TU Chemnitz is Strengthening Cooperation with South Africa
Memorandum of Understanding and Student Exchange Agreement with the KwaZuluNatal University Durban was extended
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Prof. Dr. Arnold van Zyl (r.), Rector of the TU Chemnitz, and Prof. Dr. Henry Wissink, Dean of the College of Law and Management at the KwaZuluNatal University, signed both agreements. Photo: Mario Steinebach
The Technische Universität Chemnitz maintains long-standing relationships in the field of business management with the KwaZuluNatal University in Durban, South Africa. An informal cooperation began in 2003 with an exchange of scientific personnel in the form of mutual delegation visits and guest lectures. A formal cooperation agreement was then signed in 2006, which included the implementation of joint research projects, guest lectures, joint supervision of the Master’s degree theses and doctoral programs and the exchange of students as well.
A year later, the two partner universities established the format of “American-African-European Summer and Winter Schools“ (AAE-Schools) in collaboration with the University of Texas El Paso, which each dealt with different aspects of the key subject areas of ”Border Studies“ and ”Intercultural and Organizational Communication“ and carried out their hosting with rotating exchange among partner universities. Since the year 2010, the University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg is also involved in this project. At the TU Chemnitz, this event has been hosted by the Professorship of Organisation Studies, and the Professorship of Innovation Research functions as a central contact as of this year.
A visit made on July 13th 2015 by Prof. Dr. Henry Wissink, the Dean of the College of Law and Management of the KwaZuluNatal, to the TU Chemnitz represents another milestone in the deepening and broadening of relations between the two partner universities. In the morning, he was a guest at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. The talks at the Professorship of Private Law and Intellectual Property Rights and the Professorship of Innovation Research were particularly concerned with enhancing the existing long-term cooperation and development of the AAE-Schools. Afterwards, a reception hosted by the Rector took place with the extension of the Memorandum of Understanding and the Student Exchange Agreement, as well as the discussion of initial suggestions and plans for further development of professional relationships, particularly in scientific and technical fields. For this purpose and as a follow-up to the visit, scientists from the relevant faculties of the partner universities will be brought into conversation with one another on the occasion of the Rector’s planned 2015 visit to South Africa to discuss concrete results and projects as well as the necessary contractual bases for these.
The results achieved during the visit of Prof. Wissink demonstrate, once again, how important direct human contact is for relationships between partner universities and what great progress can be achieved for their further development within such a short time span.
(Author: Dr. Wolfgang Lambrecht, Translation: Nataliia Boiko and Sarah Wilson)
Katharina Thehos
21.07.2015
