Teaching collaboration with the University of Ashesi in Ghana
International and cross university collaborations bring a great potential to improve our ways of thinking and doing research. We are proud to have been able to co-teach a two week course this February in collaboration with the University of Ashesi in Accra, Ghana.
As part of a joint master’s program in Mechatronic Engineering of Ashesi University in Accra, Ghana and ETH Zurich in Switzerland, Prof. Dr. Thomas Bernauer and Dr. Keith Smith taught a two-week course about environmental politics in Ghana this February 2023.
In this course the students learnt why and how environmental problems emerge, reasons and approaches to possibly solve them and causes for failing to address the problems or incomplete solutions. Further, the role of important stakeholders like citizens and the public opinion was analyzed and ways of scientific analysis taught.
In a case study on urban air pollution, science-based problem-solving skills were fostered. The students analyzed in a collaborative groupwork project the air pollution of the following six sub-Saharan cities: Accra, Dakar, Johannesburg, Kampala, Lagos and Nairobi.
The groups assessed the levels of exposure to air pollution, the monitoring extent of different types of air pollution, the localized causes of air pollution, and current and future policy solutions aimed at addressing air pollution.
Based on these insights the groups developed solutions to tackle the current and future problems related to the air pollution problems, came up with ideas to overcome barriers and possible policies to mitigate the pollution and impacts.
We are now looking back to two inspiring weeks with many learnings, new insights and newly built connections.
Universities: external pageAshesi (Accra, Ghana), ETH (Zurich, Switzerland)
Joint Masters Programme: external pageMechatronic Engineering
