Ashesi has been named a host for the 2014 Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Programme. Under the partnership, the University has been hosting Programme Fellow, Professor Patrick F. Mensah, to help develop courses for Ashesi’s engineering curriculum. His work will be particularly focused on physics, thermal and fluid dynamics, system control, structural engineering, among others.

Professor Mensah, a Ghanaian, is one of thirty-three scholars named the first Carnegie African Diaspora Fellows. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Southern University and is also a fellow in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

“It has been great being here at Ashesi,” says Professor Mensah. “The environment is very conducive for learning, and you can see that the foundations have been laid for serious academic work to be done here.”

The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program (ADF) is a scholar fellowship program for educational projects at African higher education institutions. Offered by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in partnership with Quinnipiac University (QU), the program is funded by a two-year grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY), to support 100 short-term faculty fellowships for African-born academics.

The program exemplifies CCNY’s enduring commitment to higher education in Africa. IIE manages and administers the program, including applications, project requests and fellowships. QU provides strategic direction through Dr. Paul Tiyambe Zeleza and an Advisory Council he chairs.

For the second-year running, two Ashesi students were selected to join the Yale School of Management’s Pre-MBA Programme. The students, Sela Agbakpe ‘15 and Benedicta Amo Bempah ’16, spent two weeks learning business and leadership skills and being introduced to the benefits of an MBA degree.

Below, Sela and Benedicta write about their experience, and their key learnings. Learn about the Yale SOM Pre-MBA programme here.

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Sela writes: When I realized I needed hands on business training and skills to scale up my non-profit organization, Adesua Ye, establish a second business venture and also pursue a global career, I knew the Yale School of Management’s Global Pre-MBA program was the perfect fit for me. Yale SOM’s mission as a school and its concentration on non-profits, fits my career path remarkably well.

The Global Pre-MBA Program is a highly selective program consisting of some of the most diverse and smartest young people around the world. Benedicta and I were 2 of 59 professionals selected from 24 countries worldwide ( with a 5% acceptance rate). Goldman Sachs sponsored this year’s program.

It was a remarkable experience that made realise just how much more my classmates and I could achieve here in Ghana and Africa. My experience has also helped me better understand the relevance of an MBA for my career, and life, and my intention to engage the world through business and enterprise.

During the two-week program at Yale SOM in New Haven, I took compressed versions of MBA courses, including Sourcing and Managing Funds and Operations Management, and attended networking, leadership development, and test preparation sessions. I applied lessons learnt from the classroom during the Audubon Street Project, an exercise in which teams of students developed a hypothetical business plan for an enterprise that would have a positive social impact, based on a storefront near campus. 

The Pre-MBA program has given me confidence and tools to strategically look back at my achievements and work towards achieving my future goals. Having international exposure and perspective really helps you compete on a global level. If I had to give my fellow students one piece of advice, it would be: visit the Office of Diversity and International Programmes, and make the best of all the opportunities it provides!

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Benedicta writes: The students we met at Yale were just beyond imagination. It was a group full of diversity, intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and many others. We were sure to emphasise a freethinking environment, explaining to each other: “we all don’t know what we are up to and we are here to get understanding.” Every single input was respected and enhanced with the vast number of MBA courses that were introduced to us.

We established great networks and highly regarded each other. There were sessions where we all shared our experiences, rigorously questioned the Yale MBA system and actively interacted with the distinguished lecturers. 

The integrated curriculum of the Pre-MBA program was also remarkable. The courses, lecture styles and professors taught us about management, and the different ways students could run businesses. The real life case competition we worked on was intense, as we had to integrate two weeks worth of learning to pitch the perfect proposal.

Our case presentation won the first place by “people’s choice”, but the judges awarded us second place based on creativity, presentation, content, style and appeal to audience! 

On my birthday, the pre-MBA students surprised me by organising a dinner and karaoke night and the event was well attended. It was phenomenal. I am constantly in touch with my new friends and we update each other on new opportunities everyday. 

I learnt a lot from the Yale Pre-MBA and I encourage each and every student to take up this opportunity. A big “thank you” to Ashesi and all others who specifically manage such programs; it was just incredible!

The Office of Diversity and International Programs (ODIP) at Ashesi coordinates and promotes all external collaborations and partnerships of the University. The office also drives initiatives and programs aimed at advancing cross-cultural learning, awareness and acceptance of diversity and inclusion as a core tenant of the University.

As part of a long-term drive to open up our community to different people and cultures of the world, here is a growing list of partner institutions that will be hosting Ashesi’s students for study-abroad and cultural learning programmes this 2014/2015 academic year. We will keep updating this list throughout the year! 

Coe College
Coe College is a selective, private, nationally recognized four-year coeducational liberal arts institution providing superior educational experiences for students since 1851. Coe’s residential campus is located in Cedar Rapids – Iowa’s second largest city – and only hours from several major cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and St. Louis.

Coe prides itself on its ability to give students a personalized education. The average class size is 16, with a student/faculty ratio of 11:1. With more than 40 majors that range from accounting to art to molecular biology, Coe truly aims to offer something for everyone.

As part of our partnership, Ashesi students will get to spend a semester studying at Coe, while Ashesi will also welcome Coe’s students to our campus in Berekuso for the same period.

Babson College
Babson College is currently ranked as one of the best entrepreneurial schools in the world, and has collaborated with Ashesi on several business programmes. With an emphasis on Social, Environmental, Economic Responsibility, and Sustainability embedded into Babson’s experience, their students are taught to understand that economic and social value creation are not mutually exclusive, but instead integral to each other. The fundamental business skills and entrepreneurial mindset cultivated at Babson seeks to equip students to make a difference around the world. 

As part of our partnership, Ashesi students will get to spend a semester studying at Babson and participate in leadership programmes at Babson, while Ashesi will also welcome Babson students and faculty to our campus in Berekuso for the Babson-Ashesi Business Programme.

Semester at Sea
The Semester at Sea (SAS) is a premier international shipboard study abroad programme that gives college students the rare opportunity to circumnavigate the globe and see how the rest of the world lives. Instead of the traditional study abroad programmes, where participants travel to a country of their choice, Semester at Sea participants spend sixteen weeks on board the MV Explorer, which serves as a floating campus. 

They travel from country to country, learning about different cultures and taking part in community service projects in each country. Each Semester at Sea Voyage usually covers about 11 or 12 countries.

As part of our partnership, Ashesi students will get to spend some two weeks traveling with the SAS ship to teach its diverse student community about Ghana, and learn about different cultures around the world.

Macalester College
Since being founded in 1874, Macalester College has provided students the inspiration, insight and experience to become successful and ethical leaders. The university is committed to being a preeminent liberal arts college with an educational program that emphasises high standards for scholarship, internationalism, multiculturalism, and service to society. 

This academic year, Ashesi students will get to spend a semester studying at Macalester, while Ashesi hosts students from Macalester at our campus for the same period.  

Swarthmore College
With a curriculum unmatched among liberal arts colleges of its size, Swarthmore College offers more than 600 courses and undergraduate research opportunities, in science, engineering, humanities, and social sciences. Swarthmore inspired Ashesi’s educational model, and the College has contributed in helping develop Ashesi’s curriculum.

Since its founding in 1864, Swarthmore College has given students the knowledge, insight, skills, and experience to become leaders for the common good. The College is private, yet open to all regardless of financial need. It is also global in outlook, drawing students from around the world and all 50 of the United States.

As part of our partnership, Ashesi students will get to spend a semester studying at Swarthmore’s campus in Pennsylvania, while Ashesi will also welcome Swarthmore students to our campus in Berekuso for the same period.

Doha GOALS Sports Conference
Founded under the high patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, the Doha GOALS conference is the world’s premier platform for world leaders to create a roadmap to build initiatives and partnerships for global progress through sport.

Various CEOs, government officials, NGOs and other key stakeholders in global sports will be present at the event to tackle the most pressing social issues through focused taskforces, that will enable constructive brainstorming and collaboration. Speakers last year included Michael Johnson, Olympic and World Champion sprinter, Roger Milla, former Cameroon football team captain, and Tony Hawk, X-Games.

For the second year running, Ashesi students will get to represent Ghana, and Africa at the conference, sharing insights on how sports can help drive change across the continent. 

Assistant Professor at Ashesi, Dr. Lloyd Amoah, has been selected for the first ever Visiting Programme for Young Sinologists. The 2014 programme, initiated by the Ministry of Culture of China and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, offers opportunities for a highly selective group of accomplished young scholars and promoters of Chinese studies around the world to visit China and forge research partnerships. Dr. Amoah is Africa’s only representative in the programme.

The programme aims to provide the selected scholarswith first-hand experience and the required support to further deepen and enrich their studies about China and Chinese culture.

“I thank the Chinese government for the opportunity and resources to continue to interpret China for Africa, Ashesi for the financial and institutional support and the scholars who nominated me for the programme,” Dr. Amoah said. “I am also grateful to Ghana and her people for nurturing my mind!”

Dr. Amoah’s research area will be on “Contemporary China and the world”, including the development policy of China in the modern era and studies on the impact of China’s soft power, among other things. Lloyd’s research has focused mainly on public policy formation and development in developing societies, Africa-China relations, Africa-Asia relations and public administration and philosophy.

He has also published on Africa-China relations in the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Focus on Africa magazine, Jeune Afrique’s The Africa Report, Third World Network’s African Agenda magazine and other local and international publications. Lloyd’s latest book (2014) analyses the emergence and impact(s) of the knowledge society/economy on contemporary Africa’s socio-economic development.