The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) has launched its Faculty Authored Textbook Project and Faculty-Specific Journals, as part of efforts to address the critical need of course-specific materials.
This initiative, which is the brainchild of Professor John Kwaku Mensah Mawutor, the Vice Chancellor of the UPSA, supports the UPSA’s vision for academic excellence and inclusivity.
It would help reduce the overdependence on expensive third-party textbooks by offering affordable alternatives, bridging the gap for students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds by making resources universally accessible.
The initiative would also go a long way to promote the use of local case studies of successful Ghanaian indigenous industries as examples in Faculty-specific authored textbooks.
Addressing the project launch, Prof Mawutor said: “Many years ago, a small family-run Ghanaian beverage company decided to challenge the status quo. At the time, the market was flooded with foreign brands. The assumption was clear: the best drinks came from overseas. But Kasapreko believed otherwise.
“They drew on local flavors, indigenous knowledge, and the tastes of our people, and they built a world-class brand rooted right here in Ghana.”
He said similarly, Nkulenu Industries, founded by the indomitable Dr Esther Ocloo, dared to start a small-scale marmalade production business.

The Vice Chancellor said Dr Ocloo also believed that Ghanaian-made palm soup base and canned foods could sit on shelves across the world.
He noted that today, Dr Ocloo’s legacy stands not just as a successful business but as a testament to self-belief, cultural pride, and relevance.
“So, I ask, if we can proudly eat what we grow, build what we use, and sell what we make, why can’t we also learn from indigenous businesses through case studies?” Prof Mawutor quizzed.
The Vice Chancellor reiterated that the project launch was the first step towards the realization of the Faculty Authored Textbook Initiative.
“For too long, our classrooms have relied heavily on foreign-authored textbooks, some of which, while excellent, are more relevant to contexts in New York or London than to Accra, Tamale, or Takoradi,” he said.
“They reference businesses our students have never interacted with. They overlook the richness of Ghana’s economy, its legal structures, social systems, and cultural nuances. In short, they tell stories, but not our stories.”
He reiterated that the Project aims to change that narrative,; saying “It is time to place the lived realities of Ghanaian businesses, institutions, and communities at the center of our curriculum”.
“It is time to equip our students with textbooks that are as academically rigorous as they are locally grounded.”
Prof Mawutor said: “We want to drift away from our dependence on foreign-authored textbooks by building the capacity of our faculty members to develop course-specific materials.”
“These textbooks will incorporate case studies from local businesses, including stories of both successes and failures, to enhance students’ ability to relate classroom knowledge to their own context.”
He said he was deeply proud that this project was being driven by their faculty, individuals who bring both academic excellence and contextual expertise to the table.
He noted that he was even more excited about the students who would read these books and finally see their world reflected in the pages they study.
“But let me also be clear: this is just the beginning. Today, we plant the seed. But it will take all of us, faculty, administrators, editors, students, and our partners who have believed in the project and taken the bold step to invest money, to nurture it into a thriving ecosystem of local scholarship,” he said.
Professor Samuel Antwi, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation, and Knowledge Transfer at the UPSA, assured Faculty that the authors of the Faculty-Specific Textbooks would be paid after the deductions of expenses.