This week, I have had the opportunity to visit South Africa and Tanzania to strengthen our ties with some of our African partner universities, and to announce some news ahead of KTH’s anniversary year in 2027.
The Global Development Hub (GDH) is a KTH initiative established ten years ago to develop approaches to tackling various global challenges through challenge-based education and innovation. This innovative approach has also become a fundamental model for our collaboration with a select number of African universities. By partnering with like-minded universities, the GDH can make a real difference.
Our original GDH partners are Strathmore University in Kenya, the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, the University of Rwanda in Rwanda, and Botho University in Botswana. This week, KTH visited the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) to gain a better understanding of our ongoing collaborations and discuss future developments. Over the years, there has been increased student and researcher mobility between UDSM and KTH, meaning that we now have a deep understanding of one another and trust each other, which makes it easier for us to collaborate on new development projects.
KTH has previously been involved in ‘sandwich’ programmes aimed at building capacity in postgraduate education at UDSM. These programmes have helped to foster a close relationship between the two institutions. Students from both universities have participated in courses and workshops, and the I-Grid project, which aims to secure the energy supply to end users in Tanzania, has been underway for some time now. The I-Grid project combines researcher exchanges with a challenge-driven approach to problem-solving and technological development.
In South Africa, KTH has visited several universities to strengthen its presence in the country and deepen its links with academic institutions. Both South Africa and several countries in East Africa are experiencing rapid economic development, whilst simultaneously facing major societal challenges that need to be addressed. Universities and university collaborations play an important role in the wider societal transformation taking place. Many issues are also similar to those we face in the Nordic region, such as access to clean water and energy.
The Times Higher Education (THE) World Academic Summit is also being held in Cape Town this week, hosted by the University of Cape Town in collaboration with the University of Bristol. This annual conference brings together university leaders from around the world to discuss important issues.
This year, much of the agenda focused on the new geopolitical world order and how universities around the world are responding to its implications. Topics of discussion included the emergence of AI, the associated threats and opportunities, and academic freedom and institutional autonomy in an increasingly fragmented and polarised political environment, where universities can no longer take trust and confidence for granted as the basis for their engagement with society. Clearly, universities across the globe face many similar challenges, even if the consequences for individual institutions differ.
On the final day of the conference, the host for next year’s THE World Academic Summit was announced: KTH. Hosting this major global conference will be one of several events marking KTH’s 200th anniversary, and I am looking forward to welcoming colleagues from all over the world to Stockholm in October 2027.
