About Us
The Directorate of International Collaborations (DICO) was established in 2021 to promote external relations between SDD UBIDS and other institutions across the globe. DICO thus facilitates and coordinates all partnerships between the University’s faculty/staff, students, alumni and the larger world.
We seek to produce staff/faculty and students who are global citizens in a globalising world by promoting study abroad programmes, research collaborations, conferences, staff and student exchange programmes and interculturality. DICO seeks to be the gateway that positions SDD UBIDS as an internationally acclaimed centre of excellence for practical-oriented teaching, learning and research.
Our programmes seeks to
DICO exists to:
- Facilitate and coordinate all international partnerships and activities of the University
- Serve as an advisory unit to Schools/Faculties/Directorates/Institutes/Centres/Departments/Units in the development of exchange programmes, Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and other agreements with external institutions
- Offer advice and support to international students/staff and visiting researchers regarding accommodation, visa, insurance and other support services.
- Facilitate and provide the framework for study abroad programmes and the exchange of faculty/staff and students between the University and its partner institutions
- Create, update and keep a database of all agreements between the University and its external partners
- Support in the organisation of international research conferences/workshops/seminars, summer schools and training programmes
- Arrange guidance and counselling services and social events for international students and visiting scholars
- Perform any other relevant activities to promote the University’s internationalisation agenda.
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Partnerships
The University has entered into various agreements with partner institutions across the globe for staff and student exchanges, collaborative research and teaching, study abroad programmes, joint research conferences and workshops, dual degree programs and student recruitment. DICO is responsible for facilitating and monitoring the implementation of the activities outlined in these agreements. The partnership agreements that are currently active are:
University of Bonn, Germany
University College, London
Università degli Studi della Tuscia (UNITUS), Italy
FH Campus Wien, University of Applied Sciences, Austria
Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic
University of Calgary, Canada
The University of Western Ontario, Canada
Academics without Borders (Universitaires sans Frontières), Canada
The Regents of the University of Michigan, USA
Agence universitaire de la Francophonie, Canada
Namibia University of Science and Technology
The African and Malagasy Council for Higher Education, hereinafter referred to as (CAMES), Burkina Faso
Kosmos Innovation Centre
International Students
SDD UBIDS offers admission to international applicants across all our undergraduate and graduate programmes. For advice on admission requirements, certificate equivalence and application procedures, send an email to dico@ubids.edu.gh. The International Office is looking forward to assisting you through your application process and to helping you prepare for your stay in Wa, Ghana.
Initiate New Partnership Agreements
Faculties and Schools in SDD UBIDS have significant responsibility for international collaboration agreements. However, as a matter of policy, all university-wide international partnerships are handled by the Directorate of International Collaborations. As the process of developing partnership agreements takes time, faculty and staff are advised to contact the International Office well ahead of any critical dates.
Schools/Faculties/Directorates/Institutes/Centres/Departments/Units interested in initiating international partnerships should contact the international office directly for the Partnership Proposal Form. We will guide you through the proposal process, the partnership application, and the preparation and execution of the partnership agreement.
Register International Collaborations
Faculty/Staff can register/update partnership agreements they have entered into with external institutions for all such collaborations to be formally recognised and included in our database. Follow this link to register https://forms.gle/XtbAKuzcJaWi81ui6
Spotlights
The UBIDS International Spotlight is an initiative by the International Collaborations Office (ICO) to highlight the international activities of the university’s staff, faculty and students.
For the maiden edition of the SPOTLIGHT in June 2022, Dr. Constance A. Akurugu and Dr. Maxwell A. Aziabah are featured for enhancing the visibility/ reputation of UBIDS in the International Arena.
Dr. Constance A. Akurugu speaks at the 7th Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Bali, Indonesia
Dr. Akurugu, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Policy and Management of the Faculty of Public Policy and Governance, was one of the global speakers at the gender section of the 7th Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction from 23rd to 28th May, 2022 in Bali, Indonesia. Her contribution was on the theme “ Gender Mainstreaming issues and needs in End to End-Early Warning System for Hydro-Meteorological events in West Africa”.
The Global Platform is a multi-stakeholder forum attended by governments, the UN System Entities, Intergovernmental Organisations and other stakeholders to discuss and review progress towards implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. You can read about the details of the 7th Session of the Global Platform here: https://globalplatform.undrr.org/
Congratulations to Dr. Akurugu for showcasing UBIDS on this Global Platform.
Dr. Maxwell A. Aziabah Completes the Africa Science Leadership Programme Fellowship at the University of Pretoria, SA
Dr. Aziabah, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Community Development, Faculty of Planning and Land Management, was selected as a Fellow of the Africa Science Leadership Programme (ASLP) in October 2020 for a period of two years. He participated in a workshop to close out the fellowship year for the sixth cohort of ASLP Fellows held at Future Africa, University of Pretoria, from 9th – 13th June, 2022.
The ASLP is an initiative of the University of Pretoria and the Global Young Academy, with support from Robert Bosch Stiftung. The Programme aims to grow mid-career African academics in the areas of thought leadership, team management, and research development to enable them to contribute to developing a new paradigm science in Africa, focused on its contribution to solving the complex issues facing both Africa and the global community. Learn more about ASLP cohort 6 here: https://www.futureafrica.science/index.php/programmes/aslp/aslp-2020
Prof. Issaka Kanton Osumanu and Dr. Abdul-Kadiri Yahaya Embarked on an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility Programme for Teaching Exchange at Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic
For the July 2022 edition of the UBIDS International Spotlight (the ICO SPOTLIGHT), Prof. Issaka Kanton Osumanu and Dr. Abdul-Kadiri Yahaya are starred for enhancing the reputation of SDD-UBIDS in the international arena. The ICO SPOTLIGHT is an initiative by the International Collaborations Office (ICO) to highlight the international activities of the university’s staff, faculty and students.
As part of an ongoing collaboration between the SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD UBIDS) and the Palacky University Olomouc (UP), Prof. Issaka Kanton Osumanu and Dr. Abdul-Kadiri Yahaya were invited as visiting professor and visiting lecturer respectively to the Faculty of Sciences, UP from 9th July, 2022 to 21st July, 2022. During the period of their visit, they introduced the SDD UBIDS in general and the Department of Environment and Resource Studies to the host university community. The visit is expected to foster and deepen collaboration between the two universities in areas such as staff development, collaborative teaching and research, joint supervision and examination of graduate research, among others.
Prof. Issaka Kanton Osumanu is an Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Sciences in the Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Science and Arts
Prof. Osumanu is the current Dean of the Faculty of Social Science and Arts. He is well noted for his teaching and research activities in the fields of urban environmental management, land use change, and sustainable livelihoods.
Dr. Abdul-Kadiri Yahaya is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Environment and Resource Studies, Faculty of Integrated Development Studies
Dr. Yahaya’s teaching and research activities are in the fields of Environment and Natural Resource Management. He is passionate about internationalisation in higher education and is looking forward to fostering more partnerships for staff/student mobility exchanges in his Department.Congratulations to Prof. Osumanu and Dr. Yahaya on your international engagements. SDD UBIDS is proud of you! Together, our collective efforts can get SDD UBIDS to become internationally acclaimed.
Congratulations to Dr Frederick Dayour, Prof. Kennedy A. Alatinga, Dr Millicent A. Akaateba, Dr Ophelia Soliku and Dr Prosper Korah on their international engagements in the last quarter of 2022.
Dr Frederick Dayour participated in a DAAD Postdoctoral Researchers Networking Tour in Germany
Under the DAAD climapAfrica – Climate change research in Africa Project, Dr Dayour was selected to participate in the DAAD Postdoctoral Researchers’ Networking Tour under the motto “Understanding and Tackling Climate Change – Together!” from September 04, 2022, to September 09, 2020, in Germany.
During the tour, he engaged with researchers in selected German Universities to identify opportunities for collaboration in the field of climate change research.
Dr Frederick Dayour is a Senior Lecturer and head of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the School of Business. He is also a Senior Research Fellow with the School of Tourism and Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Prof. Kennedy A. Alatinga invited as a Guest Lecturer in Policy Analysis at the Pan African University Institute of Water and Energy Science (PAUWES), Algeria
As a strategy to internationalise the teaching curriculum and draw from the expertise of international policy experts, Prof. Alatinga was invited by the Director of the Institute of Water and Energy Science (PAUWES) of the Pan African University Algeria to deliver a Policy Analysis Course “CEWP1” for the 2021/2022 Academic year. The course spanned from September 18, 2022 to September 29, 2022.Prof. Alatinga is an Associate Professor of Social Policy and Health Protection. He is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Planning and Land Management.
Dr Millicent A. Akaateba served as a visiting scholar at the School of Architecture and Planning, University of Witswatersrand, South Africa and the Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development at the University of Lagos, Nigeria
As part of a trilateral teaching and research collaboration between the Technical University of Berlin, the University of Witwatersrand South Africa and the University of Lagos Nigeria, Dr Akaateba was invited as a facilitator of the WITS-TUB-UNILAG Urban Lab Summer School at the University of Lagos Nigeria from September 26 – 30, 2022.In addition, she was also engaged as a visiting scholar at the School of Architecture and Planning, University of Witswatersrand, South Africa, under the same project from October 01-09, 2022.
During both visits, she delivered public/guest lectures, seminars, facilitated graduate students workshops and interacted with graduate students and faculty at the two institutions. Dr. Akaateba also explored opportunities for teaching and research collaboration between SDD UBIDS and the two universities she visited.
Dr. Millicent A. Akaateba is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Planning and Land Management and Head of the International Collaborations Office (ICO) of SDD UBIDS.
Dr Ophelia Soliku wins the 2022 African Peacebuilding Network (APN) Individual Research Fellowship Grant and participated in the APN/Next Generation (Next Gen) Research Methods Workshop in Casablanca, Morocco
Dr Soliku was awarded a competitive, peer-reviewed 2022 APN Individual Research Fellowship Grant to undertake a six-month research project on “Gender dimensions of protected area conflicts and peacebuilding strategies: pathways to improve park-people relations and sustainable peaceful coexistence in northern Ghana.”
As part of the research grant package, Dr. Soliku attended the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and the Next Generation (Next Gen) Research Methods Workshop organised by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC, New York), in collaboration with African Institute for Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation (AIPECT, Rabat) in Casablanca, Morocco from September 26-29, 2022. During the workshop, she presented her research project and also participated in a joint panel discussion on the topic: “Navigating Academic Research and Scholarly Traditions in a Changing World: African Reflections on Challenges and Opportunities”
Dr. Ophelia Soliku is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Planning and Land Management and is the Graduate Programmes Coordinator of that Faculty.
Dr Prosper Korah wins a prestigious Urban Studies Foundation Fellowship
SDD UBIDS is excited to have Dr Prosper Korah announced in September 2022 as one of the eight new international fellows that were awarded a USF International Fellowship by the Urban Studies Foundation. The award covers the cost of a six-month visiting sabbatical period in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, School of Design at the University of Melbourne.
At the University of Melborne, Dr. Korah will focus on writing up his existing research findings from his project titled “New cities in Ghana: emerging actors, urban governance, and strategies of the urban poor. Dr Korah is a lecturer in the Faculty of Planning and Land Management. Please read about the USF International Fellowships and Dr. Korah’s award at https://www.urbanstudiesfoundation.org/2022/09/20/welcome-to-eight-new-international-fellows/
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Congratulations to you all for making it onto the ICO Spotlight. SDD UBIDS appreciates all your efforts, and ICO is proud of you! Together, we shall consciously and progressively contribute to the SDD UBIDS’ vision of becoming an internationally acclaimed university.
Are you looking forward to partnering with SDD UBIDS?
External Institutions seeking partnership with SDD UBIDS for teaching, research or other related activities should contact us for initial discussions at dico@ubids.edu.gh. You can also directly contact the head of the Directorate of International Collaborations (Dr. Millicent A. Akaateba) at makaateba@ubids.edu.gh.