Leadership as Service

Measuring Our Impact / SDG 1

Ashesi recognizes that its graduands will need leadership skills to serve their communities and to bring about change for the greater good. Leadership courses are core to every Ashesi student’s program of study. Students are required to complete a 4-part leadership seminar series at Ashesi as part of their course work over three years. The fourth and final seminar requires students to conduct a 40-hour service project as part of their graduation requirements. Additionally, as part of the experiential learning in Engineering, Computer Science and Business Administration programs, students solve real life problems. Here are a few programs and initiatives conducted by students:

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Engineers in Leadership as a Service – Think Education Ghana

Think Education Ghana, an initiative led by a visionary Ashesi alumni, Nana Ama Boa-Amponsem ’15 exemplifies the spirit of service leadership in advancing Sustainable Development Goal 1. By dedicatedly empowering low-cost private schools, the organization has brought about a profound transformation in the educational landscape, touching the lives of more than 5,500 students and 600 educators. Through its innovative and holistic programs, Think Education has effectively elevated these schools into beacons of educational excellence, paving the way for a promising future for all students, irrespective of their socio-economic backgrounds. With a thriving network of over 50 schools, Think Education Ghana continues to champion the fundamental belief that every child deserves an equal opportunity to access high-quality education, thus driving meaningful progress toward a more equitable and prosperous society.

Engineers in Leadership: Clean Energy to Remote Community, Eskubi

Some Ashesi engineering students in collaboration with a local NGO Theovision, built a solar power station to bring electricity to Eskubi, a remote village in Ghana's Eastern Region.Some Ashesi engineering students in collaboration with a local NGO Theovision, built a solar power station to bring electricity to Eskubi, a remote village in Ghana's Eastern Region.

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Other Engineering students working in collaborative teams created application projects which they could lead in the community. The real-life solutions and assets include:

An extrusion machine for recycling plastic
A smart irrigation system
Mini Med: A vending machine for first-aid products
New use for agricultural waste

(each evidence is found in this link)

A few examples from 2019 / 2020 of programs and projects conducted by the students in the fourth leadership course as their leadership service to the community include but are not limited to:

Health

In a community health and wellness project, some students worked with the Zurak Cancer Foundation to think of creative ways to analyze and visualize data for the organization.

Sanitation

In an environment and sanitation-based program, one team’s goal was to craft a program which made significant social impact in the Ada enclave for tourism. Another team designed sustainable program centers around sanitation in the ADA enclave.

Construction

A student was a member of the research and design team of the company named Greenkart Farms. She was working on a low-cost bamboo greenhouse for the Berekuso Community Youth. Specifically, she explored the materials needed for the greenhouse and designed a 3-D model of the same.

Nutrition

One group of students worked with a Berekuso farmer to do some maintenance and expansion work on the Ashesi farm to produce vegetables for cafeterias on campus and funnel profits into the students’ scholarship fund.

Youth Development

Streetism was tackled by a student who worked with “Future of Africa” on digitizing profiles of the street kids that attended the Saturday outreach programs.

Education

One student volunteered at a High School, Hope College, where she organized empowerment sessions and pre-university experience sessions for the junior high school students.

Ashesi believes that to lead is to serve and not an entitlement and cultivates the servant leadership mindset through these various student-led programs and projects in the community.