The first ever Student Summit!
During the Student Summit Student 2019 housing and mental health were brought up as common challenges in Sweden and South Africa. From a student perspective we highlighted that the universities need to recognize and work with the shared challenges that exist for students globally in higher education, including but not limited to mental health and student accommodation. The topic of decolonization of education was also discussed and besides having a very interesting discussion about identity and heritage, this topic was also linked to a discussion about internationalisation and the importance of having global and local content in the curriculum. We agreed to meet again during the next conference.

The original plan was to meet in Uppsala in May 2020, and the student engagement had been strong. We had managed to find funding for a delegation of South African students to travel and participate in the Student Summit in person. Unfortunately, the pandemic made this impossible and the conference was postponed to the fall semester. It ended up being a Digital Summit, but the student participation was strong anyway. We discussed how our education had been impacted by the pandemic, and how it affects student's mental health in the two countries. We also discussed the SASUF 2030 Action Plan and agreed on our recommendations. We agreed that we must focus on today’s – and tomorrow’s challenges. Focus on how we can find common solutions together. To create sustainable, thriving, and equal societies now, as well as in the future, the inclusion of the younger generation and the students is essential. The SASUF Student Network is a great example of this, and we hope that the universities will make sure to facilitate and support the exchange of student leadership.

Student representatives from 27 partner universities met in Cape Town.

Will be held in Sweden in 2024.