Stellenbosch University, one of the premier research universities in South Africa, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the oldest technological research university in the United States, are teaming up to expand science and engineering capacity and to encourage young people to focus their energies on addressing the great global challenges of our time. The agreement was formalized at a signing ceremony today in Stellenbosch. 

Professor Russel Botman, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University (SU), describes the agreement as a significant step in the University’s efforts in affirming its status as a leading institution of higher education in Africa. “Finding itself in a rapidly changing world with new and higher demands that are being made on tertiary institutions, Stellenbosch University not only wants to extend its leadership position, but realizes that it needs to progress from success to significance. The agreement with Rensselaer, known for preeminence in research conducted in an array of fields, will be hugely beneficial to the endeavors of the University. It will also pave the way for meaningful cooperation in science and engineering, the development of collaborative research programs and for an innovative exchange programme that will add tremendous value to our pedagogy of hope.”

“Scientific and technological discovery and innovation are essential to address pressing health, energy, and environmental challenges, but that requires a highly skilled workforce with the multicultural sophistication and intellectual agility to thrive in the global economy,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson.  “Working together, we will generate new opportunities for our students, teachers, and researchers to enhance their skills, expand their reach and impact, and make a positive difference in the lives of others.”

The new partnership will enable:

• Student exchange — Opportunities for students to enroll in programs at the partner university. 
• Joint student projects focused on key development issues — Each year, students from the partnering institutions will be engaged in interdisciplinary teams, assigned to identify and solve problems related to a range of development issues including energy and the environment, transportation, safe water, and infectious and chronic disease control. Initially the students will work from their respective institutions, linked by new technologies. The program will culminate in the short-term exchange of students and faculty from the partnering institutions.
• Summer Research Institute — Rensselaer will host an intensive two-week research session on its campus for science and engineering faculty and administrators. The sessions will include on-campus research seminars, meetings with research groups at Rensselaer, and site visits to major government, academic, and/or business research facilities in the U.S. 

To broaden scientific and engineering capacity beyond the host organizations, the collaborators also will explore innovative teaching methods and the use of technology to increase their reach to a larger community of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educators.

Rensselaer is embarking on a five-year program of cross-cultural collaboration in science and engineering research, education, and development in Africa. The Institute will bring its hallmark experiential learning programs to these universities through these cooperative student projects, student exchanges, and research education initiatives for faculty and administrators. This emerging partnership also will enhance the Rensselaer “REACH” program, a new initiative that ultimately will require all of its students to have an international experience as a requirement for graduation. 

President Jackson secured a gift of $1.25 million from Rensselaer alum Sean O’Sullivan ’85, to provide the initial funding for this new program to assist in building engineering and science capacity through partnerships with key universities in Africa, while promoting cross cultural communication and cooperation. Rensselaer officials are actively seeking additional external financial support to expand the initiative. This endeavor is in keeping with the Rensselaer commitment, under the Clinton Global Initiative, to partner with African institutions for these purposes. 

President Jackson, accompanied by a high-level delegation from Rensselaer, is in South Africa to meet with academic, business, government, and non-governmental organization leaders in Stellenbosch, Cape Town, and Pretoria to discuss scientific and technological collaborations. The Rensselaer delegation includes: Provost Robert Palazzo; V.P. for Information Services and Technology and CIO, John E. Kolb ’79; V.P. for Student Life, Eddie Ade Knowles; Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education; Prabhat Hajela; and Chief of Staff, Laban Coblentz. President Jackson spoke at the University of Stellenbosch graduation ceremony on March 16. Some members of the Rensselaer delegation also will travel to Kumasi, Ghana, where they will visit Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to discuss future collaborations. 

About Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch University is recognized as one of the top research universities in South Africa. It has one of the country’s highest proportions of postgraduate students of which almost ten percent are international students. The University’s main campus lies in the picturesque Jonkershoek Valley in the heart of the Western Cape Winelands. Satellite campuses are situated in Bellville in Cape Town and Saldanha on the West Coast. With roots dating back to 1866, it opened its doors as a University in 1918 and has since grown to an institution with more than 24,000 students, 800 lecturers, and some 50 research and service bodies.

About Rensselaer
Founded in 1824, Rensselaer is the nation’s oldest technological research university. U.S. News & World Report ranks Rensselaer 41st among the nation’s top universities. The university, which has undergone an extraordinary transformation during the last decade, offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences, information technology, architecture, management, and the humanities, arts, and social sciences. Institute programs serve undergraduates, graduate students, and working professionals around the world. Rensselaer faculty are known for pre-eminence in research conducted in a wide range of fields, with particular emphasis in interdisciplinary research in the areas of  biotechnology, energy and the environment, nanotechnology, computation and information technology, and media and the arts. The Institute is noted for its success transferring technology from the laboratory to the marketplace so that new discoveries and inventions benefit human life, protect the environment, and strengthen economic development.