Bonn - Cologne - Bochum, 28 November - 1 December 2023

As part of the DIES programme (Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies, funded by the BMZ, DIES-Dialogue programme line), the HRK organised a four-day information visit for Vice Chancellors from Ghana to Germany from 28 November to 1 December 2023. They visited the University of Bonn, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, the University of Cologne and Ruhr University Bochum. At the University of Cologne, the new university network Ghana-NRW University Alliance, which was founded in 2023 and now includes seven universities from NRW, introduced itself (Link: 

On the Ghanaian side, the Vice Chancellors of the most important universities took part: University of Ghana, University of Science and Technology, University of Cape Coast, University for Development Studies, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Central University.

The aim of the fact-finding mission was to give the Ghanaian university leaders an insight into the structure of the German higher education system with the respective profiles and focal points of the individual types of higher education institutions. In addition, the opportunity was offered to explore the potential for cooperation, particularly in the field of research, through direct dialogue. The exchange focused on the areas of health sciences, digitalisation and online learning, sustainability, food security and agricultural sciences, and technology transfer.