The aim of the Internationalisation office within the Research Department is to optimise Unisa’s capacity to contribute towards the delivery of Africa’s development goals, as expressed in the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Relevant and effective partnerships and collaborations in research, innovation and postgraduate studies are key vehicles for contributing to the realisation of these goals.
The guiding principles and priorities of the internationalisation office include strengthening the university’s institutional relationships in Africa in particular, and securing funding to support, fund and expand collaboration with African and international institutions and networks. In addition, the office implements strategies to increase the enrolment of international postgraduate students and encourage intra-African research mobility through joint applications for grants and proposals.
In working towards these goals, the office cooperates closely with the other directorates within the Research Department, as well as with the internationalisation offices of the eight Unisa colleges.
An example is the annual International Student Exchange Programme for student innovators, under the auspices of the Directorate of Innovation, Technology Transfer and Commercialisation. Three international universities participated in the 2022 exchange programme, namely the University of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania, the University of Basel in Switzerland and the University of Rwanda (which is part of the Swiss-Southern Africa Business Innovators Network).
The intention now is to expand international exchange initiatives with a research and innovation focus through South-South and North-South partnerships, as well as collaborations within the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) grouping. Such collaborations will have a strong focus on the development of women researchers and innovators.
It is important to note that the work of the international office within the Research Department is carried out in accordance with Unisa’s overarching approach to internationalisation and collaboration and, in turn, with the university’s commitment to national imperatives as outlined in the National System of Innovation, the National International Strategy Framework and the Collaboration Framework for the higher education sector.
These systems and frameworks enjoin South African higher education institutions to form bilateral and multilateral collaborative partnerships with academic organisations globally, with a view to advancing knowledge production, innovation and development.
In alignment with these national frameworks, Unisa’s Internationalisation Strategy tasks several organisational units within the university to cooperate in pursuing and maintaining international collaborations and partnerships. The Internationalisation Office of the Research Department is responsible for drafting, implementing and administering the university’s new Research & Innovation Internationalisation and Collaborations Framework and Implementation Plan.
During 2022, a decision was made to appoint external expertise to review the current draft of this framework and to recommend improvements, if required. An independent contractor has been appointed, with a view to finalising the draft framework and strategy by the end of October 2023. Once finalised, the document can be populated with targets and indicators for implementation. It will then be reviewed annually and/or as necessary to improve Unisa’s strategic positioning and enable it to benefit from current and future bilateral and multilateral international cooperations and partnerships on research and innovation.
Last modified: Wed Dec 20 12:11:17 SAST 2023