Faculty: Adu, Kajsa Hallberg (Ph.D)

Lecturer
Humanities and Social Sciences
khadu@ashesi.edu.gh
Twitter / LinkedIn / Blog

Courses Taught

Social Theory, Written and Oral Communication, Leadership

Professional Biography

Dr. Kajsa Hallberg Adu is an interdisciplinary academic with a strong foundation in research, liberal arts, and community involvement. She joined Ashesi University College in 2009 as a lecturer, and teaches social theory, leadership as well as leads the work with our writing courses. She is the Chair of the Library Committee, the Vice-Chair of the Research Committee, and champions new media projects on campus where social media, virtual reality, and interdisciplinary storytelling intersects, for instance with 360 degrees depictions of campus for the Admissions Office.

Kajsa holds a PhD degree in African Studies from the University of Ghana and a Master’s degree in Political Science from Uppsala University, Sweden. Kajsa studied communications at Reinhardt University, a liberal arts institution in Georgia, USA and International Business at Sodertorn College in Stockholm, Sweden.

Her dissertation explores student voices on the migration options and has the title On A Course to Migrate? Migration Aspirations Among University Students in Ghana. Kajsa’s research interests include higher education in Africa, migration, decolonial theory, pedagogy, and social media. Kajsa is the founder of BloggingGhana, an organization for social media influencers in Ghana. She is herself a successful blogger on kajsaha.com and tweets @kajsaha.

Areas of Interest

Political Economy, Migration Studies, Higher Education in Africa, Gender Studies, Interdisciplinary Research Methods, Digital culture and Social Media.

Publications

Hallberg Adu, K. (2017, June 2). A rough but rewarding road to educating ethical leaders. Retrieved June 12, 2017, from http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20170601083530889
Hallberg Adu, K. (2016, May 29). Das andere Afrika: Hauptfach: Ethik. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved from https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/schauplatz/das-andere-afrika-hauptfach-ethik-ld.85236
Hallberg Adu, K. (2016, April). The Public-Private Divide in Higher Education. APSA Africa Workshop Alumni E-Newsletter, 3(2), 8–11.
cihablog. (2015, September 25). In the News: A Deeper Understanding of African Migrants. Retrieved March 4, 2016, from http://www.cihablog.com/in-the-news-a-deeper-understanding-of-african-migrants/
Hallberg Adu, K. (2015, July). On a Course to Migrate? Migration Aspirations among University Students in Ghana (Thesis). University of Ghana. Retrieved from http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/21899
Hallberg Adu, K. (2014). Nigeria’s Nonviolent Protest Movements Gathering Momentum. Emergence Magazine. Retrieved from http://mettacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/emergence%20July-%20Africa%202014.pdf
Hallberg Adu, K. (2014b). What is the opposite of a knowledge society? A critical reflection from Ghana. In L. Amoah (Ed.), Impacts of the Knowledge Society on Economic and Social Growth in Africa. IGI Global
Öberg, P.O. and Hallberg Adu, K. 2009. "The Deceptive Juncture: The Temptation of Attractive Explanations and the Reality of Political Life" in Magnusson & Ottosson (eds.) The Evolution of Path Dependence. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Hallberg Adu, K. (2009). Private Higher Education on the Rise. University World News.

Thesis

Hallberg Adu, K. (2015, July). On a Course to Migrate? Migration Aspirations Among University Students in Ghana (PhD Dissertation). University of Ghana.
Hallberg Adu, K. (2006). Is Corporatism in Scandinavia on Decline or Not? (Thesis) Uppsala University.
Hallberg Adu, K. (2004). Socialdemokratins syn pa hogre utbildning (Thesis). Uppsala University.
Hallberg Adu, K. (2005). State Stretegies for Implementation: The case of Land Reform 2003 in Ghana (Thesis). Uppsala University.

Conference Papers

Hallberg Adu, K. (2010). On A Course to Migrate? - Student Mobility, Migration Industry and Migration Culture in Ghana. Presented at the Nordic Africa Days, Turku, Finland.
Hallberg Adu, K. (2012). Migration Control Policy in the Global North: Opportunities and Challenges for Academe in the Global South. Presented at the Migration and Development Conference, Accra, Ghana.
Hallberg Adu, K. (2013). The Future of Postgraduate School in Africa: A Discussion Paper. Presented at the International Conference on African Studies, Accra, Ghana.
Hallberg Adu, K. (2014a). Ghanaian Student Mobility in the Global Knowledge Society. Presented at the Academic Migrations Workshop, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

In Media

AccraWeDey podcast (2016, February 29). "Are you sure?" Retrieved June 29, 2016, from http://kajsaha.com/2016/02/kajsaha-on-accrawedey-podcast-ghana-accra/

On Ashesi Website

Member of Professional Organizations

African Studies Association (ASA)

African Studies Association of Africa (ASAA)

Ghana Studies Association (GSA)

Research Summary

Social media in Ashesi lecture halls
(August 2011 to Present)
Experimenting with and evaluating different uses of social media in the courses we teach at Ashesi University College. Team Members: Kajsa Hallberg Adu, Astrid Twenebowa Larssen, Kobina Graham.
Student Migration Aspirations
(August 2010 to Present)
Migration is nothing new in Ghana, a country that has been globalized for hundreds of years. Linkages to the rest of the world are kept up by trade, family networks and colonial ties. My research interest is how young people in of today, especially those who have been fortunate to go to university in Ghana, think about the migration option. While the International Student Migration (ISM) literature is growing, few studies concern students from and in the Global South.
Who is more likely to migrate? Who is more likely to stay? What steps are included in the migration process? Who are the actors or influencers? What are some of the thoughts Ghanaian students harbour about migration?
This is a PhD research project at University of Ghana, Institute of African studies, carried out by Kajsa Hallberg Adu.