Visit of the Vice Chancellor to Atlanta, Auburn and Louisville, USA

Official visit to various institutions in United States took place form 10-17th, February, 2012. On his visit, Vice Chancellor, Prof. Haruna Yakubu, was accompanied by the Dean – in - Charge of Nyankpala campus, Prof. G. Teye, Dean – in - Charge of Wa campus, Prof. F. Bacho and Director of UDS International, Prof. G. Kranjac-Berisavljevic. This visit was in response to invitations received from various institutions interested in collaboration with UDS.

Visit to Atlanta, Georgia

Vice Chancellor and his team met with members of the Ghanaian Community in Atlanta, from 10-13th February. In Atlanta, the team visited MedShare, an organization which is engaged in collection and shipping of medical equipment to various African countries. This was followed with visit to Chattahooche Technical College, where the team inspected a bus ready for installation of medical equipment, in order to serve as a mobile clinic in Ghana as well as discussed some courses of the college replicable in Ghana. It was agreed that follow-up visits from Dr. Issifu Haruna, a lecturer of Clark Atlanta University who works on concept of the mobile clinics, Dr. Eben Armstrong, from MedShare and Dr. Mike O’Rear of Chattahooche Technical College should be arranged as soon as possible. On Saturday, 11th February, there was a meeting with a cross-section of Ghanaian community living in Atlanta, while Sunday, 12th was used to attend the Global Humanitarian Summit Planning Meeting at Emory University Campus. Monday, 13th, February saw the team touring Grady Hospital, one of the most modern medical facilities in the US, and they also met executives of the Hospital. The visit to Atlanta yielded very useful results for UDS.

1. Plans are underway to mobilize and send medical equipment to Ghana for use by UDS Medical School and Tamale Teaching hospital
2. Grady Hospital agreed to receive six (6) UDS medical students to perform 6 weeks internship starting this year (2012)
3. There are also plans to develop training programmes for the repair and maintenance of medical equipment at UDS

Visit to Auburn University, Alabama

The UDS delegation arrived in Auburn on the 13th of February, 2012 and took a tour to Julie Collins Smith Museum and then met with the University Outreach Team of Auburn University, led by Dr. Don – Terry Veal and Dr. Cook on the 14th of February, 2012. The team met with the members of staff of the Center for Governmental Services and had discussions on mutual collaboration, especially with Dr. R. Foster, Ms. Julia Heflin, Mr. P. Rose and Dr. R.A. Gillespie, as well as the Faculty of Agriculture. Discussions on collaborations centered on Fisheries development and were held with Dr. Daniels, Dr. Phelps, Dr. Veverica and other members of the team. Plans to develop programmes in collaboration with Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, represented by Dr. R. Zee, are also underway at UDS. The visit ended by a dinner held by the Auburn University where the UDS team met a cross-section of the staff of Auburn University and had useful interactions.

Visit to University of Louisville, Kentucky

The team also visited University of Louisville (UofL) from the 15th to 17th of February where discussions were held on various areas beneficial to both institutions. The UDS delegation took part in the launch of the PhD in Pan-African Studies at the University of Louisville and toured some Environmental Projects on campus, as well as visited the Main Library, and J.B. Speed School of Engineering. The Pan-African Studies department also plans collaborative work and is expected to visit UDS later this year. The team also met with the University of Louisville Community Engagement Office to discuss the educational model of UDS and the SADA Project. They also met with the Vice Chancellor of the University of West Indies (UWI), Dr. Niger Harris, to discuss the relationship between the two institutions, especially on the agricultural sector. Various members of UofL had earlier visited UDS and they had discussions with the delegation. The visit was climaxed with a call on the President of UofL and Provost of the University.