In 2010, the University of Ghana received a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to implement the project “Next Generation of Academics in Africa: Enhancing the University of Ghana’s Capacity to Deliver Post-graduate Research and Training.” This project is a part of Carnegie’s long-term support programme for tertiary education in Africa which seeks to advance excellence in postgraduate research and faculty retention.

The aim of the project is to enhance the University of Ghana’s capacity in research and post-graduate training in Ghana with the long term goals of meeting national development needs by producing young, high caliber academics who will then generate, safeguard and transmit knowledge.

Strategies:

• Support high performing students to acquire or complete their PhD training with a focus on 3 disciplines: Computational Science, Biosphere Science and Sociology.
• Institutionalize a mentorship programme for PhD students and young lecturers.
• Draw on existing partnerships with other universities in Africa, the United States of America, The United Kingdom and the Netherlands .
• Take advantage of Diaspora faculty exchange linkages and partnerships.

Outcomes:

• Increased numbers of University of Ghana faculty with PhD degrees
• Increased ability of young faculty to carry out cutting-edge research and supervise post-graduate student research
• Increased research output by University of Ghana faculty
• Enhanced post-graduate programme delivery in the selected disciplines and increased retention of next generation faculty members. 

Based on the successful outcome of the project Carnegie Corporation extended support for the project into September 2015.