During the summer, students typically laze the long days away—not here at Ashesi! This summer 2012, Ashesi’s Computer Science students are being offered the opportunity to study one of the most complex branches of computer science: Cryptography.
With the rise in hacking and security scandals around the globe, it has become an absolute necessity for computer science graduates to be well versed in computer security. Cryptography, in its simplest terms, is the art of writing and solving codes for the purpose of protecting computer systems. To teach this course, Ashesi reached out to visiting faculty member Dr. Suzanne Buchele, who is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Southwestern University in the United States, for her expertise.
“Cryptography has always been relevant but it is becoming even more relevant internationally for obvious reasons. That is why I chose to teach this 6-week course here at Ashesi. Also, this is a summer course and I wanted to teach something exciting and new; something that would pique the interest of the students.”
Dr. Buchele is no stranger to the Ashesi community. In fact, not only did she serve as the Head of the CS Department during her two-year Fulbright Scholarship at Ashesi University College, but she also filled in as Acting Dean of Academic Affairs when the Dean had to take a leave of absence. “It’s good to be back and I’m so happy to see old friends and faculty. I’m especially happy to see Ashesi’s beautiful new campus. My new students are great and they’re making good progress.”
She is not the only one who thinks so; her students agree! “The lessons are longer than what I’m used to at Southwestern, but they are very similar in nature and focus," says Dean Addison, an exchange student from Southwestern University who accompanied Dr. Buchele. "I’m learning a lot in the classroom, as well as new knowledge and respect for Ghana and its people.” Edem Diaba '13, who recently got selected as a Google Anita Borg Memorial finalist, also shared her enthusiasm for the course: “When you think about Cryptography, you think of Dan Brown’s Digital Fortress — all complex numbers and codes. To think that I can actually learn these things is amazing. Dr. Buchele makes Cryptography very learnable and relevant.”
The question that remains, is "will Cryptography be a one-time affair for Ashesi, or should students expect more of it in the future?"
Dr. Buchele is optimistic. “Perhaps it may not happen every year, but I’m certainly going to try to make this a biennial summer course. We want to try to build this into a summer exchange program. Nothing is set in stone yet but we’re working on something along those lines.”
By Daniel Ansah Akrofi '13