University of Pretoria (UP) Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Tawana Kupe had a highly successful visit to a number of leading universities in the United Kingdom earlier in July. He visited the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Westminster and Leeds.

Prof Kupe and his counterpart at the University of Leeds, Sir Alan Langlands, agreed to a long-term partnership between the two institutions.

The first tangible output will include a collaborative research excellence proposal involving UP, the University of Leeds and the Food Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) to be submitted to UK Research and Innovation-Global Challenges Research Fund (UKRI-GCRF). It addresses “Food systems research to strengthen policy for achieving development targets in sub-Saharan Africa”.

The two leaders further agreed to explore additional synergies and opportunities for collaboration, including the establishment of a joint Doctoral Training Centre.