UNIMA strengthens academic partnership with NWU
On 13th October 2026, a delegation from NWU paid a courtesy visit to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Samson Sajidu, at the University Office Boardroom.
The NWU delegation comprised Professor Steve Dunga, Deputy Director of the School of Economic Sciences at NWU’s Vanderbijlpark Campus; Professor André Heymans, Deputy Director of the School of Economic Sciences at NWU’s Potchefstroom Campus; and Dr Lerato Mothibi, Senior Lecturer in the School of Economic Sciences.
The University of Malawi delegation was led by Professor Gowokani Chijere Chirwa, Head of the Department of Economics.
During the meeting, Professor Chirwa briefed the Vice-Chancellor on the existing partnership between the two institutions, highlighting its achievements, ongoing activities and opportunities for future collaboration.
He noted that the partnership had facilitated various academic activities over the years, with NWU representatives visiting annually to review progress and identify further areas of collaboration.
“The collaboration has also expanded beyond individual departments to adopt a university-wide approach, enabling departments such as Economics and Politics and Government to benefit from the same agreement,” he said.
Professor Chirwa also highlighted opportunities for academic benchmarking and curriculum development. He explained that the Department of Economics had shared proposed programme documents with NWU colleagues for review and feedback, with the aim of drawing on their expertise to strengthen the programmes and ensure that they meet international academic standards.
In another significant development, Professor Chirwa was appointed as a professor within a school at NWU. The appointment enables him to contribute to teaching, doctoral supervision, thesis examination and other academic responsibilities.
Professor Dunga described the partnership as highly valuable, noting that it had delivered positive outcomes while providing opportunities for both institutions to learn from one another, strengthen their academic capacity and identify new areas for collaboration.
“As part of its commitment to strengthening postgraduate education, the School of Economic Sciences and the Deputy Dean for Research at North-West University pledged financial support of R150,000 per student for up to 10 students to assist with study-related costs over a period of two to three years,” said Professor Dunga.
In his remarks, Professor Sajidu expressed delight at hosting the NWU delegation, emphasising the importance of strengthening the longstanding relationship between the two institutions and building on the achievements of their existing academic partnership.
He noted that the MoU with NWU was among the University of Malawi’s top three institutional agreements.
“The University of Malawi values its international partnerships, which provide important opportunities for academic exchange, research collaboration and institutional development, Our collaboration with North-West University is particularly significant in advancing postgraduate training at master’s and doctoral levels, staff exchanges, knowledge sharing and joint publications,” he said.
Professor Sajidu concluded by reaffirming the University’s commitment to building on the progress made, exploring new areas of cooperation and strengthening the exchange of expertise and experiences between the two institutions.
