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Dr. Kebreab Ghebremichael, Patel College of Global Sustainability at the University of South Florida, Selected to Work With Kwame Nkruma University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana

Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program to Support Projects in Africa

^{May 24th, 2017}

Tampa, May 24, 2017 – Dr. Kebreab Ghebremichael from the Patel College of Global Sustainability at the University of South Florida was awarded a fellowship by the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program to travel to Ghana to work with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Dr. Richard Buamah on collaborative research and curriculum development for a graduate program. The project involves collaborative research in water and wastewater treatment technologies, curriculum development for a new PhD program in water supply technologies and mentoring research activities of graduate students in the Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation program.

The main objective of this project is to support the faculty at KNUST in developing a strong research and educational graduate program in the area of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). Dr. Ghebremichael will work closely with Dr. Buamah in defining research ideas in water and sanitation topics, developing proposals for funding from different agencies, and developing courses that will be part of the new PhD program. Dr. Ghebremichael will also give program lectures and seminars for students and faculty. In the short term, this project will develop new courses, generate several research ideas and build capacity of young researchers. "This is an exciting program that provides an opportunity for myself and the Patel College of Global Sustainability to be engaged in the development of a strong PhD program in Water Supply Technology at KNUST," says Dr. Ghebremichael. He continues, "I believe that this will open greater future collaborations between the two institutions in terms of research, teaching and faculty and student exchanges." Long term impacts are strengthening research activities of KNUST in water and wastewater treatment, developing joint research activities and establishing a general agreement between PCGS and KNUST for collaboration in research, teaching and faculty as well as student exchange programs.

The KNUST project is one of 43 projects that will pair African Diaspora scholars with one of 35 higher education institutions and collaborators in Africa to work together on curriculum co-development, research, graduate teaching, training and mentoring activities in the coming months.  The visiting Fellows will work with their hosts on a wide range of projects that include research in banking and finance; developing curriculum in therapeutics and environmental toxicology; mentoring faculty in computer science; and teaching and mentoring graduate students in media and communications and in a new interdisciplinary public health program. To deepen the ties among the faculty members and between their home and host institutions, the program is providing support to several program alumni to enable them to build on successful collaborative projects they conducted in previous years.

The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program, now in its fourth year, is designed to reverse Africa's brain drain, build capacity at the host institutions, and develop long-term, mutually-beneficial collaborations between universities in Africa and the United States and Canada. It is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and managed by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in collaboration with United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa) in Nairobi, Kenya, which coordinates the activities of the Advisory Council. A total of 282 African Diaspora Fellowships have now been awarded for scholars to travel to Africa since the program's inception in 2013.

Fellowships match host universities with African-born scholars (individually or in small groups) and cover the expenses for project visits of between 14 and 90 days, including transportation, a daily stipend, and the cost of obtaining visas and health insurance.

See full list of 2017 projects, hosts and scholars and their universities.

Contact:

Dr Kebreab Ghebremichael
Patel College of Global Sustainability
University of South Florida
kebreab@usf.edu.