Indiana University's Ghana Gateway officially debuted May 20 in Accra, Ghana.
(Courtesy of Indiana University)
Indiana University launched its Ghana Gateway Monday, marking the university’s sixth international gateway and the first in Africa.
Like other IU Global Gateways, IU plans to build relationships with NGOs, governments, universities and businesses around Ghana, Associate Vice President for International Affairs Miguel Ayllon said. IU already agreed to expand its relationship with the University of Ghana. These relationships could lead to research partnerships, conferences, overseas study, and internships, he said. The new gateway will support students, researchers, faculty, and alumni in Ghana, Ayllon said.
“We want to see student mobility,” Ayllon said. “We also want to see faculty mobility. We're happy to host scholars in Bloomington, Indianapolis, regional campuses, but also to have our faculty come here to do research, collaborations.”
IU is the only public university in the United States to have a gateway of this sort on the continent, according to an IU release.
The Ghana Gateway is part of IU’s overall academic mission, Ayllon said.
Located in Accra, the gateway’s office is with the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences. Distinguished Professor Samuel Obeng was selected as the Ghana Gateway’s academic director. The university will also hire a local director, Ayllon said.
IU’s Ghana Gateway has been in the works for more than a year, Vice President for International Affairs Hilary Kahn said.
IU Vice President for International Affairs Hilary Kahn, Ghana's former Minister of Higher Education Kwesi Yankah and Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences President Kofi Opoku Nti at the ribbon cutting ceremony for IU's Ghana Gateway. (Courtesy of Indiana University)
The gateway builds on relationships with Ghana and other African institutions already established through IU’s African Studies Program, education abroad programs and other partnerships, Kahn said. IU has worked with the University of Ghana and other universities in the past, and now the relationships will be taken to a new level.
IU renewed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Ghana Monday, and Kahn said she and her IU partners are spending time on its campus this week to expand the relationship beyond IU’s African Studies Program.
“Now we're starting to pursue other areas around technology, artificial intelligence, climate change, the study of aging,” Kahn said. “We met with the schools of education, the performing arts and so on. We're looking to make the University of Ghana a comprehensive partner.”
She also met with President Nana Akufo-Addo Monday to discuss the gateways' goals and the growth of the U.S. and Ghana. It was a “true honor,” she said.
“Ghana, and many other nations in Africa, stand as a beacon of opportunity,” Kahn said.
About 5 percent of IU international students last fall came from Africa. More than 60 IU students are from Ghana, Kahn said. IU also had “outstanding” Ghanan alumni.
Kwesi Yankah, a Ghanan professor and IU alumni, is Ghana’s former minister of tertiary education, Ayllon said. Yankah attended Ghana Gateway’s ribbon cutting ceremony Monday, and he is a key part of the program.
“We have been blessed to have some really distinguished, accomplished alumni here in Ghana,” Ayllon said.
IU has gateways in Mexico City, New Delhi, Bangkok, Beijing and Berlin. According to the release, IU's international gateways are also used as gathering spaces for international alumni, interdisciplinary embassies for researchers, proxy campuses for prospective students and hubs for cultural exchange.
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her at aubmwrig@iu.edu or follow her on X @aubreymwright.
