Higher education in South Africa has enjoyed mutually beneficial relations with its Canadian counterpart for many years. Relations between individual entities were, however, sporadic, informal, and short-term. SA and Canada research collaborations have now been catapulted to a higher, more formal level after the launch of the SA-Canada Higher Education and Science Councils Network on 24 – 28 April in Toronto, Canada, led by SA NRF, USAf and their Canadian counterparts.
SA-Canada Higher Education & Science Councils Network launched
TUT’s Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Tinyiko Maluleke, represented the university as a proud and active participant in this milestone of South African Higher Education’s purposeful and structured internationalization. Among the other senior executives present were ten other vice-chancellors from South Africa.
Prof Tinyiko Maluleke, Vice-Chancellor and Principal with other attendees at the launch of SA-Canada Higher Education and Science Council Network.
The University of South Africa, National Research Foundation, African Research Council, and Medical Research Council were all represented, as were 21 other South African universities.
The Vice-Chancellor of TUT, Professor Maluleke, says that the young and dynamic South African innovation system would benefit from linkages with a system that is mature and high-performing like Canada’s. South Africa’s higher education sector could not have picked a better peer than the Canadian higher education sector”.
Researchers from both countries discussed how their research and education institutions can contribute to solving global problems that threaten humanity and the environment during the launch of the Canada Higher Education and Science Councils Network. There was an emphasis on climate change, sustainability, food security, and the impact of the fourth industrial revolution.
Students needed to be prepared to succeed in a changing world of work as a result of artificial intelligence, and this was equally important to institutions. The collaboration between the two countries was based on equal partnership, in which students and staff (from both countries) could take part meaningfully. A strong focus on artificial intelligence and the future of work is being pursued by TUT in collaboration with a number of Canadian institutions.
Guided tours were included in the delegates’ itinerary in Toronto of selected institutions and research agencies. A celebration of the South African Freedom Day was held on the magnificent grounds of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on 27 April by the South African Consul-General, Ms Thandiwe Fadane.
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