PROFESSOR Sir Hilary Beckles, vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies (The UWI), has hailed as “historic and emotional” the signing of a memorandum of understanding between The UWI and North-West University of South Africa.

Referencing the Caribbean’s close bond with South Africa including “when we were in the trenches with you in the fight against apartheid”, Sir Hilary also pointed to similarities between the two universities — The UWI serving across five campuses and North-West, three. He also noted similarities in the student demographic and commitment to quality delivery and formal global institutional accreditation. The UWI has over 50,000 students and North-West 68,000.

The MOU established a framework within which co-operation may develop between the two institutions and include activities such as exchanges of students and academic staff, capacity building at both universities, collaboration on joint research and publications, seminars, conferences, public lectures and the development and delivery of courses.

Professor Mzubanzi Bismark Tyobeka, principal and vice-chancellor, North-West University, said that his university was “proud to be associated with The UWI which shared similar aspirations to be a world-class university with significant global ranking”.

North-West University was formed in 2004 with the merger of the historically black universities North-West and the Sebokeng Campus, and the historically white Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education. Its formation in the post-Apartheid South Africa is seen as “a strong symbolic act of reconciliation and nation-building”.