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After more than 700 days, South Africa's state of disaster has been lifted. Campus is lively, indoor masking reminds us that some risk still remains.  

When the pandemic struck, it felt as if Internationalisation entered a state of disaster. We were puzzled until we realised that internationalisation is much more than physical mobility. At SU International, we hunkered down for a while, switched on the Ms Teams and Zoom screens, and started building an augmented internationalisation puzzle with some masked pieces but with many more “sweet spot" lively pieces.

This means that for the foreseeable future, our international puzzle will be guided by

Improved consolidation, Enhanced alignment and Augmented moving forward

 Improved consolidation

As previously reported, numerous opportunities came our way during the pandemic. These have now been integrated with SU International's annual plan and staff structure after an extensive reorganisation of at the end of 2021. In future, SU International will have four centres (see infographic below)  each having its own focus, yet, collectively advancing the five cross-cutting internationalisation enablers:

Consolidation efforts entail the following:

• Our Unit for International Credentialing will complete its preparations for the first round of quality assurance of the Independent Examinations Board's new International Secondary Certificate examinations in November 2022.
• The SDG/2063 Hub, which combines the African Union's Agenda 2063 with the global SDG agenda, will deliver the first SU impact report in October 2022.
• Development of our INTERINFO system will be completed to enable the first round of institutional internationalisation data collection.
• The SU Japan Centre will be launched by mid-2022 and will embark on several high-impact projects.
• The first cohort of international undergraduates will be recruited and prepared to enrol in 2022.
  

Enhanced alignment

To ensure comprehensive internationalisation, the following will be major focus areas:

• Embedding international undergraduate marketing and prospect support in an integrated institutional student recruitment strategy
• Achieving greater alignment between the programmes of international incoming and outgoing delegations on the one hand, and the outcomes and objectives of the University's divisions of Corporate Communication and Marketing as well as Development and Alumni Relations on the other
• Leveraging the initiatives of the recently created AUDA-NEPAD Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology and Innovation as part of the continental AUDA and Stellenbosch innovation ecosystem
• Enhancing scholarship development by the African Doctoral Academy and the Emerging Scholars Initiative by linking up with activities at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advance Study (STIAS) and its Iso Lomso programme
  

• Working to incorporate global student learning outcomes into SU's curriculum renewal project​
  
  

Moving forward in an augmented way

In addition, we will be looking at the following existing initiatives from a fresh, innovative and informed perspective, augmenting them to move forward with a stronger stride:

• The International Town and Gown Network
• Periperi U, which advances university action on risk reduction and resilience in Africa
• Immigration support for international staff and students
• Reimagining office and work facilities to accommodate an expanded staff complement and the establishment of the SU Japan Centre, among others
• The 2023 summer school for students, which is to feature the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) summer school
  

We have lots to do, and will continue to engage with our international partners as we tackle these and other projects. At the same time, we're looking forward to our in-person Stellenbosch International Academic Networks (SIAN) meeting in March 2023, where we'll not only celebrate 30 years of internationalisation at SU, but will also have a chance to see you all here on campus, have thought-provoking conversations and enjoy good wine and food!

Robert Kotzé

Senior Director: SU International