The Project

SAVUSA – SOUTH AFRICA VU STRATEGIC ALLIANCES
Enhancing Postgraduate environments - EPE
Erasmus+ - CBHE – Region 10 – South Africa
Presentation for:
Erasmus+ Conference – Hoe maak jij het verschil?
1 December 2015
PREPARED AND PRESENTED BY COLETTE GERARDS
SAVUSA - SOUTH AFRICA VU STRATEGIC ALLIANCES
CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION (CIS-VU)
VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT AMSTERDAM
Outline of presentation
KA2 – Capacity Building in Higher Education
- Institutional context – Vrije Universiteit – SAVUSA (South Africa – VU – Strategic
Alliances)
- The Project – EPE
- The Project - consortium
- The Project - Why & How
- Relation to KA1 mobility
KA1 - Mobility
- Why?
- How?
Combine, best of both calls (in ideal world)
Conclusion
Context of application
Current Institutional Plan (2015-2020) Vrije Universiteit:
Responsible, Open and Personally Engaged
Diversity
‘Better world’
Profiling themes that are the focus in research and teaching activities:
1. Governance for Society
2. Health and Life Sciences
3. Connected World
4. Science for Sustainability
Focal country policy:
- South Africa (SAVUSA)
- Indonesia (RIVUSA)
.
SAVUSA – SOUTH AFRICA - VU - STRATEGIC ALLIANCES
SAVUSA
• Higher education cooperation programme of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
(VU) with HEIs in South Africa.
• founded in 2003 –
• SAVUSA aims to contribute to the academic climate and the exchange of
knowledge between the VU and HEIs in South Africa.
• Cooperation is based on equal partnership.
• The programme aims to develop or contribute to academic projects with a
strong societal component around relevant themes including student and staff
exchange, joint PhD supervision, joint research etc.
• SAVUSA is embedded in all faculties of the university
SAVUSA – Recent and current academic projects
• NICHE-project: Strengthening Doctoral Supervision
• Desmond Tutu Programme, 100 PhD students from South Africa, funded by
NRF and VU
• Cooperation DHET – VU in Staffing South African Universities Framework
• SKILL project (postgraduate mobility and Pre-PhD training) 2010-2014
• TMT projects in region
• Previous Erasmus Mundus 2 Action projects in South Africa
• Broker role in in Dutch HE education in relation to cooperation in SA is
aspiration – involvement in NESO South Africa.
• Many projects at institutional level with many SA universities
• Joint PhD degree agreements, MoU’s
Relation between these projects was very important for the
conceptualization as well as the decision to apply for a
Erasmus + CBHE Project
The Erasmus+ Project
-
EPE
EPE – Enhancing Postgraduate Environments
Joint Project
AIM:
To enhance institutional postgraduate environments of public universities in
South Africa
OBJECTIVES:
 Development of in-house training capacity in postgraduate supervision training
 Institutionalization of postgraduate supervision training at HEI’S
 Creation of a South African cohort of experts in postgraduate supervision
training
 Contributing to the transformation agenda in HE
The Project - Consortium
Consortium partners
P1 Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam -Applicant Organisation
P2 Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam/ISS – Partner Organisation
P3 Rhodes University – Partner Organisation
P4 University of Fort Hare – Partner Organisation
P5 African Studies Centre Leiden – Partner Organisation
P6 Ruhr Universität Bochum – Partner Organisation
P7 University of the Western Cape – Partner Organisation
P8 Stellenbosch University – Partner Organisation
P9 University of Zululand – Partner Organisation
P10 Boğaziçi University – Partner Organisation
P11 University of KwaZulu Natal – Partner Organization
P12 Centre of African Studies/University of Edinburgh – Partner Organization
P13 HELTASA – Associated Partner
WHY &HOW
WHY not?
• Time constraints, deadlines
• Limited funding for us and SA partners
• Bureaucracy & paperwork in application procedure…
WHY &HOW
WHY – in the end we did apply for the Erasmus Plus Grant in CBHE
- Opportunity to build further a very successful NICHE
project – content and content leads
- Consolidation of network built through number of different projects, with
senior backing/involvement in SA – strategic
- Internal institutional commitment from VU – strategic
- RSA left with little funding from Development budgets because of status as
MIDC – political
- Ending of very successful NICHE Project in 2015 – finance
WHY & HOW
Why & How
 Point of departure was existing project/research
 Meeting with Dutch NICHE Project Partners
• Call
• Aware of KA1 Mobility, requested to write SA section
by IO colleague
• Who will take lead and write
• To apply or not to apply….financially limited

Consulting SA partners
• By chance, partners (very senior partners) in NL for
project meeting
• Yes, apply
• Formulate project framework with SA partners
WHY & HOW
How - Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork
Reading and addressing the Call
MAKE SURE YOU COMPLY!!!!
Compliance at many levels:
 Paperwork
PICs, legal entities, madates, declarations
 Budget – including co-funding
 Consortium, number of partners
 writing vs. cooperation
WHY & HOW
How – Options, choices and more decisions
• Joint vs. Structural Project: Joint
• Horizontal priorities: Focus on
fostering assessment of transversal skills
• Address national/regional priorities
WHY & HOW
How - Writing
Now the choices, hurdles and stumbling blocks are
tackeled
• Writing the content = FUN
• EPE based on existing
concept/research/idea/work in existing
network
KA 1 MOBILITY
Why
- Decision to apply took place
before EPE conceptualization
- Centralized action in our international office
- Timely discussion and division of tasks but
very open process per country
- Limited funds and number (8 in total for
NL/SA) but can make a significant contribution
in reciprocity in the case of South Africa –
VU mobility.
KA1 – Mobility (outside of Europe) – KA107
Why
Because of the limited amount of funding
• Expensive and time consuming to
design a specific call for 2 scholarships
• Win win situation to place/use call for
students/staff in relation to the EPE project
Conclusions
• Consider your options and think strategically
• Content is leading
• Read, read, read the CALL and COMPLY
• Use Erasmus+ as complementary funding
• Combine the different modalities if possible
• Start-up next week in Stellenbosch
• You can definitely make a difference
Thank You