Seattle, WA— August 30 2013 – The Ashesi University Foundation announced it has received a $1 million gift as advised by The King Innovation Fund to support Ashesi University in Ghana. The grant will be used to help launch Ashesi’s groundbreaking new engineering program, which, by redefining engineering education in Africa, will help drive the important innovations that Africa needs. The King Innovation Fund was founded by Robert and Dorothy King, and advises grants through the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Global Impact Funding Trust.
“This gift is going to make an enormous impact as we further our work to nurture ethics, innovation and entrepreneurship among our students – the future leaders and entrepreneurs of Africa,” said Patrick Awuah, Ashesi Founder and President.
This gift comes at a great time for Ashesi, as it allows construction to begin on the new engineering building, which will house classrooms and labs designed for in-depth, hands-on learning in electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering, product design and physics. Uniting traditional design by local architects, world class technology, and environmental best practices, the new engineering building will complement the existing architecture of Ashesi’s hilltop campus. With this gift, the Ashesi University Foundation has completed three quarters of its fundraising goal for engineering infrastructure.
Locally educated, creative, highly skilled engineers educated at Ashesi will develop the pragmatic, innovative solutions that Africa needs. Ashesi students will learn to analyze complex, interrelated systems, and to lead projects that span traditional engineering disciplines. By pioneering a new engineering curriculum for Africa that emphasizes design, problem solving, and entrepreneurship, Ashesi graduates will gain the leadership skills to develop local enterprises, NGOs, and their own ventures.
While visiting Accra to open The Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (SEED) first regional center in West Africa, a six member team from Stanford, including the Kings, visited the Ashesi University campus to explore potential partnership opportunities. The Kings, whose generous donation founded SEED, seek to stimulate the creation of economic opportunities through innovation, entrepreneurship, and the growth of businesses.
“We believe that innovation and entrepreneurship are the engines of growth to lift people out of poverty,” said Robert King. “It is our pleasure to support Ashesi’s admirable mission.”