The University of Botswana is among eight African universities the Michigan State University (MSU) has identified to partner with through the Alliance for African Partnerships (AAP).
AAP Africa Director, Professor Richard Mkandawire, said UB was chosen for its impressive performance over the years in that to date it boasted a satisfactory number of academic staff with PhDs than most universities in southern Africa.
Professor Mkandawire said this when he met Vice Chancellor, Professor David Norris, to present a proposal for the University to become part of the AAP at UB on June 23, 2018. He said MSU was mandated to establish alliances with long standing partners and other progressive institutions. Professor Norris accepted the proposal. A signing ceremony for institutions to become alliance partners is slated for Nairobi, Kenya on October 22, 2018.
The purpose of the Alliance is to promote sustainable, effective and equitable partnerships between African organisations, MSU and other international organisations to address mutually defined challenges facing Africa and the world.
The AAP focuses on three key areas - building bridges, transforming lives, and transforming institutions. AAP also aims at stimulating research given that Africa contributes less than one per cent of published output notwithstanding the need for responses that require context-specific knowledge besides a perspective that African researchers brought to the table.
Professor Norris said he was excited by the proposal and expressed his eagerness for UB to become part of the partnership. He said the proposal was timely as it came at a time when the university was undergoing a major transformation which included a move to become a research intensive institution by training more masters and PhD students.
“For a long time the University of Botswana has had a significant role in developing the human resource structure in Botswana in spite of endless societal challenges,” said Professor Norris.
The Vice Chancellor noted that it was time the university forged alliances and partnerships that would greatly and positively impact on its transformation process and eventually people’s lives.
Professor Norris maintained that it was time entrepreneurial skills were embedded in each student who entered the university gate so as to prepare them for the world of work, not only as employees but as employers as well.
He said the University should move away from its traditional curriculum and introduce innovative and creative degree programmes to attract young and enthusiastic applicants.
AAP Co-Director at Michigan State, Dr Jose Jackson-Malete, emphasised the importance of UB setting the agenda, identifying its priority areas. Dr Jackson-Malete added that together with MSU and other universities in the consortium, UB should embrace importance of co-developing programmes of mutual interest to advance research, fundraising, staff and student exchanges.