Prof Elsie Effah Kaufmann Tops 2025 Trivia Hall of Fame
Professor Elsie Effah Kaufmann, the long-serving host of Ghana’s National Science and Maths Quiz (NSMQ), has been named Number One in the Trivia Hall of Fame™ 2025, an international accolade celebrating her contributions to education, trivia, and quizzing culture.
Since its launch in 1993, the NSMQ has become a national fixture, drawing huge audiences and inspiring fierce loyalty among schools and their supporters. The annual contest sees some of the country’s brightest secondary school students compete for intellectual supremacy, while crowds cheer with the intensity of football fans.
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At the centre of the spectacle is Prof Kaufmann, who has hosted the programme since 2006. Known for her calm authority and precision, she has guided generations of contestants through the high-pressure contest, often pausing to explain why an answer is wrong, and sometimes just how close it was to being right.
Beyond the quiz stage, Prof Kaufmann is Dean of the School of Engineering Sciences at the University of Ghana. Her career in academia has been marked by research, teaching, and mentorship, with a particular emphasis on encouraging young people, especially girls, to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Her foundation, the E.E.K. Foundation (eekf.org), continues this mission, offering outreach programmes and resources designed to make STEM subjects more accessible to students across Ghana.
The Trivia Hall of Fame described her recognition as;
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A celebration of her impact not just as a quiz mistress, but as an educator who has inspired millions.
For many Ghanaians, however, her name is already synonymous with academic excellence. Her latest honour underscores what fans of the NSMQ have long known: Professor Elsie Effah Kaufmann is not just asking the questions, she is shaping the future of knowledge itself.
