University of the Free State Visit UGBS to Discuss Opportunities for Partnerships

On Wednesday, 26th October 2022, a three-member delegation from the University of the Free State (UFS) in South Africa, visited the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) to explore and discuss various forms of collaboration and partnerships between the two institutions. The delegation included Prof. Corli Witthuhn, Vice Rector for Research and Internationalisation; Dr. Cornelius Hagenmeier, Head of International Office; and Prof. Loyisio Jita, Dean of Education. Present to receive the delegation were Prof. William Coffie, Professor of Accounting and Finance & Head of the Accounting Department, who is currently the acting Dean of the Business School, Prof. Elikplimi Komla Agbloyor Associate Professor in Finance & Coordinator for the International Relations Unit and Mr. Yaw Tsen Yeboah Assistant Registrar in charge of Human Resources.

Welcoming the delegation, Prof. William Coffie gave a brief overview of the Business School, and the University of Ghana as a whole. He mentioned that UGBS has a lot of collaborative projects with other universities across the globe. Prof. Coffie emphasised that UGBS is among the elite collegiate of business schools, GNAM (Global Network of Advanced Management Schools), sharing company with Yale and Chicago Booth, for example. Additionally, Prof. Coffie mentioned that the Business School has started the triple crown accreditation process of AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS. He mentioned that UGBS has already completed the mentorship of AACSB and closer to receiving the accreditation.
Prof. Coffie further added that UGBS is very visible on the international front and has a lot of collaborative projects with universities in the US and Europe, mainly with MBA students. He indicated that this allows the students to go on visits to schools like Harvard, Yale, and MIT, where the students take lectures as part of their MBA programme and have an international experience. In terms of research, Prof. William Coffie averred that most faculty members of the University of Ghana Business School are on projects with other universities and research institutions around the world.

In response, Dr. Cornelius Hagenmeier indicated their readiness in collaborating with faculty in the Business School for mutual benefit. He further added that their interest lies mainly in staff and faculty exchanges to deliver guest lectures in postgraduate student extensions in digital and virtual collaborations. The guest also indicated their school’s interest in having research exchange programmes collaborations with the University of Ghana.

On his part, Prof. Elikplimi Komla Agbloyor mentioned that one of the key things UGBS does is taking students on international trips to the US. He explained that in the past UGBS has taken students to the UK and are currently looking at exploring other destinations. He added that the International Relations Unit is looking at organising trips to Yale, Temple, Princeton, and Havard, which will be held hopefully in March 2023. Moving forward, Prof. Agbloyor hinted that UGBS is looking at expanding its international partnerships and very soon, the school will be thrilled to organise trips to South Africa as well.