UG delegation to visit South Africa

From 1 to 6 December 2022, a delegation of the University of Groningen will visit Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Prof. Jouke de Vries, President of the Board of the University, will be joining the group, comprising 14 people in total. The visit is aimed at strengthening the collaboration between the University of Groningen and its counterpart in Stellenbosch, one of nine partners in the Strategic Partnership Framework. Before and after the visit, some delegation members will also call in at the universities of Pretoria, the Western Cape, and Cape Town as well as pay a visit to the Dutch embassy/the Netherlands Education Support Office (NESO).

Strategic Partnership Framework (SPF)

The Strategic Partnership Framework is a strategic initiative in which the UG strives for closer collaboration with nine renowned and multidisciplinary partner universities from outside Europe: four in Latin America, three in Asia, one in Australia, and one in Africa. Strategically, Stellenbosch University is extra important because it is seen as a stepping stone to the rest of the continent, which ties in with the sub-Saharan Africa Strategy of the UG that was launched in June.

Themes

The SPF is an addition to the existing international UG policy and aims to create more opportunities for collaboration and mobility for students and staff through intensifying the relationships with the selected partners. The focus lies on higher non-degree mobility, academic matchmaking, collective funding applications, and teaching innovation, among other things. Another important priority within the SPF is PhD collaboration, where PhD students are supervised by both the UG and the partner university and investments are made in sustainable research collaboration.

More information

Strategic Partnership Framework

Academic Ambassador of South Africa: Robert Lensink

ISR coordinator for Stellenbosch University: Anita Veltmaat