Summit Programme

Ing. Prof. Elsie Effah Kaufmann is Dean of the School of Engineering Sciences, as well as an Associate Professor and Founding Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Ghana. She is also the Founding Head of the Department of Orthotics and Prosthetics at the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ghana. She is a Fellow of the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE), a Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering, a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK. She is noted for Science and Engineering education and has been the Host/Quiz Mistress of the hugely popular Ghana National Science & Maths Quiz since 2006. She has been an invited speaker at numerous high-profile fora both nationally and internationally and has received a number of prestigious national and international awards. She is the Founder of the Elsie Effah Kaufmann Foundation.

Ing. Dr. William Amuna is an Electrical Engineer with over thirty years' experience. He is the Technical Coordinator for the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA). He previously served as a Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister of Energy, Ghana and was Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo). He worked with the Volta River Authority (VRA) as a Director of Technical Services, a Manager and an Electrical Engineer. Ing. Dr. Amuna has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, a Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership from the United Nations University and Electrical Power Systems from the Advanced School in Power Systems from the Penn State University, an Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Ghana and a Master of Public Administration degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He also holds a Doctoral degree in Management. He is a member of the Electricity Market Oversight Panel (EMOP) and a Council Member of the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE).

Gordon Awandare is the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Academic and Students Affairs at the University of Ghana. He is a Professor and Founding Director of the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) and Project Director for the Africa Climate Collaborative at the University of Ghana. He holds BSc Biochemistry and MPhil Biochemistry degrees from the University of Ghana. He completed his PhD at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and his postdoctoral fellowship at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Maryland.

In 2014, he led the establishment of WACCBIP after winning one of the World Bank's African Centres of Excellence grants. Subsequently Prof Awandare has helped mobilize over $80m to University of Ghana for equipment, infrastructure, and fellowships to over 550 scientists from 22 African countries for masters, doctoral and postdoctoral training. He has co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed journal publications in a wide range of journals.

Prof Awandare is a recipient of several honors at the global level, including the Bailey K. Ashford Medal for 2025 awarded by the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) for Distinguished work in Tropical Medicine, and the Royal Society Pfizer award for 2015 for achievements in molecular and cellular studies of malaria, and science capacity building in Africa. At the national level, he received the Millenium Excellence Foundation Award for Global Excellence in Biomedical Sciences in 2025.

Prof. Fred McBagonluri is the President of Academic City University and a member of the Board of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission. Prior to joining Academic City, he was the Founding Dean of Engineering and an Associate Professor at Ashesi University. Prof. McBagonluri has had a distinguished career in corporate America, holding senior innovation and engineering roles at Siemens Healthcare, Becton, Dickinson and Company, and Joerns Healthcare, where his work contributed to the development of over $250 million in new markets. He holds over 40 U.S. patents and patent applications, with more than 20 issued patents, and led a team at Siemens Healthcare that developed the first direct-to-consumer medical product designed and manufactured using digital manufacturing protocols. He was also the inaugural Executive Director of the Ghana Climate Innovation Center and has contributed to science, technology, and innovation policy development in Ghana. A 2009 NASA Astronaut Corps Candidate Finalist, he has received several prestigious recognitions, including induction into the Virginia Tech Academy of Engineering Excellence in 2024.

Cedrick A. K. Kwuimy, PhD, is an Associate Professor–Educator in the Department of Engineering and Computing Education at the University of Cincinnati. His work focuses on the intersection of engineering education, experiential and transformative learning, and global workforce development. He studies how engineers develop professional identity and habits of mind through immersive experiences in complex, cross-cultural contexts, with particular emphasis on international, experiential models and Indigenous settings. Dr. Kwuimy is a Fulbright Scholar and a Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow. He has received multiple recognitions at his institution, including Faculty Member of the Year, Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year, and induction into the University of Cincinnati Academy of Fellows for Teaching and Learning.