Unisa online - Unisa visits India

In an effort to bolster already well-established collaborative relationships with Indian institutions and to generate new and strategic collaborations and partnerships, Unisa’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof Narend Baijnath, at the request of Prof Mandla Makhanya, Unisa’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor, led a high-level delegation to visit selected academic institutions in Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai, India.

This was an action-oriented mission with the sole aim of coming back with tangible and realistic collaborations and action plans. While there was a bias towards science and technology research - as most of the institutions visited have a strong emphasis on these academic areas - the discussions were broad enough to encompass research areas in the sciences and technology, arts and humanities (including education), and management.

In her presentation to the prospective partners in India, Prof Mamokgethi Setati, Vice-Principal: Research & Innovation, illuminated key areas of strength from Unisa programmes and tried to match these with areas of strength from the Indian institutions. There are immediate possibilities for cooperation in both academic and student exchanges, joint research collaboration, and sharing of expertise and resources. It also became clear that there will be a need to convene a team of academics to visit India in the near future to start working on the implementation of these collaborations. More details will be highlighted in the report on the visit to be shortly disseminated and interrogated for immediate action plans.

The Unisa mission also received support and commitment to encourage its academic initiatives with Indian institutions from the Consulate General of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Pule Malefane, and the executives of the TATA Corporation, who were present at the meeting held at the TATA showrooms in Mumbai. The Consulate General also undertook to follow up on these visits and to garner possible assistance, where required.

Prof Narend Baijnath was accompanied by Prof Mamokgethi Setati, Vice-Principal: Research & Innovation; Prof Rita Maré, Vice-Principal: Academic: Teaching & Learning; Prof Louis Molamu, Unisa’s Registrar; Ms Lungi Sangqu, Executive Director: ICT; Prof Oupa Mashile, Executive Director: Tuition & Facilitation of Learning; Mr Magnate Ntombela, Regional Director: KwaZulu-Natal; and Ms Siza Magubane, Director: International Relations.

India and South Africa share a long history in the struggle for democracy and peace, and are partners in both bilateral and multilateral agreements, such as IBSA and BRICS. India is also a leader in the field of IT, and is very strong in its academic and scientific research programme. Unisa staff and academics are encouraged to seize this opportunity to foster collaborations with their Indian institutions and counterparts.

The Unisa delegation and representatives from the University of Hyderabad

Mr Malefane, Consulate General of South Africa (black suit), Ms Amrit Banerjee & Mr Syamal Gupta of TATA with the Unisa delegation

Dr Thiruvasagam, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Madras, and the Unisa delegation