Capilano University donates laptops to support innovation at Nunya Academy in Ghana
Forty laptops will find new life in classrooms half a world away, thanks to a generous donation from Digital Technology Services at Capilano University (CapU) to Nunya Academy in Dzodze, Ghana.
The technology will “contribute tremendously to Nunya’s capacity to deliver innovative education to the next generation of Africans,” said Kofi Gbolonyo, founder and director of Nunya Academy and an instructor in CapU’s jazz studies department.
“This donation will make an immediate impact in the lives of hundreds of students in Dzodze and as those students grow and mature into tomorrow's leaders and innovators, the effects of this donation will spread across Ghana, Africa, and beyond,” he said.
The refurbished laptops will enhance education at the academy, whose mission is to connect students to their heritage and to the world through traditional and innovative performing arts education.
“This initiative strengthens our commitment to empowering students through technology,” said Michael van den Heever, director, infrastructure and customer experience, Digital Technology Services (DTS) at CapU.
This generous support is rooted in the upcoming Ghana Field School 2024 and the new international partnership between CapU and Nunya Academy. Gbolonyo and fellow jazz studies faculty Jared Burrows, a longtime supporter of Nunya Academy and a member of its board of directors, will lead 24 CapU students from across 12 distinct programs on a 22-day global (and musical) adventure into West Africa, departing Dec. 17.
“This is our first field school to Ghana and we are honoured to be working with Kofi, his brother Prosper and family at Nunya Academy,” said Chris Bottrill, associate vice president, international, at Capilano University.
“This is a place that changes every participant’s sense of what is possible and what is important. The Nunya Academy is a place of true joy and inspiration. We are very excited about this unique reimagined field school,” he added.
The field school is part of CapU’s Global Skills Opportunity (GSO) initiative, generously funded by the Government of Canada’s national outbound student mobility pilot program. While open to all Canadian post-secondary students, the GSO program specifically focuses on widening access to study abroad program participation for students for whom such experiences have traditionally been less accessible: Indigenous students, students from low-income backgrounds and those with disabilities.
Since 2021, the University has received $510,300 for GSO projects that support both Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and field school experiences. A total of 14 Ghana Field School 2024 student participants have received a full GSO scholarship while the remaining 10 students received a partial GSO scholarship, providing them all with a unique opportunity to experience transformational global learning.
Gbolonyo uses the Ewe language, spoken in Ghana, to express his gratitude: “On behalf of the students, the staff, faculty, parents and the international board of Nunya Academy and myself, I say Akpe na (thanks to) Capilano University for this generous donation.”
Learn more about Global Skills Opportunity initiatives at capilanou.ca. The next GSO project Thailand Field School 2025 takes place in February, and applications are open until October 23.
Submitted by: Communications