A group of visitors being shown around the Jubilee Building

On 29 October, it was an honour to welcome South African colleagues to our campus as part of their UK engagement programme focused on developing research and training partnerships for the South African Presidential PhD Programme: a national initiative to create the next generation of South African researchers to work on themes that are vital to South Africa's future development. The programme will focus on: AI & Machine Learning, Advanced Biotechnology, The Just Energy Transition, the Water-Food-Health Sustainability Nexus, and Mining Transformation.

Following visits to the Sussex Genome Centre, the Chichester Future Technologies Lab and SPRU, it became clear that these priority areas align strongly with University of Sussex’s research strengths in AI, Sustainability, Health, Science Policy, Innovation & Technology for social good. Sussex was also highlighted as an example of a UK university that has established meaningful partnerships with South African institutions, particularly with Nelson Mandela University (NMU), through collaborative research, staff exchange, and capacity-building initiatives. 

During their visit the delegation also met our Vice Chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil who said: “Our growing collaborations with South African institutions reflect the spirit of the Sussex 2035 strategy, building equitable partnerships that strengthen research capacity and create shared opportunities for innovation. Through collaborative research, we aim to generate impactful knowledge that addresses societal needs and contributes to tackling the grand challenges facing both the UK and South Africa. These partnerships not only enrich our global engagement but also strengthen Sussex as a university committed to inclusion, sustainability and meaningful global impact.”

Thank you to the delegation for sharing your knowledge, insights and time with Sussex: Dr Thandi Mgwebi; Dr Nokuthula Mchunu, Refilwe Mashigo from The National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF); Kagiso Masete and Kaizer Moroka from the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation; Loice Alusala and Alex Crook from the British High Commission in Pretoria; and Fran Davies from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Sussex looks forward to working with our South African counterparts to help produce a new generation of PhD graduates equipped to tackle South Africa’s most pressing social and economic challenges.