Marine science, education, and staff and student exchange are among the key areas of cooperation between the Nelson Mandela University and the University of Oldenburg. At this year's board meeting in Gqeberha, the partners took the opportunity to review existing collaborations and envisage future paths.
The delegation from Oldenburg, led by university president Prof. Dr Ralph Bruder, was warmly welcomed by representatives of the Nelson Mandela University and Nelson Mandela University International Office. Returning to Mandela University feels "like coming home,“ said Bruder on the occasion of the visit, acknowledging over 27 years of close and trusting collaboration. As well as the board meeting, there were visits and talks with researchers from the Energy Research Group, the Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, and the Faculties of Education and Health Sciences.
Moreover, the institutions are strengthening their collaborative ties by involving the NMU in the joint effort towards a University Consortium of Excellence that the University of Oldenburg and the University of Bremen are currently taking. As of 2026, the NMU will also be associated with the Cluster of Excellence Ocean Floor (MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Institut für Chemie und Biologie des Meeres (ICBM), HIFMB), which will be jointly run by Oldenburg and Bremen.
In 2023, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the university partnership, the Mandela University and the University of Oldenburg adopted a new roadmap for future cooperation. In addition to the already established areas of cooperation, such as teaching and continuing education, sustainability research, and marine research, the partners have expanded their cooperation in the humanities and social sciences, in medicine and health sciences, as well as in the field of renewable energies. The roadmap focuses on eight thematic areas and takes knowledge transfer and the promotion of early career researchers into account.
During their trip to South Africa, the delegation from Oldenburg also visited the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, the Stellenbosch University, and the University of Cape Town to strengthen existing partnerships and explore new areas of cooperation. One example of a long-standing and successful cooperation between the University and the University of Witwatersrand, amongst others, is the African-European-Asian Erasmus Mundus study programme European Master in Migration and Intercultural Relations, which has been running since 2011.
