On Thursday, 27th June 2024, Pan African International Students (PAIS) had its maiden alumni lecture series; a webinar that had alumni, current and prospective international students in attendance.
Prof. Elsie Effah Kaufmann – the Dean of the School of Engineering at the University of Ghana, Legon, and the popular host of Ghana’s National Science and Maths Quiz was the speaker for the night and her presentation centred on Global Talent, Local Impact: My STEM Education Journey which she couched out of the overall theme “Brain Gain, the Impact of Diaspora Returnees”. Being a former international student, Prof. Kaufmann told her life story and most profoundly shared the story of how her father was concerned about her employability when she said she was studying biomedical engineering abroad instead of the medicine she had hoped to study. She reports that her father said, “Biomedical engineering? What are you going to use that for in this country?” Her dad had a point then because there was no such program of study in Ghana nor were there prospects for employment then. After many years of study at the University of Pennsylvania (obtaining a Master’s and PhD in Biomedical Engineering) as well as working with a giant scientific materials establishment – New Jersey Center for Biomaterials – where she became the pioneering director of a Cell Biology Lab and eventually undertook many pioneering ventures, Prof. Kaufmann had said, “It was time to come home”.
In 2001, she made the hard decision to come back to Ghana. She pioneered the set-up of a Biomedical Engineering department at Ghana’s premier university, the University of Ghana (UG), Legon. Now, that is Brain Gain! She has since been involved in the governance of the University. She has held many positions, including member of the University council, Dean, and Acting Head of the Department of Physics.
She helped establish the Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Department of Biomedical Engineering at UG and other biomedical engineering-related departments in other universities in Ghana such as the University of Health and Allied Sciences and Ho Technical University. She also collaborates with Ashesi University, Ghana Communication Technology University and Academic City University College. She was the first elected President of the Ghana Society of Biomedical Engineering. She holds various leadership positions at Education Sub Saharan Africa (ESSA), Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Ghana Institution of Engineering, Institute of Project Management Professionals (IPMP), and Ghana Health Service. Most importantly, she has been the country’s favourite quiz mistress hosting the National Science and Maths Quiz.
Prof Kaufmann in her quest to change the teaching, learning, and practice of STEM in Africa has set up a foundation known as the Elsie Effah Kaufmann Foundation to “empower and equip both educators and learners with the necessary tools and resources to make the teaching and learning of STEM more effective”.. The foundation has 1158 volunteers, spread across all 16 regions of Ghana and at the end of the first year, over 133,000 practical activities had been performed in schools.
During the Questions and Answers session of the webinar, Prof. Kaufmann proved to the enthusiastic audience how she had to challenge the status quo, and got reported by students because her style of teaching centered on critical thinking instead of rote learning. There were so many challenges; she had no lab (when she came to UG) and as an experimentalist, this was particularly frustrating. She had to go against all odds to make things happen. She resolved to stay and get the job done. Persistence and determination are the keys. When asked how one could survive the African system as an international alumni returnee and overcome the objectionable work ethics and attitudes of some Africans, Prof. Kaufmann answered that a sense of purpose is the solution.
Interestingly, Prof. Kaufmann emphasized that she is interested in affecting lives and leaving a mark on people rather than focusing on things that do not have a direct impact on people. Her works have been seen and applauded for being salt and light in her return to Ghana as a former international student. On-time management, she said managing one’s time is crucial, “make time for everything, even when to entertain friends; book an appointment with them”. She added, “Be purposeful and let the things you do align with the purpose for which you spend your time.”
PAIS exists to ensure that there are more and more of such society transforming and development triggering impacts as well as to walk side-by-side with international students to ensure they have the utmost care, comfort and confidence in their international education that it is a tool and opportunity for a multifaceted national and international development.
PAIS is open to all current and former international students in and out of Africa to see the fulfilment of its vision–Empowered International Students from and in Africa Impacting the World.
Please visit our website at https://panafricanintstudents.com and get interactive with us at engage@panafricanintstudents.com.
