South Africa’s Stellenbosch University and the UK’s Coventry University have celebrated the tenth anniversary of their partnership and collaboration. The crowning element of this relationship was their joint degree programme, which has increased both institutions’ numbers of doctoral researchers.

“This partnership feels different,” affirmed Stellenbosch University Rector and Vice-Chancellor Professor Deresh Ramjugernath. “It’s more than joint PhDs or staff and student mobility. It’s about working together for synergy and mutual benefit. We work so well together because we share a vision for organisational impact on the world.”

“This isn’t just about academic collaboration; many areas of common ground have emerged over the years,” pointed out Coventry University Vice-Chancellor and Group CEO Professor John Latham CBE. “Partnerships offering an international, global experience are something to be proud of. A decade later and we are just as committed to what comes next, driven by a shared willingness to learn from one another, contribute to tackling the challenges of the century and prepare students for a world that is constantly changing.”

One of the early success stories for the partnership was Dr Gestel Kuyler, who was their first joint PhD graduate. She graduated from the Faculty of Science at Stellenbosch University, and went on to be a co-founder and CEO of Nanosene, which was spun out of Stellenbosch University. It produces bespoke polymers for membrane protein research.

“The joint PhD shaped how I think about impact,” she highlighted. “It is something you build into the research from the start. Being able to move between institutions, perspectives and contexts allowed me to develop solutions that are not only scientifically sound but also relevant and usable in the real world.”

Coventry University has evolved into an international educational group. It now had seven sites in England and badged branch campuses in China, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Morocco and Poland, as well as 40 partner higher educational institutions around the world.

“One of the things that we’ve pushed at Coventry, when it comes to outputs, is quality over quantity,” stated Coventry University Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Richard Dashwood. “To do really excellent research – and when you’re trying to address global challenges – you need to bring researchers from diverse backgrounds together with different lived experiences.”