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With 16 PhDs, Accra Institute of Technology shows the way to produce doctorate degrees in Africa
By Dominic Osei-Boakye
Birthed in 2009, started walking fully in the latter part of 2010 at a one block building surrounded by beautifully designed containers at the premises of the Civil Service Training Center and Government Secretarial School at Cantonments, the Accra Institute of Technology (AIT) has defied all odds and become a leader in producing PhDs in Ghana, one of Africa’s major centres of learning.
Once described by a Nigerian journalist as a “potter cabin university” with the registrar’s office labeled as a “two by four cubicle”, the AIT success story provides a model on Africa’s pathway to knowledge and skill development in a more globalised economy. And it is worthy of emulation.
Captained by Professor Clement Dzidonu, a world renowned Computer Scientist, backboned by eminent academics in the Board of Trustees (BoT) including Prof Edward Ayensu (Formerly of World Bank Inspection Panel) as Chairman, Prof. Ivan Addae Mensah (Former Vice Chancellor, University of Ghana) as Vice Chairman, Prof. Jophus Anamuah Mensah (Former Vice Chancellor of University of Education, Winneba), and Prof. Samuel Adjepong (Former Vice Chancellor, University of Cape Coast), the AIT has been built on a solid rock of knowledge champions.
In this league are also Prof. William Otoo Ellis (Former Vice Chancellor, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology), Very Rev. Ama Afo Blay (Former Director General of Ghana Education Service), Dr. Grace Bediako (Former Government Statistician) and Mr. K.S. Yamoah (Former Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange). All of these academic have helped AIT to lead the way in terms of production of quality PhDs in the country, and the rest of the continent to set the pace in knowledge engineering.
Through its partnership with Open University of Malaysia, the Accra Institute of Technology has produced Eighty-One (81) PhDs since 2016. This translates into an average of Fourteen (14) PhDs per year. This is unprecedented and a great achievement for a young private university like AIT. Considering the fact that the PhD per capita of Ghana is alarmingly low, the contributions of AIT in bridging this gap cannot be underrated. More importantly, the partnership has fostered the new direction of knowledge-sharing across continents to close the gap deep learning and development.
Did this Come Easy? Not at all! To offer, run and graduate students on an internationally benchmarked Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree programs in Ghana is by all standards a herculean task. As a non-religiously denominated or related private university which is school fees driven with no support from government nor any other organisations, running PhDs can be very expensive. After paying supervisors, external examiners and reviewers, PhD Research Committee members, internal and external moderators, etc, the university retains virtually nothing and makes no profit. This explains why most of the private universities shy away from this daring venture since it is not financially worthwhile.
Additionally, getting supervisors and external examiners to mentor these PhD students is another huge task. Running PhDs in special areas like Business Administration, Information Technology, Engineering and Education come with so many difficulties in attracting supervisors and external examiners who dully qualify to mentor the students.
However, AIT has surmounted this hurdle with collaborations with several internationally recognized universities with competent Professors who have been working hard to produce these PhDs.
Speaking at the 18th graduation of AIT, held on 17th December, 2022 at the ultramodern Knowledge City Campus in Kokomlemle, where AIT graduated Sixteen (16) PhDs at a goal, the President of AIT could not hide his joy especially having led his team to make this huge contribution to academia in the country.
He stated: “Mr. Chairman, I will need to pause here to comment on the historic nature of the 18th Congregation of this young and dynamic University. Today we are making yet another history in this country’s annals of private university education. Mr. Chairman, it is my great honor and privilege to announce that we are today graduating for the 10th time, PhDs who studied at this university.
“This major achievement of a university barely ten years old makes AIT the first private university in Ghana to successfully offer and graduate students on an internationally benchmarked PhD program. This is no small achievement if put within the context of the fact that the PhD per capita of Ghana is extremely low. Mr. Chairman, we can claim that we have become one of the leading postgraduate research institutions on the continent. I want to take this opportunity to assure you that we are confident that we will again be graduating more PhDs next year.”
He added: “The Quality? The quality of the PhDs produced by AIT is not in contention. As highlighted by the President in his speech ‘Mr. Chairman, I am delighted to inform you that, at AIT, we are mindful of the need to provide high-standard tertiary education and training not only aimed at producing qualified and highly skilled people to drive the nation’s development in the information age but also to produce job creators, with the requisite entrepreneurial skills and expertise to set up and run their corporations in various fields.
“Also, as a research university, our focus on cutting-edge research work through our postgraduate programs and research initiatives is geared towards supporting the nation’s science, technology, and innovation (STI) drive towards developing a modern knowledge-based and wealth-generating economy in the information and technological age.”
AIT’s milestones underscored why it was ranked the best private university in Ghana in 2018 and 2019 and was also awarded the Best Technology University in Ghana for the fourth year running by Ghana Tertiary Awards.
Quality of the PhDs produced by AIT is shown in the progress of their graduates. Currently, AIT has Pro Vice Chancellors in public universities who became Professors in less than three years after completion. 60% of the graduates have become Senior Lecturers, Associate Professors and Full Professors few years after graduation. The strict requirements by AIT for students to publish minimum of five papers in a reputable and ranked journal sets the foundation for this growth. The PhD Candidature system where students are mentored by the PhD Research Committee for one year instead of just one supervisor through series of presentations and the strict requirement to write minimum three chapters of your thesis within that period also contributes heavily to the success of these students.
In the last 10 years of the program, AIT has graduated PhDs who are on the academic and administrative staff of almost all the private and public universities in Ghana and a number of Nigerian universities. Given the high international academic standard of the program, more than half of our PhD graduates in academia obtained their Associate or Full Professor within three years after graduation. These are outstanding landmarks pointing to how Africa can close the gaps for deep knowledge and research as it gears into the fourth industrial revolution (4IR).
If anyone thought AIT is resting on its laurels, then such people must rewrite their notes. At the 18th graduation ceremony, thirty-five (35) students graduated to become PhD Candidates after completing the first three chapters of their thesis in the first year. They should be completing their PhDs in two years. This is coupled with a number of students who are going through their Post Viva corrections and the twenty (20) students who are preparing to submit their thesis for examination. Two years from now, it is estimated that AIT will graduate not less than forty (40) additional PhDs.
The Chairman of the AIT Board of Trustees, Prof Edward Ayensu summed it all up in his speech at the 18th graduation: “So far, we are proud to report that our efforts in all directions are proceeding according to plan. We can assure this Congregation, and all stakeholders, that we shall not relent in our efforts to ensure the full fulfillment of that vision”
Conspicuously, the Accra Institute of Technology is showing the way and will fill the PhD gap in the country and across Africa in no time.
My final message to students all of Africa, start your journey with AIT from Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD in Business Administration, Engineering, Information Technology, Computer Science, Education and Health and Safety.
Indeed! Your journey to the top starts at Accra Institute of Technology as it lives to its payoff as the University of the Future beginning today. Yes! In AIT, Africa has a chance to leapfrog; the milestones achieved by AIT in so short a while proved that point.
Dominic Osei-Boakye is Registrar at AIT
Technology strategist Rock Adote has been appointed to the Board of Trustees of Madonna University Nigeria, a move expected to strengthen the institution’s push toward digital governance and modern technological systems in higher education.
Madonna University
Adote, who has built a reputation in cybersecurity, enterprise identity management and digital transformation, brings over a decade of experience in designing secure digital infrastructure and managing identity systems for organizations.
Stakeholders believe his expertise will support the university’s efforts to strengthen data security and modernize its academic and administrative digital frameworks.
The appointment reflects the university’s growing commitment to technology-driven leadership as institutions increasingly rely on digital systems for academic operations, data management and research collaboration.
Universities today manage large volumes of sensitive digital information, including student records, research data and staff credentials, making strong cybersecurity and identity management frameworks essential.
As a member of the Board of Trustees, Adote will participate in providing institutional oversight and guiding strategic policy direction for the university.
The board is responsible for safeguarding academic standards while steering long-term development initiatives and ensuring the institution remains responsive to evolving global trends in education and technology.
Industry observers say Adote’s background in enterprise digital systems positions him to contribute significantly to the university’s digital transformation agenda, particularly in strengthening technological resilience and governance frameworks across its operations.
Other newly appointed members of the board include Sir Nwagwu Aloysius Emeka, Chief Arthur Obi Okafor (SAN), Professor Anagboso Martin Osita, Mrs. Ike Angela Unaoaku, Barrister Augustine Nenwa Obo and Rev. Fr. Stephen Ifeanyichukwu Nwatah.
Speaking on the appointment, Adote expressed appreciation for the opportunity to serve, emphasizing the importance of aligning higher education institutions with emerging technological realities.
According to him,
“Digital transformation will play a crucial role in shaping the future of academic administration, research and learning environments”.
Analysts note that the inclusion of technology leaders in university governance structures signals a growing recognition that digital transformation is becoming central to the competitiveness and sustainability of modern higher education institutions.
With Adote’s appointment, Madonna University is expected to further strengthen its technology strategy and position itself as a forward-looking institution within Nigeria’s higher education landscape.
By: Kerissa Varma, Microsoft Chief Security Advisor, Africa
Africa’s healthcare sector is facing a silent emergency. Many healthcare operators, facilities and doctors across Africa already grapple with the challenges of under-resourced environments, an uneven distribution of resources and massive demand for services.
Kerissa Varma, Microsoft Chief Security Advisor, Africa
Now healthcare administrators must turn their attention to a relatively new and extremely urgent concern. While doctors fight to save lives, cybercriminals are infiltrating hospitals, laboratories, and clinics, turning life-saving environments into digital battlegrounds.
A growing epidemic
World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that the digital transformation of healthcare, combined with the high value of health data, has made the sector a prime target for cybercriminals, commenting that “At best, these attacks cause disruption and financial loss. At worst, they undermine trust in the health systems on which people depend, and even cause patient harm and death.”
Recent attacks have exposed the fragility of Africa’s medical infrastructure. In May 2025, Mediclinic Southern Africa was hit by a cyber extortion attack, compromising sensitive HR data. Later in 2025, Lancet Laboratories faced a regulatory penalty for failing to notify patients about data breaches under South Africa’s POPIA law, while a ransomware strike on the National Health Laboratory Service disrupted blood test processing nationwide, delaying critical care for millions.
M-Tiba, a Kenyan digital health platform managed by CarePay and backed by Safaricom, suffered a significant cyberattack and data breach in late 2025, while earlier this year Pharmacie.ma, a Moroccan pharmaceutical platform, was reportedly the target of an alleged data leak incident that allegedly involved the unauthorised export of a customer database. And recent research indicates that Nigeria’s private healthcare sector is now one of the most targeted on the African continent, with attacks increasing at an alarming rate.
Many incidents also go unreported, as hospitals and healthcare facilities rarely disclose them publicly, yet these incidents are not isolated, with ransomware dominating the threat landscape. Africa’s healthcare sector is heavily targeted by cybercriminals, with healthcare organisations facing an average of 3,575 weekly attacks in 2025, a 38% surge from the previous year, with encryption of patient data, temporary loss of access to hospital systems and the risk of data appearing on the dark web cited as potential impacts.
Why healthcare is a prime target
The healthcare industry in Africa, particularly in the public sector, is working with legacy systems, fragmented infrastructure, and underfunded IT teams, all of which combine to make the sector an easy target for unscrupulous bad actors.
Many medical institutions are adopting open-source AI tools for diagnostics and patient management. While cost-effective, these platforms often lack enterprise-grade security, leaving sensitive data exposed. Combined with fragmented storage of paper and electronic patient records – often unencrypted and scattered across multiple systems – the risk of breaches multiplies.
Hospitals and healthcare facilities cannot afford downtime. Every minute offline risks lives, making them more likely to pay ransoms in an attempt to regain control of their systems. Cyber insurers indicate that in 2 of 5 cases of a ransom being paid, data and operations still cannot be recovered. Additionally, in instances where some or all of the seized data is recovered after paying a ransom, the attacker goes on to request further payments.
Medical records are also a premium target for cybercriminals. In the USA, researchers found that patient records, insurance details, and research data fetch premium prices on the dark web – up to 10 times higher than financial data, according to cybersecurity analysts. A single stolen medical record can sell for $260–$310, compared to $30–$50 for a credit card, because unlike credit cards, medical records never expire and medical information cannot be easily changed, making it useful for years. Medical records frequently include personal identifiers, insurance details, and sometimes biometric data, enabling identity theft and fraud, while criminals use medical data for fake insurance claims, prescription fraud, and targeted scams. Microsoft believes cybersecurity needs to be embedded into every technology implementation. This should be a key priority, especially with sensitive medical data and operations.
How healthcare can use modern technology safely
As Africa’s healthcare systems digitise and embrace AI, protecting the digital lifeline must become as critical as protecting the physical one. Key steps can secure healthcare organisations and facilities like laboratories and diagnostic services’ systems.
Include cybersecurity in your resilience planning
Medical professionals and healthcare facilities often prioritise the resilience of physical capabilities. Power backups, multiple devices should equipment fail, and a standby roster in the event of a practitioner being unavailable are all practices that save lives. Equally cybersecurity and safeguarding online systems needs to be built into the overall resilience planning of medical facilities and services.
Investing in cybersecurity technology that can quickly identify and contain attacker activity before it leads to system downtime or data theft can save lives. Having a response plan that is practiced and maintained in the event of a cyber breach and ensuring strong data backups could mean the difference between a total failure of health services or a minor incident. Ensuring incident response plans are aligned with local compliance laws such as South Africa’s POPIA, and Kenya and Nigeria’s Data Protection Acts is critical for healthcare providers to meet both their resilience and compliance objectives.
Prepare for AI-driven attacks that are going to increase attacker speed and success
Threat actors are increasingly exploiting the interconnectedness of modern software ecosystems and operational structures to conduct malicious activity, so regular auditing of third-party integrations, especially those involving AI or cloud services, is critical.
Adversaries are using AI to scale and tailor operations, with AI-driven phishing being 4.5x more effective than traditional phishing. However, in equal measure, AI is transforming cyber defence – it automates response and containment, detects threats faster and more accurately, and identifies detection gaps and adapts to attacker behaviour. Healthcare organisations should invest in AI-driven threat detection for faster response and anomaly detection and must also take steps to secure AI models and data pipelines by implementing robust access controls, vulnerability scanning, and regular patching for open-source tools.
Remote and wider access to patient records requires strong identity practices
As both patients and medical professionals start accessing patient records digitally, strong means of identification, verification and authentication are critical. The Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2025 notes that the abuse of valid accounts is a frequent occurrence, with malicious actors gaining access to user credentials (usernames and passwords) and using them to infiltrate systems without triggering traditional security alerts. Therefore, organisations must deploy phishing-resistant multifactor authentication (MFA) and conditional access to strengthen user defences.
Invest in people and skills
People are at the heart of robust cybersecurity measures, so it is vital to train staff against common tactics such as phishing, which is the most common entry point for attackers, and apply role-based access controls for both clinical and research data to prevent privilege misuse.
Cybersecurity is no longer an IT issue – it’s a patient safety issue. Healthcare services and providers must treat digital resilience with the same urgency as infection control. By investing in comprehensive cybersecurity strategies and leveraging AI-powered defences, Africa’s healthcare sector can position itself as a crucial front line against emerging threats and help build stronger, more resilient digital ecosystems.
Globally recognized South African actress Nomzamo Mbatha will feature on this week’s edition of African Voices Changemakers, the 30 minute show on Cable News Network International (CNN).
In this episode of the Glo-sponsored programme, Mbatha sits down with CNN’s Larry Madowo for an exclusive conversation while filming the final season of the hit television series Shaka iLembe. The interview was recorded at the historic Cradle of Humankind outside Johannesburg, where she reflects on her career and the legacy she hopes to build beyond the screen.
As her international profile continues to rise, Mbatha has appeared in two Hollywood productions and was named to the prestigious TIME100 Next list in 2025, which celebrates emerging global leaders shaping the future. She is also making strides in the beauty industry as the first South African woman to secure endorsement deals with global skincare brand Neutrogena and haircare brand Cream of Nature.
Mbatha also shares the cultural importance of Shaka iLembe, her journey from South Africa to the global stage, and why giving back remains central to the enduring contribution she aims to leave behind.
The programme will air on Saturday at 8.30 a.m., with additional broadcasts at 12.00 p.m. the same day; Sunday at 4.30 a.m. and 6.00 p.m.; Monday at 3.00 a.m. and 5.45 p.m.; and Tuesday at 5.45 p.m. It will also air again on Saturday, March 14 at 7.30 a.m. and 11.00 a.m.; Sunday, March 15 at 3.30 a.m. and 6.00 a.m.; and Monday, March 16 at 3.00 a.m.
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