World Class Universities for African Development, What must Change? - A Case Study on Legon (The University as a Stat

1. World Class Universities for African Development, What must Change? - A Case Study on Legon(The University as a State of Mind ver. 2) Forum on Sustainable Development in Africa 12-14 June, 2012 Prof. Chris Gordon Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies

2. CONTEXT “To rise to critical issues and attain the Millennium Development Goals, African countries need to apply innovation, science and technology in ways that address local problems. Universities are the best places for distilling such local solutions “ Gordon & Aryeetey (2012) Gordon C. & Aryeetey E. (2012) World Class Universities . D+C Development and Cooperation (4) :

3. The Real University Read Three formative books in 1975/6: The Art of War (c. 500 B.C ) by Sun Tzu The Prince (1532) by Niccolò Machiavelli Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: an inquiry into values (1974) R. M. Pirsig • The real University … owns no property, pays no salaries and receives no material dues. • The real University … is that great heritage of rational thought that has been brought down to us through the centuries and which does not exist at any specific location.

4. The Real University II It'sa state of mind which is regenerated throughout the centuries by a body of people who traditionally carry the title of professor, but even that title is not part of the real University. The real University is nothing less than the continuing body of reason itself.

5. What happened to Legon? N.B. : 20 – 30 year time lag for full impacts to be felt (now 2012 for 2030) Sankɔfa Knowledge as a Factor in Income Differences between the Republics of Ghana and Korea (1956 to 1990) Source: World Bank 1999 World Development Report 1998/1999: Knowledge for Development. Oxford University Press

6. The case of Legon: D.E.C.L.I.N.E. Dearth of Research Output Exodus of Key Staff (Academic, Admin. and Technical) Collapsing Infrastructure Lowering of Academic Standards (Loss of Reason!!) Inefficient Administrative Procedures No Systemic Implementation of Vision Emergence of counterproductive cultures

7. Making Legon a World Class University: the need for Accelerated Growth Target Global Universities Accelerated Growth Quest for Excellence Target Global Universities Normal Growth DECLINE Business As Usual 2030 2012 Timeline

8. Recipe for a World Class University based on Salmi (2009) A world class university needs all three elements woven together in a balanced form Kente: Holistic Approach High concentration of talent : teaching staff, researchers, administrative and support staff, students. Abundant resources: from public budget, tuition fees, endowments and research grants offering facilities to conduct advanced research, Favourable governance : supportive regulatory framework, autonomy, academic freedom, leadership, strategic vision,.

9. Fundamental Changes in Mind Set for a World Class University Attitudinal Change: Staff, Students, Parents, Alumina Succession and Mentorship as Core Values : these will regenerate and expand the state of mind which is the core of the real university that is, the growth of REASON.

10. World Class: FUTURES Seven Pillars • Furthering Research Excellence • Understanding Communities; Relevance Ghana & Beyond • Transforming Education, Learning and Student Life • Upholding Staff Recruitment, Retention and Development • Restructuring Governance, Finance and Infrastructure • Enhancing Quality Assurance • Supporting International Standing

11. Furthering Research Excellence • Create a research culture by financial incentives for productive faculty. • Provide physical and technological infrastructure to conduct cutting-edge research; increase research productivity. • Significantly increase the number of postgraduates - the proportion of both Masters and PhD students, and postdoctoral researchers. • Link research advances with economic development through innovative technology transfer, business start-ups, corporate relations, investments in the community and consultation with community leaders and government officials.

12. Mentoring and Succession vs. Competitive Exclusion Definition: Absence of group/individual (A) due to presence of group/individual (B) utilizing the same resources and outcompeting (A) Usually one Silver Back Gorilla per group In the period 2001 -2008 there were five departments that had only one staff member of professorial rank. The average number of publication per non- professorial staff per year in such departments was 0.51 as compared to 0.64 in departments with more than five professors. If Comedians can Mentor - Why not Professors? Link to KSM Clip Gordon & Ntiamoa-Baidu: Ecology Africa Research WARIMA 21 Nov 2009

13. Understanding Communities: Relevance, Ghana and beyond • Advance the quality of life of communities, particularly where we are located and in doing so improve the lives of Ghanaians by employing our core teaching, research and knowledge dissemination functions in our areas of academic strength. • Implement University-wide community service programmes that apply our knowledge and expertise to community issues. Engagement activities should be supported with necessary logistics and rewarded. • Engage alumni nationally and internationally. • Increase social engagement and become more visible in influencing public and social policy. (e.g., ISSER Merchant Bank)

14. Understanding Communities: Relevance, Ghana and beyond - Floods as an example 26th October 2011 Christian Village 2010 October 2012 ???

15. The Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies: Lessons for the Future • The IESS Graduate Environmental Science Programme(ESP) (established 1998) takes a multidisciplinary approach to tackling multi-dimensional research challenges. A significant proportion of research is dedicated to societal perceptions and responses to biophysical issues • The IESS is using a wide stakeholder base to develop and validate new courses to ensure relevance and employability of products– that is, Government MDAs, Private Industry and Civil Society • The approach follows that of the Boarder Impact Criteria as defined by the National Science Board (NSB) USA. Students and Staff are expected to carry out research that is responsive to broader considerations both within the scientific community as well as to society in general

16. Transforming Education, Learning and Student Life • Offer increased access to the University through extended campus educational programmes and online education. • Improve student support services and expand facilities to attract more regional and international students • Develop key employment skills by providing students with co-curricular activities and opportunities – Alumni can offer internships • Create and support a personalized learning community with opportunities for students to interact and engage formally and informally with teachers, advisors, mentors and faculty members.

17. Transforming Education, Learning and Student Life Our students: whose minds are the depository of continuing body of reason where real University resides; who, in turn will add on to and impart reason to the next generation

18. The Need for Relevance Without relevance of university education and research to national needs we have a lose-lose situation of unemployable university graduates and frustrated employers. The students lack the skills that employers expect from university graduates, such as critical thinking and the ability to base decisions on evidence.

19. Upholding Staff Recruitment, Development and Retention • Attract top class individuals to the University and assist them in realising their full potential through internal learning and development sessions. (Rather than smothering them) • Institute an ethos of professional development through appraisal and staff development programmes. • Increase financial support for staff growth by the contributing to the staff development fund. • Enforce applicable sanctions on non-performance (e.g., 20 years without a motion) and unprofessional conduct.

20. Inbreeding: Loss of Diversity Potential staff are groomed (sometimes from undergraduate level) for faculty positions. In itself, this practice is not an issue. The problem, however, is that many cases all degrees – bachelors, masters, PhDs – are from the same university, and in extreme cases even from a single department, with the same faculty supervising the student at BSc, M.Phil and PhD. The young staff members never get am opportunity to see how other universities operate. Another form of inbreeding results from donor-funded partnership agreements which twin a university department in a developing country with one in a rich nation. Over a period of three to five years, all staff for the developing country are thus likely to be trained in a single approach to university work at that University under the banner of partnership.

21. Restructuring Governance, Finance and Infrastructure University of Lagos Water • Embrace technological advances in all aspects of University administration. • Encourage contribution to the Endowment Funds by Friends, Alumni and corporate bodies. • Increase capacity to generate internal funds especially from commissioned research. • Improve the branding and marketing of the University.

22. Enhancing Quality Assurance • Create an open environment and atmosphere conducive to the exchange of knowledge and views, and innovative ideas among students, faculty, staff and visiting scholars. (ACADEMIC FREEDOM) • Have proactive evaluation of success in achieving learning objectives, and use the evidence derived from these evaluations, including feedback from students and others, to improve performance. • Assign roles and responsibilities within a comprehensive framework of policies and processes for the development and improvement of university programmes.

23. Supporting International Standing • Encourage interaction with external partners individuals, companies and public agencies and particularly fostering South – South partnerships. • Ensure that student learning is informed and delivered by international-quality research-active academic staff and staff with professional and pedagogical expertise. • Attract high-quality international students and staff to create a diverse and vibrant university community. • Support strategic partnerships with a limited number of prestigious international organisations

24. Post 2015 MDGs (or “X”DGs) Address Weaknesses: Perception that MDGs are Donor Led MDGs ignore critical dimensions of development MDGs had insufficient focus on the poorest and most vulnerable The Post -2015 Agreements should tackle the most pressing problems and these are NOT the same as in 1990. Urbanisation Climate Change Chronic Poverty and the rise of inequality Jobs and equitable growth Melamed, C. & Scott, L. (2011) ODI

25. Three Take home Messages (1) If We fail in Education and Research, we fail in Everything. The Post-MDGs will need to incorporate Food Security, Climate Change, Biodiversity and the Alleviation of Poverty as a UNIFIED agenda, and without the evidence base from research that is needed to guide policy, this agenda will never be addressed

26. Three Take home Messages (2) 2. Training and Research in Developing Countries needs a radically redesigned approach. The approach needs to address issues of relevance and applicability to national development needs, with emphasis placed on knowledge creation and better understanding of processes and interaction as well as cost-effective innovation

27. Three Take home Messages (3) 3. Business as Usual is NOT an Option World Class Education and Research has to be seen as part of the same development agenda, just as all the over-arching issues such as gender, sustainability and inter-generational equity

28. The Endcgordon@ug.edu.gh ... And the Gorilla? Not to worry because ... This is how the Gorilla will look in the Future