General Collaborations

Many global networks known for their contributions to the attainment of the SDGs have also partnered at varying levels of engagement with Ashesi University. They include but are not limited to the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) _ where we developed our skills in Blended Learning (SDG 4); Global Business School Network (GBSN) _ where we continue to grow in entrepreneurship and economics; Open Society Universities Network (OSUN) _ where we have expanded our liberal arts offerings (SDG 4) and U7+_ where we have added our voice to principles of justice and peace (SDG16). Other global partnerships that help Ashesi implement and revitalize sustainable development include Global Affairs Canada _ we have expanded green entrepreneurship for women (SDG 13 and 5) WHO _ where we are building leadership skills in health workers (SDG 3); ETH _ building Africa’s capacity for automated production (SDG 9); UNICEF _ where we are part of the thought leadership on Quality education for all (SDG 4), GCIC and IFC _ Infrastructure for education (SDG 4 & SDG 9); USAID_ helped Ashesi develop a venture incubator (SDG 8), Africa Health Collaborative where we are working on Health Employability, Health Entrepreneurship and the Health Ecosystems and STOP NCD where we bring technology to prevent and monitor non communicable diseases in developing countries such as Ghana, Burkina Faso and Niger in West Africa

Specifically, The Example of McGill University

Ashesi University is collaborating on a research project with McGill University to understand the impact of experiential education on the entrepreneurial actions of their students and graduates. The MasterCard Foundation funds scholars at Ashesi University and McGill University, and both have entrepreneurship as a core program. The study is intended to help determine the effectiveness of the scholarships and to catalyze institutional support for Mastercard FoundationScholars’ experiential learning (courses and internships) and entrepreneurship across the Scholars Program network. The research will document institutional changes to which the Scholars Program has contributed at both institutions in relation to experiential learning and entrepreneurship and describe the processes that have taken place.

Ashesi University is collaborating on a research project with McGill University to understand the impact of experiential education on the entrepreneurial actions of their students and graduates. The MasterCard Foundation funds scholars at Ashesi University and McGill University, and both have entrepreneurship as a core program. The study is intended to help determine the effectiveness of the scholarships and to catalyze institutional support for Mastercard FoundationScholars’ experiential learning (courses and internships) and entrepreneurship across the Scholars Program network. The research will document institutional changes to which the Scholars Program has contributed at both institutions in relation to experiential learning and entrepreneurship and describe the processes that have taken place.

The research, a MasterCard Foundation (MCF) sponsored project awarded in 2020, primarily focuses on MasterCard Scholarship beneficiaries but also provides an opportunity to study students in general. MCF Scholars from Africa and other university students indicate a need for institutional support as they seek to promote positive change, as students in the short-term, and as entrepreneurs taking action for socio-economic transformation in the long-term. Both Ashesi and McGill support Scholars in workplace-focused experiential education strategies, however there are differences in structured support for other types of experiences. The research team seeks to explore ways to improve the support provided in both institutions, and beyond. At an inception workshop held on November 5th 2021, the Provost of Ashesi University, Professor Angela Owusu-Ansah, highlights the importance of the collaboration between Ashesi and McGill University. “in our current era of uncertainty, complexity, and the rate of change in technology being new every six months and knowledge being generated at that rate, it is impossible for any one institution to brace these challenges on their own. So, collaboration is the key. Hence, when Ashesi and McGill decided to collaborate, it was to join these different mindsets and the wisdom in it. On one hand there is Ashesi, young, risk taker, and exploratory and then McGill being steady and traditional. These differences have naturally set the path for the two institutions to learn from and complement each other”.