The Penn State & Ghana Symposium: The Power of Partnership will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 15 at the Millennium Science Complex, University Park. The symposium will feature short faculty talks highlighting existing Penn State-Ghana partnerships and opportunities for new collaborations. The event is free and open to the Penn State community.
The event will bring together Penn State faculty, students and administrators with colleagues from Ghana's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to share Ghana's research and innovation landscape, explore shared priorities and build connections that can expand opportunities for collaboration. The symposium will be co-led by Dr. Camelia Kantor, associate director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, and Dr. Marian Dorcas Quain, deputy director-general of CSIR.
The pair were selected as fellows for the National Academies' U.S.-Africa Frontiers of Science, Engineering, and Medicine program, which connects researchers from the United States and African Union member countries to collaborate on joint proposals of mutual benefit Quain, who oversees research across 13 CSIR institutes spanning agriculture, environment, industry and public health, will visit Penn State as part of the fellowship.
"I am excited to experience how Penn State fosters interdisciplinary science and to consider how similar models might be adapted in Ghana," Quain said. "The exchange of ideas will benefit both our institutions and help us prepare the next generation of scientists to tackle global challenges."
Quain and Kantor will also launch a new Penn State-Ghana seed grant program, designed to support interdisciplinary research partnerships between faculty at the two institutions, during the symposium.
The seed grant program will provide one-year awards ranging from $5,000 to $30,000 to support Penn State faculty working with Ghanaian colleagues. Funding contributors include CSIR Ghana and Penn State through the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, the College of Agricultural Sciences, the Eberly College of Science and the College of Health and Human Development.
"This seed grant starts from the idea that long-term international partnerships need early investment and mutual commitment," Kantor said. "We hope it will inspire projects in areas like tropical diseases, sustainable agriculture, environmental science and biotechnology, but more importantly, spark faculty-to-faculty connections that lead to lasting networks and impacts."
In addition to attending the symposium, Quain will meet with Penn State faculty and students across several colleges, learn about Huck's Catalysis and STAIR initiatives, and tour PlantVillage, a Penn State-born project that works to transform agricultural resilience in Africa.
Lee Kump, John Leone Dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, said the symposium underscores Penn State's commitment to building global partnerships.
"Global collaborations like the U.S.-African Frontiers Fellows program are planting seeds for the kinds of partnerships that will define the future of science," he said. "By working with Huck and CSIR Ghana to launch this seed grant, we are creating opportunities for our faculty and students to engage in research that has real impact both here in Pennsylvania and around the world."
