In 2015, former MIT Chancellor, Philip Clay, delivered a TED talk where he shared the increasing role higher education plays in national development, and the need to develop strong tertiary institutions that drive this development.
“Universities do not emerge out of whole cloth, they emerge because there’s a public commitment to them or they emerge because there’s a civil society that emerges to support institutions that are created to support specific causes,” shared Phillip Clay. “There needs to be a table around which we can sit, and collaborate so that we can create initiatives which will be transformative, and they will obviously have that potential.”
To help drive this goal, Ashesi is leading the creation of an education collaborative to bring together a network of institutions and individuals committed to addressing Africa’s biggest challenges through education. The collaborative at Ashesi will be a center of excellence in learning, to share strategies in running liberal arts, ethics and entrepreneurship- focused institutions in Africa.
“We want to reach individuals that can influence the structure of the educational system from the inside out,” said Rose Dodd, Program Coordinator. “Participants will focus on the many things that make Ashesi and other institutions work and learn how to connect these thing, so that they can effect change in their home institutions." The summer session promises to be a fully engaged 6-days to mark the start of a strong network of African institutions and individuals on a mission to building student-centered educational institutions