Japanese Senator, Ms. Michiko Ueno, has led a high-level delegation on a working visit to the University of Cape Coast (UCC) to explore opportunities to strengthen academic and cultural collaboration between UCC and institutions in Japan.
The delegation included the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency (H. E.) Hiroshi Yoshimoto, Mr. Shanichiro Nohmi of the Ministry of Education, Japan, and Prof. Ryo Funado of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.
Speaking at a meeting with Management of the University, Ambassador Yoshimoto explained that the visit formed part of Senator Ueno's official visit to Ghana and was intended to identify potential areas of collaboration between UCC and Japanese universities. He noted that Senator Ueno, a member of Japan's Committee on Education, Culture and Science, was particularly interested in promoting academic cooperation through staff and student exchange programmes, research collaborations and cultural exchanges.
The Ambassador noted that Japanese universities already maintain successful partnerships with the University of Ghana and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and expressed confidence that UCC's strong academic reputation and research excellence made it well-positioned to establish and expand similar collaborations with institutions in Japan.
He further observed that although UCC had existing partnerships with Japanese institutions, particularly through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), there was significant potential to broaden the collaboration into new areas of mutual interest. He described UCC as one of Africa's leading higher education institutions and expressed Japan's commitment to deepening its engagement with the University.
Welcoming the delegation, the Vice-Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Denis Worlanyo Aheto, thanked Senator Ueno for selecting the University for the visit. He reaffirmed UCC's commitment to strengthening its relationship with Japanese institutions and highlighted the University's growing collaboration with Japan through the Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (ACECoR).
Prof. Aheto disclosed that ACECoR was currently implementing projects with funding support from Japan through JICA and other institutions, noting that the collaboration would soon see the Centre receive two vehicles to support its research and field activities.
The Vice-Chancellor also emphasised UCC's readiness to expand cooperation in research, innovation, capacity building and academic exchange for the mutual benefit of both countries.
During the meeting, Provosts of the various Colleges outlined priority areas in which they sought to establish partnerships with Japanese universities, including collaborative research, faculty and student exchanges, and joint academic programmes.
Present at the meeting were the Acting Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Christine Adu-Yeboah, Registrar, Gideon Abbeyquaye, Esq.
