The quintuple helix approach to economic growth refers to the collaboration among government, industry, and academia, as well as societal uptake of innovations and the considerations of the innovation’s impact on the environment.
Ashesi University, as an academic institution in its collaboration with government, continues to grow steadily as an important stakeholder in Ghana’s policy making inputs. In November 2022, Ashesi University was invited by the Minister of Communications & Digitalisation to participate in the process of formulating a Digital Economy Policy for Ghana. This was part of national discussions on the eTransform Ghana Project under the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation which engaged stakeholders in a series of consultation workshops from November 15th to the 24th, 2022 at the Accra Digital Centre.
The Minister solicited the views of key stakeholders, representing Government, the private sector, academia and civil society with a view to developing a shared vision of Ghana’s digital future. Some of the sessions concentrated on Digital Government, Digital Infrastructure, Digital Entrepreneurship, Digital Skills and Data and Emerging Technologies. Other sessions also focused on specific key sectors such as Agriculture, Health, Education, Financial Services and Retail. The outcomes from these stakeholder consultations were documented and incorporated into Ghana’s Digital Economy Policy and Strategy. Dr. David Ebo Adjepon – Yamoah, a Lecturer in Ashesi’s Computer Science and Information Systems department was nominated by the Provost, to represent Ashesi at this national forum. Learn more
Dr. Millicent Adjei, Director of Diversity and International Programs at Ashesi, in September 2023 was invited to participate in a Technical Working Group (TWG) constituted to develop a guidance note addressing Sexual Harassment in Secondary Institutions (SEIs) and a mandatory online training for school staff. The TWG served as part of measures by the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service to ensure that schools strengthen their efforts to create safe environments for learners and staff. The goal of this assignment was to ensure that all Ghana Education Service staff were equipped with the necessary knowledge and tools to effectively prevent, recognise and address cases of sexual harassment in school settings in Ghana. Learn more.
In addition, an institute of Ashesi University, the Ghana Climate Innovation Center (GCIC), is engaged in influencing policy on green entrepreneurship in Ghana. Their work reports on and provides government with insights on: Assessing the extent to which climate change related issues have been mainstreamed into Ghana’s PFM processes.
Ascertaining the gaps in mainstreaming climate change in the PFM processes.
Outlining key recommendations for the Government of Ghana’s consideration. Learn more.
Additionally, Patrick Awuah, Ashesi University’s Founder and President as a member of several global associations for change, influences global policy. He serves on the Pacific Council on International Policy which is committed to building the capacity of Los Angeles and California for impact on global issues, discourse, and policy.
In addition, he is a member of the UNESCO Futures of Education Commission (Learn more here). The members of the commission, who are thought-leaders from politics, the arts, science, business, and education have the responsibility of informing education globally from diverse perspectives.
Patrick Awuah is also a member of the U7+ Alliance representing Ghana and Ashesi University the U7 + members’ commitments are outlined under six principles of climate change and cleaner energy; Inequality and polarised societies; technological transformations; and community engagement and impact. The U7+ strives to become the academic equivalent of the G7+, adopting SDG-like commitments to be given to a G7 president, e.g., in 2019 the U7+ commitments were presented to President Emmanuel Macron, of France, who was chair the G7 summit in 2019, and in 2023, during the university presidents unanimously adopted the U7+ Tokyo Statement: Universities as Engines of Innovation for Peace and Security, which members of the U7+ Presidential Steering Committee presented to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
