Internationalisation

First European‑African CIVIS Forum: collaborating to tackle global challenges

In 2026, three UoG staff presented at the First European-African CIVIS forum for research and education hosted at the Université Hassan II de Casablanca (UH2C). The pioneering event brought together universities, researchers, partners and professional staff from across two continents, to address shared challenges and formulate joint, equitable solutions.

Over three days, discussions covered key societal challenges such as climate resilience, public health, migration, digital transformation. There was a renewed focus on the structures needed to further deepen transnational academic collaboration and ideas on how to sustain it in the long‑term by establishing a robust ecosystem with local partners and communities.

African–European teaching innovations

Fully engaging with today’s digital transformation will be critical to the partners shared success. Professor Bridgette Wessels, University of Glasgow, contributed to a panel on 'Exploring opportunities and challenges of AI in research and teaching in Europe-Africa Alliance'. The discussion provided a nuanced perspective on how AI could be integrated responsibly to strengthen cross-continental research and education partnerships.

Speakers highlighted ongoing challenges, including unequal access to AI technologies, ethical considerations, and disparities in digital infrastructure across regions. Professor Wessels focused on AI in teaching and learning, including active learning approaches, challenges in engaging with literature, and the potential for AI to support decolonising the curriculum within an integrated higher education framework. 

“This was a unique opportunity reflect jointly as the two institutions on the experiences of developing and delivering the micro-programmes, and the importance of north-south collaborations in delivering teaching that reflects on the many problems, challenges and opportunities of the digital society. CIVIS takes such collaborations very seriously, which is inspiring.” 

The partners’ shared commitment to digital transformation also extends into innovative models of African‑European teaching collaboration and instructional design. UoG’s Professor Bridgette Wessels and Professor Jane Duncan collaborated with Dr Dinesh Balliah from the University of the Witwatersrand to present a Tandem Talk on 'African-European teaching collaboration and instructional design'. Taking as a case study their experiences of co-delivering research and journalism-led teaching as part of a new CIVIS micro-programme, the talk explored how students can be empowered to develop critical knowledge and practical skills to become interactional experts in research for an equitable and just digital society. 

Toward equitable and transformative science partnerships

International Research Development Manager Mary Ryan was invited to join the plenary panel discussion 'Toward equitable and transformative science partnerships: Which role for CIVIS?'. The discussion highlighted the convening role for CIVIS and the importance of equity as a pre-cursor to transformation. Inputs from the audience underlined how valuable CIVIS has become as a forum for meeting across both disciplinary and geographical boundaries. Reflecting on the discussion, Mary stressed “...the opportunity that CIVIS has now to set an example for implementing the Africa Charter across the entire network and to shape the future of equitable partnership between Africa and Europe.” 

Mary and Dr Zawadi Mageni Mboma from the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) in Tanzania used the CIVIS forum to showcase a longstanding collaboration between UofG and IHI in the Tandem talk: Equity and Inclusion in African–European Knowledge Partnerships. The talk addressed the, often messy, practicalities of equitable partnership, leading to enhanced connectivity and a shared portfolio of impactful research. Mary and Dr Mageni Mboma presented examples that showed how institutions can work together to overcome the practical barriers to equitable partnership.

Often it is the administrative and structural challenges that create problems for partnerships that are strong in their equitable approach to developing the research concept and project plan. By ensuring professional services colleagues are engaged and connected to resolve these issues, institutional partnerships become stronger and researchers can work more effectively together.

Re-affirming a common vision

The forum was also an opportunity for 17 research-intensive universities across the European and African continents to re-affirm their common vision for CIVIS to develop an educational portfolio that is research-driven and focused on delivering innovative solutions to societal issues, through equitable collaboration, and support for a lifelong learning approach acquiring new skills. This vision aligns well with broader frameworks such as the African Union-European Union Joint Vision for 2030 and the AU-EU Innovation Agenda, both of which underscore the importance of equitable, science-based cooperation between the continents.

The first CIVIS African-European Forum was a success. CIVIS partners and colleagues engaged in rich discussions that sparked ideas, launched new collaborations and strengthened the links between all institutions. The Forum confirmed that the CIVIS Alliance is a living laboratory, an experimental and collaborative space for our diverse communities to weave ever tighter mutually-beneficial networks across continents.

* Final image credit to Esther Malice, CIVIS Comms Unit