Ms. Krystal Wang
The Legon Centre for Education Research and Policy (LECERP) recently welcomed Ms. Krystal (Zhongyu) Wang, a DPhil in Education student from the University of Oxford, as a Visiting Doctoral Researcher.
As part of a brief welcome engagement, Dr. Martin Wiredu Agyekum, Lead for Research at the Centre, warmly received Ms. Wang and highlighted LECERP’s commitment to advancing research, training and capacity building, and advocacy across Africa and beyond. He provided an overview of the Centre’s work, including its key projects, partnerships, and engagements, to familiarize her with its activities and areas of impact. He also affirmed the Centre’s readiness to support her research during her stay in Ghana, noting that her visit aligns with Priority 1, Transformative Student Experience, and Priority 2, Impactful Research, of the University’s 2024–2029 Strategic Plan.
Expressing her appreciation for the warm reception, Ms. Wang conveyed her enthusiasm for collaborating with researchers at the University of Ghana and her interest in gaining deeper insights into Ghana’s higher education sector. As part of the engagement, she presented an overview of her study titled “African Perspectives on China–Africa Higher Education Cooperation: An Institutional Ethnography of African Universities.”
The study focuses on institutions in South Africa and Ghana and examines how China–Africa higher education cooperation is experienced by African academics. Moving beyond portrayals of South–South cooperation as either purely egalitarian or dependency-driven, the research explores how African academics actively contribute to reshaping relational power dynamics within university partnerships.
Engaging with existing scholarship on China–Africa university collaborations—where African perspectives remain underrepresented and discourse is often dominated by Chinese and Western authors—the study adopts an Institutional Ethnography approach alongside Benabdallah’s concept of Relational Productive Power. This framework provides a nuanced, contextually grounded understanding of how power and knowledge are co-constructed by African and Chinese academics. By foregrounding African academics as central actors, the study traces the complex networks of power relations within China–Africa university partnerships and highlights how African scholars shape institutional norms and interpersonal relations, offering valuable insights into more equitable models of international higher education collaboration.
Her visit to the University of Ghana therefore extends beyond examining China–Africa partnerships in isolation. It also seeks to understand Ghana’s broader internationalization strategy, including the policy frameworks and networks shaping engagement with China and other global partners. During her stay, she will conduct in-depth interviews with academics, administrative staff, and university leadership to develop a comprehensive understanding of international partnerships within higher education institutions.
Staff of the Centre actively engaged with her presentation, providing constructive feedback and valuable contributions to further strengthen her research. LECERP is pleased to host Ms. Wang and looks forward to the meaningful engagements, knowledge exchange, and potential collaborations that her visit will foster. Her research presents an important opportunity to deepen understanding of China–Africa higher education partnerships while amplifying African perspectives in global academic discourse.
This engagement reflects the Centre’s broader commitment, under the leadership of Dr. Clement Adamba, Director of LECERP, to advancing impactful research, fostering partnerships, and supporting the University of Ghana’s internationalization strategy.