The University of Liberia (UL) and the Lead Consultant, Cynthia Blandford, on the advanced team of Dr. Michael Best, have been meeting regarding the launch of the Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS) fellowship for UL students and faculty.
The meeting with Ms. Blandford, president & CEO of Global Strategies for Good, LLC, was held on Monday, July 22, 2024, in the conference room of the Nathaniel H.B. Cassell Building on the UL Capitol Hill campus.
Dr. Best is Professor of International Affairs and Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Executive Director at the Institute for People and Technology (IPaT).
Dr. Best’s visit to Liberia this August is a follow-on to an announcement made to President Joseph Boakai visitor of the University of Liberia, during his visit to Atlanta, Georgia, on May 11, 2024.
The visit is intended to further discussions with key stakeholders regarding the launching of the OMSCS fellowship for UL students and faculty.
These fellowships cover full tuition for the degree program and as the lead consultant on the Advanced Team, Ms. Blandford pledged to do everything to support the University of Liberia.
Ms. Blandford told the UL Leadership that several other universities are involved in her work, noting that recently they received a US$5m grant saying, “Technology, we know is one of those important pillars of the President Joseph Boakai, and we certainly want to be a part of that.”
According to Ms. Blandford, Dr. Best’s visit to Liberia will last for five days, detailing that the meeting with the UL Leadership was intended to talk a little bit about his visit from August 1-5, 2024.
She indicated that they want the United States to be behind this program, highlighting the importance of looking for funding because Georgia Tech is one of the best technology programs and schools in the world pointing out, “And so having that brand associated with the University of Liberia can only lift up this university to a whole another level.”
She expressed excitement about the newly launched University Innovation Pod (UniPod) at the University of Liberia, other things that are being done at UL, and the 10,000 young people who will be trained.
UL Board Chair Senator Numene Bartekwa encouraged Ms. Blandford to continue to do more for Liberia, expressing appreciation for her passion.
He told Ms. Blandford that UL has an interim leadership headed by the University’s former president, Dr. Al-Hassan Conteh who highly appreciates the task given to him and is prepared to work with all of the institution’s partners.
Dr. Al-Hassan Conteh said the UL Interim Leadership had been mandated by the Visitor, President Joseph Boakai to address the concerns of the stakeholders indicating that they are in search of a new president and expects to hear from her if she knows people out there.
Dr. Conteh said the Administration is trying to bridge the digital divide at the University and make its programs relevant to development noting, “So, with respect to the digital divide, I think this is one of the programs that I am very happy to receive and give it a push. We also have the UniPod program that we’ve just launched under the aegis of UNDP and other partners.”
According to him, the idea is to give students the opportunity to use technology to create things for the benefit of society.
Dr. Agnes Reeves Taylor, UL’s Vice president for Academic Affairs, said the UL looks forward to working with Ms. Blandford, and thanked her for all the work she has done for Liberia.
Vice president for Information Technology, Darren Wilkins, described the program as good for the University’s Computer Science program, stating that it will benefit not only students but the faculty as well.
Cllr. Norris Tweah, Vice president for UL Relations, stated that time has changed and the University needs new programs to meet the demands imposed on the country.
“And so, computer science and computer information technology are two of the areas. We’ve just launched the Undergraduate program. We are having some challenges in that area,” Cllr. Tweah noted.
For new programs, Cllr. Tweah said the University must train faculty and finance staff, raise resources, and consider the sustainability of these programs, but the institution’s budget does not correspond with its growing student population and demands.
