GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

  The internationalisation of higher education has become a formidable force for change in the past decade. Having long outgrown its baby shoes of mere development cooperation, cross-border education today involves high-impact partnerships and collaborative research, often with competitive commercial outputs.

In August, Prof Hester Klopper, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Strategy and Internationalisation, hosted 150 delegates from both local and international higher education institutions at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) for the workshop programme of the 22nd annual conference of the International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA). By Refiloe Nkhasi 

Living in a globalised world, it did not take long for the term “global education” to become part of SU’s vocabulary. To get a grasp on this tricky concept as it is understood at SU, we approached Joe Warren, programme coordinator of global learning at the Global Education Centre (GEC).   By Marie Prötzsch

An “outside-in” perspective of internationalisation at SU Being a global citizen and co-creating knowledge was not part of her education, writes Anisa Khan, newly appointed manager of Global Partnerships and Internationalisation Support at Stellenbosch University (SU) International. Today, however, she is a staunch advocate of an internationalised education experience, having come to appreciate its power in changing students’ outlook on life.

In an increasingly globalised and interconnected world, internationalisation has become a top priority for many universities worldwide, and Stellenbosch University (SU) is no exception. Over the past 25 years, SU has built one of the largest international footprints of all South African universities: Every year, it participates in more than 650 internationalisation activities with more than 450 institutions in over 70 countries globally. Close to 120 of these activities occur in Africa with approximately 100 partners spread over 30 countries on the continent.

As Stellenbosch University (SU) is embarking on developing an internationalisation plan, we at SU International need to be clear in our role as enabler in the process, which should be inclusive, innovative, inviting and inspiring. The process needs to build on 25 years of international relations at SU, to engage with the new SU Vision 2040 and Strategic Framework 2019–2024, to consider the national context, to take note of basic concepts within international higher education and to result in a plan that is aspirational but realistic, focused but broadly empowering and challenging but attainable. By ROBERT KOTZÉ

As with all milestones, it is truly a great occasion for the International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA) to be celebrating 21 years in the international higher-education arena, writes LEOLYN JACKSON, president of IEASA.  

Africa faces a host of challenges arising from the social, economic and political context ̶ but Africa also offers a host of opportunities. As the continent with the youngest growing population, its youthful human capital will soon outstrip that of the rest of the world. This provides immense opportunities in the form of a resource. But then the youth of Africa must be adequately educated and prepared with 21st century competencies to negotiate the fast-moving Fourth Industrial Revolution. Is Africa ready to take on the massification of higher education to the extent that it is needed for this rising tide of youth, asks SARAH HOWIE, Director of the Africa Centre for Scholarship at SU International.

Colonialism and post-colonialism are two epochs in Africa’s history that have witnessed both a determination and a willingness to move away from dependency and, simultaneously, a reluctance to embrace autonomous action fully, writes YUSEF WAGHID, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy of Education at Stellenbosch University. Prof Waghid offers a reflective account of the fluctuating fortunes of African scholarship as it manifests on a continuum from least autonomous to highly autonomous thought and practice within an emancipatory educational framework.