On September 9-10, 2026, the TUM SEED Center supported a two-day Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) Workshop at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana.

The workshop was jointly delivered by Benjamin Cobbinah, TUM SEED Center, and Prof. Ahmed Agyapong, KNUST School of Business. With an average of around 50 faculty members and postgraduate students participating each day, the workshop provided an opportunity to strengthen methodological skills and foster academic exchange between TUM and KNUST.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis is a set-analytic methodology particularly suited to research questions involving causal complexity, where different combinations of conditions can lead to the same outcome. The workshop offered participants a foundational and practical introduction to QCA and fuzzy-set methods, including hands-on experience with the fsQCA software package.

The program covered the foundations of QCA, designing a QCA study, data sources and calibration, data analysis and interpretation, the presentation of findings, and the development of publishable QCA research. Sessions combined lectures, interactive discussions, and practical exercises. 

The teaching exchange contributes to the TUM SEED Center’s broader commitment to international academic collaboration and capacity building across its partner universities. KNUST is one of the Center’s five core partner universities in the current funding phase. Project Description SEED The workshop also directly supported SDG 4 – Quality Education and SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals, strengthening advanced research skills while promoting cross-border knowledge exchange.

To extend the impact beyond the two workshop days, the syllabus, teaching resources, datasets, and workshop recordings remain available to the host faculty for continued use.