Dr. Valindawo Dwayi, Senior Director: Centre for Global Engagement (CGE) committed to strengthening the CUT’s global engagement strategy, drive innovation in global education, and enhance the university’s footprint on the world stage.

Internationalisation has become a tune in higher education institutions, and universities worldwide are encouraged to incorporate various internationalisation methods within their scope to reap the benefits of global interconnectedness.

CUT remains connected with the rest of the world in terms of knowledge creation, production, and dissemination, and it has since made great strides with several international partners as part of its internationalisation strategy, which is intended to expose students and academic staff to the globalised world.

Dr Dwayi cited that for CUT, internationalisation is not just an idea to aspire to but a call to action for all major actors in knowledge advancement. This call to action is a responsibility that each member of the university community must embrace, as internationalisation provides a space to question mainstream ways of thinking and doing in more disruptive and transgressive ways.

He highlighted the importance of the Centre for Global Engagements (CGE) at CUT as a vital knowledge resource for internationalisation. This approach focuses on empowering academics, staff, and students to participate in global initiatives, decision-making, and building partnerships. In practical terms, it involves integrating expertise in teaching and learning, research, and community engagement into the overall strategy for internationalisation.

“In the higher education sector, the internationalisation function is transcending into new trajectories from the old model of international affairs where it has been understood as an administration function, to being a significant element of the academic project,” he said.

“At CGE, we are very particular about local and international partnerships. Through our focus on international academic partnerships (IAPs), we are intentional about transforming CUT to actualise her identity and significance as a university. IAPs constitute the main key success factor in the quality of our academic project. Only when we produce credible knowledge can our university defend its value in the global space.”

“As a result, my team advocates for internationalisation that benefits both academics and students by leveraging powerful theories of change to drive impactful research initiatives and foster collaboration and innovation on the global level. Our approach is to advocate for knowledge as more of the embodied than disembodied selves. Being globally engaged ought to come as second nature to the identity and significance of a typical CUT scholar,” he added.

Dr Dwayi has played a pivotal role in international academic collaborations. He has also served as an advisor for several global projects, including NUFFIC-funded initiatives with Erasmus Rotterdam University and Rijks Groningen Universiteit in the Netherlands, as well as Eduardo Universidade in Mozambique. Just a few months into his role, Dwayi has committed to fostering international academic partnerships and advancing the centre’s vision of global academic engagement. His commitment is to strengthen the CUT’s global engagement strategy, drive innovation in global education, and enhance the university’s footprint on the world stage.