The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) of the USA currently ranked Number 1 university in the world has renewed its institutional cooperation with the Accra Institute of Technology (AIT) to enable AIT have access to top-class teaching and learning materials of all the courses being taught at MIT via the Open Courseware initiative of the university.

Through this agreement, AIT’s faculty and students will have direct and free access to teaching and learning materials on over 2,000 courses spanning MIT's entire curriculum via AIT’s university campus network, a statement by Prof. Clement Dzidonu, President of AIT, said in Accra on Monday.

It said as part of the cooperation, MIT has made available to AIT a specially configured system containing materials and learning resources on all MIT’s programs including syllabuses, reading materials, lecture notes, students handouts, courseware, lessons, learning videos and lectures, exams, e-books, e-journals, e-lab resources and other teaching and learning materials of all MIT’s undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs.

According to Michael Obiri, Head of Network Systems and Services at AIT, our students at any of our campuses can now have direct and free access to MIT’s top-class and quality learning resources and lecture materials on all courses being taught by world-class MIT Professors in all fields and disciplines spanning, engineering, science, architecture, management, computer science among many others.

Our students access these extensive learning and teaching support resources on AIT’s campus network server without the need to download them over the Internet. MIT using an online link over the Internet will regularly update these resources on the AIT’s local servers which is serving as a mirror site for the MIT’s Open Courseware (OCW) system.

“This special agreement with MIT is in line with AIT’s determination to offer its campus-based and open university students in Ghana and elsewhere high quality education and professional training offered by top universities anywhere in the world”, Professor Dzidonu observed.

Daniel Nettey, Head of Learning Management Systems Development Unit at AIT, noted that: “Our students in addition to having access to AIT’s own extensive learning support and e-library resources can now have direct and free access to all learning resources on all degree programmes available to MIT’s own students. Our faculty members can also have direct access to teaching materials and lecture notes prepared by top-notch Professor at MIT to teach our own students in Ghana”

According to Professor Rafael Reif, the MIT President, MIT’s mission is to advance knowledge and educate students, and bring knowledge to bear on the world’s challenges….open sharing of knowledge is the purest manifestation of this mission”

“Working with world-class institutions like MIT is central to AIT’s strategy to partner with the best in the world of university education and professional training to offer our students world-class quality degree programs of international standard” noted Mr Dominic Osei-Boakye, Executive Manager for Admissions and Operations at AIT.

According to Professor Francis K.A Allotey, President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and Chairman of the AIT Board of Trustees, AIT is privileged to be partnering with such a prestigious institution of learning to provide world-class education at an affordable cost to our students

AIT is a technology-focused research university modelled on internationally recognized institutes of technologies like the MIT and the California Institute of Technology (CALTECH) both ranked in the top 5 of the world ranking of universities.

AIT operates both campus-based university and open university systems. It offers a number of undergraduate campus-based programs as well as undergraduate and postgraduate open university programs in various fields including engineering, computer science, information technology, business, project management, education among others. AIT is a leading PhD research university currently enrolled over 250 PhD students and candidates.

MIT established in 1861 with the mission to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology and other areas of scholarship is now ranked No.1 in the World Ranking of Universities. MIT is famous for its quality education, major achievements in research and as a leading entrepreneurial technological university in the world.

According to the British newspaper, the Guardian, MIT alumni have set-up 25,800 companies, employing more than three million people including about a quarter of the workforce of Silicon Valley. Those firms between them generate global revenues of about $1.9tn a year. If MIT were a country, it would have the 11th highest GDP of any nation in the world.