The Namibia University of science and Technology (NUST) Annual International Education Week
Students representing Greece at the International Food Festival.
The objective of the International Education Week is to promote internationalisation and global citizenship education on campus. The expected outcome of the initiative is to produce holistic graduates with the requisite knowledge, skills, values and attitudes, who are global citizens and are able to function completely in global contexts.
Prof Nico Cloete, Director of the Centre for Higher Education Trust (CHET) and Coordinator of the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa (HERANA), delivered the keynote address before the public dialogue. In his address, he focussed on the theme of the 2018 International Education Week namely, ‘’Building a World-Class University through Research and Internationalisation.’’ Prof Cloete emphasised the mission of universities, which is to generate knowledge critical to sustainable development, although there are contextual and regional differences to be taken into account. As anticipated, the dialogue following the address deepened the University community’s understanding of the characteristics and descriptors of excellent universities, and the place and role of research and internationalisation of higher education in such universities.
The 2018 International Education Week also included a public information sharing session. Organisations such as DAAD, the British Council and the European Union Delegation to Namibia shared information regarding study and research funding opportunities in their respective countries.
The debate topic between NUST and the International University of Management (IUM) was “Colonised States should or should not allow their citizens to study in their former colonising countries.” IUM was for the motion, and brought interesting perspectives to the debate. However, the NUST team performed better and emerged as the overall winner of the debate.
NUST is home to more than 600 international students, and befittingly, the week ended with an International Food Festival to celebrate the diverse cultures on campus.