The goal of the mentorship program is to share the framework and blueprint on which Ashesi operates as an institution dedicated to developing ethical and entrepreneurial leaders for Africa.
The African Development University (ADU) in Niger was the first institution to sign up on the mentorship program with Ashesi University. Since signing up in 2018, ADU has engaged with faculty and staff from Ashesi in curriculum design and development, job shadowing, remote and in-person meetings on departmental structuring, and campus visits. Five (5) students from ADU also served as volunteers at the 2019 Education Collaborative as a result of the mentorship program and relationship developed.
Palm Institute a private Liberal Arts college located in Shai Hills in Ghana, joined the Education Collaborative network in 2017 and has engaged with Ashesi on various projects on curriculum development, policy development, and capstone projects. After attending the 2019 Collaborative, Palm institute signed on to Ashesi’s mentorship program under the Education Collaborative. Seeking to set up its Counseling and Coaching Department, representatives from Palm Institute led by Dr. Peter Okantey, founder and president have been engaging with Ms. Diane Davis the Director of Counseling and Coaching at Ashesi.
“Ashesi is doing most of the things I set out to do and it’s always good to have an institution to look up to. The Collaborative and Ashesi’s willingness to mentor Palm is a great opportunity for us.” – Dr. Peter Okantey, Founder & President, Palm Institute.
Developing Palm Success
Modeled after Ashesi Success, an ungraded college prep course designed to help freshmen transition into college, Palm Success will help freshmen at Palm Institute navigate their way through their first year.
To understand the framework and philosophy behind the course, representatives from Palm Institute visited Ashesi to shadow a few Ashesi success classes. This allowed them to get a sense of how to structure and fit the course within Palm Institute’s objectives. The team from Palm had orientation meetings with Ms. Diane Davis. She provided the team with advice, resources, and structures the counseling and coaching department employs at Ashesi to counsel and coach students, and how the Ashesi success course supports this.
“The Ashesi success class is an awesome idea. I feel that all colleges need prep classes to give students an idea of how the rest of their time at college will look like. We are going to mirror Ashesi’s program and put it into Palms’ context based on our values.” Sarah Hedstrom, Coordinator – Student Life, Palm Institute.
The team from Palm institute also signed up and attended the Career services development webinars. Seeking to develop its Career services department, the webinars held over the month of September delved into how the Career office at Ashesi runs and engages with students and employers, and helps students find the best career opportunities during college and after graduation.