THE National University of Science and Technology (Nust) has urged local universities to join the Southern African-Nordic Centre (Sanord) to help improve the academic and professional standards of their staff.
BY SHARON SIBINDI/TALENT GUMPO IN VICTORIA FALLS
Sanord was founded at a meeting of universities for seven countries at the University of the Western Cape and is designed to further multilateral academic co-operation between the Southern African and Nordic regions, to strengthen the capacity of all member institutions to address new local and global challenges of innovation and development.
This year’s Sanord conference, which kicked off in the resort town of Victoria Falls yesterday, will host up to 200 delegates from Sadc and Nordic universities.
In an interview, Nust spokesperson Felix Moyo encouraged other local universities to join Sanord.
“You can only begin to benefit if you are a member and you lose nothing really by being a member to scout around for people with interests similar to yours. Staff and students get to be exposed academically and professionally, respectively,” he said.
“As we speak now, Nust is in the process of selecting staff and students who will go to Uppsala University in Sweden, and there is funding provided for that. We give our students an opportunity to be exposed to other learning environments at no cost to us or to them to their benefit.”
Moyo said the conference is held annually since inception, which is 10 years ago.
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“These are held annually, very religiously. One year, they are held in the Nordic countries and the following year, in the Sadc. For example we are holding this conference within Sadc in Zimbabwe and it is hosted by Nust. The last one was held in Sweden and Uppsala University and the one before that had been held in Namibia,” he said.
Moyo said the conference is primarily held for research, staff and student exchange and a platform to seek and make joint applications for research funds.
“We are celebrating our 10 years of existence this year. It has attracted a huge contingent of participants. We are creeping towards 200 now and of particular notice is the fact that the Minister of Science of Technology in South Africa, Honourable Dr Naledi Pandor, will give the key note address.”
Universities in attendance include those from Nordic countries — Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland — and Sadc — Zimbabwe, South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, Namibia, to mention a few.
