Higher Education (HE) globally faces a changing landscape, based on increasing demands from industry, society, government and civil society, for a new workforce equipped to deal with a changing technological landscape and sudden world events that are not predictable but have significant impact (like COVID-19). These realities have magnified the importance of the global context. It is important for CPUT to support its faculty and students to work on global issues pertinent to modern societies, to sustain its standing among institutions of higher learning worldwide. Whilst in support of the quintuple helix model, the future of CPUT lies in the strategic value of purposeful partnerships while building inclusive networks and internationalisation of our academic and research activities. International partnerships provide a means for developing intercultural competency as well as for expanding the scope and impact of our discoveries and innovations.
We differentiate between tier 1 and tier 2 partnerships as follows:
|
Tier 2
|
Tier 1
|
|
|
Internationalisation value |
The transactional and historical value Individual, unit, departmental level Exchange of resources |
Strategic direction and value Institutional and long-term value-added partnerships Collaborative work for infrastructure and capacity development, including grants and third-stream income |
|
Possible applications
|
Student mobility Degree completion Staff mobility Degree completion Joint and collaborative degrees |
Research collaboration Postgraduate qualification completion Policy development |
Exploring a partnership
CPUT has been actively engaging with international partners since before the merger in 2005 and continues to sustain long-standing partnerships. International partnership and network development is an activity that cuts across all sections of the university and needs to be linked to our Research Focus Areas, be sustainable and mutually beneficial in order to have a lasting cross-border impact. We welcome discussions of the possibilities to support our comprehensive internationalisation activities of the institution, i.e. through internationalisation at home, internationalisation abroad and internationalisation of the curriculum.
The Office of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships (SIP) oversees the partnership process. In our experience, institutional partnerships are only sustainable if there are mutual faculty interest and commitment; therefore, any proposal for a formal institutional relationship must have at least one CPUT sponsor. Exchange agreements overseen by our office are generally initiated by CPUT faculty members who see unique value in partnering with particular international institutions. The Partnership Request Form can be filled out by International institutions to initiate partnership collaborations.
The following guiding principles are intended to help ensure that strategic international partnerships are aligned with the university’s mission and values and Smart Internationalisation Strategy.
- Partner institutions should share CPUT’s core values of Ubuntu, mutual respect, equity, innovation, accountability, and efficiency.
- Any international partnership should bolster the university’s mission in one or more ways, for example by giving faculty and students access to world-class experiences and resources not available at CPUT or by bringing new resources to CPUT.
- The minimum set of criteria for a sustainable international partnership includes faculty commitment of participation for the duration of the partnership and adequate funding and space to support partnership activities and costs at CPUT for the duration of the partnership
Contact the office of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships and complete the PARTNERSHIP REQUEST FORM
