College of Health Sciences Launches Institutionalised Mentoring System
In a significant step towards enhancing personal and professional growth within the academic community, the College of Health Sciences (CHS), has officially launched its Institutionalised Mentoring System, consisting of an established CHS Mentoring Unit to develop formal mentoring programmes and conduct mentoring research. The theme for the launch was “Innovations in Mentorship: Stakeholder Engagement to Standardise Mentoring tools for CHS, UG.”
The ceremony was held as part of a three-day engagement programme to develop a CHS mentoring manual with policy guidelines and training content for mentors, mentees, coordinators and institutional leaders. This highlights the College's commitment to fostering a supportive learning and career development environment for staff, faculty and students.
Representing Prof. Alfred Edwin Yawson, Provost of CHS, Prof Patrick Ayeh Kumi, a former Provost of CHS, presided over the event and highlighted the transformative power of mentorship. Drawing from his own career journey from being a young entrant in the Department of Medical Microbiology to becoming Head of Department, Dean and eventually Provost, he emphasised how guidance from mentors shaped his path.
"Mentorship is very crucial for personal and professional development of every individual, which enhances smooth transitions and planned successions," he stated, urging participants to collaborate in making the initiative a success.
The integration of an Institutionalised Mentoring System in the CHS began in 2017, when Dr. (Mrs.) Clementine Odei submitted a PhD proposal on the establishment and development of a formal mentoring system for effective mentoring practice and mentoring research to the then Provost. This groundbreaking step was based on her experiences, struggles and delay in career development for over a decade. This was because she was not formally assigned a mentor through a well-structured mentoring system.
Initial work and study permission was granted in February 2018. In February 2021, preliminary findings from the study revealed that mentoring practices in the College and UG were informal, without a theoretical framework and institutional policy and guidelines were skewed, scanty in prevalence and ineffective. These were presented to the CHS Academic Board.
Request for approval to establish the CHS Mentoring was granted in 2021 with recommendations to include student mentorship. Following the completion of the PhD programme in December 2023, momentum gathered with meetings and engagements in 2024 and 2025, which led to the development of terms of reference for the CHS mentorship committee and mentoring models in March and April 2025, respectively.
An Associate Professor at the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), Professor Emilia Asuquo Udofia, representing Professor Benedict Calys-Tagoe, Head, Department of Community Health, presented the committee members with their terms of reference. She congratulated Dr. (Mrs.) Clementine Odei for making the Department of Community Health, CHS, UG and Ghana proud for this global achievement.
The terms of reference outlines 11 key responsibilities, including fostering a mentorship culture, developing formal policies, guidelines and programmes, securing resources, evaluating mentoring initiatives, promoting effective mentoring practices and impactful mentoring research and transforming the CHS Mentoring Unit into a department and a centre of excellence.
Prof. Ayeh-Kumi read the Terms of Reference, affirming the committee's acceptance of the mandate. "We have agreed to do this on behalf of the College, the University and the nation," he declared, before formally launching the programme.
The visionary and creator of this groundbreaking innovation- Institutionalised Mentoring System (IMS) and Technical Adviser to the CHS Mentorship Committee, Dr. (Mrs.) Clementine Odei, expressed profound gratitude to sponsors and supporters. These included the Research and Innovation Directorate (RID), UG for awarding a conference grant as well as the Provost of CHS, Prof Alfred Edwin Yawson for additional funding. Additionally, Dr. (Mrs.) Odei acknowledged the roles of committee members and her family.
She credited mentors like Professor Patrick Ayeh-Kumi, Mr. Peter K. Osei-Fosu, Prof. Bertha Osei-Hwedie and Prof. Yaw Agyeman Badu and others from UG and GIMPA for inspiring her work. She urged the University to adopt these to build capacity, innovation and inspire future leaders.
On the third day of the engagement, Professor Alfred Edwin Yawson graced the occasion and observed a part of the session on how to chart career paths. He was impressed with the attendance and participation by the different cadre of both teaching and non-teaching staff, leaders and student representatives. He thanked the team and encouraged them to speed up manual development to enable the College to support the other Colleges to do the same.
This initiative aligns with the UG’s 2024-2029 strategic plan on mentoring and broader goals of equity, inclusion and increased productivity through enhanced publications, visibility and faculty and staff welfare.