The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) hosted a strategic engagement on Friday, 6 February 2026, with the leadership of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) and BDO Ghana (Binder Dijker Otte) to explore collaboration opportunities that advance industry-relevant higher education and Commonwealth-wide partnerships.
Present at the engagement were the Vice-Chancellor of UPSA, Prof. John Kwaku Mensah Mawutor; Ms. Samantha Cohen CVO OBE, Chief Executive Officer of CWEIC; Mr. John Apea, Head of Mission, Ghana (CWEIC); Mr. Ben Gomado-Cobblah, Country Director (CWEIC); Mr. Emile Vorgbe, Audit Partner (BDO Ghana); Mr. Joel Owusu-Boakye, Audit & Assurance Partner (BDO Ghana); Prof. Isaac Boadi, Dean, Faculty of Accounting and Finance; and others.
Discussions centred on UPSA’s practice-driven model of education and its potential relevance as a blueprint for universities seeking to produce graduates with strong professional competence and workplace readiness.
The Vice-Chancellor traced the University’s growth from its founding in 1965 to a currently exponentially fast-growing student population, attributing the trajectory to sustained demand for professionally trained graduates and an institutional commitment to a market-responsive approach.
The Vice Chancellor also shared updates on ongoing efforts to strengthen capacity for technology-driven learning, including plans for a new campus dedicated to Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence, alongside faculty development initiatives to support responsible AI integration in teaching, curriculum development and research.
Speaking on behalf of CWEIC, the Chief Executive commended UPSA’s flexibility, financial sustainability and responsiveness to real-world economic needs, and outlined areas for collaboration within the Commonwealth ecosystem.
Proposed partnership opportunities included the possibility of hosting a Commonwealth Business Forum at UPSA, facilitating international exchange programmes with institutions in Australia and Kenya, and exploring private sector investment in student accommodation infrastructure.
A key theme that emerged during the engagement was the localisation of academic content and learning resources. UPSA shared its ongoing work to develop indigenous business case studies and locally grounded textbooks.
On their part, BDO Ghana encouraged the University to explore Ghana’s positioning in the gold market as a distinctive area for academic and business specialisation.
The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to deepen engagement and identify actionable pathways for collaboration that reinforce UPSA’s standing as a leading example of innovative, globally relevant higher education within the Commonwealth.
