News and Events

Discover the latest developments and upcoming events of the Collaborative.

News & Events

Photo of Bethlehem (Betty) Sisay Tefera

Master Scholar

University of Toronto, Addis Ababa University

Photo of Emmanuella Nana Debreh Twumwaa Akowuah

Master Scholar

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Toronto

Photo of Marci Rose

, MScOT, OT Reg. (Ont.)

TAAAC Toronto Director University of Toronto

University of Toronto, Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration

Photo of Christine Arsenault

Managing Director

African Impact Challenge, University of Toronto Scarborough, The BRIDGE

Photo of Joseph Wong

, PhD

Vice President, International

University of Toronto, Office of the Vice-President International

Photo of Trevor Young

, PhD

Vice-President, Provost

University of Toronto

Photo of Emmanuel Opoku Mensah

Master Scholar

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Toronto

Profile

Bethlehem (Betty) Sisay Tefera

Master Scholar

University of Toronto

My time as a Mastercard Foundation scholar at the University of Toronto has truly been a transformative experience.

As a medical doctor from Ethiopia, I have gained a new perspective on healthcare and the ways in which it is viewed around the world. In Canada, I have been inspired by the idea that healthcare is a right, not a privilege to be earned, and I now dream of bringing this ideology back to my home country.

Profile

Emmanuella Nana Debreh Twumwaa Akowuah

Master Scholar

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

One of the most enriching experiences was the opportunity to engage in a vibrant and diverse academic community.

The scholarship not only provided financial support but also opened doors to various academic and extracurricular activities that have enhanced my experience at the University. Networking opportunities with fellow scholars and professors allowed me to connect with leading experts in my discipline and gain insights into the latest developments in the field. These interactions were invaluable for both my academic and professional growth.

Profile

Marci Rose, MScOT, OT Reg. (Ont.)

TAAAC Toronto Director University of Toronto

University of Toronto

Marci Rose completed a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy at The Ohio State University and her master’s at the University of Toronto. She began her OT career at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in 1990 where she worked for 15 years.

In 2002, she became the OT in Chief, and then assumed a variety of different management positions at The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.  In 2005, Marci became the Administrative Director for the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital, a role she held until 2012.  In 2012, she started the Frederick W. Thompson Anxiety Disorders Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre where she worked as the Administrative Director until formally joining TAAAC.

Her professional passion is for global health work in Ethiopia.  She has been an active participant in TAAAC since 2010, first as the TAAAC-OT co-lead, then as the Program Manager and now as the Toronto Director for TAAAC. She has been to Ethiopia on many occasions including as a consultant in the Biaber Project, a 3-year Grand Challenge Canada grant. Marci is a Lecturer in the Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto and is the Ethiopian Lead for the International Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation at UofT.

Profile

Christine Arsenault

Managing Director

African Impact Challenge

Christine Arsenault is the Managing Director for the University of Toronto Scarborough’s Management Department, which houses all of the University’s business co-op programs and The BRIDGE; the department’s commitment to Work-Integrate Learning and Entrepreneurship. 

She has been involved in co-operative education nationally and internationally for 20 years including leading Co-op and Work-Integrated Learning Canada as President in 2012/13, as a board member of the World Association for Co-operative Education and previously chairing the Canadian co-op research committee.  In 2018, she received the U of T Scarborough Principal’s Accomplished Leader Award.

While completing her M.A. she led award-winning research that compared English Language Learners and native English speakers and their success in job searching and recent published research on work-integrated learning’s influence on entrepreneurship. Under her leadership, U of T’s innovative Management and International Business Program was designed and implemented and the department has fulfilled its commitment that ever graduate should have a work-integrated learning experience.

Profile

Joseph Wong, PhD

Vice President, International

University of Toronto

Joseph Wong is the University of Toronto’s Vice President, International. He is also the Roz and Ralph Halbert Professor of Innovation at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, and a Professor of Political Science.

He was the Director of the Asian Institute at the Munk School from 2005 to 2014, and held the Canada Research Chair in health, democracy and development for a full two terms, 2006 to 2016.

Joe is the author of many academic articles and several books, including Healthy Democracies: Welfare Politics In Taiwan and South Korea and Betting on Biotech: Innovation and the Limits of Asia’s Developmental State, both published by Cornell University Press.

He is the co-editor, with Edward Friedman, of Political Transitions in Dominant Party Systems: Learning to Lose, published by Routledge, and Wong co-edited with Dilip Soman and Janice Stein Innovating for the Global South with the University of Toronto Press.

Professor Wong’s articles have appeared in journals such as Annual Review of Political Science, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, Perspectives on Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Politics and Society, Governance, among many others.

Professor Wong has been a visiting scholar at institutions in the US, Taiwan, Korea, and the UK; has worked extensively with the World Bank and the UN; and has advised governments on matters of public policy in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe.

Joe’s current research focuses on poverty and innovation. Professor Wong is the founder of the Reach Alliance at the University of Toronto (http://reachalliance.org/). He is also collaborating with Professor Dan Slater (Michigan) on a book about Asia’s development and democracy, currently under contract with Princeton University Press.

Professor Wong is also writing a book for the Cambridge University Press on the political economy of the welfare state in East Asia. Professor Wong teaches courses in the department of Political Science, the Munk One program and the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. Joe was educated at McGill University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Profile

Trevor Young, PhD

Vice-President, Provost

University of Toronto

Trevor Young is Acting Vice-President & Provost at the University of Toronto.

Professor Young is Dean of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and and Vice Provost, Relations with Health Care Institutions since 2015.

Previously, he was Physician-in-Chief, Executive Vice President Programs at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. Professor Young is a clinician-scientist who studies the molecular basis of bipolar disorder and its treatment. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and has held more than 35 peer-reviewed grants.

Profile

Emmanuel Opoku Mensah

Master Scholar

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

My experience as a Mastercard Scholar has been nothing short of exhilarating.

This is in stark contrast to the initial feeling of uncertainty when I was selected. Mastercard has contributed immensely to my integration into my program of study. Every step of the way was carefully guided to prevent any mishaps, and I could not be more grateful.

I am looking forward to completing my Masters in Public Health at the University of Toronto and making great impact in the occupational and environmental health space worldwide.

Profile

Shadrach Korsah

Master Scholar

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

As a Mastercard Foundation Scholar at the University of Toronto and formerly at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, my fundamental experience is that the Scholars Program is full of opportunities – opportunities for personal development, networking, impact and self-actualization.

The exposure has enabled me to develop a better sense of leadership, one that is premised on the values of integrity, service and positive influence.