Ashesi Code Fair

Ashesi University, Methodist University and Pentecost University came together for the first ever Ashesi Code Fair held at the Ashesi University College Campus, Berekuso. This Code Fair was organized by Ashesi University and sponsored jointly by DreamOval Ltd and Google Ghana, and was aimed at challenging and exposing the programming skills of computer science students in tertiary institutions.

The challenge for the Code Fair was set by the DreamOval Team led by the Head of Engineering, Mr. Henry Sampson. All in all 8 teams (ranging from individuals to groups of 3) competed for the top prize of GH¢ 500.  The contestants were given 3 hours to complete the task and though some dropped off along the way most stuck doggedly to their task to present their program solutions to the challenge at the 3 hour mark.

Scoring for the challenge was based on program effectiveness, readability, simplicity of code and timing. The judging period was for 40 minutes and during that time the teams from different schools were allowed to present some of their personal coding projects to the guests. The team from Pentecost University presented a self-developed accounting software usable by churches and other organizations, whilst other teams presented video games, an Internet browser, and a student from Ashesi presented an Intranet radio he had developed for fellow students.


The ‘Top Coder’ Award, with the bragging rights as the top programming team of the three institutions along with an award of GH¢500 went to the team of Daniel Nii Tettey Botchway and Albert Kofi Mensah-Ansah of Ashesi University College. The prize winners will be able to spend their winnings on DreamOval’s iWallet Internet Payment system for online shopping.

Berekuso Hiking

The hike began from the environs close to the Ashesi campus and ended in one of the steep hills of the Berekuso township. This event was organised by Felix Tetteh and it took place on 17th September, 2011. About 20 people turned up for the event which was held on a scenery characterized by the beautiful views of the city of Accra and the river bodies of the Berekuso township.

The tour guides, two Berekuso Policemen, Santiago and Inspector Glavi, who led the hike took as round some parts of the Akuapim mountains,. This was a tough challenge for some of us who have retired in any form of physical activity. The tour guides gave us a brief history about the rivers of Berekuso. Through this, we learnt that Okomfo Anokye, an ancient Ashanti fetish priest visited the water sources of the town some years ago and left his footprints in the rocks. His footprints are still engraved in the rocks till date, a miraculous and beautiful sight.

After the end of the trek, hikers helped themselves to healthy portions of meat which they grilled themselves. This was a fun moment and quite a scene as students were fighting over small pieces of meat which were still on the fire. Students had already chosen their portions before the meat were even ready. This moment was also a time for Ashesi students to interact with some of the community members who came around as they saw us. We took pictures with them along our hike.

At the end of the event, we all jumped into the back of a truck, holding each other tightly, almost for our lives, and screamed all the way to school. This was both scary and adventurous for most of us. Our arrival at the school campus was almost legendary as Derrick Crentsil, ASC president, stood there in awe, with a wide smile on his face, as our truck advanced into the school grounds.

Hiking was certainly a fun event that, I won’t hesitate for a second to go for when Felix Tetteh and his team throws the opportunity at me again. I, and we, certainly did love it!

Camping trip

The much anticipated and much hyped ‘back to basics’ overnight camp came off on the 29th October, 2011. About 50 students, who had registered for the experience, spent the night in an abandoned structure on the same hill as Ashesi. The idea was to have students go back to the basics and spend a night without the electronic gadgets we are all attached to, and it did just that. The camping location was virtually in the middle of nowhere, and had no running water and electricity. All the students were surrounded by were the lush adjoining mountains, and a magnificent view of the Accra and Tema metropolis and their environs, which was really spectacular once it was dark and the city lit up. To get there, most students hitched on the back of the truck that carried their luggage to the place. On getting there, the new campers explored their new environment in the bushes. Despite the approaching darkness, they decided to go in search of a river on the other side of an adjoining mountain, which was another experience. When it was dark, a bonfire was set up and wick kerosene lamps were lit to provide light. For dinner, they had kenkey and sausages cooked over charcoal. After eating, most people just sat around the fire telling ghost stories and eating marshmallows roasted over the bonfire, while others sat around talking and getting to know new people and having other activities on their own. Later on, a generator was powered to enable students watch a scary movie. During this time a group of campers who decided not to watch the movie but continue with the scary stories made two futile attempts to scare those watching the movie. To prevent people from sleeping off too early, sophomore George Neequaye started taking pictures of the first people to sleep. This kept most people awake for a long time.

In the morning, after cleaning up and going around for one last time, they came and talked about the whole experience before finally hiking back to school.

The camp is a second adventure initiative to be organized by Ashesi sophomore student, Felix Tetteh. The first was a hiking expedition across the Berekuso hills to the footprints of legendary chief priest Okomfo Anokye.

Xilinx donates 50 licenses to Ashesi

Xilinx recently donated 50 licenses to the latest version of their ISE Design Suit to Ashesi’s Computer Science department. In addition, the organization also donated 5 Digilent Basys2 design boards which are development kits based on Spartan 3 FPGA.

Xilinx is the worldwide leader in complete programmable logic solutions. Their programmable chips are the innovation platform of choice for today’s leading companies for the design of tens of thousands of products that improve the quality of our everyday lives.

The Computer Science department of Ashesi has been using Xilinx’s ISE Design Suit and Spartan 3 FPGA boards to train students in computer organization, architecture and embedded system designing. Xilinx has been supporting the department since 2005 by providing free licenses to its development tools.

Ashesi welcomes the Class of 2015

In October this year, Ashesi welcomed its newest student members to the community. The 168 students who make up Ashesi’s Class of 2015, were chosen from a highly selective and diverse pool of 647 applicants. This class represents 26% of applicants and is the highest ever student intake in the university’s history.

Ashesi’s generous Financial Aid program saw $223,192 in grants being awarded to brilliant students who otherwise could not afford Ashesi’s full tuition fees (compared to $149,880 disbursed last year). 49% of financial aid recipients this year are female.

Through concerted efforts from the admissions office, 51% of the Class of 2015 are female students (a 10% increase on female enrolment from last year). Overall, 35% of the incoming class received financial aid – a 5% increase from last year.

The Class of 2015 is coming in barely two months after Ashesi opened its new campus in Berekuso. “It’s a very beautiful campus,” Rhoda Appiah ’15 remarked enthusiastically when asked about the school’s new grounds. “I’m nervous, but certainly excited to be here.”

Franklin Digber ’15, whose brother is already a senior at Ashesi, explains that for him, Ashesi represents an exciting opportunity for self-development. “That’s why we came here – to be challenged and transformed! It’s all about your own vim and determination to succeed. I know it won’t be easy, but I don’t see a need to be worried, only to be more motivated.”

For others like Kpetermeni Siakor ‘15, a Liberian who had his Senior High School education in Ghana and has been following Ashesi for years, this step represents a strong sense of achievement. “It’s incredible to have systems like the Honour Code, which I used to read about in relation to universities like Stanford, thriving here in Africa. I have always wanted an education that would aim to help me grow not only academically but also as a person. Ashesi has taken everything I ever wanted in a university, and packaged it into one – it’s a real dream come true!”

Art Day

This fun event was organized by the Art Factory Club on the 26th of October 2011. The theme that was used for the event was African. Every item on display had an African touch to it. It was a day of art exhibitions which included a display of interesting crafts such as beads, paintings and African clothing. Student exhibitors who partook in the event were Adwoa Asiedua Boateng, Michelle Kyei, Ruweida Salifu, Krystal Ababio, Zeina Kowalski & Ato Addei Mensah.There was also a display of splendid photos by The Ashesi Photography Club. Visitors at the program encompassed both members of the faculty, staff and students.A side attraction which created a lot of excitement was the make-up bar. Interested ladies who were interested in having free makeovers were given the chance to choose from colorful palettes of eye shadow and foundation. There was also a photo area for free photo shots.

The Art Factory plans on expanding this event next semester.

Ashesi Students Against Hunger (ASAH) Campaign

The Ashesi Student Council, through its Outreach Committee, has joined the fight against hunger on behalf of the entire Ashesi student body. “10.9 million children under five die in developing countries each year. Malnutrition and hunger-related diseases cause 60 percent of the deaths.” (Source: The State of the World’s Children, UNICEF, 2007)

Objectives of the Campaign:

  1. Raise funds to support the fight against hunger. Funds raised will be donated to organizations working to end hunger such as The World Food Programme.
  2. Create awareness of the hunger problem and efforts to deal with it.
  3. Inspire people to want to do something about ending hunger. It is our hope that through our example and activities, many more student bodies and organizations will join the fight against hunger.

How you can help:

Clickonate
You can donate with just a click via Clickonate. Clickonate is a web application that lets people donate to charities without paying money. You donate by simply visiting the website, reading an advertisement and answering a question based on the advertisement. Each correct answer earns money for the causes you support. ASAH is enlisted as the default cause on clickonate. Visit http://www.clickonate.com or https://apps.facebook.com/clickonate to start clickonating!

Join Us
We are on Facebook and Twitter. Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. Our Facebook page name is Ashesi Students Against Hunger (ASAH). Our twitter username is AsahAshesi. Invite your friends to join this great campaign and email us ideas and suggestions.

Donate
You can also donate money directly to the cause.

This campaign is co-ordinated and managed by the Ashesi Students Outreach Committee (ASOC) – the committee of the Ashesi Student Council responsible for Outreach.

Contact Person:
Dennis Asamoah-Owusu
Chairman, Ashesi Students Outreach Committee
Email: dennisasamoahowusu@yahoo.com
Phone: +233-200-243359
Skype id: asamoah.owusu.dennis