The University of Cape Coast (UCC) and the University of Ghana (UG) in collaboration with the International Association of Universities (IAU) organised a one-day workshop on the internationalization of higher education on Thursday, 30th April 2015 at UCC.
The workshop was the climax of a week-long (28th – 30th April, 2015) visit by a four-member panel chaired by Prof. Leapetswe Malete, of the University of Botswana to UCC and UG. The panel, known as the Internationalization Strategy Advisory Services, was constituted by the International Association of Universities (IAU) to assist UCC and UG to review their Internationalization strategies. The members of the expert panel were:
- Prof. Leapetswe Malete (University of Botswana) - Chair
- Prof. Donna Scarboro (George Washington University)
- Dr. Giorgio Marinoni (IAU, Paris)
- Dr. Anna Glass (OECD, Paris)
Also present were representatives from the Association of African Universities (AAU), National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), National Accreditation Board (NAB), student leaders, administrators and lecturers from public and private tertiary institutions in the country.
Welcoming the participants to the workshop, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Prof. D. D. Kuupole reiterated the need for higher educational institutions to review and strengthen their internationalization strategies with the view to marketing themselves as international institutions. He took the opportunity to acknowledge the vital role that the IAU and AAU have played over the past two decades in creating institution-wide synergy and coherence among education and research institutions and the support provided on internationalisation strategies.
Presentations at the workshop were:
- Government’s perspective on internationalization by Evans Takyi Ankomah-Asare, Assistant Secretary at the National Council for Tertiary Education.
- Internationalization of Higher Education in Africa – The Role of the Association of African Universities by Prof. Etienne E. Ehile, Secretary General of AAU.
- The Global Perspective: Presentation of the Results of the 4th IAU Global Survey by Dr. Giorgio Marinoni of IAU.
- The Regional perspective: Intra-African Collaboration by Prof. Leapetswe Malete of University of Botswana.
- Perspectives from other Regions and their impact on Ghana:
- Adopting Internationalization Strategies in Different Contexts: Brief Overview from OECD Countries by Dr. Anna Glass of OECD.
- North America: Typical Challenges in Internationalisation in the US by Prof. Donna Scarboro of George Washington University.
- Ghana’s Institutional Perspectives: University of Ghana and University of Cape Coast experiences by Prof. Naa Adamafio and Prof. Samuel K. Annim respectively.
The presentations were followed by questions and contributions from the floor, and was moderated by the Chairman of the Panel, Prof. Leapetswe Malete.
Earlier in the day the expert panel held a debriefing meeting with the management of the University of Cape Coast. Prof. Malete congratulated the two Universities for seeking IAU’s assistance to start the process of reviewing their internationalization activities. Prior to visiting UCC, the team had spent two days at the University of Ghana.