UEW and UniSey Explore Academic Partnership Opportunities
The University of Education, Winneba (UEW) and the University of Seychelles (UniSey) have taken significant steps towards initiating a promising academic collaboration to advance research, enhance faculty and student exchange programmes, and foster institutional development.
This initiative emerged during a high-level engagement between top officials of both universities at the Council Chamber, North Campus, UEW.
Welcoming the delegation from the University of Seychelles, Prof. Stephen Jobson Mitchual, Vice-Chancellor of UEW, emphasised University’s mandate as Ghana’s premier teacher training institution and highlighted its extensive research centres and international collaborations. He underscored UEW’s commitment to forming global partnerships that enhance teacher education, research and creativity.
“It looks as if we are doing something similar, except that maybe we do it on a larger scale than you. But I see a lot of areas where we can collaborate, particularly in research, faculty and student exchanges as well as curriculum development,” Prof. Mitchual remarked. He also reiterated UEW’s readiness to support the partnership, noting that cost-effective strategies would be explored to facilitate knowledge sharing between the two institutions.
Ms. Joelle Perreau, Vice-Chancellor of UniSey, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, acknowledging UEW’s wealth of experience in teacher education and research. She noted that the University of Seychelles, although relatively young, is focused on strategic partnerships that align with its national priorities.
“We are a small but dynamic university, and we do not necessarily have to offer everything. Instead, we seek to collaborate with institutions that have expertise in specific fields, especially in education with specific reference to special education and counselling. This is where we see great potential with UEW,” she stated.
Ms. Dolivette Chang-Ko, Director of Marketing, Communications, and Stakeholder Engagement at UniSey, provided insights into their academic structure, which includes faculties in Arts and Social Development, Business and Sustainable Development, and specialised research institutes. She highlighted the university’s research priorities, including the Blue Economy, island biodiversity, and Creole language studies and expressed interest in joint research projects with UEW.
Dr. Justin Zelime, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Development at UniSey, emphasised the importance of research and student exchange programmes in strengthening academic institutions. He noted that Seychelles has a unique advantage in conducting nationwide research due to its small size, making it easier to engage all schools and teachers in studies on language policy and educational outcomes.
“We are particularly interested in language policy research, as we have three national languages and seek to examine how they influence learning. Partnering with UEW would allow us to explore similar challenges in Ghana and develop collaborative research publications,” Dr. Zelime stated.
Both institutions agreed to initiate the collaboration by sharing comprehensive summaries of their academic offerings and research priorities. They also proposed virtual meetings to refine the details of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that would formalise their partnership.
The discussions underscored the increasing need for African universities to leverage each other’s strengths in education and research. With the world becoming more interconnected, UEW and UniSey are setting an example of how institutions can collaborate across borders to enhance academic excellence and address global challenges.
The partnership between the two universities is expected to pave the way for future joint projects, faculty mobility programmes, and student exchange opportunities, further enriching the academic experience for both institutions.
