MANCOSA has extended its educational footprint to yet another global player by entering a partnership with GITAM (Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management) in Vishakhapatnam, India this April (2015).
This new development follows a four-day fact finding visit to India by MANCOSA and Regent delegates who visited educational institutions in the cities of Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad.
The Memorandum of Collaboration reached between MANCOSA, Regent and GITAM will facilitate academic and student exchange initiatives and explore research collaborations.
Ms Guillermina Ritacco, Research Manager at MANCOSA said it was important for MANCOSA, a higher education institution and BRICS nation (South Africa), to establish ties with other institutions that share contextual similarities.
“India has many important lessons we could learn from, not only as a higher education institution but as a country more broadly. The level of innovation and entrepreneurship in India is truly inspiring. In addition, the emphasis and execution of the education system in India is definitely something to look up to. The partnerships established with foreign institutions will allow us to diversify the exposure of our students not only to other countries and cultures but also to other business contexts, further strengthening the learning experience for them,” said Ms Ritacco.
Ms Ritacco gained a positive impression of education in India while meeting different higher education stakeholders. She said much emphasis was placed on bridging the gap between academia and praxis, adding that academics engaged continuously with industry to ensure teaching and learning practices remain relevant and are value-adding to students.
She added that higher education institutions in India place great emphasis on internationalisation of the education experience which proves valuable to both students and academic staff.