About Ashesi University of Ghana

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Ashesi University Ashesi is a private, non-profit liberal arts college located in Ghana, West Africa. The university's mission is to educate a new generation of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders in Africa; to cultivate within students the critical thinking skills, the concern for others and the courage it will take to transform their continent.


It offers a four-year bachelors programme grounded in a liberal core curriculum, featuring majors in Business Administration, Management Information Systems, Computer Science, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. With an academic program designed in collaboration with some of the world's best universities, and in partnership with local and multinational employers across Ghana, Ashesi has pioneered an educational experience like no other in Africa.

History

Ashesi was founded by Patrick Awuah, a Ghanaian who has spent over 15 years living and working in the United States. Awuah left Ghana in 1985 to attend Swarthmore College on a full scholarship, after which he worked for Microsoft Corporation as an engineer and a program manager for eight years. Experiencing firsthand the dramatic impact that education can have on one's life, Awuah embarked on a mission in 1997 to provide greater educational opportunities in Ghana. He enrolled in business school at the University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business, both to evaluate the feasibility of his goal and to gain a broader range of managerial skills with which to found and manage a university.

1997: Founder Patrick Awuah gives up his successful US software career to return to Africa. To help bring ethics, innovation and entrepreneurship to Africa, he decides to create a new kind of African university.

1998: Patrick Awuah and graduate students from UC Berkeley conduct a feasibility study for a new private university in Ghana.

1999: Ashesi University Foundation was founded and is spearheaded by a well-qualified Board of Trustees and management governance whose efforts are complemented by Advisory Boards located in the US and Ghana.

2002: Ashesi University opens its doors in a rented house converted to classrooms, with a pioneering class of 30 students.

2005: Pioneer class graduates. 100% quickly find quality placement; 95% chose to stay to Africa. Future classes maintain these records.

2006: Ashesi students elect first woman university student government president in Ghana’s history.

2007: A UC Berkeley study finds that local and multinational employers rate Ashesi and Ashesi Graduates #1 in Ghana in Quality of Curriculum, Career Preparation, Communication Skills, Maturity, Professional Skills, and Ethics.

2008: Students vote to adopt Examination Honour Code - Africa’s first | Financial sustainability: fees from students who can afford to pay cover annual operating expenses | Capital Campaign for new campus begins

2009: Construction starts for permanent campus in Berekuso.

2011: New campus completed—on schedule and on budget ($6.4M). Enrollment tops 500 as Vice-President of Ghana inaugurates campus.

2012: The MasterCard Foundation partners to provide $13 million in Ashesi scholarships to students from 11 African countries.

2013: Groundbreaking for construction to start on new engineering building where Ashesi will educate engineers who will design innovative infrastructure and products for Africa.

Ashesi's Campus

Set on 100 acres in Berekuso, overlooking Ghana's capital city of Accra, Ashesi’s campus unites traditional Ghanaian design, modern technology and environmental best practices. The essence of the campus is a series of interconnected courtyards, that emphasize a sense of community. The architecture borrows from the Ghanaian vernacular, with echoes of traditional compound houses, as well as elements of traditional Northern dwellings. The natural contours of the site are used in concert with buildings to create exterior gathering spaces throughout campus, as well as ramps that provide wheel chair access to buildings. Buildings are designed to maximize natural views, light and ventilation.

Ground water is supplemented with harvested rainwater, filtered and treated to provide potable water all year round. A community-scale sewage and organic treatment plant provides environmental and economic benefits by converting waste to biogas for some of the campus’ cooking needs and recycling treated water for landscaping.

Membership

• Association of American Colleges and Universities
• Council of Independent Universities
• Association of African Universities

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