From left: Prof. Ashton Shortridge, a professor in the Department of Geography, Environment and Spatial Science and Director of Social Science Data Analytics:  Michigan State University; Dr Dee Jordan, a Health Geographer, Instructor and Faculty Fellow in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine: Harvard Medical School; and Prof. Mogomme Masoga, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Teaching and Learning: CUT.

The Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT), has taken a step towards exploring opportunities for academic collaboration through a high-level engagement with scholars from Harvard Medical School and Michigan State University in the United States of America.

Facilitated through the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning, the engagement included Dr. Dee Jordan, a Health Geographer, Instructor and Faculty Fellow in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Prof. Ashton Shortridge, a Professor in the Department of Geography, Environment and Spatial Science and Director of Social Science Data Analytics at Michigan State University specialising in geospatial science and computational modelling. Both scholars are currently facilitating a workshop on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing in the QwaQwa area.

Discussions focused on potential collaboration in research, teaching and learning, and knowledge exchange, with particular emphasis on leveraging complementary expertise to address societal challenges and improve the lives of communities.

The engagement provided an opportunity to explore potential areas of mutual academic interest, including research, innovation, and knowledge exchange, while identifying opportunities that could benefit staff and students at CUT.