DUT is one of 10 international partners on the EU-funded Capacity Building in Higher (CBHE) Education iKudu Project. The project’s purpose is to develop a contextualised concept of Internationalisation of the Curriculum (IoC) together with Cooperative Online International Learning (COIL) virtual exchanges, in South Africa. This will allow the SA ‘partner universities to become the country’s leading HEIs in IoC, curriculum transformation and COIL virtual exchanges’. This project is coordinated by the University of the Free State and the University of Antwerp.

Five of the 10 institutions are South African. The University of the Free State (UFS), Central University of Technology (CUT), Durban University of Technology (DUT), University of Limpopo (UL) and University of Venda (UNIVEN) are all active participants of the ongoing IKUDU project. The European partners include; the University of Antwerp, Belgium (co-coordinator), the University of Siena, Italy, Coventry University, UK, the Hague University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands and Amsterdam University of Applied Science, the Netherlands.

For more information, please visit: https://www.ufs.ac.za/ikudu/about-ikudu/introduction

In 2020, DUT won a bid to consult for the Association of Commonwealth Universities on a number of International Virtual Engagement Projects. This included the development and evaluation of their annual Summer School programme.

In addition, an outcome of the consultancy is the DUT – ACU Joint toolkit on International Virtual Engagement for International Student Exchange. The toolkit aims to provide:

• An introductory resource for different approaches to international virtual engagement
• Support for developing virtual engagement with a pedagogical focus, agreed learning outcomes, appropriate student assessment and structured evaluation of the activity for future improvement
• Support for enabling the interaction of students in different geophysical locations across the globe, remaining sensitive to culture and context
• Practical tips, tools and resources for implementation, drawing on examples from DUT and ACU practice.

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This toolkit has been made available to all ACU member institutions in the commonwealth. Through the engagement of this toolkit, the DUT ethos that promotes Internationalisation of the curriculum, Decolonisation of the curriculum and diversity within the classroom, has been taken to the global stage. 

DUT academic staff should please contact us should they require access to the toolkit.

This project, which is funded through the Erasmus + Programme for Capacity-building in the field of Higher Education follows-on from the successful implementation of the PEESA I & PEESA II projects.

The intercontinental project includes partners from eight universities:

• Wismar University of Applied Sciences, Wismar Germany
• Flensburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany
• University of Szczecin, Poland
• Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania
• Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), Cape Town, South Africa
  Durban University of Technology (DUT), Durban South Africa
• Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Pretoria, South Africa
• Vaal University of Technology (VUT), Vanderbijlpark, South Africa
• The German Accreditation Agency for Study Programmes in Engineering, Informatics, Natural Sciences and Mathematics (ASIIN) is also an active partner in the project.

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The project is jointly coordinated by a Project Board that comprises representatives from each partner university.

The goals of the project are to:

• Jointly develop Masters Level Degrees in engineering study programmes based on flexible learning paths (blended, distance, on-line) and university-enterprise cooperation
• Promote mutual recognition of the jointly developed Masters Degrees based on flexible learning paths (blended, distance, on-line) and university-enterprise co-operation
• Prepare self-evaluation reports for EUR-ACE Accreditation of the Masters Degrees
• Promote gender equality in engineering education in South Africa
• Renew or establish new cooperation agreements between partner institutions

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PEESA III commenced in 2017 and was due to be completed at the end of 2020.  The impact of the COVID 19 pandemic resulted in an extension of the project until the end of October 2021 when all project activities will cease.  Each partner university will be responsible for ensuring the sustainability of the project goals and outcomes beyond the closing date.

Each of the partner universities has hosted a meeting of the PEESA III team members:

• 15 -18 November 2017 at TUT
• 22 -25 January 2018 at CPUT
• 18 -21 June 2018 at Flensburg University of Applied Sciences
• 15 – 19 October 2018 at University of Szczecin
• 22 – 25 January 2019 at DUT
• 15 – 20 October 2019 at Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu
• 21 – 24 January 2020 at VUT

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The final two project meetings will be held:

• 06 – 10 September 2021 at CPUT
• 28 September – 01 October 2021 at Wismar University of Applied Sciences

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The PEESA III Team members at DUT are:

• Dr Lavern Samuels, Director International Education & Partnerships
• Ms Lesley Anne Cooke, Specialist International Education & Partnerships
• Prof Sudesh Rathilal, Associate Professor Chemical Engineering
• Dr Serendra Reddy, Head of Department Electronic and Computer Engineering
• Dr Zakheeya Armoed, Lecturer Construction Management
• Ms Hester Jackson, Lecturer Industrial Engineering
• Mr Bruce Graham, Lecturer Mechanical Engineering
• Mr Goolam Hoosen, Senior Lecturer Civil Engineering

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Past team members include

• Prof Theophilus Andrew (past Executive Dean Engineering & the Built Environment)
• Dr Suresh Ramsuroop, senior Lecturer Chemical Engineering
• Ms Elke Hefer, Lecturer, Head of Department Construction Management & Quantity Surveying

For more information on this project, please visit: http://peesa.usz.edu.pl

In 2020, Flensburg University of Applied Science (FUAS) initiated the International Virtual Campus for Open learning, a consortium aimed at promoting and enhancing sustainable international engagement during and post the COVID-19 global pandemic. At inception, the Durban University of Technology (DUT) was approached to be a lead partner in this initiative. Other institutions included in the consortium are as follows:

• University of the West Indies
• Politecnica Santa Rosa Jauregui
• South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Science
• Southern Institute of Technology
• Namibia University of Science and Technology
• North West University

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The primary goals for this initiative included maintaining international exchange during the global pandemic and creating momentum for new approaches to internationalisation

To date, DUT has led the marketing and branding activities of the project, resulting in the creation of a joint logo for the consortium. In addition, DUT has designed five virtual seminar series offered to all students of the consortium and successfully running the series, the Basics of Geopolitics” in 2020.

Other virtual seminar series that are on offer to students are the following:

• Improving Organisational Performance
• IsiZulu Language and Culture
• Insights in Understanding Undergraduate Research Writing
• Fundamentals of Design Thinking