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Matariki Network welcomes new member organisation - University of the Western Cape

10 September 2024
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A group of people from the Matariki Exec Board meeting

The Matariki Network of Universities (MNU) welcomed a new South African member, the University of the Western Cape.

Our Vice-Chancellor and Warden, Professor Karen O’Brien, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global), Professor Claire O’Malley and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Colin Bain recently travelled to Uppsala University in Sweden to a meeting of the Matariki Network of Universities (MNU), of which Durham is a founding member.  

The meeting saw the University of the Western Cape become the eighth member of the Network in a formal signing ceremony on 4 September 2024.  

The Matariki Network of Universities

Founded in 2010, the MNU is an international group of like-minded and research-led universities, who have research, education, and benchmarking and sharing of best practice at their core. In the Network, Durham has partnered with universities from the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and Sweden. In the last two years, researchers at MNU partner universities have co-authored more than 1,000 co-publications and since its inception in 2010, Network members have exchanged over 1,200 students.    

This is the first time the MNU has welcomed a new member since its founding. The Network believes the values and ethos of University of Western Cape fit well within its guiding principles and values and thoroughly looks ahead to future collaborations and exchanges with the new partner. 

Joint initiatives  

As well as welcoming UWC as a new member to Matariki, the Uppsala meeting was an opportunity to reflect on a range of joint initiatives to encourage collaboration between our students, researchers and professional services staff.  

Activities starting again in the new academic year include the second call of the research seed fund, the online Global Citizenship micro-credential, and the Matariki Leadership Programme. Senior leaderships from across the Network also participated in a panel discussion and best practice session focused on the use of AI in the Higher Education sector. 

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