U.S. Launches University Partnerships Initiative with Two Inaugural Projects at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)
[AUSTIN – October 14, 2020] — The U.S. Embassy in Accra and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) formally launched the U.S. State Department Bureau of African Affairs’ University Partnerships Initiative (UPI) at an in-person and virtual launch ceremony on the KNUST campus on Wednesday October 14, 2020. The event was presided over by Professor Rita Akosua Dickson, PhD, Vice-Chancellor of KNUST. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Tibor Nagy, attended the event virtually from Washington, DC and delivered remarks. U.S. Embassy officials attended the event at KNUST and virtually from Accra to support the launch of the UPI which seeks to strengthen existing ties and foster new collaboration between U.S. and African universities through faculty and student exchanges, joint research, administrative capacity-building and public-private partnerships.
Representatives from the Texas International Education Consortium (TIEC) and Iowa State University (ISU) also participated in the virtual launch, with each institution providing an overview of the projects they are undertaking at KNUST.
TIEC, in collaboration with the KNUST Business School, is implementing “Flexible Learning: Responding and Reimagining Education in Ghana.” In response to the urgent need for virtual education due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TIEC staff has assembled higher education professionals from several universities in Texas to train 30 administrators and faculty to produce quality online and flexible learning. Participants will go on to train other faculty and administrators within KNUST and throughout Ghana.
This partnership will create a pathway for future faculty collaboration and research between Texas and Ghana while building strong ties to the United States. Aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 to have “well educated citizens and skills revolution underpinned by science, technology and innovation” this project strives to accelerate the quality of education for students in Ghana through virtual workshops for teachers and administrators to improve their overall pedagogical methods.
“TIEC is honored to collaborate with KNUST to increase access to online learning for students, teachers, and administrators in Ghana. We look forward to supporting KNUST in their pursuit to establish a Center of Excellence in online and flexible learning within the West African region and build lasting partnerships between the organizations involved are ambitious goals and we are honored to be a part of this process.” said Robin J. Lerner, President and CEO of TIEC.
In her welcome remarks, Professor Dickson noted that the TIEC-KNUST project “propels us in our pursuit of building the needed capacity for the establishment of a more resilient and robust e-learning system that ensures seamless academic work all year round and also offer us the opportunity to transfer knowledge to individuals less privileged to access in-person learning experience from our University.” The Vice-Chancellor also endorsed the ISU-KNUST project, saying it “will strengthen our institutional capacity towards achieving our mission as it will position KNUST in an era where academia-community engagement for the socio-economic development of our less privileged communities is paramount.”
Assistant Secretary Nagy applauded the inaugural UPI collaborations in Ghana, stating, “these projects exemplify core principles in American higher education leadership: excellence and innovation in delivery of online education (now of paramount importance as schools rely largely on virtual learning), and hands-on, practical education that when put into action, improves lives.”
Through the UPI, the U.S. Embassy will continue to expand existing links and promote new partnerships at the university level that will strengthen Ghana’s educational institutions as instruments of national development – enhancing the United States and Ghana’s shared goals of regional prosperity, security, and stability.
media contact:
Anna Charnitski, Texas International Education Consortium
anna@tiec.org , (512) 600-6066
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
uro@knust.edu.gh, +233-5000-99299