News

Dominican Republic Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa, Her Excellency Ms Erika Alvarez Rodrigues, recently paid University of Botswana (UB) Vice Chancellor, Professor David Norris, a courtesy visit, to explore potential areas of collaborations on tourism, training, research, innovation, students and staff exchange.

Ambassador Rodrigues was accompanied by Counsellor at the Embassy, Mr Luis Fernando Rodriguez, along with representative officer from the Ministry of International Relations.

Speaking at the meeting, Professor Norris noted that UB was currently undergoing a strategic transformation, with internationalisation identified as one of its key pillars. He explained that internationalisation would strengthen collaboration and partnerships with global universities, thereby enhancing research output and fostering innovation. Professor Norris reaffirmed UB’s commitment to advancing research and innovation to boost national competitiveness, improve the quality of education and drive knowledge creation and economic development.

He further noted that economies were powered by research and innovation from high institutions of learning which led to commercialisation of research outputs, creating start-ups, jobs and boosting local and global economies. “Botswana has a tremendous opportunity to learn from the Dominican Republic which has established itself as a leading tourism destination through innovative strategies and exceptional performance,” said Professor Norris.

He added the University was eager to establish strong partnerships with Dominican universities, focusing on research, innovation and enriching academic exchange programmes for both students and staff. Professor Norris viewed climate change, student and staff exchange as well as post graduate supervision as key areas UB was interested in for collaboration.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Rodrigues expressed delight at the prospect of formalising a strong partnership with the University of Botswana. She affirmed her commitment to strengthening mutual engagement between the Dominican Republic, African countries, and their universities. The Ambassador highlighted opportunities for knowledge and experience sharing particularly in tourism and wildlife conservation, areas in which the Dominican Republic had excelled.

She noted that her country had already established strong collaborations with South African institutions such as the Universities of Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town in research and innovation. Ambassador Rodrigues further expressed her desire to cultivate similar partnerships with UB including future student and staff exchange programmes, as part of efforts to deepen bilateral relations.