The University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD), Somanya, Eastern Region, is exploring partnerships with the Indian High Commission in areas of mutual interest, including joint research, capacity building, and academic exchanges.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Eric Nyarko-Sampson, led a delegation to engage with His Excellency Manish Gupta, the Indian High Commissioner to Ghana in Accra. The visit forms part of efforts to foster collaboration between UESD and Indian institutions.
In his remarks, Professor Nyarko-Sampson shared the University’s journey from inception to its current state. He noted that UESD will celebrate its fifth anniversary on August 5 and highlighted the University’s core mandate in the areas of Environment, Agriculture, Natural and Applied Sciences. The University currently runs twenty-seven (27) accredited undergraduate programmes and three (3) postgraduate programmes. It recently held its maiden postgraduate matriculation ceremony.
The Vice-Chancellor expressed UESD’s openness to partnerships in joint research, data sharing, and staff and student exchange programmes with Indian Universities. He also spoke about the University’s upcoming third School to be sited in Donkorkrom, which will focus on agribusiness. “We want to approach agriculture differently — not just training general agricultural scientists, but building specialised skills from the undergraduate level,” he explained. He also expressed interest in collaborating with Indian universities in areas such as climate-smart agriculture, digitisation, and precision farming.
Responding to the proposals, H.E. Manish Gupta said Indian Universities offer several collaborative programmes and capacity-building initiatives, particularly in the field of technology. He also mentioned fully funded short courses that UESD could explore for academic and professional development.
The UESD delegation included the Registrar, Mrs. Mary Abena Agyepong; Dr. Christian Larbi Ayisi; Ms. Mavis Kissi, Head of International Programmes Office (IPO); Mr. Daniel Ofori-Mintah, Head of Community Engagement and Programmes Innovations Unit (CEPIU); and Ms. Barbara M. Yakubu, Head of University Relations Office.
The Second Secretary at the Indian High Commission, Mr. Sunil Kumar, was also present at the meeting.
By: Barbara Mary Yakubu