A ten (10) member delegation from German NRW Uni-Alliance called on the Dean of the International Programmes Office, Prof. Daniel Duah on July 20, 2023 to explore opportunities for collaboration.
The delegation were from five different universities namely University of Cologne, University of Siegen, University of Rhine Waal, University of Düsseldorf and Technical University Dortmund, Germany. They were led by Dr. Beatrice Asenso Barnieh, Head of Ghana NRW Uni-Alliance.
The NRW University Alliance is a consortium of six universities from the federal German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) that aims to foster academic excellence and promote research collaboration with universities in Ghana. Building on the long-standing partnership between Ghana and NRW, the alliance's mission is to enhance the exchange of knowledge, ideas and experiences through organized events, information dissemination and project development.
An office situated in Accra serves as a central point of contact for researchers and students from both regions, providing support, coordination and opportunities for collaboration. The ultimate goal of the alliance is to strengthen academic cooperation between universities in Ghana and NRW and to contribute to the advancement of education and research through mutually beneficial partnerships.
The visit focused on identifying and exploring possible areas of collaboration between KNUST and German NRW Uni-Alliance. On behalf of the Vice-Chancellor and Management of the University, Prof. Duah welcomed the team to KNUST and gave a brief overview of the University. He highlighted the fact that KNUST has been ranked the best in the world for SDG 4, Quality Education by the Times Higher Education for 2023.
Representing the Provosts of all six colleges at KNUST, the following gave an overview of each College: Prof. Christopher Antwi, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Dr. Yaw Duah Boakye, College of Health Sciences; Dr. Alexander B. Marful, College of Art and Built Environment; Dr. David Ato Quansah, College of Engineering; Dr. Edmund Yamba, College of Science; and Dr. Solace A. Yankson, College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Ensuing discussions focused on various opportunities for collaboration including split site PhDs, double degree PhDs, student and staff mobility, joint research collaboration, among others.
Present at the meeting were Mrs. Yvonne Baiden, Assistant Registrar, Miss Shalom Ewenam Agborli, Inbound Exchange Officer both from the International Programmes Office.
The team visited the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR) and later toured the University campus.
