Dr. Patrick Swanzy, a lecturer at the Department of Teacher Education, located within the Faculty of Educational Studies, at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology has called for more scholarly collaboration between scholars in Ghanaian Higher Education Institutions and their counterparts in Brazil.
Dr. Swanzy who is a visiting scholar at the Ceara State University (UECE) in Fortaleza, Brazil, emphasised this need during a meeting with the Rector, Professor Hidelbrando dos Santos Soares at his office at Itapipoca Campus together with his hosts Professors Sandra Maria Gadelha De Carvalho and Nukacia Meyre Silva Araujo and the coordinator of the internationalisation office, Prof. Kadma Marques Rodrigues on the 27th of September, 2023.
Dr. Swanzy highlighted that the scholars in both jurisdictions should leverage on their historic and cultural connections to collaborate on research, co-author papers, jointly apply for grants, engage in staff and student exchange, develop joint degree programmes, and organise conferences.
He reiterated that what seems to make Ghana-Brazil collaboration unique is the fact that Brazilian scholars are welcoming and are likely to treat their Ghanaian counterparts as equal partners in their collaboration endeavours.
Delivering a speech to staff and students at the Limoeiro do Norte campus of UECE, as part of the XXVIII UECE University Week celebration with the theme: Education, Knowledge Generation and Emerging Technologies: Global Challenges, Dr. Swanzy indicated that even though the Faculty of Educational Studies at KNUST, is already collaborating with some higher education institutions in other jurisdictions, he is bent on making the collaboration with UECE a success because the education programmes offered at UECE are similar to that of KNUST’s Faculty of Educational Studies.
He further indicated that the research conducted by staff and students of UECE in education resonates with the research focus of the staff of the Faculty of Educational Studies at KNUST as well as their projects on community engagement. Dr. Swanzy hinted that UECE, the School of Education and Lifelong Learning of the University of East Anglia in the UK, and the Faculty of Educational Studies of KNUST, are on the verge of signing a trilateral collaboration.
Dr. Swanzy is passionate about facilitating collaboration between higher education institutions in Ghana and Brazil and has indicated his preparedness to serve as the contact person for interested scholars, educational institutions, research organisations and cultural agencies in Brazil for such an endeavour. Even though Dr. Swanzy acknowledges that the official language of Brazil (Portuguese) could pose a challenge to the call for collaboration, he thinks the benefits Ghanaian scholars stand to gain from collaborating with their Brazilian counterparts should be a motivation for them to learn the Portuguese language.
He had earlier facilitated a visit by some staff of the Brazilian Embassy in Ghana; a delegation from Brazil led by the President of the Palmares Cultural Foundation, Honourable João Jorge Rodrigues and Dr. Abena Pokua Adompim Busia, Ghana’s ambassador Extraordinary to Brazil to KNUST campus on the 27th of July, 2023 to engage with the Dean of the International Programme Office on possible collaborations with Brazilian universities.
Dr. Swanzy called on the Brazilian Embassy in Ghana to not relent in its effort to deepen collaboration between higher education institutions in both countries as this has the potential to tighten the bond that already exists between Ghanaians and Brazilians.
Group photo of Dr. Swanzy and Staff of Ceara State University (UECE), Fortaleza, Brazil
Dr. Swanzy (right) with the Rector of Ceara State University (UECE), Professor Hidelbrando dos Santo