UNIMA STRENGTHENS TIES WITH BATH SPA UNIVERSITY
The University of Malawi is committed to strengthening ties with other universities, as a way of improving its internationalization objective. One of the most recent eorts in this direction was a trip that staff from UNIMA undertook to Bath Spa University in the United Kingdom, from 21st January to 5th February, 2023.
The exchange visit fell under a Erasmus Staff Mobility Programme which aims to bring together colleagues from the two universities to learn from each other and also collaborate on some projects. UNIMA will host colleagues from Bath Spa in April this year. It was a step in a project that started in 2019, when the late Prof. Richard Tambulasi, then Principal of Chancellor College, tasked the Dean of Research to develop a proposal in conjunction with Prof. Ian Gadd of Bath Spa.
The delegation included the Vice Chancellor, Professor Samson Sajidu, Prof. Cosmo Ngongondo (Dean of School of Natural and Applied Sciences) Dr. Emmanuel Ngwira (Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences), Mr Francis Machado (Assistant Registrar - Administration), Mrs Mandere (Secretary), Dr. Asante Mtenje (Department of Literary Studies), Dr. Jonas Mwatseteza (Director of Student Aairs) and Dr. Mangani Katundu (former Dean of Research).
Dr. Asante Mtenje from the Literary Studies Department observed that it had been a successful trip. “The trip was a wonderful learning experience for me as an academic in terms of thinking of new ways to engage with students when teaching but also in thinking of possible research endeavors and collaborations with staff at Bath Spa especially in designing new programmes which will be beneficial to University of Malawi”, she said.
During the trip, the delegates held a number of meetings with their counterparts at Bath Spa. They all agree that the trip has been fruitful, and will yield collaborations among academia, administrative staff and in relation to student welfare. There is a possibility for the development of joint programmes as well as postgraduate supervision. Another area where the two institutions may work together is that of student exchange.
