TED Community » Patrick Awuah

About Me

Patrick Awuah is the founder and president of Ashesi University, a private not-for-profit institution that has quickly gained a reputation for innovation and quality education in Ghana. Ashesi University, which began instruction in March 2002, has principal strengths in business, economics and computer science.

As a young man, Patrick Awuah left his native Ghana to pursue an undergraduate education at Swarthmore College, after which he pursued a career in the US high-tech industry. Prior to founding Ashesi, he served for eight years as a Program Manager in the Business Systems Division of Microsoft Corporation where, among other things, he spearheaded the development of dial-up internetworking technologies. He holds bachelor degrees in Engineering and Economics from Swarthmore College, and an MBA from University of California at Berkeley. In 2004, Swarthmore College awarded Patrick an honorary doctorate in recognition of his leadership in African higher education.

Patrick Awuah was nominated a Global Leader 2007 by the World Economic Forum; and in recognition of his service to Ghana, was awarded Membership of the Order of the Volta by His Excellency, President J. A. Kufuor. He is a fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative (a branch of The Aspen Global Leadership Network), a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the United States Tau Beta Pi honor society for excellence in engineering.