On November 3, a delegation of Russian universities organized by the Center for Public Diplomacy started its work in Accra. The plan is to establish direct contacts with Ghanaian universities, colleges and schools to build long-term partnerships.
The first point of the program was a visit to the private Valley View University, where the delegation was warmly welcomed by Acting Pro Vice Chancellor, Professor Ninon Amertil, and the management council of the University. During the meeting, the parties discussed options for implementing joint programs. In particular, representatives of the Business and Computer Science Departments of Valley View University expressed their deep interest in developing joint projects in economics and IT with Novosibirsk State Technical University.
Another topic of conversation was the opening of a Russian language course at Valley View University. St. Petersburg State University, which works closely with the Center for Public Diplomacy on the basis of partner Russian Houses in Africa, as well as at the sites of African partner universities, is ready to help with this. Valley View University is confident that these courses will seriously enhance the competencies of their students, as it will give them the opportunity to participate in academic conferences and student mobility programs.
Ghana wants to know more about Russia
As part of the visit of a delegation of Russian universities organized by the Center for Public Diplomacy, a meeting was held with a representative of the Department of Arts, Culture and Music of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW).
Dr. Moses Adzei expressed his deep interest in intensifying cultural exchange between the countries through cooperation with Russian universities. Thus, the meeting focused on the opening of a Russian language course at the University of Education, Winneba and regular events to familiarize Ghanaian students with the culture, history and modern life in Russia.
The University of Education, Winneba also expressed a wish to find a Russian partner for the development of joint educational programs, student exchange and professional development of teachers. Another aspect of potential cooperation is mutual participation in festivals and other cultural events in Russia and Ghana.
The meeting was another important step in strengthening friendship, trust and mutual understanding between Russia and Ghana — countries that are united by the pursuit of knowledge, openness to the world and respect for cultural diversity.
Russian universities presented international programs at the University of Ghana
On November 4, a delegation from the Consortium of Russian Universities for the Development of Cooperation with African Countries and the Center for Public Diplomacy was received at the University of Ghana by Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, and heads of key faculties. The parties discussed the prospects for the development of joint projects.
The University of Ghana expressed its desire to establish student exchange, and also offered to accept Russian students — first of all to study English. The Russian language is already part of the university’s curriculum, but the University of Ghana is interested in developing this area, especially in terms of organizing internships and professional development of teachers.
At the end of the meeting, the Russian universities that presented their international programs were invited to enter into inter-faculty cooperation for further discussion of joint work in specific educational areas.
Delegation’s meeting at the Center for Public Diplomacy
Ghana’s Minister in Charge of Special Initiatives, Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, received a delegation from Russian universities and the Center for Public Diplomacy
Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum began the meeting with an emotional expression of gratitude for the organization of his visit to Novosibirsk for Technoprom-2025. He emphasized that he had received unforgettable impressions in Russia and sincerely hoped for the active development of cooperation in the field of education and training.
The minister invited representatives of the Nkwabeng Technical Institute (Bono East Region), Donkro Nkwanta Senior High School, and the Sunyani Technical University to discuss specific projects for opening engineering classes and implementing the 2+2 model training programs of Novosibirsk State Technical University. Ghanaian educational institutions were particularly interested in the possibility of training teachers of technical disciplines.
In addition, the meeting discussed the implementation of Russian as a foreign language programs from St. Petersburg State University. The Minister in Charge of Special Initiatives proposed selecting a school where Russian would be introduced into the curriculum. The possibility of organizing advanced training courses for Ghanaian Russian language teachers also attracted interest.
Another topic of discussion was cooperation in the transport sector: representatives of the Russian University of Transport are ready to implement joint educational programs and also plan to conduct joint research on Ghana’s transport infrastructure. As part of the partnership, they are ready to offer special quotas for graduate and undergraduate students at the Sunyani Technical University.
Representatives of Russian universities visit to Kumasi
Representatives of Russian universities discussed joint projects with educational organizations in Kumasi.
The visit of Russian universities organized by the Center for Public Diplomacy to the city of Kumasi began with an introduction to the second largest university in Ghana — Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). After a tour of the campus, the delegation visited the university museum and a special environmental art platform.
Then the representatives of Russian universities discussed with the heads of the main faculties of the University in Kumasi possible areas of cooperation. In particular, they discussed the inclusion of Russian language in the university’s program with the support of St. Petersburg State University, opening of the preparatory faculty of Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU) and implementation of joint educational and research programs in technology and transport. In addition, KNUST is considering an invitation from the Russian University of Transport to join the RASTU consortium, which already includes one of Ghana’s universities, the Sunyani Technical University (STU).
The visit continued with a visit to Prempeh College, a government secondary boarding school for boys. James Owusu-Achiaw, Principal Supt. at Prempeh College, expressed his deep interest in establishing partnerships with Russian universities, including the opening of an engineering class next academic year, as well as the introduction of a Russian language course into the program.
Prempeh College also highly appreciated the prospect of holding NSTU subject Olympiads on their basis: since about 70% of the college graduates subsequently enter KNUST, they could continue their education under the joint 2+2 program of NSTU and KNUST, the implementation of which was considered by the universities at the morning meeting
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RUT plans to train personnel for the transportation industry in Ghana
Within the framework of the visit of the delegation of Russian universities to Ghana, representatives of the Russian University of Transport (RUT) were received by the Deputy Minister of Transport of Ghana, Hon Dorcas Toffey. She stressed that the issue of personnel training for the transport industry in Ghana is acute: the country has a huge deficit of qualified personnel in this area, and without them the industry cannot develop effectively, which, in turn, hinders other areas of the economy and the development of social programs.
Earlier representatives of the Russian university discussed options of concrete steps for the implementation of joint programs with colleagues from African universities. In addition, RUT is ready to accept students from Ghana for targeted training.
An important part of the discussion was also the prospect of attracting RUT representatives as experts to develop scientific proposals for optimizing traffic flows in Accra and Kumasi.
Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS) and the Center for Public Diplomacy have signed a cooperation agreement.
SDD-UBIDS has become the first partner university of the Center for Public Diplomacy in Ghana. For SDD-UBIDS, this is also the first agreement with representatives of Russia.
As part of the agreement, there are plans to establish a Russian Studies Center at SDD-UBIDS, where Ghanaian students will be able to study Russian and learn about Russia. There are also plans for Russian students studying social sciences, including political science students, to be able to undertake internships at this center in the future.
Russian universities discussed joint projects with the university and schools in Wa
At Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS), the delegation from Russian universities and the Center for Public Diplomacy was received by the the Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor Issaka Kanton Osumanu, as well as the heads of leading faculties. The parties discussed opportunities for academic exchange and professional development for teaching staff, as well as the implementation of joint programs.
One of the preliminary agreements reached was the opening of a preparatory faculty of Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU) at the SDD-UBIDS distance learning faculty.
Saint Petersburg State University (SPbU) and the Faculty of Foreign Languages discussed the possibility of integrating the subject “Russian as a Foreign Language” into the university’s educational process. In addition, the prospect of creating a joint program between SPbU and the SDD-UBIDS School of Law was discussed. SPbU is ready to organize open lectures and webinars for SDD-UBIDS students on the procedure for admission to the university on a quota or fee-paying basis in a distance format. A representative of SPbU also suggested that their Ghanaian colleagues consider the possibility of mutual participation in scientific conferences.
Overall, SDD-UBIDS responded with great enthusiasm to the prospect of cooperation with Russian universities. Professor Issaka Kanton Osumanu noted that their university is pleased to establish direct contacts with Russian colleagues and would like to expand this interaction as much as possible. Natalia Krasovskaya, head of the Center for Public Diplomacy, suggested continuing to get acquainted with Russian universities that are members of the Consortium of Russian Universities for the Development of Cooperation with African Countries in an online format: through remote presentations and conferences.
The acquaintance with educational institutions in Wa continued with visits to two senior high schools — Wa Senior High School and Wa Senior High Technical School. The management of both schools found the idea of opening international classes from Russian universities on their premises to be extremely promising. NSTU and Wa Senior High School reached a preliminary agreement to open an engineering class at the school, which is scheduled to start operating in the new academic year.
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A meeting was held between Natalia Krasovskaya, executive director of the Center for Public Diplomacy, and Sergey Chernov, vice-rector of Novosibirsk State Technical University, at the Ghana’s Ministry of Special Development Initiatives with prospective NSTU students who will travel to Novosibirsk under a targeted recruitment program organized by the ministry.
This is the second targeted recruitment for NSTU, which the university has carried out as one of the most active members of the Consortium of Russian Universities for the Development of Cooperation with African Countries.
Eleven students are traveling from Ghana to Novosibirsk: at a meeting with the vice-rector of NSTU, they learned more about the university and how the educational process will be organized. It was also decided to create a group chat so that Ghanaian students could get timely answers to questions about the upcoming trip and support in resolving difficulties related to the organization of the educational process and living in Russia.
In addition, an intensive course will be organized for the target group at the partner Russian House in Accra to provide them with basic knowledge of the Russian language and an introduction to Russian culture and traditions.
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According to Polina Kvitnykh, Director of the CPD Representative Office in Ghana, the visit marked an important milestone:
“After meeting with universities and schools across Ghana, I realized how truly possible it is to build a fruitful and long-term partnership between our countries in education, science, and culture. Our representative office is a bridge connecting Russia and Ghana — a bridge built on trust, mutual respect, and shared goals. At this stage, we are focusing on education, and very soon, we will move forward with cultural initiatives that will bring our peoples even closer.”
Source: Kestér Kenn Klomegâh| Contributor
