A 14 member team from the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design of the University of Toronto has called on the Head, Department of Architecture, Prof. Rexford Assasie Oppong, on July 7, 2023. The team was led by Jeannie Kim, an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream and Associate Dean, Academic of the Daniels Faculty. The team also included twelve Architecture students and recent graduates and a Research Assistant.
It will be recalled that in 2022, KNUST and the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design of the University of Toronto signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on a number of fronts including student and staff mobility and joint research. Subsequently, a 6-week virtual architecture studio between students and staff of the two universities was successfully completed in 2022.
On behalf of the team, the Dean of the International Programmes Office, Prof. Daniel Duah, explained the rationale for this visit as a sequel to the earlier engagement following the signing of an MOU in 2022 and to explore possibilities for deepening the relationship including the area of Landscape Architecture. Prof. Kim added how delighted the team was and highlighted how much they learnt from each other previously. She looked forward to having a reciprocal visit of KNuST students and faculty to the UofT.
The Head of Department, who is a Professor of Architecture and the longest serving full time member of staff, Prof. Assasie Oppong welcomed the team to the Department and provided a comprehensive overview of the structure of the Department, programmes offered, staff and student numbers, among others. He also explained the importance of such visits and engagements with international partners to the accreditation of the Architecture programme mentioning the upcoming accreditation visit of the Commonwealth Association of Architects in 2024 as an example. Following an active engagement with the team, Prof. Assasie Oppong showed the team around the Master of Architecture Year Two and Architecture Year Four Studios.
The team was grateful for the warm welcome and looked forward to the deepening of the relationship between the two universities as facilitated by the IPO.
At the meeting and your were Dr. Martin Larbi, Coordinator of Postgraduate Programmes, Mr. Ernest Duah, Chief Administrative Assistant and Mrs. Yvonne Baiden, Assistant Registrar at the International Programmes Office.
