Prof. Rosina Kyerematen’s unplanned path to academia

Kvng Kelly
4 Min Read
Professor Rosina Kyerematen

Professor Rosina Kyerematen, a respected entomologist and lecturer at the University of Ghana, recently shared an inspiring account of how her journey into academia was completely unplanned.

Speaking on the Diva Doc Let’s Talk podcast, Prof. Kyerematen revealed that becoming a lecturer was never part of her original career ambitions. After completing her university education, she had no immediate interest in undertaking national service. Instead, she took time off to travel extensively abroad.

“I always say that I didn’t plan to be where I am now. I mean, being a lecturer was the last thing. You know how we thought lecturers were so boring and all that—but it seems one thing led to another,” she said.

Upon returning to Ghana, a chance encounter with one of her former lecturers changed the course of her life. Although she had been posted to a secondary school in Ada for national service, the lecturer offered her the opportunity to work on a university research project as a research assistant. She accepted the offer, and her posting was subsequently changed, marking the beginning of her journey into academia.

“It was probably destiny. So when we finished university, I decided to take a year off. I wasn’t interested in doing national service immediately, so I went gallivanting all over the world. And then when I came back, I met one of my lecturers.

“I’d been posted to somewhere in Ada, to a secondary school. I met him in town, and he said, ‘Well, I’m doing a project on campus. Would you want to come and help me as a research assistant for your national service?’ And I agreed. So he went and changed it and brought me to Legon,” she recounted.

Her time as a research assistant gradually sparked an interest in further academic pursuits. Though she hadn’t initially planned to pursue a master’s degree, the encouragement from peers and mentors motivated her to take the next step, which eventually led to a PhD in entomology with a focus on systematics—a rare and specialised field in Ghana at the time.

“So, being a research assistant, the next thing was: are you going to do your master’s? I had no intention of doing it immediately, but everybody convinced me—‘Oh, you can do it, you can do it’—so I did. And then it progressed into a PhD,” she explained.

Even before completing her doctoral program, her expertise was in high demand. The University of Ghana was eager to retain her, and she began lecturing before her official recruitment process was even finalized.

“At that time, there were very few people doing systematics—the area in which I did my PhD in entomology—so it was just like, boom, you’re done, you’re taken.

“Even before I finished my PhD, the head of department said, ‘Please come back, we want you.’ So I finished, came back, and started working before I even went for the interview. They didn’t want me to go elsewhere, so I just started. And here I am,” she said.

Story by: Kelvin B. Annor-Yeboah | univers.ug.edu.gh
Edited by: Kelvin B. Annor-Yeboah

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