The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology has been selected by the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program (CADFP) to host an African Diaspora scholar from Canada on a collaborative project.

Prof. Charles-Darwin Annan from Universite Laval Quebec, Canada will lead the project, together with the Department of Civil Engineering on Enriching Graduate Programme/Curriculum in Civil/Structural Engineering for Accreditation and Collaborative Research Strategies for the Translation of Research into Practice.

The potential impact may include strengthening the graduate programme in civil structural engineering for accreditation, and training and mentoring the Ghanaian researchers of tomorrow while helping facilitate their transition from trainees to productive employees in the Ghanaian society.

The project could also lead to the creation and strengthening of collaborations in the international research community in civil structural engineering, which could include graduate student co-supervision and virtual participation in graduate research seminars.

Long-term impacts may include establishing a strategic research center of excellence that addresses the challenges related to providing a safe, accessible, and resilient infrastructure, and advances equity, diversity, and inclusion in research.

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology project is one of 63 projects that will pair African Diaspora scholars with higher education institutions and collaborators in Africa to work together on curriculum co-development, collaborative research, graduate training and mentoring activities in the coming months.

The CADFP, now in its tenth year, develops long-term, mutually-beneficial collaborations between universities in Africa and the United States and Canada.

It is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and managed by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in collaboration with the Association of African Universities (AAU).

Nearly 600 African Diaspora Fellowships have now been awarded for scholars to travel to Africa since the programme’s inception in 2013.

Fellowships match host universities with African-born scholars and cover the expenses for project visits of between 14 and 90 days, including transportation, a daily stipend, and the cost of obtaining visas and health insurance.