on campus and an excellent view of the University from my window. My flat mates are awesome. Even though we are all from different backgrounds we get along very well. I have made a number of friends both in and out of my course from around the world.

I don't just like Aberdeen, I love Aberdeen. For me it's an excellent place to live. I love the weather, architecture, the granite buildings, the quietness of the town, the multi-cultural diversity and the great hospitality of the people. Aberdeen is an amazing place.

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