Following her courtesy call on the Dean of the International Programmes Office (IPO) on Monday, August 4, 2025, Dr. Jackline Oluoch-Aridi, African Director of Notre Dame Global, met with Provosts and representatives of the various Colleges as well as Directors of the School of Graduate Studies and Institute of Distance Learning at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to deliberate on modalities for the Pamoja ND Africa Initiative.
In his opening remarks, Professor Daniel Y. A. Duah, Dean of IPO, underscored the importance of strategic partnerships to KNUST, highlighting the University's ongoing efforts to broaden its global collaborations. He recalled participating in the launch of the Pamoja Initiative in Kenya a couple of years ago, describing it as a testament to KNUST’s commitment to fostering international academic linkages.
Dr. Oluoch-Aridi explained that Pamoja - a Kiswahili word meaning “Together” - is a flagship initiative of the University of Notre Dame aimed at deepening engagement with the Global South. She emphasized that the initiative seeks to address imbalances in North-South academic mobilities and promote reciprocal exchanges.
During the meeting, each Provost or Director or representative gave a comprehensive overview of their respective Colleges and Units, highlighting preferred areas of collaboration under the Pamoja framework. Particular emphasis was placed on postgraduate mobility, staff mobility, and collaborative research.
Dr. Oluoch-Aridi assured participants of Notre Dame’s commitment to fostering meaningful faculty-level engagements. She pledged to connect the various Colleges with their counterparts at Notre Dame to initiate targeted discussions. She also extended an invitation to the upcoming Pamoja Summit in Rwanda, where stakeholders will have the opportunity to engage face-to-face in May 2026.
Present at the meeting were Professor Kwabena Biritwum-Nyarko, Provost of the College of Engineering; Professor Christian Agyare, Provost of the College of Health Sciences; Professor Dadson Awunyo-Vitor, Provost of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Professor Michael Poku Boansi, Director, School of Graduate Studies; Professor Anthony Andrews, Director of the Institute of Distance Learning; Professor Joseph Abeiku Ackora-Prah, Dean of the Faculty of Physical and Computational Sciences; Professor Ahmed Agyapong, Dean of the School of Business; Dr. Michael Nii Addy, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Construction Technology; Mrs. Yvonne Baiden, Senior Assistant Registrar at the International Programmes Office; as well as other representatives from the IPO.
