In a historic milestone for Ghana and African engineering, Prof Elsie Effah Kaufmann, Dean of the School of Engineering Sciences, has been officially inducted as an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) at a distinguished ceremony in London.
Her induction marks a proud moment as she becomes the first Ghanaian to receive this prestigious honour.
The induction ceremony, rich in tradition and gravitas, saw Professor Effah Kaufmann sign the Academy’s historic roll book alongside some of the world’s most distinguished engineering luminaries, a symbolic act that etches her name, and Ghana’s, into the annals of global engineering excellence.
Biography
Elsie Akosua Biraa Effah Kaufmann (born 7 September 1969) is a Ghanaian academic, academic administrator, biomedical engineer, and current host of the National Science and Maths Quiz.
In December 2020, Elsie Kaufmann was appointed an associate professor at the University of Ghana, and was appointed the Dean of the School of Engineering Sciences on 1 August 2022.
Early life and education
The daughter of educators, she hails from Assin in the Central Region.
Her father, Yusuf K Effah, served as the headmaster of T.I Ahmadiyya Senior High School, Kumasi, and later, Director of Education in the Western Region.
Kaufmann began her secondary education at the Aburi Girls’ Senior High School and obtained her International Baccalaureate Diploma from the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales in 1988.
She proceeded to the University of Pennsylvania for her Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE), a Master of Science in Engineering (MSE), and a doctorate (PhD) in Bioengineering.
Career
Prof Kaufmann was a research supervisor at the Department of Chemistry at Rutgers University in New Jersey, United States of America, from May 1998 to June 2001.
She served as a Teaching Assistant at the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, United States of America.
She was also a Senior Lecturer and the first Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Ghana (2006–2012, 2014–2016).
Elsie Effah Kaufmann is a visiting scholar and Founding Head of the Department of Orthotics and Prosthetics at the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ho, Ghana.
She is a University Council Member at Ghana Communication Technology University.
She serves on the board of African Gifted Foundation, Ghana (African Science Academy), as well as the British International School-Ghana.
She is the first woman to be appointed dean of the School of Engineering Sciences, University of Ghana, taking up the post from 1 August 2022.
She was part of the members who established the School of Engineering Sciences.
She presently serves as the President of the Ghana Society of Biomedical Engineers.
She is the current host of the National Science and Math Quiz.
Elsie Effah Kaufmann Foundation
On 27 July 2022, in Accra, Kaufmann established the Elsie Effah Kaufmann Foundation (EEKF).
The foundation aims to close the existing gap in STEM-related education in Ghana by giving students access to the resources they need to do in-depth, hands-on research on the subjects.
Awards and recognition
Kaufmann was a Fellow of the International Women’s Forum Leadership Foundation.
She was awarded in 2009, as the University of Ghana’s Best Teacher Award for the Sciences.
She received the International Women’s Forum Leadership Foundation Fellowship in 2011 and the 2017 Impact Africa Summit Laureate for Education in Ghana.
She is also the first female recipient of the 2018 Golden Torch Award for International Academic Leadership by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) at the 44th Annual Conference held in the United States of America.
She is also the recipient of the National Society of Black Engineers’ 2018 Golden T.O.R.C.H. (Technical Outreach and Community Help) Award for International Academic Leadership in recognition of her excellence in support of academics on an international level and exhibition of commitment to the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
She was awarded the Woman of the Year at the 2022 Exclusive Men of the Year Africa Awards.
She is the first woman to be appointed dean of the School of Engineering Sciences, University of Ghana, taking up the post from 1 August 2022.
The appointment was widely reported in national media, with coverage highlighting her role as a trailblazer for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in Ghana.
Kaufmann was elected a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences in June 2022.
She is also a Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering, elected in December 2020, and a Professional Engineer of the Ghana Institution of Engineering.
She holds a PMP Certification from the Institute of Project Management Professionals – Ghana.
Elsie Kaufmann has also participated in Executive Education programs at Harvard Business School and INSEAD.
In 2025, she was elected an international fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Personal life and family
Kaufmann is divorced and has three children, two daughters and a son by the name Augustus Kofi Effah Kaufmann.
She also has a younger sister called Belinda Yaa Dankwaa Effah, who is a bank manager at United Bank of Africa (UBA) Ghana Limited.
