Unisa online - China visit leads to opportunities for collaboration

A healthy welcome to Prof Pityana and Dr Diescho

Prof. Barney Pityana, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, accompanied by Dr Joe Diescho, Director: International Relations and Partnerships Office, returned from an exciting visit to Shanghai, China, this week. The immediate purpose of the visit was to attend the executive Committee Meeting of the International Council for Distance Education (ICDE), Standing Conference of Principals (SCOP) and Prof. Pityana delivered a keynote address at the Global Forum for Open Learning hosted by the Shanghai TV University. They had also visited three universities in Shanghai. Prof. Pityana says during the SCOP meeting they had useful meetings with the President of the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) in USA and that Dr Susan Aldridge was very keen to forge links with Unisa. UMUC is a dual-mode university and the majority of students undertakes their studies by open and distance learning (ODL). “They are especially keen to advance a partnership with Unisa in their award-winning master’s degree in ODL, as well as exchange of scholars. They also have strong programmes in MBA and especially in science and mathematics education,” says he.

Prof. Pityana also had the opportunity to engage with Dr Fred Mulder, Rector of the Open University Netherlands (OUNL). He says Unisa previously has had a longstanding partnership with the OUNL, but due to changes in leadership in the two institutions the partnership unfortunately has gone cold. Dr Fred Mulder expressed his keenness to re-establish the partnership. “They are particularly strong on educational and learning resources. There is a Centre for Learning Technology at OUNL and the university is keen on a partnership with Unisa. I also introduced them to the work we are planning in applied social science research, especially on poverty and the family, as they have a Centre for Entrepreneurship which seeks to address skills and social disadvantage in the Netherlands,” explains Prof. Pityana.

The OUNL will be hosting the 23rd World Conference of ICDE on Open Learning and Distance Education with the theme “Flexible Education for all; Open-Global-Innovative” from 4 to 9 June 2009. Prof. Pityana has been appointed the Africa Ambassador of the Conference and will serve on the planning committee in that capacity. “There is also a great commitment to full African participation at the conference which will be held in Maastricht in the Netherlands from 7 to 10 June 2009. I am aware that several colleagues have already submitted extracts which are currently under consideration and Prof. Baijnath and I are planning a visit to Holland in association with the conference.”

In Shanghai Prof. Pityana and Dr Diescho visited the Jiaoa Tong University, the East China Normal University and the East China University of Science and Technology. All three universities hold much prospect for collaboration with Unisa. Jiaoa Tong and ECUST are strong in the sciences, engineering, social work, mathematics and life sciences while the ECNU excel in educational studies. “We believe that our In-service Teacher Education Centre as well as ISTE will enjoy valuable collaboration, whereas the CSET, CAES and SBL will find collaboration with the other two universities of value,” says Prof. Pityana.