The University of Cape Coast (UCC) and the Universite Joseph Ki-Zerbo (UJKZ) in Burkina Faso have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen academic collaboration between the two institutions.

The two institutions have agreed to collaborate in the areas of exchange of faculty members and postgraduate students, joint research and supervision, participation in seminars and academic meetings.

Other areas of the collaboration are exchange of academic materials and other information, short-term training/workshops and academic and staff development projects.

The Vice-Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong and the President of Universite Joseph Ki-Zerbo jointly signing the MoU

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong was excited for the partnership. He indicated that it was high time African universities began to enter into collaborations that would turn the fortunes of the continent around. “African universities must prioritise collaboration among ourselves. We can only transform the continent if we are united as academia to address challenges confronting us”, he noted.

Prof. Boampong said it was unfortunate that Ghana had not taken advantage of its strategic location within three francophone countries to produce bilingual scholars. “Ghana shares close relationships with its francophone neighbours-Burkina Faso, Togo and La Cote D’Ivoire, however, most of our scholars cannot even speak French. Our Francophone neighbours are trying their best to express themselves in English. It is my expectation that this new collaboration will help bridge this language gap”, he noted.

Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong

The President of UJKZ, Prof. Jean François Silas Kobiane, said his institution was committed to making the collaboration stand the test of time. He noted that it was important for the two universities to push for the collaboration to succeed to boost South-South cooperation. “We can do a lot if we come together as Africans with a common goal of transforming our continent,” he stressed.

He used the opportunity to invite the management of UCC to climax the 50th anniversary of UJKZ in Ouagadougou. The UJKJ team interacted with faculty from the Departments and Schools in the College of Health and Allied Sciences

Other members of the delegation from UJKZ were the Vice-President for Research and International Cooperation, Prof. Adama Sanou, Director of International Cooperation and Faculty Staff Promotion, Prof. Wendyam Marie Christelle Nadembega and Counsellor at the Burkina Faso Embassy in Ghana, Mrs. Fatoumata Quedraogo.

The UCC officials present were the Registrar, Mr. Gideon Enoch Abbeyquaye, Provost, College of Health and Allied Sciences, Prof. Martins Ekor, Dean, Office of International Relations (OIR), Prof. Bert Boadi-Kusi and Assistant Registrar at OIR, Mr. Daniel Yeboah Mensah.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC