Redefining Global Higher Education Collaborations: Deconstructing Development and Promoting Equity

Thursday, May 29, 2025

1:00 PM – 1:50 PM PST

This session examines traditional development narratives shaping international higher education collaborations, particularly between the Global North and the Global South. By analyzing current funding schemes and contrasting concepts of development, it explores how postdevelopment approaches can redefine partnerships, aiming for more equitable and mutually beneficial global engagement.

Learning Objectives:

Analyze the underlying concepts of development in international higher education collaborations and their impact on research partnerships between the Global North and South.
Evaluate the power dynamics and hierarchy embedded in current international research funding schemes, particularly those originating from Europe and North America.
Compare the language and approaches of higher education collaboration of European and North American funding organizations with the African Union's policies to strengthen the new narrative.
Develop guidelines to redefine partnerships between African and European/North American higher education institutions, integrating post-development approaches to promote equitable and context-sensitive collaborations.

Chair and Presenter(s)

LJ

Leolyn MARTIN Jackson, MA

Director: Centre for Global Engagement
Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT)

Presenter(s)

PW

Philina Wittke

Expert for Cooperation and Third Party Funding for Sub-Saharan Africa
Goethe Institut
JY Zhou, EdD

Associate Provost for International Initiatives & Executive Director, Center for Global Engagement
James Madison University