The overall best student in the 2021 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and second best in West Africa, Mr Kwame Brako Asante, has donated some items to the Akropong School of the Blind in the Eastern Region.
The items, made up of two sound systems, four microphones, five pen drives and geometrical shapes, were to facilitate learning.
Mr Kwame Brako Asante, speaking at the short ceremony, expressed his excitement seeing the kids appreciate the donated items.
He expressed happiness about the students commitment to study and give off their best to society.
“One thing I believe in is if somebody who is disadvantaged is trying his best to achieve something good, that person deserves support, so I believe they have what it takes but they just need the support,” he added.
The Computer Science Student of Ashesi University further stated that he had plans of helping others through his field of study, as a way of impacting the various societies in Ghana.
He finally urged various stakeholders to join hands to support young individuals in their education as a way of making them prominent in society.
Mr Gideon Doyi, the Assistant Headmaster of the school, expressed his delight having received the items and said it had come at the right time to help them with their audio lessons.
He thanked Mr Brako Asante for choosing no other institution than theirs to donate the items and encouraged him to continue to support the school in years to come.
“We rely on sound, and these electronic items are going to help us in both teaching and entertainment,” He added.
The Assistant Headmaster further stated that the visit would serve as a motivation to the students to also achieve greater heights in society.
He appealed to individuals, organisations and corporate bodies to emulate the kind gesture by Mr Asante Brako.
Some students also shared their excitement as the items donated were going to make learning easier and better.
Education can be really expensive, but as the narrative has always been, it is a necessary evil.
And it is this motivation that has led two Ghanaians to focus their energies and investments on building the educational structure of Africa through higher education.
Patrick Awuah and Fred Swaniker of Ashesi University and the African Leadership University, respectively are blazing the trails of African education and, by that, developing a continent of bright, inquisitive, resilient, and passionate people.
In this Friday GhanaWeb feature, we put a spotlight on these two personalities and their achievements in the education sector of the African continent.
In the biographies of Patrick and Fred below, you will get to understand better their stories and how it is they are working to churn out a generation of Africans who are academically different but in a very critical way.
Patrick Awuah, Founder and President, Ashesi University
The following biography of Patrick Awuah is culled from the official website of his university, Ashesi University
Patrick Awuah is the Founder and President of Ashesi University, a private, not-for-profit institution that has quickly gained a reputation for innovation and quality education in Ghana.
In 2012, Ashesi University was ranked as one of the top ten Most Respected Companies in Ghana, and was the first educational institution to win the award. In the same survey, Patrick Awuah was named the 4th Most Respected CEO in Ghana.
Before founding Ashesi University, Patrick worked as a Program Manager for Microsoft where, among other things, he spearheaded the development of dial-up internet working technologies and gained a reputation for bringing difficult projects to completion.
He holds bachelor’s degrees in Engineering and Economics from Swarthmore College; an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business; and honorary doctorates from Swarthmore College, Babson College, and the University of Waterloo.
He has won many prestigious international awards including the MacArthur Fellowship; the McNulty Prize; Membership of the Order of the Volta — one of Ghana’s highest awards, given to individuals who exemplify the ideal of service to the country, and the World Innovation Summit for Education Prize. In 2015, Patrick was named one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune, and received the Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award, given to UC Berkeley alumni with distinguished records of service to their countries.
Patrick served on the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACVFA) of the U.S. Agency for International Development from 2010 to 2016. He is a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative of the Aspen Global Leadership Network; a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; and a member of the Tau Beta Pi honor society for excellence in engineering.
Honourary Doctorates
• Honourary Doctor of Laws, Swarthmore College, 2004
• Honourary Doctor of Laws, Babson College, 2013
• Honourary Doctor of Engineering, University of Waterloo, 2018
Major Awards
• Membership of the Order of the Volta by President of Ghana, His Excellency J.A. Kufuor, 2007
• John P. McNulty Prize, 2009
• Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, 2014
• 2015 Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award, University of California, Berkeley, 2015
• MacArthur Fellowship, 2015
• WISE Prize Laureate, 2017
Summary of Other Affiliations and Awards:
• Fellow of the African Leadership Initiative—Aspen Global Leadership Network
• Member, US Council of Foreign Relations
• Member: Tau Beta Pi Honor Society for Excellence in Engineering.
• Member, TED Fellows Program: 2007 TED/Global, 2009 TED Fellow
• Ghana Web, 2005 Person of the Year
• Young Global Leader, 2007, World Economic Forum
• Winner, 2009 Microsoft Alumni Foundation “Integral Fellow” award
• Winner, John P. McNulty Prize 2009, Aspen Institute
• Ghana’s 8th Most Respected CEO, 2010 (PricewaterhouseCoopers)
• Winner, Educational Development, Millennium Excellence Awards 2010, Ghana
• Member, Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACVFA) of the U.S. Agency for International Development, March 2010 – March 2016
• Ghana’s 4th Most Respected CEO, 2012 (PricewaterhouseCoopers)
• Leading Through Innovation Award, University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, 2012
• Paul Harris Fellow, The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, 2013
• Elon Medal for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Elon University, 2014
• 50 Greatest Leaders in 2015, Fortune Magazine, 2015
Fred Swaniker
Fred Swaniker of the Africa Leadership University based in Rwanda is a Ghanaian whose inspiring story of struggles led him to start what is one of the model universities for leadership on the African continent.
The following profile is also made available by the official website of the school.
Fred was recognized by US President Obama in 2010 and again in 2013 for his work in developing Africa’s future leaders.
He has been recognised as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, by Forbes Magazine as one of the top ten young ‘power men’ in Africa, and by Echoing Green as one of the fifteen ‘best emerging social entrepreneurs in the world’.
He is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Global Leadership Network and was a TED Fellow in 2009.
Fred began his professional career as a consultant with McKinsey and Company and has an MBA from Stanford Business School, where he was named an Arjay Miller Scholar, a distinction awarded to the top 10% of each graduating class at the business school.
He was born in Ghana but has lived and worked in about 10 different African countries. Fred is deeply passionate about Africa and believes that the missing ingredient on the continent is good leadership.
In line with this, Fred founded the African Leadership ‘Group’—an ecosystem of organizations that includes African Leadership Academy, African Leadership Network, Africa Advisory Group, and of course, ALU.
Collectively, these institutions aim to transform Africa by identifying, developing, and connecting three million game-changing leaders for Africa by 2060.
Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings has placed Ashesi University as the first in Ghana, 9th in Africa and one of the top 400 worldwide for 2020.
In an article sighted by YEN.com.gh on Ashesi.edu.gh, it is indicated that the criteria for the ranking included the measure of actions taken by universities to advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Furthermore, the measures taken are expected to show proof of promoting social and economic wellbeing around the entire world.
It is reported that only the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) and the University of Ghana, Legon, where the other Ghanaian universities accepted in the ranking.
In 2019, the Ashesi University ranked 14th on the same list together with UPSA and UG and it is rather remarkable that the Ghanaian private university was able to break into the top 10 just after one year.
Ashesi’s strongest contributions that led to their high ranking were to the SDG 1 Goal of No Poverty, with the University being ranked 24th globally in their work to end poverty.
Some other areas of strength for Ashesi were in contributions to Gender Equality (SDG 5), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7) and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).
Meanwhile, Amanda, a 24-year-old lady has been destroyed by drugs after getting addicted for four months as a heartbreaking video of her has caused a massive stir on the internet.
The video sighted by YEN.com.gh on Youtube shows how the young woman was recorded by a photographer called Soft White Underbelly, showing her various stages of deterioration with the 4-month span.
Whilst doing crack cocaine, Amanda also revealed she became a prostitute and interestingly, she looked almost unrecognizable after a short period of engaging in the activities.
Ashesi University has been ranked first in Ghana, ninth in Africa, and among the world’s top 400, in the 2020 Global Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings.
The Impact Rankings measure the actions taken by higher education institutions to realise the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) around the world, and contributions to the world’s economic and social well-being.
Other Ghanaian universities accepted to the 2020 rankings list, were the University of Ghana and the University of Professional Studies, Accra. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, however, did not make it in the rankings.
Ashesi moved up in the positions, despite an additional 299 universities joining the list, breaking into Africa’s top 10 (from 2019’s joint ranking of 14th place with the University of Ghana and the University of Professional Studies, Accra), and ranked within the top 400 universities on the list of 766 universities from 85 countries.
Ashesi’s strongest contributions were to the SDG 1 Goal of No Poverty, with the University being ranked 24th globally in their work to end poverty. Other areas of strength for Ashesi, were in contributions to Gender Equality (SDG 5), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7) and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).
“We believe that universities are our greatest hope of solving some of the world’s biggest challenges. These rankings prove that traditional barriers to success like (institutional) wealth or research prestige don’t matter when it comes to doing great things for sustainability. It’s clear that universities give us a lot to be hopeful for,” Phil Baty, Chief Knowledge Officer at Times Higher Education noted.
Ashesi’s overall ranking was driven by contributions to:
Ashesi University has announced a free 10 gigabyte monthly data bundles to students for online academic activities.
The university is among the many tertiary institutions that have suspended lecture hall activities following a directive for schools and universities to shut down over the coronavirus outbreak.
Ashesi University, private-run tertiary institution, is touted as a first-rate institution in Ghana.
Do pass this on #AshesiStudents: our I.T Office is providing 10GB monthly data bundles to all students who need it for our switch to online classes. Tell us where to send your data bundle using this form: https://t.co/ajQsJi0GHh
President Nana Akufo-Addo on Sunday, March 15 directed that schools and universities in the country should close from Monday, March 16, 2020.
“All Universities, Senior High Schools, and basic schools, i.e. public and private schools, will be closed Monday, 16th March 2020, till further notice. The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Ministry of Communication, has been tasked to roll out distance learning programmes,†he said.
The President made the announcement as part of a raft of measures to limit public gatherings and contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The move by Ashesi University is been praised by social media users.
Ashesi is over and above, if we’re keeping it real.