When the pandemic hit, SU International's efforts to grow the University's network of global partnerships certainly did not stop. Making the most of the online space to reach out and establish links worldwide, the University managed to increase its number of partnerships across all regions (see figure 1 below).
Figure 1: Growth in partnerships by region, 2018–2021 (as in January 2021)
No doubt, this has largely been thanks to a strong focus on our Internationalisation Strategy and associated Partnership Framework. In goal 4 of the strategy, we commit ourselves to cultivate close relationships with our international stakeholders through functional engagement, active collaboration, and mutually beneficial, complementary, reciprocal and transformational partnerships.
Another reason for the regional growth illustrated in figure 1 was the focus on internationalisation at institutions worldwide over this same period. The eagerness to interact and collaborate globally certainly made it easier and more commonplace for institutions to formalise their interactions.
The appreciable difference between the number of partnerships with Europe and with the other world regions can be attributed not only to SU's historical linkages with the European continent, but also our African location. The novel research conducted on our continent, and the immense real-world impact it has on our people, adds to Africa's appeal. With its excellence in research and its existing connections and networks on the continent, SU is able to act as a promoter and coordinator of collaboration across Africa.
In addition to regional-level global collaboration, our Partnership Framework also provides for partnerships at the faculty/departmental level (see figure 2).
Figure 2: Growth in partnerships at faculty/departmental vs institutional level, 2018–2021 (as in January 2021)
Partnerships at the faculty/departmental level generally support specific research collaborations in an academic setting. While these collaborations strive to achieve many of the features of an institutional partnership, they also afford more custodianship to the relevant academic environment.
Yet we are not simply looking to grow our number of partnerships. Instead, we focus on strengthening relationships that go beyond merely facilitating an activity (transactional), to being more consequential in terms of impact and transformation at both partner institutions (transformational). Attributes that make for a good balance between transactional and transformational include:
- alignment with SU's five strategic research areas, and the sustainable development goals they are aimed at;
- supporting international knowledge diplomacy;
- potential for facilitating a transformative staff or student experience;
- providing for collaborative degree programmes, especially at postgraduate level;
- potential for bilateral activities based on shared membership of multilateral networks and consortia (e.g. BRICS NU, SSUN, ARUA, AC21 and others);
- for African partnerships specifically, initiatives aimed at developing emerging scholars; and
- a focus on being “in service of society".
SU Intenationalisation strategy
