Making the postgrad international experience more equitable

17 August 2020 | Story Staff writer. Photo Blake Guidry, Unsplash. Read time 2 min.

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The next instalment in the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) series of challenging conversations – Postgraduate researchers: can we rethink the international experience? – is scheduled for Monday, 24 August 2020 and will focus on how we make the postgraduate international experience more equitable by going virtual.

What are the markers of a truly enriching postgraduate experience? From a global north perspective, being able to travel abroad to access resources and expertise from elsewhere in the globe, create new networks and build a CV have been almost taken for granted and a central tenet of the postgraduate experience. Postgraduates in the global south have had far fewer opportunities for mobility.

 

“Postgraduates are critical for building Africa's next generation of thoughtleaders and researchers. International experiences are key to this. How do we facilitate these equitably?”

The COVID-19 pandemic has ended international travel for all postgraduates, creating an opportunity to stop and think: can we make the postgraduate international experience more equitable by going virtual? In this challenging conversation, we explore what will be lost and gained if postgraduates gain an international experience as deskchair travellers.

UCT vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng will host the event, which will be moderated by Sue Harrison, UCT’s deputy vice-chancellor for research and internationalisation.

Confirmed participants include:

  • Daya Reddy, president of the International Science Council, DST/NRF SARChI Chair in Computational Mechanics, University of Cape Town
  • Ernest Aryeetey, professor of economics, secretary-general of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA)
  • Hangwelani Hope Magidimisha-Chipungu, DST/NRF/SACN SARChI Chair in Inclusive Cities, University of Kwazulu-Natal
  • Terry McMaster, associate professor, School of Physics, director of the Graduate School, University of Bristol

Join the webinar at 17:30 (CAT/SAST) on Monday, 24 August.

Unleashing the new global university

Unleashing the new global university is a series of virtual events in which we invite innovative, international and local speakers to have challenging conversations that help us rethink global collaborations for a sustainable and equitable planet.

Video footage from the earlier events is available here, along with news and details on the next one.


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