Going Global 2018: a unique platform for knowledge sharing

Last month, the ACU sent a delegation to the British Council's Going Global conference, including three members of our Internationalisation Community who received bursaries to support their attendance at the conference. Here, Samiatu Bogobiri Seidu, from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration’s (GIMPA), shares her experience.

My current role is to work with students, faculty and management to enhance the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration’s (GIMPA) role as an international institute of education and research in Africa and beyond.

GIMPA is in the process of branching out from its Ghana-centred operations to develop its research and teaching through collaboration with international partners – and Going Global 2018 came about in the nick of time to help me acquire the know-how to implement GIMPA’s new internationalisation strategy.

On the first day of Going Global, I participated in the international strategy programme session, where I learnt that instead of students moving around the globe, the new way of doing things is to introduce joint programmes and franchises with other universities.

I came to a realisation that for a university to raise its profile and market in a global and competitive world, there is a need to have a language policy which will add value and also enable our students to compete and excel in a multi-cultural world of work. Based on this premise, I am putting a proposal to the management at GIMPA for possible adoption and implementation within the institution.

Samiatu, at Going Global 2018.

A unique platform for knowledge sharing 

During the closing plenary, I learnt that for universities social responsibility hinges on knowledge production and innovation. University is a higher route for social mobility; brain circulation for the global elite. The balance is how to achieve social mobility and not leave everyone behind.

In reality, the benefits of student mobility are unevenly distributed. A variety of different frameworks have been developed by universities to engage students – not only to broaden their horizons, but to create a win-win situation for all involved (students, and their home and host countries).

Indeed the conference provided a unique platform for knowledge sharing, and I plan to implement some of the frameworks shared during the conference within GIMPA, in order to increase the exposure of students and faculty staff.

Samiatu Bogobiri Seidu is currently the Senior Assistant Registrar in charge of the Office of International Programs and Development at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, based at the University of Ghana. This role involves coordinating the Institute’s comprehensive linkages with selected higher education institutions, agencies and departments outside the country, engaging partner institutions to explore our research potential in collaborative efforts on global issues, and provide various services and advice to international students, scholars and stakeholders.