Ghana’s Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, will be the Special Guest of Honour at the Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) 10th Anniversary Celebration, set to take place from April 7 to 9, 2025, in Accra.

Ousmane Diagana, World Bank Vice President for West & Central Africa, will also participate in the event, alongside ministers of finance and higher education from 20 participating African countries.

“This prestigious event will feature personalities and dignitaries, including the Vice President of Ghana, who will officially open the ceremony on Monday, April 7, 2025,” said Millicent Afriyie Adjei, Communications Lead for the ACE Impact Project at the Association of African Universities (AAU), during a press briefing on March 27, 2025.

She added, “We are also expecting the World Bank’s regional vice president, as well as key directors and managers from the World Bank, to join the discussions on higher education and research advancements in Africa.”

The ACE Programme, launched in 2014, has played a pivotal role in advancing higher education, research, and innovation across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Over the past decade, the initiative has supported more than 80 centres in 50 universities across 20 countries, training thousands of postgraduate students and developing cutting-edge research in STEM, health, agriculture, the environment, and applied social sciences.

Speaking on the programme’s impact, Professor Olusola Oyewole, Secretary General of the AAU, emphasized that the ACE initiative has strengthened African universities by improving postgraduate education, research capacity, and industry collaboration.

“The ACE programme has been transformative in equipping African universities with the skills, tools, and resources needed to address the continent’s most pressing development challenges,” he stated.

Rev. Prof. Ing. Eric Antwi Ofosu, Centre Director of the Regional Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (RCEES) at the University of Energy and Natural Resources, described the initiative as a game-changer for postgraduate education.

“For me, I would say the ACE is one of the best things that has happened to Africa. Thanks to our governments and the World Bank for making this a reality,” he remarked.

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