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Archived Bulletins

August 2004

REFLECTIONS ON A YEAR AT ASHESI

By Ayorkor Mills-Tettey
Visiting Lecturer
Ph.D. Candidate, Computer Science, Carnegie-Mellon University, USA
M.S. Computer Engineering, Dartmouth College, USA

"The attainment of any object is conditioned upon knowledge, volition and action.
Unless these three conditions are forthcoming there is no execution or accomplishment."
(Abdu'l-Bahá, Foundations of World Unity, p. 100)

When I came to Ashesi eleven months ago, I looked forward enthusiastically to the year ahead, pleased about the opportunity to join the Ashesi team, knowing I was doing exactly what I wanted to do. Halfway through the year, a journalist spent some time on campus, recording footage for a documentary about Ashesi. Before my interview with him, I spent some time in thought, trying to articulate exactly why I am so enthusiastic about this institution, why I am so confident that it will succeed. In my moments of reflection, the above quotation came to mind, and I realized that those three factors needed for success - knowledge, volition, and action - are essentially the hallmark of the Ashesi story. This is not a dormant community of people whose mission is a dream that begins and ends in words. This is a community of people with a shared vision, working daily to make the vision a reality: a community that has the courage and wisdom to reflect frequently on its actions and to change the direction of these actions when necessary.

Ashesi is founded on knowledge, on an understanding, gained through sound research, of the purpose of and need for higher education in its local environment. An understanding of the urgency of this need provided the volition to get started, to move forward even while appreciating the daunting nature of the task ahead. Finally, action consisted of taking the numerous steps that needed to be taken, many big, others small, to create the institution that exists today. So many good ideas never succeed because they are not based on sound knowledge, others fail because of the lack of volition, yet many others fail because no one takes the necessary action.

Indeed, the students at Ashesi learn daily about knowledge, volition, and action. On a daily basis, they learn principles and concepts, discuss them, and apply them to problems and projects, thereby learning about teamwork, problem-solving, research, public speaking and presentation. They understand that knowledge without action amounts to useless knowledge. They grapple with large amounts of work, understanding that while knowledge feeds into action, action also translates into a deeper knowledge and understanding. They understand that when they leave Ashesi, they will need to prove themselves by their actions. The beauty of it though, is that they are already doing so. A few weeks ago, I sat back as the students took the stage in the Human Computer Interaction class, giving their final project presentations. I marveled at the confidence with which the students spoke, at the changes that I observed in the students since I first met them the semester before. The students themselves were surprised about how much they were able to achieve. Three of the four projects were done in collaboration with organizations outside Ashesi. The director of one of these organizations, a non-governmental organization focused on health, attended the presentations and commended the students highly for their work. With an enthusiasm that no one could rival, he announced that he would be sharing the results of their project with the Ministry of Health.

At Ashesi, faculty and administrators also learn daily about knowledge, volition, and action. They debate about Ashesi's direction, now and in the future. They discuss curriculum content, teaching practices, educational philosophies. Each possessing diverse strengths and backgrounds, they are flexible enough to try out new ways of doing things, and prudent enough to evaluate how well these new approaches worked and to learn from any mistakes. Some of my most interesting times at Ashesi have been spent discussing these issues with other lecturers, administrators, visiting speakers, and people from industry. The questions are hard, the answers harder. Do we focus on Computer Science, or on Information Technology? Do we look at meeting long term goals by focusing on the "science" aspect of computer science, preparing students who will succeed in research-oriented graduate programs, or do we look at meeting the immediate needs of industry by producing good programmers and network administrators? The truth is, we need both. We need to look to the future, because that is the purpose of educational institutions. But the short-term success of Ashesi also depends on being able to win the support of the local industry by producing graduates who meet its present needs. We need to have a far-reaching vision, while walking with practical feet grounded in the present reality. How do we walk this thin line? Beyond this, how can we be the best we can be, so that the students are enabled to be the best they can be?

A few days ago, I received a call from a company where an Ashesi student is currently interning for the vacation. "Our Ashesi intern is doing wonderfully," I was told, "we needed someone who could be immediately productive - someone who could hit the ground running - and that's exactly what we got." I smiled to myself and wondered whether they realized that their phone call made my day. I was so proud of that student. With a feeling of satisfaction, I thought to myself, "It's working, we're getting there - we will achieve our goal."

I am eager to see the first batch of students graduate from Ashesi. It has not been easy for them. They have worked harder than they probably ever imagined that they could. They have come a long way, and still have quite a way to go. They have grown in ways they probably could not have imagined. The courage of these pioneers is unrivaled. To those joining Ashesi, especially to the new students, but also to new faculty and staff, I would like to say that the atmosphere at Ashesi is one of enthusiasm, teamwork, and a shared vision. This atmosphere needs to be maintained for Ashesi to continue to be successful. This is not a place for passive observation, but for active participation. Ashesi itself has come a long way, and has new heights to reach ahead. As its name implies, this is only the beginning. It will certainly be an interesting journey, one in which we are privileged to be contributors, so hold on tight and enjoy the ride!

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