Engineer Professor Elsie Effah Kaufmann has noted the depth of her knowledge, the width of her influence, and the height of her accomplishments are owed to her international education received in the West, and her deep sense of patriotism.

She spoke to Class News’ Prince Benjamin (PB) on the sidelines of the launch of the Education USA Advisory Centre, Pure Obsession building, Osu, Accra, Wednesday, November 27, 2024.

Education USA guides students and facilitates their successful applications to tertiary institutions in the United States.

“What’s important in having an international education is the worldview that you get,” Prof Kaufmann remarked.

“I’m a product of international education. I have three degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in the US. It exposed me to areas of disciplines that were not even available in Ghana at the time I was studying. There was no biomedical engineering in Ghana but I was able to go do bioengineering for which reason I was able to get the expertise to come back and help introduce it to our country.”

She encouraged students who leave to study abroad to consider returning to contribute to nation-building, their education and experience being crucial for the progress of their home country.  

“The opportunity to go elsewhere to see how things are done elsewhere and to apply that knowledge in our context is very, very important. It gives you a global worldview when you go abroad to study but yes they must come back to help,” the popular educator and quiz mistress said.

Ing Prof Elsie Akosua Biraa Effah Kaufmann is the Dean of the School of Engineering Sciences, apart from being an Associate Professor and Founding Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Ghana (UG), Legon. She began her teaching career in UG in 2001, handling undergraduate courses and supporting teaching in the Dental School, and what was a newly formed Department of Physiotherapy. The first Ghanaian female to be appointed full-time to the Department of Physics, she is, also, the renowned quiz mistress of the iconic National Maths & Science Quiz (NSMQ).

She told PB returning to Ghana after her time abroad was a decision undergirded in equal parts by a sense of sincerity, determination, purpose, and patriotism.

“I left Ghana on a promise,” she said.

“The opportunity to travel outside was given to me which I valued. When I was going, the panel that selected me to go outside Ghana told me I had to come back home to make a difference. So I used that opportunity to go outside to learn as much as possible and have something valuable that I could come back home with.”

Prof Kaufmann underlined the contribution of her father's influence, too: “It’s because of, also, how I was raised. My father as a very principled man. If you made a promise to do something, you had to do it. So the fact that I promised I’d come back to make a difference meant I had to come back.”

She evaluated her return to Ghana.

“No, I have no regrets,” she emphasised.

“If I reflect back on my life, and what I’ve been able to accomplish, the education I had outside Ghana was invaluable. Without that, I would not have made the impact I’ve made in Ghana. However, I feel Ghana is my home, I have a strong attachment to the country. Everything I got, including the opportunity to travel, was because I was from Ghana. I have to give back to my country and so I don’t have regrets. Times have been hard sometimes, and the temptation has been there sometimes, but this is home.”