We are proud to announce that Ashesi successfully completed the Engineering Match thanks to gifts from over 250 individuals, families, and foundations. On behalf of the entire Ashesi community, thank you for bringing a fall 2015 program launch closer to reality.
To date, the Ashesi community has raised $4.4M of the $4.77M needed to complete construction of the engineering building. In November, Ashesi broke ground on the new engineering facility which includes the main building with electrical, science, and computer labs, and the mechanical engineering wing with MechE and design labs.
Africa needs better designed infrastructure, and new, affordable products that meet local needs. Ashesi’s groundbreaking new engineering major, with an emphasis on design, problem solving and entrepreneurship, will help redefine engineering education and drive the important innovations Africa needs.
By adapting curriculum models from great engineering schools including University of Waterloo, Swarthmore College, Stanford and other North American universities, Ashesi will educate engineers well versed in best-practices, but who can also design innovative infrastructure and products for the developing world. Real world design projects facilitated through a co-op curriculum, internships, and field work will challenge students to create pragmatic solutions, and adapt existing technology for an African context.
In a recent post on the Seattle Times blog, columnist Brier Dudley quotes Michael Quansah, former Ashesi Student Council President. Michael discusses Ashesi’s engineering program’s potential to transform the continent, saying, “I always hear of repairs to our nation’s facilities being delayed because Ghana has to bring in expertise from overseas to fix the problem. This is not because we don’t have engineers in Ghana, but it’s because our education systems do not prepare them well enough to tackle these problems. The delivery of quality education, that can be immediately applied to solve the problems we face, is needed.”
Thank you Ashesi community for supporting our vision for engineering a better Africa, and for making a fall 2015 program launch possible!