The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), has launched an innovative Faculty-Authored Textbook Project alongside a collection of faculty-based academic journals, aimed at enhancing scholarship and promoting the use of locally relevant learning materials.
The initiative, spearheaded by Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Kwaku Mensah Mawutor, forms part of a broader vision to indigenize academic content and reduce the university’s reliance on foreign-authored textbooks.
“We want to drift away from our dependence on foreign-authored textbooks by building the capacity of our faculty members to develop course-specific materials,” Prof. Mawutor said at the launch.
“These textbooks will incorporate case studies from local businesses — stories of both success and failure — that will enhance students’ ability to relate classroom knowledge to their own context.”
The Vice-Chancellor emphasized the critical role academia plays in sustaining local enterprises.
He noted that by documenting and analyzing the experiences of Ghanaian businesses, universities can offer practical knowledge that prepares students for the local business environment.
“We can do this by sharing the stories of local businesses in the course-specific books we are going to develop and publish. And I am even more excited for the students who will read these books and see their world reflected in them,” Prof. Mawutor added.
Senior Lecturer and member for the Faculty-Authored Textbook Project committee, Dr. Eric Boachie Yiadom, also highlighted the significance of the initiative, describing it as a key pillar of UPSA’s Academic Innovation Policy.
Dr. Yiadom explained that the policy seeks to produce contextually relevant academic resources, reduce the burden of expensive foreign textbooks, and improve the quality of teaching materials.
He added that the project also aims to encourage academic authorship among faculty members and increase accessibility to educational resources for students.
“This initiative will not only enhance UPSA’s enviable position as a centre of academic excellence but also empower students through relatable and affordable educational materials,” Dr. Yiadom stated.
As part of the new academic initiatives at UPSA, Professor Samuel Antwi, Pro Vice-Chancellor in charge of Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer (Pro-RIKT), announced the establishment of new faculty-based academic journals.
These include the Journal of Language, Communication and Media Studies by the Department of Communication Studies, and the Journal of Management and Sustainability by the Faculty of Management Studies.
Others are the Journal of Information Systems and Computer Science, established by the Department of Information Technology, and the Journal of Economics, Accounting and Finance by the Faculty of Accounting and Finance.
“These journals,” Prof. Antwi explained, “will serve as platforms for faculty members and researchers to publish and disseminate peer-reviewed scholarly works that reflect Ghanaian and African realities.”
The event attracted a cross-section of academic staff, researchers, and stakeholders from corporate Ghana, who lauded the initiative as a timely and transformative step toward building a self-sufficient and context-sensitive academic environment at UPSA.
