On 12 March 2025, the University of Venda (UNIVEN) and the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cavehill Campus, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the Africa-Caribbean Collaboration.
This signing ceremony took place at the University of the West Indies, Cavehill Campus in Barbados. The session was chaired by Dr Laurette Bristol, Director School of Education, UWI.
Dr Laurette Bristol, Director of School of Education, University of West Indies, chairing the MoU Signing Ceremony
In her opening remarks, Dr Bristol expressed excitement about the sign-ing of the MoU between UWI and UNIVEN, cementing the partnership that start-ed more than 15 years ago through the Sustainable Learning Environment Net-work (SULE) comprising scholars from Africa and the Caribbean. Dr Bristol added that it is an honour to operationalise the vision of the longstanding partnership.
The MoU signing coincided with the inaugural Caribbean Educational Research Cen-tre and the (UWI) School of Education Conference under the theme: Maximis-ing Resilience through Education, Innovation, Sustainability, Inclusion, and Impact.
She concluded that the MoU between UNIVEN and UWI will be a lived connec-tion through collaborative research, publications, and grant applications, as well as an engaged connection of communities through the exchange of stu-dents and staff to support capacity development, training, and joint qualifications.
Prof R Clive Landis, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UWI, Cave Hill Campus giving welcome remarks
In his welcome remarks, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal, the UWI, Cave Hill Cam-pus, Professor R Clive Landis applauded UNIVEN and UWI colleagues on their long-standing partnership leading to the signing of a formal MoU. He mentioned that he be-lieves that cooperation between the two institutions will take off, as several projects are already underway. He also applauded the UWI, Caribbean Educational Research Centre, and the School of Education leadership for collaborating with South African universities.
Prof Bernard Nthambeleni, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Venda
The University of Venda Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Bernard Nthambeleni shared his remarks before the signing of the MoU. He expressed the importance of forging part-nerships that benefit communities and societies in South Africa and the Caribbean. One of the strategic thrusts of the University of Venda is internationalisation, Linkages, and Part-nerships aimed at strengthening collaboration with other Universities in the global space.
Prof Nthambeleni also applauded the work already done by UNIVEN and UWI colleagues in the establishment of the partnership, the ongoing webinars under the SULE, and the visit by the Caribbean scholars to the University of Venda in August 2024. Prof Nthambeleni also ex-pressed the need to create opportunities for the exchange of students and staff for both UNI-VEN and UWI to broaden the scope of the MoU to cater to all faculties at the two institutions.
The signing of this MoU cements UNIVEN’s presence in the Caribbean and acts as a cata-lyst for future collaborations in the region. The UNIVEN delegation will participate in strate-gic meetings with the University of Belize from 17 to 20 March 2025, continuing discussions from the meetings held in August 2024 at the University of Venda. The meetings are expected to finalise implementation plans and unlock more opportunities for collaboration in the region.
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University of Venda
Tel: 082 868 2218 / 082 868 1811
