Vice Chancellor Leads UG Delegation to 2018 Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) Conference & AGM

The Vice-Chancellor has led a University delegation to the WUN Conference and Annual General Meeting (AGM).  The event, a multi-purpose gathering incorporates a yearly face-to-face meeting of WUN Global Challenge and Governance Groups, plenary discussion sessions on strategic issues, the annual Presidents Forum as well as a range of academic workshops and fora organised by WUN’s global challenge collaborations and project teams.

This year’s event was held from 22nd to 25th May at the University of Western Australia (UWA), Perth, Australia. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, Prof. Anthony Andrew Adjei, WUN Coordinator, Prof. Christopher Charles Mate-Kole, Dr. Ibrahim Bedi, Global Africa Group (GAG) Representative and Mrs. Demi Letsa Duah, a PhD student at the School of Public Health represented the University.

The Vice-Chancellor made some presentations at the meeting on the University’s achievements as a panelist on the session, “Regional Action Plans and Priorities for Engagement in Policy Research”. He further shared the involvement of the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD) in managing conflicts in Africa; the Institute of Applied Science and Technology’s (IAST) role in promoting the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 & 2; the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement’s  (WACCI) strides in food security, the contributions of the Centres of Migration Studies, Asian Studies, European Studies, Ageing as well as the role of Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in Malaria, Ebola and other health related research. He reiterated Government’s confidence in the University and how that has translated to requests for the development of national policy agendas. According to Prof. Owusu, the Department of Economics and IAST have been commissioned to develop policy guidelines in the implementation of Government’s “Africa Beyond Aid” initiative.

The Vice-Chancellor also gave the key note address at the WUN Global Africa Group Panel Session to mark the 2018 AU Day on the theme, “Africa and Sustainable Development Agendas”. He called on Africans to be committed to building the continent. In his address, he bemoaned bad governance and greed in most African leaders and called for support for the few acting with integrity and fighting corruption. Prof. Owusu lauded President Nana Akufo-Addo’s vision of “Africa Beyond Aid” and indicated that “Africa can achieve it targets and do great things despite the limited resources, it will be difficult yet we can go at our own pace”.

The UG Team visited the “Future Farm 2050” Project of UWA located at Pingelly in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.

The “Future Farm 2050” is a project aimed at “making money” from agricultural research, as well as curbing climate change and bridging the gap between academia and practice by encouraging farmers to adopt best practices identified through research. Prof. C. C. Mate-Kole and Mrs. Demi Duah presented papers during the Public Health Academic Workshops.

The Vice-Chancellor signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on behalf of the University of Ghana with Mr. Iain Watt, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, International, signing on behalf of University of Western Australia. In this regard, a seven-member team including Prof. Andrew A. Adjei and Prof. Kwame Offei, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Academic and Student Affairs are scheduled to visit UWA later this year to agree on specific projects and areas of collaborations. A reciprocal team from UWA would visit the University of Ghana. Both Universities expressed the desire to ensure that the objective of signing the MOU is accomplished. The MOU is expected to promote faculty and student exchanges, joint research, conferences and other academic engagements and exchange of academic materials and information.

Prof. Owusu later had a meeting with other WUN partner universities such as the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil), University of Sheffield (UK) and University of Southampton (UK) on possible collaborations.

Prof. Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, Vice-Chancellor (third from right)  is seen here with UG officials and some officials of partner institutions

 

The Vice-Chancellor also toured the academic facilities of UWA including the Green House of the Institute of Agriculture. He also had the opportunity to engage with Ghanaian faculty and students at UWA.

Touring the Green House

 

Vice-Chancellor with some students