Dear Friends,

It is my utmost pleasure to present Palm University’s 2023 Annual Report. The report details the highlights of our achievements as a community in the past year.

In the past year, 2023, Palm University saw 100% growth in our student numbers. We welcomed two cohorts of students from across Ghana: classes graduating in 2026.

It is imperative to mention that the Class of 2026 voted and adopted the Honor System and the Examination Honour Code this year after several conversations and debates on what the Honour System means and its relevance to the fulfillment of the Palm University mission as well as student’s career success and the development trajectory of the African continent as a whole and the quest to fight corruption on the continent.

In keeping with our mission to educate and produce educated ethical and excellent entrepreneurial leaders in Africa, the Palm GreenLab (our Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Incubator) hosted its second Hackathon Series to help prepare Palm University students who have an interest in entrepreneurship. The GreenLab is focused on building the capacity of Palm University students and graduates to solve complex problems in our society through entrepreneurship.

We continue to maintain and grow our relationship with our U.S.A. institutional partners. Over the past year, we hosted students from the University of Alabama and West Chester University for their social work practicums. Dr. Jon Pederson, Dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences at Oklahoma State University (OSU) visited Palm University to help strengthen Palm University’s relationship with OSU.

In ensuring all our students are prepared for industry, some of our freshmen, sophomores, and juniors participated in corporate internships in top corporate organizations in Ghana. The students participated in several corporate-focused field trips to help them connect what they were learning in the lecture halls to what occurs in industry.

This Annual Report highlights some of the Palm University achievements that have inspired me this year, and I hope they inspire you as well. I am grateful to everyone who is with us on this amazing journey, and your continued support that makes the Palm University mission possible in Ghana.

Sincerely,

Dr. Peter Carlos Okantey

Founder & President

 PALM BSW/MSW SOCIAL WORK FIELD PLACEMENT IN GHANA

In 2023, Palm hosted five (5) students from West Chester University, Pennsylvania and the University of Alabama, US, for their Social Work Practicum Program here in Ghana.

They underwent formal cultural training and orientation after which they undertook their practicum in their various placements around the Tema-Afienya vicinity.

The students embarked on field trips to Global Mamas, Ghana, International Justice Mission, Pantang Psychiatric Hospital all in Accra in the quest to learn how these organizations work and their relation with the social work practice.

 GREENLAB ACTIVITIES

During the year, the GreenLab, Palm’s Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incubator organized a Hackathon Series. The programs gave our students an opportunity to showcase their design thinking and innovation skills and develop cutting-edge solutions to real-world challenges. Students learned to write problem briefs, ideate, produce prototypes and present a complete Solution Brief in the end. They also learned how to connect the problem statement, Point of View (POV) statement, and the How Might We (HMW) statement, which are crucial to the design thinking process.

Our students worked on real-life problems and developed solutions to the problems they identified.

10TH MATRICULATION CEREMONY FOR THE CLASS OF 2026

Palm’s Class of 2026 was formally inducted into the Palm Family on March 25th. Faculty, staff, students, family and friends of students and other dignitaries joined the occasion.

Akofa Kuenyehia Bentsi-Enchill, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Akua Kuenyehia Foundation (AKF) for underprivileged girls was the Guest Speaker for the occasion.

The occasion was also graced by Ms. Adelaide Asantewaa Asante, who was the keynote speaker, the Chief Operating Officer of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Ghana. 20 students were matriculated into the Palm family.

INTERNSHIPS

At Palm, preparing our students for employment, entrepreneurship, or graduate school remains our goal and priority. As parts of the steps to have students acquire experiential and hands-on skills relevant to their chosen career paths, the Student Life and Career Services Department coordinated internships for some Palmers.

Some partner companies within the Accra metro area who hosted Palmers were Maxim Nyansa IT Solutions, Sacrefilms Mutimedia, Axon Information Sytems, OML Africa, Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) etc.

The interns were given the opportunity to share their experiences acquired during the internship period during a “Sharing your internship experience” session. They shared experiences on networking, and the challenges they encountered during the internship experience and how it help build their confidence and shaped professional journey. Samuel Obeng Darko was adjudged the Best Intern and the Best Peer Mentor for the 2022/2023 academic year and received an award to that effect.

FIELD TRIPS AND GUEST LECTURES

Apart from traditional internships, educational field visits help serve an important role in experiential learning. The visit was aimed at helping students connect concepts, models and theories of management studied in class to what happens in the workplace. In this regard, students of Palm embarked on several field trips during the year and had industry persons share their knowledge with them.

Some of the field trip destinations were Shai Hills Resource Reserve, Ghana Cement (GHACEM) Production Plant, Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Museum, Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT and the Bureau of Marketing and Social Research.

The trips and lectures were organized by the faculty members of the University. The overall experiences were highly successful, leaving a lasting impact on the participating students.

PALM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS

Palm recognizes the importance of creating an environment where all voices are heard and valued. The town hall meetings served as a platform for open communication, fostering a collaborative environment where the concerns of students, faculty, staff, and the management were brought to the forefront. The President also takes this opportunity to give the university community updates on the current state of the university in terms of faculty, staff and student.

 The leadership of the University addressed students’ concerns and showcasing their commitment to enhancing the overall Palm experience for all stakeholders.

It was also a platform to honor the Best Project during the 2023 International Youth Day Community Services Projects.

CORPORATE MENTORING PROGRAM

The Palm Corporate Mentoring Program for the 2023/2024 academic year is ongoing. Virtual introductory meetings were organized by the Student Life and Career Services Department for mentors to meet their mentees. The program has intentionally been designed to facilitate the process of ensure our students connect with CEOs, business leaders, and professionals in different industries and fields of work and industries in the course of their study and experience at Palm.

 As a way of strengthening the Memorandum of Understanding between the two universities, there were institutional visits in both universities. The President of Palm University College, Dr. Peter Carlos Okantey embarked on an institutional visit to Oklahoma State University during the year to strengthen the partnership. He visited the College of Education and Human Sciences, Spears School of Business, the College of Computer Science and the OSU Library during his visit.

Later in the year, Palm had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Jon Pedersen, Dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences at Oklahoma State University (OSU), on campus.

This visit was to strengthen the partnership between the two institutions following Palm's President’s visit to Oklahoma State University earlier this year. During the visit, Dr. Pedersen emphasized the need to activate aspects of our MOU with OSU on student, faculty and program exchanges.

During the year, the Class of 2026 voted to adopt the Honour System and the Palm Examination Honour Code. Throughout the academic year, the freshmen class of students had several conversations, sessions, seminars, and a debate on Palm Honour System and Examinations Honour Code facilitated by the leadership of the University College, staff and faculty. During those sessions the students were given various opportunities and platforms to discuss it in detail. Palm University is the second university in Ghana and Africa to adopt the Honour System and the Examination Honour Code.

THE CENTER FOR ETHICAL LEADERSHIP (CEL) - HIGH SCHOOL OUTREACH



The Centre for Ethical Leadership (CEL) at Palm embarked on an outreach to the Prampram Senior High School in Accra during the year. on Tuesday May 9, 2023. During the outreach, faculty at the CEL engaged final year students at the high school in an interactive session using ethical dilemma cases.

The session was centred on ethical dilemmas students were likely to face in life. In groups, students discussed each dilemma case and suggested possible remedies in each instance. By the end of the session, students had come to the conclusion that living a life of integrity was worthy.

 OPERATIONALIZATION OF STUDENT CLUBS

Through the activities of Student Life and Career Services Department at Palm, we encourage student activities and participation on campus. This semester, four (4) clubs received validation to operate on campus.

The clubs were the Entrepreneurship Hub, Palm Fitness Club, Honour Club and the Men, Women and Youth of Purpose Club.

THE PALM CENTER FOR ETHICAL LEADERSHIP (CEL) - OPEN HOUSE WITH PRAMPRAM SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

The Center for Ethical Leadership (CEL) at Palm hosted final year students from the Prampram Senior High School on campus for an open house event.

Part of the day was spent on equipping the high school students with public speaking skills. This was designed to empower the high schoolers to overcome issues of communication apprehension in their quest to become eloquent ethical and excellent leaders.

INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY CELEBRATION

In keeping with our mission to produce educated ethical leaders who care about their communities, a few Palmers identified problems in their communities and came up with projects to tackle those problems to commemorate the 2023 International Youth Day celebrations. The projects included clean-up exercises, educating community members on sanitation, personal hygiene, teenage pregnancy, hosting Curriculum Vitae (CV)/resume writing workshops, education on sexually transmitted infections.

Justice Aquanu Fletcher won the Best Project organized and implemented during the Youth Day celebration.

PALMERS PARTICIPATE IN THE NATIONAL VOLUNTEERS DAY CELEBRATION

As part of the National Volunteers Day on 21st September, 2023, a few Palmers volunteered with the Reachout Street Soup Kitchen project organized by the Reachout World Mission in Accra. They participated in National Health Insurance Scheme registration, medical and dental check-ups and distribution of food to over 200 street folks in Accra Central. This was an initiative to contribute towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2 & 3.

Our Mission & Vision

Mission

Our mission is to produce educated ethical and excellent leaders with integrity for corporate, national, and continental creativity, innovation, service, and sustainability.



Vision

Our vision is to educate ethical and excellent leaders who are committed to the application of knowledge for the transformation of the African continent.

Website: https://palm.edu.gh/