Global challenges in focus at Swedish-South African research and innovation week

SASUF Sustainability Forum was arranged at University of Western Cape in Cape Town at the end of March 2023.

ImageHelin Bäckman Kartal

The Research and Innovation Week is part of the STINT-funded project SASUF, South Africa Sweden University Forum, with the aim of strengthening the cooperation between the two countries in research, education and innovation. Participants included researchers, teachers, students and representatives of university management from SASUF's 26 South African and 14 Swedish higher education institutions, as well as research funders. The program contained seminars and workshops within six themes, all linked to the UN's sustainability goals. 14 people from Umeå University participated.

Vice-Chancellor Hans Adolfsson together with Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Tshwane University of Technology, Vathi Papu-Zamxaka, who is also an Umeå alumna.

ImageHelin Bäckman Kartal

- SASUF is an important forum for discussing joint solutions to global challenges in both countries, says Vice-Chancellor Hans Adolfsson. All South African universities in the country are involved in the project. The fact that they gather under the same umbrella is unique and shows that there is a great interest in international cooperation.

Over 500 participants from South Africa and Sweden

The Research and Innovation Week was divided into two parts: scientific workshops and seminars that took place in 12 different cities across South Africa over two days, and the Sustainability Forum hosted by the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town over three days. In parallel with the research workshops, seminars and poster exhibition, a special program for Vice-Chancellors from South Africa and Sweden and a student summit with representatives from Swedish and South African universities also took place. In total, over 500 people from South Africa and Sweden participated in the Sustainability Forum. Representatives of the university management also visited the Swedish Embassy in Pretoria and Swedish Ambassador Håkan Juholt - who also participated in the Research and Innovation Week.

Global cooperation important for sustainability perspective

One of those who participated from Umeå University is Karin Sporre, professor of pedagogical work. She has long had a research collaboration with Heila Lotz-Sistika, professor at Rhodes University, on ethics and education from a sustainability perspective. During the research and innovation week, together with colleagues, they had the opportunity to hold two workshops where they presented and discussed children's and young people's commitment to sustainability and hope, as a driving force for developing preschools, schools and teacher training.

- The SASUF week has given me a lot, says Karin. Many fun meetings with people working on other research problems that relate to the important contemporary issues of climate and sustainability.

Professor Karin Sporre together with cooperative partners at the SASUF Research & Innovation Week in South Africa 2023.

ImageKarin Sporre

Karin Sporre describes that it has been important to have partners outside the Euro-American academic sphere and that this means that global perspectives, which are important not least from a sustainability perspective today, can become a more obvious part of research and postgraduate education.

- Not least the differences in the school and educational society in our respective countries give us new experiences and knowledge that make us understand our own contexts even better, says Sporre about the collaboration.

Students' involvement in internationalization important

Within the SASUF 2030 project, students' participation has been identified as particularly important. On site in South Africa were representatives from most of the participating universities. From Umeå University, Alba Puigefabregas Sieso, a student on the bachelor's programme in Life Science, participated. Together with the other student representatives, she participated in and arranged several seminars during the week, for example one focusing on student inclusion in internationalisation.

- It has been a fantastic experience. We have had a tight schedule this week. We have covered several different topics, learned new perspectives on global issues and come up with new ideas, says Alba. The student network in SASUF wants to be a platform to connect researchers with students and promote innovative collaborations.

Swedish and South African students in the SASUF student network standing in front of the entrance to University of Western Cape.

ImageSASUF student network

The students' participation seems to have made an impression on the principals. Umeå University's rector Hans Adolfsson states that there are a great many students who have participated during the week, which shows that there is a future for SASUF.

- Students are a natural partner to have along, says Hans Adolfsson, and sends an invitation to Umeå's students to get more involved!

SASUF Research and innovation week in Sweden 2024

For Umeå University, the SASUF project has so far resulted in several good examples of collaborations with various South African universities. It involves collaborations in areas such as public health, ecology, computer science, architecture and educational science.

- SASUF means a lot to the cooperation between Sweden and South Africa and to Umeå University. It contributes to good contacts with the South African universities, but also with other Swedish universities in the project. We look forward to continuing the collaborations that are already underway and are confident that new ones will be started, says Hans Adolfsson.

The SASUF project runs until 2024. Next year, Sweden will host the research and innovation week, which will be arranged in Lund, Alnarp and Malmö on 13-17 May.

A call for seed funds for new collaborations between South Africa and Sweden is now open. The application deadline is April 28, 2023.