Professor Nokuthula Sibiya, Acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal, will lead a delegation of eight MUT staff members to the South Africa – Sweden University Forum (SASUF) 2024 Research and Innovation Week in Sweden, from 13 – 17 May 2024. Professor Xolile Mkhize, Assistant Professor: Department of Community Extension; Kavita Behara, Senior Lecturer: Electrical Engineering Department; Dr Thobeka Makhathini, Senior Lecture, and Dr Nkululeko Nkosi, Lecturers: Chemical Engineering department; Dr Awonke Mbangi, Lecturer: Agriculture department, Sibusiso Tshabalala, Laboratory Technician: Agriculture department, Mbali Mkhize, Senior Director: Marketing and Communications, and Zama Sishi, Director: Stakeholder Engagement in the Department of Marketing and Communications; will participate in facilitating the satellite events, workshops, and poster presentations at the event. Professor Sibiya said it would be “quite exciting to note the diversity of the group, which speaks volumes about the culture of research at MUT. It is also worth noting that females outnumber the males in this delegation”. Besides co-facilitating a workshop with MUT, DUT, and the Swedish team, Professor Sibiya will lead a South African collaboration delegation from MUT and DUT in facilitating a discussion at a satellite event in Sweden’s Lund University on pandemic preparedness and maternal mortality in South Africa and Sweden.
Professor Sibiya will also participate in the second leg of the SASUF Executive Leadership Summit, which aims to deepen the collaboration between South African and Swedish Vice-Chancellors at the 26th SASUF Partner Universities and Swedish Universities. Professor Sibiya said that since 2024 is the final year of the current SASUF project period, the University leadership would use this opportunity to identify a joint way forward beyond 2024. “Our vision as MUT delegation is to sign collaborative agreements with the Swedish partners to realise the objectives of our Strategy 2025.