The first paper, “Exploring students’ expectations of an international exchange programme: A case study of three master’s students from Namibia to Norway,” was presented by Colin Tjitemisa, Jessica Jansen, Ivy van Wyk and Narenda Hoepfner from the University of Namibia (UNAM), in collaboration with Sadhana Manik from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).
The presentation examined the expectations of Namibian master’s students participating in an international exchange programme to Norway, providing insights into student mobility and the experiences that shape international exchange. Importantly, the paper represents a co-creation across partner institutions in the Global South, bringing together researchers from Namibia and South Africa. It is hoped that this will be the first of further such South-South co-creations emerging from the GLOMIND project.
The second presentation, “From a pedagogy of the depressed to harnessing inter-university collaboration for planet and professional progress,” was delivered by Sadhana Manik (UKZN) and Sevika Stensby (INN). The presentation explored the potential of inter-university collaboration to contribute to educational development, professional growth, and wider societal and planetary progress.
Together, the two presentations provided an important platform for sharing experiences and emerging insights from the GLOMIND project with an international academic audience. They also illustrated the project’s collaborative model: building knowledge through reciprocal partnerships, co-creation and exchange across institutions and regions, while creating opportunities for both South-South and North-South collaboration.