Our Director visits South Africa to build interdisciplinary research collaborations

Our Director Prof Christine Unterhitzenberger recently visited Johannesburg and Pretoria in South Africa to build interdisciplinary research collaboration. The visit was funded by the University of Leeds’ Horizon Institute Global Academy Crucible Programme. Read her reflections on this visit below.

It was my first time in South Africa, so I also took the opportunity to not only engage in meetings and seminars, but also to understand a bit more about the complex – and sometimes remorseless – history of this fascinating country. Visiting the Apartheid Museum and Constitution Hill in Johannesburg was sobering and left me with many impressions to process. However, despite or maybe because of this history, the country has a focus on reconciliation which I found very inspiring.

My visit coincided with a historical election season bringing to the forefront some of the challenges South Africa is facing but also the determination of everyone to make it work. It was certainly an interesting time!

I had the privilege of visiting three different universities during my stay to explore collaboration opportunities and share some of my knowledge through masterclasses and seminars.

First, I visited the University of Johannesburg. I was hosted by Prof Annlizé Marnewick, Head of the Postgraduate School of Engineering Management, and Prof Carl Marnewick, Department of Applied Information Systems, who showed great hospitality – thank you so much. In addition to fruitful research discussions, I also held a masterclass on the topic of Sustainable Project Performance, which was attended by over 50 people.

Second, I visited the University of Pretoria. Again, I am deeply grateful for the warm welcome I received! I met with my fellow Global Academy Crucible partners Dr Tafadzwa Mushonga, Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship, and Dr Thobela Nkukwana, Department of Animal Science, and it was lovely to catch up, very inspiring to discuss our interdisciplinary research ideas and insightful to hear about their experiences of working at a South African university as black women. I also met with Dr Giel Bekker at the Graduate School of Technology Management and we explored our joint interest in supporting senior project professionals and developed promising ideas in this space.

And last but not least, I visited the University of the Witwatersrand. Thanks to the excellent organisation by Dr Kola Akinsomi, I had the opportunity to give a seminar at the School of Construction Management and Economics on the topic of Shaping Projects for Sustainable Futures. It was great to meet so many of the staff and discuss the challenges of incorporating sustainability into projects, specifically in the context of South Africa.

Thank you everyone for making my time in South Africa so rememberable and I look forward to the work we will be doing together based on this visit. I hope to be back soon!