SASUF Student Network Summit 2025
The SASUF Student Network - A Platform for Growth
SASUF continues to grow, and the SASUF Student Network remains as active and vibrant as ever! Throughout two days, 19th - 20th of March 2025, workshops generated fruitful discussions around contemporary topics and the forthcoming journey of the student network in the next phase of SASUF. The SASUF Student Network Summit 2025 was held at two sites in South Africa, being University of Zululand and Durban University of Technology, and at one site in Sweden, at Uppsala University. On the first day, students connected locally with fellow members in the respective country, and worked together on joint workshop agendas. On the second day students connected virtually cross-border, and discussed takeaways of the agendas from the first day.
During the summit, the Student Network had the honor of welcoming two distinguished guest speakers. H.E. Ambassador Håkan Juholt, Sweden’s Ambassador to South Africa, shared his insights on Swedish-South African relations and the challenges of upholding democratic values in an era of rising authoritarianism. Mr. Sven Botha, a lecturer in Political Science at the University of Pretoria, highlighted the vital role of students in shaping a changing world, drawing on his expertise in Africa-Nordic relations, diplomacy, and internationalization in higher education. Both speakers underscored the significance of knowledge diplomacy in turbulent times, highlighting global cooperation as essential for strengthening international relations.
The Summit in South Africa
The summit in South Africa brought together a vast collective, with participants from the SASUF Student Network’s student representatives and students from the SASUF student structures, all shining with their presence on the summit. Discussions were held on how to ingrain, sustain, and further develop knowledge within the student network, an essential element for ensuring progress. The workshop agenda of communication and outreach strategies provided the network with thought-provoking ideas on how to disseminate news and information more efficiently. Furthermore, team-building activities were held, which gave the participants a chance to strengthen ties and collaboration between them. A coordinated effort in hosting the summit at two SASUF partner universities, enabled the South African side of the network to experience two different settings.
Participants on the South African side the first day of the summit, at University of Zululand.
The Summit in Sweden
In Sweden, a majority of new faces in the student network met for the first time in-person. While the students worked eagerly on the topics addressed in the workshops, the summit also highlighted the future opportunities within the network, as well as framing the network’s aim and purpose. Talks about how the gap between researcher’s and students can be bridged was a hot topic. Moreover, relatively newly assigned student representatives coming together, the encouragement to create sustainable network was widely discussed and initiated ideas of how responsibility can be distributed. The summit allowed the Swedish student representatives to establish greater connection with one another and encouraged new initiatives along with cooperative efforts. Thereby, the students discovered joint understanding on how to move forward.
Student Representatives on the Swedish side at the final day of the summit, at Uppsala University.
Takeaways from the Summit
In the pipeline of the summit, new initiatives as well as prolonged actions will be created by the SASUF Student Network. For instance, a data-base of research areas within the SASUF Student Network will be created, as a measure to bridge the gap between students and researchers. Moreover, the insights gathered at the summit will be further developed and ultimately translated into action. Furthermore, the public coffee break-session, lectures with linkages to the Sustainable Development Goals created by the United Nations, will continue to be held, orchestrated by the student representatives of the SASUF Student Network. Here, you can find more information and details of the upcoming coffee break-sessions.
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