The Vice-Chancellor & Principal, Prof Tshilidzi Marwala together with the Division for Internationalisation at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), attended the U21 AGM at the University of Maryland from 1-3 May 2019, to explore the impact of new technology on learning and research, with a joint challenge to advance higher learning.
The theme of this year’s Symposium was “Globalization, Isolationism and the Civic Response in Higher Education.”
Part of the annual meeting and presidential symposium of Universitas 21 (U21), the three-day conference brought together all Presidents and Vice Chancellors of U21 member universities, along with U21 Senior Leaders. U21 is a network of research universities for the 21st century.
“The rapid development that illustrate institution-wide civic engagement spells new challenges for us, but it also opens intriguing opportunities to better engage students and conduct research in a hyper-connected global community,” says Lebethe Malefo, Senior Director: Internationalisation (Acting). “A forum like U21 allows member universities to discuss these emerging case studies.”
“We want to deliver internationally-focused opportunities, both actual and online, which enhance student engagement, mobility and employability and help prepare students for life and work across international borders and cultural boundaries.”
The U21 AGM has received inputs from UJ in a number of areas, including the approach for The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), associated education, research and innovation outputs; furthermore, the network creates an opportunity for a wide range of student exchanges. UJ will also participate in the U21-PwC Innovation Challenge 2018/9 in support of graduate student innovation.
Universitas 21 is the leading global network of research-intensive universities, working together to foster global citizenship and institutional innovation through research-inspired teaching and learning, student mobility, connecting our students and staff, and wider advocacy for internationalisation.