President Nana Akufo-Addo has given formal approval for the establishment of a Gateway Office by US-based Indiana University (IU) in the country to serve as a hub for research and shared academic knowledge in Africa.

It is the sixth global office to be established by the Management of the renowned University, with similar facilities in Beijing, Bangkok, Delhi, Mexico City and Berlin.

IU, home to the first School of Informatics, is fostering new partnerships and exploring avenues for collaboration in Africa – a key priority of its global engagement strategy.

At the core of its agenda, the IU’s Global Gateway Ghana will be supporting the Government in the area of research into subjects relating to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – collectively producing innovative knowledge and solving problems.

President Akufo-Addo, welcoming the IU’s delegation to the Jubilee House, Accra, said the Government was elated about the decision to establish the academic gateway facility in the country.

“The gateway principle that you are establishing here will enlarge the horizons and opportunities for collaboration with the University of Ghana (UG),” he stated.

The country, he said, was open to working with and sharing knowledge with its partners, especially in the area of academia to advance the cause of sustainable development.

Ghana’s foremost university, the UG, Legon, has been a long-standing partner of the IU, focusing on research collaboration, faculty and student exchanges, and joint initiatives in Artificial Intelligence (AI), climate change, environmental and health sciences, data science, development policy and African languages and cultures.

Dr Hilary Kahn, the IU Vice President for International Affairs, who led the delegation on the courtesy call, said the University had always considered it a “gap” not having an office in Africa, “and, we are absolutely delighted to be here in Accra, Ghana”.

“I think it makes so much sense.

“In so many ways, Africa is the future of innovation, and in so many ways it holds a special place for us at the IU,” Dr Kahn remarked.

The IU intends to take advantage of the Gateway Office Ghana to develop relations with other universities to foster shared knowledge and best academic practices.

“We have an extensive research agenda,” the IU Vice President hinted, adding that the University’s wide range of different programmes would be fully exploited for the benefit of stakeholders.

“We bring in over US$750 million a year in research – a very large research agenda, alongside AI, cyber security, technology and global health,” she noted.