It was on 16 December 2024 that Mbali Mkhize, Senior director, MarComms and Zama Sishi who was acting senior director, MarComms at the time, that they sacrificed the national holiday to specifically work with Sefako Makgato University (SMU) to submit a proposal for a National Multiplier Training project jointly coordinated by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) and funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) funded by “Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies” (DIES). This programme offers training courses and dialogue events to promote the improvement of institutional management at higher education institutions in the Global South, the strengthening of higher education management skills among university managers and practice-oriented exchange on higher education management issues. Regional sustainability activities contribute to securing and further developing the results achieved in the DIES partner regions of Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
“We have now become certified trainers by all these entities, with training undertaken at the University of Potsdam, Berlin, Germany. There were 30 of us from Africa, Latin America and East Asia. Our project was the only one from South Africa and was based on its uniqueness. Its approach takes the form of the EAC except that it is aligned to the DHET’s 2019 Internationalisation Framework. We will be training participants who are involved in every aspect of internationalisation here in South Africa”, said Mbali. Adding to that, Zama said, “MUT and the SMU partnership gained a lot of respect when they presented their unique project, as it has not been tackled. We were also impressed at how this project resonated with all participants, who in the main had projects focusing on quality assurance, higher education leadership and management. We will not be surprised in the next call if this topic is replicated.” MUT is rising and is getting noticed globally. This opportunity also enabled MUT’s brand to be amplified in the Global South.