The Imperatives of Academic Collaboration in Africa, Asia and Latin America

Abstract

A multitude of intentions drives institutions to engage in academic collaborations, mainly dictated by necessity. The imperatives of academic collaboration are many and varied and include generating resources, developing academic capacity, exchanging experiences, and enhancing the institutional profile. Institutions also engage in collaboration to pursue mega initiatives (such as human genome projects) and tackle major global challenges (like climate change and diseases such as COVID-19). Such endeavours mainly take place within the framework of North-North and, to certain extent, North-South collaboration. South-South collaboration has been less evident, although this trend appears to be changing steadily with growing interest, focus and drive in these regions. For decades, academic collaboration has been touted as a positive force in knowledge creation and capacity building, particularly in the South. However, this conception has largely been framed in the context and perspective of the North. Given growing calls for a shift from traditional North-South collaborations, this article explores the imperatives of academic collaboration in the context of South-South partnerships and examines the critical factors that shape such collaboration in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It explores the intention, nature, scope and modalities of academic collaborations in the context of academic exchange, joint research/projects, joint programmes, capacity building and other relevant engagements on these continents in the post-COVID-19 era.

Internationalisation of Higher Education Institutions in Mozambique: Exploring the Rationales, Strategies and Challenges

“…Second, at the individual level, administrators, academics and students encounter positive academic, cultural and economic outcomes. With reference to research collaboration with developed countries, Teferra (2009) views the strategy as extremely important for the revitalisation of the African knowledge system, which has been marginalised globally. Hence, as argued by Kovach (2009), the call for a decolonising lens suggests a solution to the internationalisation strategies of Mozambican universities to create space in research and academia for indigenous perspectives without being neglected, shunted aside, mocked or dismissed.…”

“…In this regard, Teferra (2009) advises that when embarking on internationalisation, it is paramount to bear in mind that some partnerships are not fair. He describes them as donor-driven, unsustainable and inappropriate because some donor partners set and shift research while ignoring the local needs.…”

“…Sometimes donors themselves do not have an overall view of the support provided by their own organisation because of the numerous independent protocols between institutions in Mozambique and universities or institutions abroad. Teferra (2009) suggests that the world should embrace a new global contract that comprises equality, fairness and meaningful research and academic cooperation.…”

Brazilian regions and international scientific collaboration

“…South-South collaboration (SSC) is important because it can help to address common challenges faced by countries in the global South, such as poverty, inequality, and health disparities. By sharing resources, expertise, and knowledge, researchers and scholars from different countries in the global South can collaborate to develop innovative solutions to these challenges (Teferra, Sirat and Beneitone, 2022). International collaboration can take many forms, including formal partnerships between institutions, joint research projects, and collaborations between individual researchers or research teams.…”