INSTITUTE OF AFRICAN STUDIES:
Established in 1961, it conducts fundamental research in areas of African Languages, history and culture, and runs interdisciplinary courses leading to MPhil and PhD degrees in African Studies. The Institute also organizes introductory courses in African Studies for all Level 200 students in the undergraduate degree programme of the University. These courses, which cover two semesters, are compulsory. A pass in African Studies is required for the award of a bachelor’s degree of the University. Orientation courses are available for special admission students from other institutions and agencies. Interdisciplinary seminars and symposia are organized regularly. There is a Visual Arts Section with cultural exhibits for teaching and research. The Institute’s library supplements the Africana collection of the Balme Library. Attached to the Institute is the Ghana Dance Ensemble – a resident professional dance company which was started in 1962 by the then Ghana Institute of Arts and Culture to link the University of Ghana with the national theatre movement.
INSTITUTE OF ADULT EDUCATION:
Established originally as the Department of Extra-Mural Studies in 1948, the Institute provides university-based adult education through its branches and workers' colleges throughout the country. It provides both formal and non-formal programmes. The formal programmes consist of Diploma, MA, P.Phil and Ph.D courses in Adult Education. These programmes are run both on full-time and sandwich basis. The Institute also runs in the distance mode, the diploma programme in Youth in Development Work sponsored by the Commonwealth Secretariat. The Institute also has plans to deliver in the near future some University of Ghana degree programmes in the distance mode. The non-formal courses comprise community education programmes in health, family life education, nutrition, civic education, community initiative and adult literacy. Public lectures, seminars and workshops form a vital part of the Institute's activities. The most popular and national of these is the Annual New Year School which has been held regularly since 1948.
INSTITUTE OF STATISTICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH:
Established in 1966 as the Institute of Statistics. In addition to its original concern with problems related to statistics, the Institute has expanded into the field of social and economic studies. The Institute offers Certificate and Diploma courses in Statistics as well as a Master of Arts degree in Development Studies.
NOGUCHI MEMORIAL INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH
The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research was established in 1979 with funding from the Japanese Government to serve as a monument in memory of Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, a renowned Japanese Medical Scientist who died in Accra in 1928 while researching into yellow fever. The Institute has nine scientific departments as follows: Animal Experimentation, Bacteriology, Clinical Pathology, Electron Microscopy and Histopathology, Epidemiology, Immunology, Nutrition, Parasitology, and Virology
The mandate of the Institute is:
· To conduct research into the major communicable and non-communiucable diseases of the tropics;
· To provide training opportunities in medical research for undergraduates and postgraduate students tertiary institutions and,
· To provide high end laboratory diagnostic and monitoring services in specialized laboratory diagnostic and monitoring services in support of public health programmes.
The major research areas are:
- Malaria, Soil-transmitted Helminthiasis and Schistosomiasis, Filariasis (Lymphatic filariasis and Onchocerciasis), Diarrhoeal Diseases (due to Rotavirus, etc), Buruli ulcer, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, Poliomyelitis, Sexually Transmitted Infections and Diseases;
- Micronutrient deficiencies, Infant and Maternal Mortality, Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers;
- EPI Diseases, Haemoglobinopathies (Sickle Cell disease etc), Efficacy and Safety of Herbal Medicine, Allergies, Environmental Pollution, Toxoplasmosis, Cryptosporidosis, Trypanosomiasis, Primary Health Care and Community Diseases Surveillance, Nutritional Problems and Food Safety.
The Institute’s key facilities are:
General Puropse Laboratories, Pathogen-Level 3 Laboratories, Animals Experimentation Facility, Clinical Research Building, Electron Scanning Mocroscopes, DNA sequencers, FacsScan, Mecury Analyser, Liquid Nitrogen Plant, Sample Collection and Storage Facility, Conference Facility, Research Projects office building, an administrative building for the West African Centre for International Parasite Control (WACIPAC), Health Support Centre for HIV/AIDS Counselling and Training, Library and VSAT link to the internert
The Institute through its research and extension activities has acquired international visibility resulting in research collaboration with several national and international institutions.
REGIONAL INSTITUTE FOR POPULATION STUDIES (RIPS)
Established jointly in 1972 by the United Nations and the Government of Ghana RIPS seeks to be a world class institution for research and training in population studies. The Institute offers M.A., M.Phil and PhD degree courses, and organizes seminars, workshops, ad-hoc courses of study and in-service training in demography and related fields. Given its international character, a significant number of the Institute's students have traditionally come from other African countries
CENTRES OF RESEARCH/LEARNING
LANGUAGE CENTRE:
The Language Centre was founded in 1970 as a Centre for research in Language use in Ghana, with the status of a department in the Faculty of Arts. It was established to carry out research aimed at the analysis of practical language performance in Ghana, and to provide avenues for the dissemination and application of language research finding in the educational system of the country and within the University. Its teaching programmes are directly related to these aims. Central to both its research and its teaching programmes is the belief that language teaching in a highly multilingual society such as Ghana’s must take account of the multilingual environment and that so doing means that mother tongue and other tongues are most studied in association with each other.
CENTRE FOR TROPICAL CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY AND THERAPEUTICS:
The Centre for Tropical Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics was established in the University of Ghana Medical School in 1982 with a grant from the UNDP/ World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR). The grant was to increase research and training capabilities in Clinical Pharmacology, especially pharmacokinetics of antimalarial, antischistosomal and antifilarial drugs. The grant period was from 1982-1986. The Centre has the status of a department in the Medical School. The principal activities of the Centre are directed towards achieving the institutional objectives of the University of Ghana Medical School.
LEGON CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (LECIA): The Legon Centre for International Affairs, LECIA, was established by the University of Ghana in December, 1989. Its central purposes are:
i. the inter-disciplinary postgraduate academic training for Foreign Service personnel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other qualified applicants
ii. the organisation of seminars, workshops, and short courses on specified subjects of current international interest;
iii. research and publication in the areas of International Affairs, International Law and Practice.
The Centre runs a 12-month course in International Affairs leading to the award of MA and M.Phil degrees in accordance with the existing University of Ghana regulations.
THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR AFRICAN MUSIC AND DANCE:
The International Centre for African Music and Dance (ICAMD) was established at the University of Ghana in the 1992/93 academic year to serve as a focus for the development of materials and programmes in African Music and Dance that meet the needs of scholars, research students and creative artists. It serves as an archival, documentation and research centre for African music and dance.
ICAMD operates as a unit within the School of Performing Arts. Even though it does not offer teaching programmes, it offers a fellowship programme for scholars and artists from other African countries such as Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbamwe, Zambia,. D.R. Congo, Congo Brazaville, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Nigeria who come into residence as Visiting Scholars and who during their period of residency enroll simultaneously in the Music Department of the School of Performing Arts and the Institute of African Studies to pursue diploma or graduate courses related to what they work on at the Centre. Visiting Scholars and foreign students who register with the University of Ghana as affiliates or associates of the Centre also avail themselves of the classes and private instrumental lessons in African music and dance given by the traditional musicians and dance instructors of the School of Performing Arts as well as the facilities of the ICAMD Reference Library and the Audio-visual Archive which is the backbone of the Centre.
ICAMD maintains strong working relations with individuals and selected universities and institutions in the United States of America which has made it part of a functioning network of educational centres/institutions in Africa and the U.S. with major programmes in African Music and Dance. Due to scarcity of funds ICAMD has decentralized some of its programmes so that conferences, workshops and seminars, etc, can also be held at ICAMD established Secretariats and Chapters within the Music Departments of some African universities. This has helped to strengthen the Pan African dimention of the regional Secretariats as they cope with the challenges of their local and regional environment. The University of Transkei hosts the ICAMD Southern Africa Secretariat in Umtata, South Africa. The Eastern Africa Secretariat is at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. ICAMD has a Chapter at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. ICAMD at Legon provided some financial assistance for the establishment of these Secretariats and the Chapter. The host universities have taken over the running of the ICAMD Secretariats and Chapter by providing some financial support for their programmes, including research, documentation and archival activities.
ICAMD is grateful to the Ford Foundation for its financial support for the past twelve years which has enabled it to lay a firm and sustainable foundation for its programmes and activities.
CENTRE FOR REMOTE SENSING AND GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS (CERSGIS) formerly Remote Sensing Applications Unit:
The Remote Sensing Applications Unit was established in 1993 as a self-accounting Unit in the Department of Geography and Resource Development with a mandate to provide Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) services and to assist research in land and water resources appraisal and monitoring, including rural and urban land use patterns and trends. It will also support the teaching programmes of the environmental and resource based departments, namely geography and resource development, geology, botany, agriculture and physics. The establishment of the Unit became necessary because of the establishment of a remote sensing applications laboratory and an ecological laboratory in the Department of Geography and Resource Development. The Laboratories were inaugurated on 22 March 1994. The establishment of the laboratories was made possible through the generous assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Danish Government through the Institute of Geography under a linkage arrangement between the Universities of Ghana and Copenhagen (Denmark). The Ecological laboratory is equipped with modern facilities to undertake a large range of analysis including plant materials, soil conditions, water and sediments. The combination of a remote sensing laboratory and an ecological laboratory provides ideal facilities for multi-disciplinary approaches to resource and environmental problems which are bound to have far reaching implications not only for the quality and relevance of teaching and research in the University but also for the quest for the sustainable development of the resources of Ghana.
ECOLOGY LABORATORY CENTRE: The Ecology Laboratory at the University of Ghana, Legon was initiated in 1993 through DANIDA financial ENRECA - project. During the first project period, 1993-95, the Ecology Laboratory was equipped with instruments for conducting chemical and physical analysis on soil, water and plant samples. The second project period, 1997-99 is intended to support teaching and interdisciplinary research programmes on nutrient cycling, ecology and biodiversity. This is reflected in the composition of membership of the Centre's Advisory Board and Technical Committee, to represent a wide range of Departments. The Centre is aimed, among others, at supporting interdisciplinary research activities, to facilitate necessary field research for researchers and PhD students; to encourage exchange of scientists and technicians between Ghana and Denmark; to conduct training courses on topics of interest to activities of Ecology Laboratory Centre and to organize seminars and workshops. The Ecology Laboratory Centre is located in the building housing the Ecology Laboratory at the Department of Geography and Resource Development.
CENTRE FOR SOCIAL POLICY STUDIES:
The Centre for Social Policy Studies(CSPS) was established in 1996 within the Faculty of Social Studies, University of Ghana, with funding from UNICEF Ghana. The main purpose of CSPS is to promote social welfare research and advocacy for policy formulation in Ghana.
Part of this agenda involves training in social policy analysis and creating a forum for the dissemination of information on social protection and policy. In the past the Centre has taken steps to facilitate the development of civil society networks to build capacity for work in these areas.
By these means CSPS expects to draw the general public into the debate and decision making process for social development in Ghana. To promote an understanding of the depth of social welfare challenges facing Ghana, the Centre has been focusing on interdisciplinary research and discussion. Specifically, the following policy areas are being covered: Life-Cycle and Well-Being Studies; Social Protection Studies; Human Capital Studies; Institutional Studies in Social Development; Sustainable Livelihoods.
The Centre in addition, conducts training and seminars for various partners from the grassroots, as well as development practitioners and academia. So far training activities have been limited to training workshops and short courses. The Centre is however, preparing to embark on a post-graduate M.A. programme in Social Policy Studies. Each academic year CSPS undertakes a monthly seminar series on a selected topic. Several presenters from both within and outside the University of Ghana come to present their findings and experiences in the field of social policy implementation to the general public. Some of these findings have been published through the Centre's journal - Social Policy and Policy Brief series.
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CENTRES:
There are three Agricultural Research Centres at Legon (about 12 kilometres outside the main campus), Kpong on the Accra plains (about 90 kilometres north-east of Legon), and Kade in the Forest Zone, in the Eastern Region (approximately 175 kilometres from Legon), under the supervision of the Faculty of Agriculture. Apart from research, the Centres provide technical and practical experience for students of Agriculture and extension and training facilities for farmers and other interested persons.
Legon Agricultural Research Centre: The Research Centre at Legon (established in 1953) covers an area of about 740 hectares. Its main research activities are in animal breeding, animal nutrition, veterinary medicine, pastures improvement and the development of dairy cattle by crossbreeding.
Kpong Agricultural Research Centre: The Agricultural Research Centre located at Kpong Research Centre, established in 1954, covers an area of about 1024 hectares. The Centre conducts investigations inot mechanized irrigated agriculture on the black soils (Vertisols) of the Accra Plains of the Accra Plains, for the purpose of exploiting their full agricultural potentials for crops, livestock and fish production. The major research focus areas of the Centre include (i) soils, (ii) mechanization and irrigation, (iii) crops and (iv) livestock. The principal crops consist of annuals such as rice, maize, sugarcane, beans and vegegables and perennials such as mangoes, and citrus with a comprehensive crop protection programme.
Kade Agricultural Research Centre: The Research Centre at Kade (established in 1957) covers an area of 99.3 hectares. It is mainly concerned with research into production of forest zone crops such as citrus, plantain, cocoyam, oil palm and rubber, with a special interest in agronomy of perennial crop plants.
OTHER RESEARCH UNITS AND FACILITIES
VOLTA BASIN RESEARCH PROJECT:
The Volta basin refers to the approximately 400,000 sq. km drained by River Volta and its tributaries in the West African countries, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, and Ghana where the basin makes up about 70 percent of the mainland. The Volta Basin Research Project (VBRP) was established by the University of Ghana in 1963 to carry out, through a multidisciplinary methodology, research into the positive and negative changes within the volta basin, following the damming of river Volta at Akosombo and, subsequently, downstream at Akuse, and the consequent creation of artificial lakes behind the dams. As with many major river basin development projects, it was deemed imperative to conduct pre-impoundment studies on what would be lost irretrievably after the damming, scientifically monitor and appraise continuously the expected multifaceted social and economic impacts, and formulate measures against the many adverse effects that such a major environmental disruption was bound to cause nationally and internationally. The five major areas identified for research were fisheries agriculture, hydrobiology, public health, socio-economic development, and archaeology, which, essentially, became passe, after the completion of the creation of the lakes, the first of which is among the largest in the world. Traditionally research work is vested in full-time Research Fellows who, also, partly teach in the Departments to which they, together with their Technicians, are attached. Through this arrangement, the VBRP has generated substantial scientific information about the volta basin, and contributed significantly towards its socio-economic development by discovering solutions for problems associated with the damming.
BOTANICAL GARDENS:
The Legon Botanical Gardens covering an area of approximately 25 hectares support the scientific research of the Department of Botany. They contain plant species of the tropics and semi-tropics, including a large collection of palms from various tropical areas. In addition to the sale of plants and wreaths, landscaping and horticultural services, there are facilities in the gardens for picnics by individuals, families and social groups.
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