2024 University of Venda Internationalisation Week
Date: 10 – 13 September 2024
Venue: 2Ten Hotel, Sibasa, Thohoyandou
Theme: Building Global Partnerships for Sustainable Development
Reference: https://www.univen.ac.za/news/univen-weekly-e-news-third-edition/
The University of Venda continues to build global partnerships for sustainable development
“The theme for this year’s internationalisation week is ‘Building Global Partnerships for Sustainable Development. This theme emphasizes the importance of collaboration and partnerships across borders to achieve sustainable development goals,” said Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Bernard Nthambeleni, during the official opening of the 2024 Internationalisation Week that took place on Tuesday, 10 September 2024, at 2Ten Hotel, Sibasa.
Prof Nthambeleni continued to mention that this theme aligns with the global focus (SDG#17) on sustainability and cooperation in addressing climate change, health crises, and socio-economic inequalities. He said that in a 2022 study conducted by the British Council and the Association of Commonwealth Universities, it was established that international higher education partnerships are highly effective in supporting progress against all 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
“The study’s outcomes reinforce the view that universities should be recognised as essential actors in the international development space and supported by donors to deliver projects that drive progress towards global goals. Universities here and elsewhere in the continent have multifaceted roles and mandates to lead through the production of Research, Teaching and Learning, and Community Engagement.”
Prof Nthambeleni continued to mention that, as contributors to the knowledge base, we can improve our understanding of global challenges through partnerships and working together to develop practical solutions. “As implementers of new knowledge, partnerships not only conduct research to enrich the knowledge base but also implement their results in practice. However, what is more practical is how we relate to each other as Africans. In 2022, the University of Venda analysed of its partnerships, and found that we only had 7 south-south formal agreements out of a total of 122. Meaning that less than 10% of our agreements were with partners in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa).”
He highlighted that we have moved this number to 25 south-south collaborations out of a total of 273. This means that we are still mainly collaborating with partners outside the continent as opposed to partners within the continent.
Prof Nthambeleni concluded his talk by mentioning that if we agree that Africa is generally collaborating with partners outside the region that these partnerships have been traditionally skewed towards the West, and that we as Africa haven’t had the opportunity to structure these partnerships in a way that would ensure that all parties would benefit equally. “Then perhaps we need to look within for solutions and knowledge that would resolve Africa’s challenges in our lifetime.”
When talking about the significance and purpose of this Internationalisation week, Director International Relations and Partnerships, Dr Segun Obadire said that since he joined the International Relations Directorate at UNIVEN in 2011, he has seen tremendous change and improvement in the internationalisation agenda of the University. He mentioned that he believes this is just the beginning; there will be a lot of growth and increase in the activities of academics and researchers internationally in the future. “This goal cannot be achieved without working with strategic partners in Africa and beyond. The internationalisation Week platform is meant to help in expanding our scope and exploring other opportunities among our partner institutions and others to enhance the quality of education and improve research output at the University. The participating staff and students are encouraged to make the best use of their time during this meeting to improve their research work and aim at publishing their papers.”
In his keynote address, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, Prof Olubunmi Abayomi Omotesho, spoke on the topic of revitalizing global partnerships: collaboration strategies for achieving sustainable development. He said the challenge with Africans is that they tend to feel inferior when they look at their culture. “One thing I like about the Chinese is that they have made progress economically, have also never neglected their culture. The media space is owned by the West, especially the Americans, and they have easily influenced Africans who now believe that their culture is inferior.”
He mentioned that most people who know a lot about indigenous things don’t document or teach their young ones this knowledge; they die with that knowledge. “They should not die with an important knowledge. We need to leverage technology to progress in life as Africans. We need to document our things so we can retrieve them later. Knowledge, collaboration, and partnerships must be based on mutual understanding, which should benefit all parties.”
In his closing remarks and message of support, the Director Research and Innovation, Prof Jabulani Makhubele, said it is through conferences like this that we promote collaborations and develop integrated research for cooperation.
This Internationalisation Week took place from 10 – 13 September 2024.
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Department Marketing, Branding & Communication.
University of Venda
Tel: 082 868 2218 / 082 868 1811
