TUT’s IFOW engages Midlands Universities to explore global partnerships

The Institute for the Future of Work (IFOW) at Tshwane University of Technology hosted a delegation of university representatives throughout the Midlands during the week 24th to 29th April 2023. Coventry, Wolverhampton, Aston and Birmingham universities were visited during the 4-day intensive programme sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). 

TUT’s IFOW engages Midlands Universities to explore global partnerships

During the visit, we met with some of our region’s most distinguished academics on a range of subjects, including cyber and artificial intelligence, engineering, and physical science.

International Education is one of the most important sectors in the Midlands. This region was chosen for its excellent international education offering and its universities’ strong track records of regional, national and global collaborations on topics such as research, innovation, tailored skills provision, and training.

TUT delegates explored ways of partnering with universities and research institutions on specific areas such as benchmarking, research, and innovation through this engagement program. In order to bridge the gap between industry and academia, the university seeks to establish a global framework, the Institute of Future Work. By partnering with the industry, they expect to gain a better understanding of their needs and align their strategies accordingly.

Initially, the programme generated engagement opportunities with Midlands Universities with whom the University hasn’t previously worked.  Long-term, MOU agreements are predicted to be made for research and student exchange programs, resulting in commercial success.

The University of Wolverhampton’s Global Opportunities Office hosted a delegation from the Tshwane University of Technology, according to Yusuff Kaffo, Associate Director International Recruitment (Global Opportunities). Our two organizations hope to foster international collaboration and global knowledge exchange through the ongoing discussion and thereby bring new perspectives, insights, and innovations to our communities.”

“The visit to the Midlands universities was eye-opening, especially in terms of how academia and industry are working together to overcome the challenges posed by the 4th Industrial Revolution,” said Tseliso Mohlomi, Senior Director of TUT’s Institute for the Future of Work. We plan to leverage the different industry partnerships to support TUT’s vision of producing future-ready graduates through the engagements in high-impact research, staff and student exchanges, and industry partnerships.

We are delighted to have hosted a delegation from Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in the West Midlands to showcase what our universities can offer international markets.