By Isaac Arkoh
Cape Coast, March 6, GNA – Professor Elsie Effah Kaufmann, a trailblazing Biomedical Engineer and academic, has called on young people, particularly girls, to embrace Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.
As the first female Dean of the School of Engineering Sciences at the University of Ghana and a prominent advocate for STEM, she emphasised that women’s participation in engineering was essential for personal growth and national development.
Prof Kaufmann was speaking at the launch of the10th anniversary of EduSpots, a UK and Ghanaian based Non-Governmental Organisation that works to connect, train and equip community teams to ignite locally driven change through education.
EduSpots intends to gather support to double the reach of its network, aiming to expand the number of Spots training centres in Ghana from 50 to 100.
As part of the celebration, Prof Kaufmann widely known for her role as Quiz Mistress in the televised National Science and Maths Quiz, was also outdoored as Patron of EduSports.
Prof Kaufmann while praising women in the Engineering sector in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after the event, for their resilience, highlighted the persistent underrepresentation of women in STEM fields as a critical challenge.
She identified barriers such as gender bias, limited mentorship opportunities and societal stereotypes that deter women from pursuing and thriving in engineering careers.
Additionally, she identified the “leaky pipeline” phenomenon, where women drop out of STEM pathways due to inadequate support systems from stakeholders.
To address these challenges, Prof Kaufmann advocated deliberate interventions, including mentorship programmes, flexible work policies, and initiatives as adopted by EduSports to inspire girls at an early age.
She stressed that achieving gender diversity in engineering did not only empower women but also enhanced innovation and problem-solving by fostering diverse perspectives.
Through her unalloyed benevolence and mentorship, Prof Kaufman had gone out to provide resources for hands-on learning and research for many, particularly the youth.
She urged stakeholders to invest in creating inclusive environment that enabled women to excel in engineering and contribute meaningfully to societal progress.
Touching on her appointment as patron of EduSports, Prof Kaufmann said: “I have observed the work of EduSpots over the years and been impressed by the impact the catalysts are making in their communities.
“I am honoured by this opportunity to work more closely with the leadership of EduSpots as well as the communities of learning that the organisation has created.”
Miss Cat Davison, the Chief Executive officer and Founder of EduSpots, recommitted the Organisation to empowering young people to unearth their talents and professional careers to serve as role models to others.
She said: “Professor Effah Kaufmann is an exemplary ambassador for EduSpots’ work given her inspirational commitment to promoting practical, relevant and critically reflective education.”
EduSpots’ Chair of Trustees, Professor Gloria Agyemang, also said: “We look forward to working with Prof Kaufmann to take EduSpots’ work to the next level.
The impact of her inclusion, she said, “would be an exciting phase of our organisational development.”
Since 2015, EduSpots has developed a dynamic network of over 400 voluntary local change makers, named Catalysts, including many teachers, to set up and lead 50 education spaces named ‘Spots’.
These community-led hubs are positioned in schools and community settings across 12 regions of Ghana and Kenya, impacting over 30,000 learners of all ages in the process, enabling communities to unite to create the futures they want to see through education.
Catalysts lead clubs across early years’ education, digital literacy, gender equity and STEM and sustainability education, with a focus on creating play-based, inclusive and co-creative learning environments that have a ripple effect across the wider school and community settings.
EduSpots’ Catalysts have the opportunity to engage with a range of leadership programmes focused on community leadership, entrepreneurship and education such as the Ignite, catalyse leadership and inspire mentoring programmes.
The Inspire Mentoring Programme enables many Catalysts to transition to staff and peer mentor roles, with annual training.
GNA