In a significant stride toward advancing intra-African academic partnerships, Dr Stellah Lubinga and Prof Tyanai Masiya of the University of Pretoria’s School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) recently undertook a staff mobility visit to the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, under the auspices of the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR). The initiative reflects PASGR’s commitment to strengthening the research capacity of African universities by promoting professional development, cross-institutional collaboration and the co-production of policy-relevant knowledge.

Held from 29 September to 3 October 2025, the visit enabled the delegation to engage extensively with the Department of Political Science at the University of Ibadan, chaired by Prof Emmanuel Remi Aiyede, the Acting Head of Department and an extraordinary professor at SPMA. Discussions centred on the potential for collaborative research on local government performance, digitalisation and service delivery across West and Southern Africa – critical themes within the continent’s governance and development agenda.

A highlight of the engagement was a joint postgraduate seminar for master’s and PhD students, chaired by Dr S Lafenwa. Dr Lubinga delivered a thought-provoking presentation titled “Teaching public administration in the digital era: Ensuring responsible AI in scholarship and publication”, which explored the ethical integration of artificial intelligence in academic practice. Prof Masiya complemented this with his session on “Publishing from doctoral theses and master’s dissertations”, offering practical guidance on transforming research outputs into high-impact publications. The sessions sparked vibrant discussions among students and faculty on the future of African scholarship in the digital age.

Beyond academic exchange, the visit provided a platform to strengthen institutional collaboration between the University of Pretoria and the University of Ibadan. The two teams agreed to co-author scholarly articles and book chapters addressing governance and local government challenges and to jointly develop grant proposals targeting inter-regional research funding opportunities. These initiatives aim to advance evidence-based policymaking and comparative governance studies within African contexts.

By deepening partnerships between two of Africa’s leading public administration institutions, this PASGR-funded mobility programme underscores the transformative value of Pan-African collaboration in addressing governance challenges, fostering innovation in teaching and research and nurturing the next generation of scholars in social policy and public administration.

From left: Prof Tyanai Masiya, Dr Amarachi Kalu-Izuchukwu – A DDP programme graduate, Prof
Emmanuel Remi Aiyede and Dr Stellah Lubinga