Faculty – Health and Biotechnology

Ashesi's mission is to propel an African renaissance by educating ethical, entrepreneurial leaders. Located in Ghana, this private, non-profit university combines a rigorous multidisciplinary core with degree programs in Computer Science, Business Administration, Management Information Systems, and Engineering. A student-led honors code, integrated community service, diverse internships, and real-world projects prepare students to develop innovative solutions for the challenges facing their individual communities, countries, and the continent at large.

The African mechatronics industry needs to rapidly grow to bring about improvements on the African continent. Its application in the biotechnology and health-related fields is becoming prominent in the post-COVID times.   New vaccination development centers are being developed across Africa to create a sustainable and robust supply chain, requiring skilled personnel.   These needs are a great opportunity for entrepreneurship, which is a key component of our institution’s mission.  Our institution is seeking to increase its faculty expertise in mechatronics for biotechnology and health-care-related fields, as well as entrepreneurship.  Our institution’s programs in engineering, computer science, and business form a great foundation and a sustained resource for the candidate.

Job Summary: The role will be responsible for leading and advancing bio-industrial mechatronics research, possibilities for entrepreneurship, and education, in health and other fields. The position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the growth of this field on the continent, mentor future mechatronics experts, and shape the future of industrial mechatronics and bio-entrepreneurship at our institution. 

General Function:

• Lead the mechatronics group with an emphasis on the biotechnology industry for research projects, entrepreneurship possibilities, and courses leveraging multidisciplinary engineering and industrial applications.
• Develop new technologies and educate highly trained personnel to keep abreast with the global and continental trends of industrialization and automation of the bio-industry.
• Develop and deliver undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in mechatronics, automation, intelligent control systems, sensing, machinery, robotics and other related areas.
• To strengthen collaborations with interdisciplinary teams, industries, and biotech companies. The field is broad and for our purposes the health context will be a niche.

Collaborative Function:

• Provide technical advice to an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EiR) on Health Initiative content and programming to ensure alignment of enterprise with the healthcare industry.
• Support the EiR on initiative engagements with local and international healthcare partners.
• Support with content development for community health projects
• Introduce a network of healthcare professionals for the initiative to build its consultancy pool and improve its capacity building objective.
• Support Initiative ventures with problem exploration, product development and engineering of solutions.

Qualifications & Skills:

• PhD in Mechatronics, Bioengineering or related fields with a strong focus on Health and Biotechnology applications.
• Industrial experience or collaborations with industry partners in healthcare, medical devices or biotechnology sectors is highly desirable.
• Demonstrate experience in teaching and research, evidenced by strong publication records in reputable journals and active participation in research grants or projects.
• Proficient in mechatronics design, sensor integration, control systems and programming languages commonly used in mechatronics research is necessary, such as Python, R, MATLAB, CAD, and SOLIDWORKS.
• Able to collaborate effectively with researchers from diverse backgrounds in engineering, biology and biotechnology is critical.