The Big Picture: An Evening with Kwaku David

On the 24th of September, Kwaku David, one of Ghana’s prominent photographers, visited campus as the speaker in a ‘Photography 101’ workshop. Kwaku David was not only inspiring, but was also charismatic, insightful, and demonstrated a mad eye for breath-taking photography.

Students had initially gathered to learn about the art of photography, but Kwaku David expanded the discussion to include the business of photography. Kwaku David believed that in order to establish a career in photography, one needed to have a strong understanding of business as well as photography.

Using stories from his own experiences, he spoke on on the importance of passion and patience, and stressed on how crucial it is to learn how to transform potential into talent through constant practice.

“With anything in life, anything, if you are serious, you will do well,” he explained. “Passion should be your greatest motivation; it is what wakes you up and encourages you to believe in the power of another day; it is the desire to be a better you tomorrow than you are today.”

The workshop also covered the basics of photography like the use of light, optics, aperture, medium and time. He also took students through a session on personal branding and its importance both on the web and off it. On a whole, the workshop did a great job of teaching a broad understanding of photography.

Thank you for coming to share your experiences with us Kwaku David!

The Ashesi Student Council in collaboration with Ghana Startup Cup organize the third annual A4idea competition

On 2nd October, 2014 the Ashesi Student Council in collaboration with Ghana Startup Cup will be organising the 3rd annual A4idea Competition at Ashesi University College. A4idea is organised to create a platform for students to be able to identify creative solutions to the challenges that we face in our society. The Ashesi Student Council aims to use the competition as a platform to encourage entrepreneurship on campus and in Ghana as a whole.

   

The partnership with Ghana Startup Cup, which is a member of a global network of business-model competitions focused on providing jobs through entrepreneurship, will enable the contestants to carry on with their ideas after the competition; The contestants will be connected to a network of professionals who will offer constant advice and support, as they work to establish their businesses. The A4idea Competition was a huge success last year, as students came up with brilliant ideas such as a carpooling mobile app and a real time mobile voting platform. Thus, the Ashesi Student Council believes that collaborating with the Ghana Startup Cup will provide the opportunity for contestants to create stronger business opportunities. 

The Ashesi Student Council believes that the involvement of Ghanaian entrepreneurs is crucial to accomplish their aim of supporting and encouraging the growth of entrepreneurship in Ghana. They therefore extend their invitation to Ghanaian entrepreneurs to come and share their experiences about transforming ideas into reality.

Ashesi’s Class of 2018 kick off their first semester with an Akwaaba Night worth remembering

Akwaaba Night is an annual event that takes place at the start of every academic year to celebrate the arrival of new students to Ashesi. It is the first mega social event that welcomes not only freshmen, but also the entire student body back to school. Since its inception, the event has served as a platform for freshmen to warm up to the Ashesi environment and to interact with their classmates and other students.

This year, Akwaaba Night took place on the 18th of September from 10 pm to 1 am, at the Bliss student lounge. “Classy”, “fun”, “intense”, “unexpected”, and “just what we needed” were some of the phrases the Ashesi Class of 2018 used to describe the event. The event kicked off with a fusion of great music, an overwhelming crowd and group selfies were the order of the night. There was no doubting the stereotype that Ghanaians kill it on the dance floor; Zambians socialized with Kenyans, Americans danced with Nigerians, Indians mixed with Ugandans and the dance floor shouted, “Diversity!”

As Ashesi’s total student population hits 631 students from over 20 different countries, including Cameroon, Swaziland, and Rwanda, the Akwaaba night was also a celebration of the Ashesi community’s multiplicity.

“Even though we didn’t know what to expect, the night turned out to be a blast, Kudos to the organizers” said Eugene Akorli ’18. “It was quite the memorable night for starting my college life; one I will remember” said Amiineh Tabbicca ’18.

Welcome to Ashesi, Class of 2018! 

Ashesi commits to gender balance in its new Engineering Programme at Clinton Global Initiative 2014 meeting

Ashesi's Commitment to Action at #CGI2014

Ashesi's Commitment to Action at #CGI2014

Seattle, WA— September 23, 2014 — At the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting in New York today, Patrick Awuah, Founder and President of Ashesi University, announced a new Commitment to Action: to add a new engineering major at Ashesi, with a goal of recruiting equal numbers of outstanding African women and men to this innovative program. [Click here to watch Ashesi’s Commitment to Action Announcement]

Ashesi University aims to spark a renaissance in Africa by educating a new generation of ethical, entrepreneurial leaders. Ashesi’s curriculum combines a liberal arts core, with a 4-year focus on leadership, innovation and community service, with current majors in business, computer science, and management information systems. Graduates have a 100% placement rate, with 95% choosing to stay in Africa to work for progress. Ashesi’s groundbreaking new engineering major, with an emphasis on design, problem solving, and entrepreneurship, will help redefine engineering education in Africa and drive the important innovations that Africa needs. The program will educate and prepare young women and men to develop engineering solutions that will address some of Africa’s pressing problems.

Women have traditionally been underrepresented in the field of engineering. According to a 2011 study published by the American Society for Engineering Education, females accounted for 18.4% of bachelor’s degrees in engineering in the United States. Gender parity will be a central focus for the engineering program. In order to achieve this ambitious goal, Ashesi will: design a curriculum intentionally aimed at including the perspective of women; implement summer high school programs that inspire girls to pursue careers in science and engineering; fund more scholarships for women; and provide the mentorship and counseling necessary to help women succeed in college and in their careers. Over the first four years, Ashesi will enroll 300 students to the program, half of whom will be women, and will reach over 1,040 high school girls through summer programs and recruitment efforts.

Ashesi's Commitment to Action at CGI 2014

Patrick Awuah comments, “Our goal is about inclusion, but perhaps more importantly, it is about ensuring that the perspectives of African women guide the engineering solutions to some of Africa’s greatest challenges. Achieving gender balance in engineering education would be exceptional and would represent leadership not only in Africa, but also globally.”

Ashesi’s success to date has been made possible by the investment of visionary donors and partners who have contributed towards Ashesi’s growth. As Ashesi continues to expand, by adding a new major in engineering, increasing its student body, and providing more scholarships for women and students in need, the support of donors and partners is all the more crucial. To learn about ways to get involved, please contact the Ashesi University Foundation team in Seattle or the University in Ghana. 

[Click here to watch Ashesi’s Commitment to Action Announcement]

About the Clinton Global Initiative
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 180 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date, members of the CGI community have made more than 2,900 commitments, which are already improving the lives of more than 430 million people in over 180 countries.

CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States, and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.

About Ashesi
Ashesi University College is a 4-year non-profit institution in Ghana that educates a new generation of ethical, innovative, and entrepreneurial leaders in Africa. Ashesi’s pioneering curriculum combines a rigorous liberal arts core designed to foster ethics and critical thinking with in-depth, world-class majors in business, computer science, and management information systems. The Ashesi University Foundation is a US non-profit designed to raise support and awareness for Ashesi University.

To learn more about this commitment and Ashesi’s work in Africa, please contact:

Joanna Bargeron, Vice President
Ashesi University Foundation
1414 31st Ave. S. Suite 301, PMB #11
Seattle, WA 98144
Tel: (206) 545-6988
Email: jbargeron@ashesi.org 

Ebenezer Gwumah, Development & External Relations
Ashesi University
1 University Ave, Berekuso
PMB CT 3, Cantonments, Accra –GHANA
Tel: +233.302.610.339
Email: egbuckman@ashesi.edu.gh

The anatomy of Ashesi’s Class of 2018

Nineteen percent of students who applied to Ashesi this year were enrolled into the freshman Class of 2018, as admission into Ashesi continues to be increasingly competitive. The Class of 2018 is one of Ashesi’s most diverse yet, with students from over 10 countries, including Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Uganda. (See full infograph)

Scholarship awards hit a record high this year, as the Class of 2018 received approximately $717,000 in financial assistance (to be renewed annually) with strong funding support from The MasterCard Foundation and the Ashesi University Foundation. Some 51% of the Class of 2018 is on scholarships, with average scholarship awards making up some 69% of tuition fees.

Increased efforts and partnerships to reach more women across Africa also saw the Class of 2018 maintain a good gender balance, with close to half of the class being women. This means that the overall student gender balance at Ashesi stays strong with 48% of students at Ashesi being women.

The Class of 2018, with its remarkable stories, brings Ashesi’s total student population to 631 students representing over 20 countries worldwide. Congratulations to all members of our new class, and we are honoured to have you be a part of the Ashesi community! 

Melton Foundation partners with Ashesi to bring global citizenship programme to Africa

The Melton Foundation in the United States has partnered with Ashesi to bring its global citizenship and ethical leadership programme to Africa for the first time. Under the programme, up to five Ashesi students could be selected each year to join the Foundation’s world-class Fellows programme and engage in projects to develop their skills as global citizens. Ashesi is the sixth institution to join the Melton Foundation’s programme, and will be the Foundation’s only partner in sub-Saharan Africa.

“At Ashesi we strongly believe in global citizenship and developing the cross-cultural competencies of our students,” said Millicent Adjei, head of Diversity and International Programmes at Ashesi. “This partnership will provide unique opportunities for young Africans to work across diverse cultures in developing solutions to the pressing problems they face in their communities.”

The Melton Foundation is a leading proponent of global citizenship as a way to encourage people and institutions to collaborate on shared global challenges. The Foundation works to empower students to address seven key issues, including conflict reduction, empowering changemakers, improving education and promoting equality.

“We conducted a year-long search across Africa for a partner university that best matched our mission to develop global citizens,” said Winthrop Carty, Executive Director at the Melton Foundation. “We identified universities that were both academically high quality and really serious about bettering their societies. After visiting nine excellent universities in the Region, we concluded without a doubt that Ashesi was it…and then some! Our current Melton Fellows from Chile, China, Germany, India, and the US are already thrilled with the selection of Ashesi and are eager to join with Melton Fellows from Africa. Fellows will work on projects that bring global solutions to local challenges and enable African youth to teach and engage others around the world.”  

The Melton Foundation will officially announce the partnership at its Global Citizenship Conference in New Orleans, USA, from September 29th – October 6th of this year. The Conference will bring together thought leaders and global citizenship advocates to share ideas, learn skills, forge partnerships and act on local and global issues.

Ashesi Student Council welcomes the Class of 2018 in true African style

At a short ceremony in Ashesi’s Cornfield and Archer Courtyard, the Ashesi Student Council (ASC) officially welcomed the Class of 2018 to the University community. Against a rich cultural backdrop of traditional Ghanaian drum music and singing, executives of the student council handed calabashes to all members of the freshman class, served them water and congratulated them for being accepted into the Ashesi community.

In Ghana and other parts of Africa, visitors to a home were often served with a calabash of water as a show of hospitality; the ceremony, which is the first of its kind at Ashesi, was also a call for the university community to celebrate the rich traditions of Africa.

“This year, we had wanted to really kickstart a new freshman tradition at Ashesi,” said ASC President Richard Odame ’15. “As a pan-African institution, we wanted to choose a ceremony that would symbolise how proud we are of Ashesi’s respect for culture. The ‘calabash event‘, we believe, fits this perfectly.”
Ashesi Class of 2018
The Class of 2018 is the most culturally diverse class at Ashesi yet, with some 28% of the class being non-Ghanaian.

“It was really unique,” said Mary Awusi ‘18. “We were a bit startled when we first saw the calabashes, but it was a beautiful event. I am not aware of any other university that does this for freshman, and it was really heartwarming to be welcomed this way.”

Ashesi Student Council welcomes the Class of 2018 in true African style

At a short ceremony in Ashesi’s Cornfield and Archer Courtyard, the Ashesi Student Council (ASC) officially welcomed the Class of 2018 to the University community. Against a rich cultural backdrop of traditional Ghanaian drum music and singing, executives of the student council handed calabashes to all members of the freshman class, served them water and congratulated them for being accepted into the Ashesi community.

In Ghana and other parts of Africa, visitors to a home were often served with a calabash of water as a show of hospitality; the ceremony, which is the first of its kind at Ashesi, was also a call for the university community to celebrate the rich traditions of Africa.

“This year, we had wanted to really kickstart a new freshman tradition at Ashesi,” said ASC President Richard Odame ’15. “As a pan-African institution, we wanted to choose a ceremony that would symbolise how proud we are of Ashesi’s respect for culture. The ‘calabash event‘, we believe, fits this perfectly.”
Ashesi Class of 2018
The Class of 2018 is the most culturally diverse class at Ashesi yet, with some 28% of the class being non-Ghanaian.

“It was really unique,” said Mary Awusi ‘18. “We were a bit startled when we first saw the calabashes, but it was a beautiful event. I am not aware of any other university that does this for freshman, and it was really heartwarming to be welcomed this way.”

Ashesi lecturer, Dr. Oduro-Frimpong, wins African Humanities Program Fellowship

Ashesi Professor Dr. Joseph Oduro-Frimpong is one of two Ghanaian scholars named as African Humanities Programme (AHP) Postdoctoral Fellow (2014-2015) by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). Ashesi is the first private university in Ghana to have one of its faculty members receive this AHP fellowship, generously supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

“I am greatly honored by this fellowship as it testifies to not only the calibre of Ashesi’s faculty, but also the cutting-edge work going on here,” Dr. Frimpong said. “I am grateful to Ashesi for granting a research leave to enable me take this award. Obviously, such a stance firmly establishes the University’s appetite for research.”

The African Humanities Program (AHP) seeks to reinvigorate the humanities in Africa through fellowship competitions and related activities in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. In partnership with the Carnegie Corporation of New York, which provides funding, AHP offers African scholars an integrated set of opportunities to develop individual capacities and to promote formation of scholarly networks. The Programme supports the Carnegie Corporation’s efforts to develop and retain African academics at universities in Africa.

Dr. Oduro-Frimpong’s current work broadly focuses on Ghanaian popular culture/media. Some of his published research includes: Glocalization Trends: Examining the Case of Hip-Life Music in Contemporary Ghana, International Journal of Communication; “Better Ghana Agenda”: On Akosua Cartoons and Critical Public Debates in Contemporary Ghana, in “Popular Culture in Africa: The Episteme of Everyday (Stephanie Newell & Onookome Okome); and Sakawa Rituals and Cyberfraud in Ghanaian Popular Video-Movies, African Studies Review. For his fellowship year, Dr. Oduro-Frimpong will further his ongoing research on the complicated entanglement of popular media in understanding contemporary Ghanaian political culture.

Ashesi lecturer, Dr. Oduro-Frimpong, wins African Humanities Program Fellowship

Ashesi Professor Dr. Joseph Oduro-Frimpong is one of two Ghanaian scholars named as African Humanities Programme (AHP) Postdoctoral Fellow (2014-2015) by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). Ashesi is the first private university in Ghana to have one of its faculty members receive this AHP fellowship, generously supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

“I am greatly honored by this fellowship as it testifies to not only the calibre of Ashesi’s faculty, but also the cutting-edge work going on here,” Dr. Frimpong said. “I am grateful to Ashesi for granting a research leave to enable me take this award. Obviously, such a stance firmly establishes the University’s appetite for research.”

The African Humanities Program (AHP) seeks to reinvigorate the humanities in Africa through fellowship competitions and related activities in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. In partnership with the Carnegie Corporation of New York, which provides funding, AHP offers African scholars an integrated set of opportunities to develop individual capacities and to promote formation of scholarly networks. The Programme supports the Carnegie Corporation’s efforts to develop and retain African academics at universities in Africa.

Dr. Oduro-Frimpong’s current work broadly focuses on Ghanaian popular culture/media. Some of his published research includes: Glocalization Trends: Examining the Case of Hip-Life Music in Contemporary Ghana, International Journal of Communication; “Better Ghana Agenda”: On Akosua Cartoons and Critical Public Debates in Contemporary Ghana, in “Popular Culture in Africa: The Episteme of Everyday (Stephanie Newell & Onookome Okome); and Sakawa Rituals and Cyberfraud in Ghanaian Popular Video-Movies, African Studies Review. For his fellowship year, Dr. Oduro-Frimpong will further his ongoing research on the complicated entanglement of popular media in understanding contemporary Ghanaian political culture.