Dr Mary Ashun

Principal

Ghana International School

Mary Ashun holds a BSc (Combined Sciences) from Univ. of East London (UK), aB.Ed. from Univ. of Toronto and a Ph.D (Biochemistry) from SUNY Buffalo, NY. Hergraduate thesis topic focused on the role of antiretrovirals in AIDS therapies and together with her team, they synthesized a drug (DNP Poly-A), and tested it on Balb-C Mice. Mary has taught science, math and technology for several years at all levels of the Education cycle, setting up Science clubs in deprived communities to enable all children to have access to science tools and experiments. She has spoken at several conferences on the importance of STEM for both boys and girls, combining her love forScience, Technology, Communication and Education. As a Professor in Redeemer University College in Ontario, Mary taught teachers how to teach Science to pre-tertiary students. She used ICT tools e.g. online dissection software, chemistry graphing software and other online tools to enhance learning, coaching children in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Clubs and encouraging teachers to prepare students for international competitions in STEM.

Currently as the Principal of Ghana International School, she is leading her team of educators to push the boundaries of learning as students prepare for each stage of education. From enhancing the classroom learning experience using artificial intelligence and robotics, Mary is ensuring that each aspect of 21st century learning is being tackled by her teachers. Students at GIS are exposed to online learning, ICT enhanced teaching, fieldwork experiences that are later translated into data for analysis and action planning e.g. locally, Mary has encouraged field exploration that has seen students visit recycling plants for pollution studies, locally engineered irrigation facilities, livestock production facilities and local towns to see the impact of climate change and habitat destruction.

Most recently, her students made presentations in India on water quality and issues surrounding availability and accessibility. Mary is a published author with papers in Pure and Applied sciences as well as in the field of education. Her most recent article “Engineering Teachers To Reduce Probable Failure” was delivered at Learnit.world in the UK to education policy makers around the world. Mary enjoys writing and most recently adapted the Disney musical, The Prince of Egypt for the stage. Her novel ‘Tuesday’s Child’ was a quarterfinalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. She has published science fiction for children as well as picture books. Her short story “African Connection” joins those of Ama Ata Aidoo & Ivor Agyeman Dua in the well received anthology ‘The Gods Who Bring Us Gifts’. This was edited by the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka Mary is a Klingenstein Fellow of Teachers College, Columbia University in New York and has lectured on ‘Intersectionalities’, focusing on her experiences as a woman in Education leadership, in the Sciences, and as a woman of colour.

Mary Ashun is married to Joseph and they have three sons.