Unisa MoU Unisa academics with the Russian delegation during the MoU signing. Image: Supplied
Image: Supplied
UNISA this week concluded a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Tyumen State University (or UTMN) of the Ural Federal District, Russia, and the Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (also known as RUDN), to launch a language exchange programme.
Witnessed by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, and Russian Embassy representatives, the agreement will see isiZulu taught at these Russian universities while Unisa’s College of Human Sciences (CHS) will offer Russian language courses.
The Tyumen State University is a comprehensive research-intensive university, while the Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, named in honour of the revered Congolese politician, is a research university with extensive global networks.
The aim of this collaboration is to define areas of increased international collaboration and cooperation to achieve the common goal of establishing and developing academic, cultural and other types of relations among the three universities in the field of teaching and learning of both the Russian and isiZulu languages.
Immediately following the implementation of the MoU, this collaboration will consider expanding the sociolinguistic profile to include offering isiZulu to Russian students, including student exchange programmes.
In their opening remarks, Professor Boitumelo Senokoane, Acting Executive Director: Department of Institutional Advancement, and Professor Solomon Magano, Acting Vice-Principal: Institutional Development, stated that this collaboration is set to forge links with the aim of driving the academic project and positioning language as the pillar of exchange learning. In addition, Magano stated: “Language embodies who we are. It carries our lived experiences and expresses our intentions as humans. Therefore, this tripartite collaboration engenders this idea of language exchange.”
Continuing, Magano said he hopes this collaboration will extend to various areas in fulfilling the academic agendas of the three universities.
Elena Tumakova, Director: Department of State Policy in Higher Education, Russia, said that this is not just an agreement, but a major task pursued by the Russian Federation to enhance relations and cooperation between the two countries.
Concluding, Tumakova said she is grateful towards all those who contributed to the formation of the MoU documents, adding: “I am confident that this agreement will give rise to many other significant projects.”
Mokgadi Rabothata, Director of Global Engagements at the DHET, on behalf of the Minister, extended her appreciation for being witness to this collaboration at its initial phase. She added: “For us as DHET, preservation of languages signifies a great step in the right direction towards broadening cultural perspectives far beyond African territories.”
Extending as it does beyond geographical boundaries, this MoU fosters a mutual understanding and promotes a deeper appreciation of and keenness towards learning about and engaging in the diverse cultural practices of both South Africa and Russia, beginning with the exchange of language. By facilitating student mobility, the partnership will further create a platform for collaborative research, joint academic programmes, and the sharing of best practices in teaching and learning.
This initiative underscores the importance of international cooperation in higher education, enabling students to develop global competencies and broaden their perspectives and knowledge in diverse cultures, and further strengthening the intergovernmental relations of both countries as part of BRICS’s emerging economies bloc.
Concluding the signing ceremony, Professor Thenjiwe Meyiwa, Vice-Principal: Research, Postgraduate Studies, Innovation and Commercialisation, endorsed the MoU, stressing that that the working group tasked with implementing this agreement should start the groundwork without delay.
Soon thereafter, the participants of this tripartite agreement began discussions on the initial dates of the implementation, ideating on this historical landmark collaboration, including the exchange of academic language practitioners and a way forward toward the realisation of the agreed-upon mandates of the MoU.
* Godfrey Madibane is a journalist at the Department of Institutional Advancement.
** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, Independent Media, or IOL.