Collaboration and Partnerships
Collaborations with national and international partners such as the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, the National Road Safety Observatory, Lacuna Fund/Meridian Institute, the Ministry of National Infrastructure and Community Development, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in terms of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Research Collaborative Agreements (RCAs), have facilitated knowledge exchange and expanded research horizons, positioning the University of Mauritius as a hub for research excellence.
There has been increased collaboration with major stakeholders and the industry for capacity building of our staff. Some of the activities (including training workshops, held over the past two years have been listed below:
• The University of Mauritius hosted a two-day Workshop for Heads and Managers of ARUA (African Research Universities Alliance) Centres of Excellence on 23 and 24 February 2023 at the Paul Octave Wiehe Auditorium. With representation from all thirteen (13) ARUA Centres of Excellence, the Workshop provided a platform for discussing sustainability issues and fostering collaboration among participants. Through various presentations, the Centres had the opportunity to assess their future plans, discuss ARUA’s pilot collaborative PhD programmes, and strategise on strengthening research and capacity-building collaborations within the Alliance. Additionally, topics such as identifying new focus areas for establishing more Centres of Excellence and the proposed Cluster of Excellence with The Guild were addressed. The Workshop received sponsorship from The Carnegie Corporation of New York.
• The University of Mauritius hosted a ‘Capacity Building Workshop on SDG Mainstreaming, System Thinking and Its Impact on Decision Making and Institutional Reform to advance the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ from 23 to 24 February 2023. The event was organised by the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in collaboration with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) on the transformation potential of the Sustainable Development Goals, supported through the use of system thinking. It included sharing and presentation of qualitative and quantitative approaches based on Systems Thinking to connect research with policy and strengthen coherent, integrated, prioritised and inclusive policy planning in support of the Government of Mauritius.
• A Training Workshop on ‘New Pedagogies and Outcomes-based Learning’, conducted by Mr Hamid Guenaoui, was held at the University of Mauritius from Monday 03 July to Thursday 06 July 2023.
• The University of Mauritius hosted the ‘Half-Day Research Capacity Building Workshop’, which was organised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) on Wednesday 18 October 2023. Ms Alexis Carr from Simon Fraser University and Mrs Jeanne Gallagher from Universities Canada were the resource persons for the Workshop.
• The University of Mauritius, in collaboration with the Southern African Social Protection Experts Network (SASPEN) and the Ministry of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity, hosted the 10th International Annual SASPEN Conference from 24 to 26 October 2023 in Mauritius. The theme of the Conference was ‘A Decade of Social Protection with SASPEN: Taking Stock to inform Social Protection Systems’ Strengthening in the SADC’.