Consultant Administrator, Mrs. Mildred Asmah, has made a passionate call to the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA), highlighting the need to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI), to ensure growth in skills and enhance efficiency in their works.
In her address as the keynote speaker second day of the GAUA Congress at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana on Friday, the 62-year-old pensioner indicated that AI has emerged as a transformative technology, impacting various sectors including Higher Education and the economics of Information Technology.
According to Mrs Asmah, AI has the potential to revolutionize higher education, personalize learning experiences, automate administrative tasks, and support research activities.
The Vice President for projects at Graduate Women International, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, allayed the fears of many who assert that their role will be taken by AI.
“AI is not going to replace us administrators but make our lives easier,” she emphasised.
She mentioned that leveraging AI to gain valuable insights will provide administrators free time to focus
on the creative human aspects of their roles.
The rapid advancements in AI, particularly in machine learning and natural language processing, have enabled the development of intelligent systems that can perform tasks previously requiring human intelligence.
The integration of AI in Higher Education has gained significant attention in recent years with universities exploring various application, such as adaptive learning systems, chatbots for student support and AI powered tools.
The Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) continues its national congress, which commenced on Thursday, August 29, and is slated to end on Saturday, August 31.
Sister associations gracing the event include the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and the Teachers’ and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU), among others.
The theme for this year’s congress is “Balancing Growth and Sustainability in Expanding Public Universities – The Role of GAUA.”
Profile of Mrs. Mildred Asmah
Mrs. Asmah rose from the ranks of Junior Assistant Registrar to Deputy Registrar at the University of Cape Coast over a span of 28 years of active service. Mrs. Asmah holds an MEd in Higher Education Administration (UCC), an MSc in Social Development Planning and Management (University of Wales, Swansea) postgraduate studies in Management Studies from Robert Gordon University (Scotland) and a postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Leadership Studies from the International Higher Institute for Leadership (France).
Mrs. Asmah has received academic/ professional awards and fellowships including the Sheila Lochead award from the University of Wales Swansea, the Joan Balchin award from the University of Leeds (on 2 occasions), a Nuffic fellowship, the Global Affairs award to Coady Institute in Canada, and the University of Incarnate Word Travel award in San Antonio, Texas.
She has attended short courses on the Management of Higher Education Institutions held in Israel and Maastricht. She has authored two books, a book chapter, reports/articles/memoranda, and several conference presentations. Mrs. Asmah has led a team to write winning proposals for four projects funded by the Bina Roy Partners in International Development (BRPID).
She served as one of the Board of Directors on the Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund headquartered in New York and is now a Board Member of Charis Vineyard, an internationally funded home for children located in the Central Region of Ghana.