Renowned educator Shannan Akosua Magee has been honoured with the prestigious Educational Heroine Award by the National Union of Ghanaian Students (NUGS).
Recognized as a foundational figure in STEM education in Ghana, Shannan Akosua Magee is also affectionately known as “Nana STEM, Queen Mother of STEM,” for her transformative work in STEM education and gender equity.
Shannan Akosua Magee launched the Girls Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in 2003 and later founded the Youth Institute for Science and Technology Schools (YIST) in 2006.
Students at GIST have spearheaded innovative projects like producing biodiesel fuel from palm kernel oils to power farm vehicles in Agogo Asante Akyem.
She has been a champion for girls’ access to STEM education, meticulously crafting K-12 curricula that engage young women from an early age.
In the same region where Shannan Akosua Magee had established a STEM high school back in 2009, a new model JHS STEM school is soon to be completed by the Ministry of Education.
This initiative is in sync with the broader educational goals of the Akufo-Addo government, which sees education as a pivotal tool for national transformation.
Shannan Akosua Magee’s acceptance speech:
Nana Akosua’s influence has spanned continents. In 2014, she initiated after-school coding programs for middle-school girls in Albany, New York, in partnership with Google and the Boys and Girls Club of America.
Most recently, she collaborated with Dr. Kofi Leniles at the Verizon Innovative Learning Camp at Howard University, where middle school students were exposed to robotics, coding, and digital skills training, as well as African history and culture.
Magee has been an active member of the National Girls Collaborative Project for over two decades and is a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, a U.S.-based organization committed to improving the quality of life for young women. She is currently the Director of Admissions at Academic City University College, where she manages the recruitment and retention of students.
Academic City University College is the first university in Ghana to offer a degree in Robotics Engineering and Artificial Intelligence.
NUGS is Ghana’s leading student organization, devoted to the academic and ethical growth of students across the country.
About Shannan Akosua Magee
Shannan Akosua Magee is an award-winning educator and a true pioneer in STEM education in Ghana and the United States. She was enstooled Nana Akosua Serwaa Seoyo I, as the Nkosuahemaa of Ejisu-Abenase With decades of advocacy for gender equity in STEM, “Nana Akosua” -Shannan Akosua Magee is the most recent and fitting recipient of the NUGS’ Educational Heroine Award.
