Texas/ Ghana initiative to boost online learning
Published 21/10/2020
Texas International Education Consortium has launched an initiative to train professors at Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in online education delivery.
Additionally, a partnership between Iowa State University and KNUST has expanded an Engineers without Borders program to apply engineering concepts to community projects in rural areas across Ghana.
“I am a firm believer that African universities are important partners in furthering our national development”
Speaking at the launch of the programs, KNUST vice chancellor Rita Akosua Dickson said Covid-19 had “no doubt” altered the way the institutions considers its delivery of teaching.
“Our relationship with our Texas friends [will] help us do our online e-learning, e-teaching effectively,” Dickson explained.
“With the advent of Covid-19 no doubt, and we all agree that things in terms of delivery of our teaching has changed, our lives have changed.
“If our delivery cannot continue to be brick and mortar, which we have all accepted, a blended approach and a hybrid approach to teaching and learning is what we must all embrace.”
“We are grateful that the Texas International Education Consortium have willingly agreed to work with us… to ensure that our skills – as far as e-pedagogy is concerned – are sharpened.”
The project “engages faculty and administrators in Ghana to strategically align international resources to support online learning and to build capacity, extending the same quality and rigour KNUST offers in their face to face classes to an online environment”, TIEC president and CEO, Robin Lerner continued.
“Online learning can be a catalyst to reimagine how learners engage, elevating students to the centre of their own learning and instilling the skills students around the world need to excel in a global workforce,” she said.
The collaboration will build capacity for 30 KNUST administrators and faculty to become experts and trainers themselves in online learning, she explained.
“We know that this is just the beginning of our partnership and for the impacts of the project. These 30 educators will continue to become experts and trainers themselves in online learning, widening the impact of this initiative across Ghana and across the region,” she noted.
Additionally, TIEC will continue to expand the relationship beyond the project and “create deep ties between Texas faculty and our partners that KNUST”, Lerner said.
“This embodies the core of TEIC’s mission to create lasting global partnerships that connect Texas to the world. We could not be more proud to bring Texas commitment to quality higher education to this project and to bring expertise from Ghana back to Texas.”
Earlier in 2020, TIEC announced it would join forces with the Online Learning Consortium to offer online learning support and to ensure quality distance education to students in the midst of the pandemic.
“In addition to my love of diplomacy and working to strengthen U.S. relations with Africa, I have a particular passion for championing Africa’s youth and building strong links between US and African institutions of higher education,” Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Tibor Nagy added.
“I am a firm believer that African universities are important partners in furthering our national development.”
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