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Glasgow Caledonian University:Working with Africa

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GCU: Working with Africa

“ Together we can make a difference in Scotland and around the world”

Muhammad Yunus, University Chancellor

At Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), we are a dynamic, inclusive and forward-thinking University committed to being globally networked to produce global graduates and citizens and applied research of relevance. Our commitment to the common good at the heart of everything we do. I hope you enjoy this brief review with some examples of our endeavours. The University is strongly committed to working flexibly and in partnership with others to grow human capabilities. We have a long and proud tradition of working in this way with our friends and colleagues in African nations. Working in Africa, one our main areas of working has been building capacity through collaboration with for example , our partnership with The University of Johannesburg, where we are delivering a Bsc in Railway Operations Management by Learning Contract to South Africa’s largest freight rail organisation, Transnet Freight Rail. As we look to progress this relationship further, we will explore how this model can be transferred to enhance capacity across Africa.

We have also played our part in supporting and enhancing the long history of co-operation between Malawi and Scotland. Our Moffat Centre has worked with the Malawi Institute of Tourism to develop a sustainable training facility to provide Malawi’s burgeoning tourism industry with well trained staff. As part of this work, seven members of the Malawi Institute of Tourism undertook an Msc International Tourism Management and the Executive Dean of the Glasgow School for Business and Society, Professor John Wilson, presented the graduates with their awards at a ceremony in October, 2012. In recognition of our work, I was delighted that we were awarded the Academic Excellence – Provider (Higher Education) award at the 2012 African Achievement Awards Scotland.

Many of our students have been involved in projects based in Africa, particularly through our Magnusson Scholarships, including midwifery student Kirsty McAllister who used her scholarship to help educate mothers about pregnancy and childcare in Malawi. As

a University we have also benefited greatly from African students, and their presence has enriched the cultural diversity of our campus, not just in Glasgow, but also in London.

This brochure covers many of the outstanding partnerships and relationships we have with Africa. It represents only a fraction of the potential of what we as an institution can do to work with and learn from the people, and organisations, across Africa. I am greatly excited as I look to the future and think about what we can do together.

Professor Pamela Gillies CBEBSc PGCE MEd MMedSci PhD FRSA FFPH AcSS Hon FRCPS (Glasg)Principal and Vice-Chancellor

Our Principal

Brighter futures begin with GCU 2


“ At Glasgow Caledonian University, we are harnessing our intellectual and social capital to deliver real impact and benefits for the communities, business and students we service in Scotland and beyond”

Professor Pamela Gillies CBE, Principal and Vice-Chancellor

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Global vision

Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) is one of Scotland’s largest and most dynamic universities with around 17,000 students from over 100 countries studying at its state-of-the-art campus in the heart of the lively and cosmopolitan city of Glasgow.

With award-winning student support and professionally focused programmes backing it’s strong international focus, GCU welcomes students from all over the world and equips them with the skills they will need in the global workplace.

GCU’s commitment to pushing global boundaries has seen it establish formal teaching and research partnerships with leading institutions around the world, as

well as being welcomed into the prestigious international Santander Universities network.

GCU’s reputation for educational excellence can be traced back to 1875 and the establishment of it’s founding institutions. Today the University has three Schools which are widely respected academically and by leading UK and global employers.

Each School specialises in a broad subject area: health and life sciences; the technological subjects of engineering, computing and the environment; and business, law and the social sciences. All of our Schools have established reputations for career-focused, innovative programmes, supported by world-leading, impact-focused research.

Brighter futures begin with GCU

“ GCU is an international university delivering access and excellence with a strong commitment to the common good. GCU’s excellent reputation stems not only from its award-winning support for international students at the University, but also from its work with developing global partnerships”

Professor Karen Stanton, Vice Principal and Pro Vice–Chancellor International and External Relations

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Since offering Nelson Mandela an honorary degree on his release, the first university in the world to do so, GCU has forged lasting links with Africa, encompassing research and development work and partnership relationships. In fact, our Health and Life Sciences building was opened by the former president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki. The building was named after his father, Govan Mbeki, a close associate of Mr Nelson Mandela.

An honorary degree has also been awarded to Nobel Laureate Kofi Annan, for his work to address international issues such as HIV/AIDS epidemic, poverty and human rights. Dr Annan, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, has driven forward initiatives to resolve conflicts and promote peace around the world, established the Global AIDS and Health Fund and championed development through the Millennium Health Goals.

The award is the first Dr Annan has accepted from a Scottish university, and only the second he has accepted from a UK university, the other being King’s College, London.

The University also has close links with the South African High Commission, as witnessed by the number of visits made to the University by two previous High Commissioners, Mendi Msimang and Cheryl Carolus, and more recently it welcomed the newly appointed High Commissioner of Malawi, Bernard Sande.

Research CollectionsAs a result of its close links with Africa, the University’s Research Collections houses two significant collections, namely the Anti-Apartheid Movement in Scotland Archive and the George Johannes Collection, both invaluable scholarly resources.

Magnusson awards winnersSeveral of our students have developed inspiring projects in Africa through the University’s Magnus Magnusson Awards. For example, midwifery student Kirsty McAllister used her Magnusson Award to fund a trip to Malawi where she helped to educate mothers about pregnancy and childcare. Silvia Garcia, a PhD student and researcher with Caledonian Environment Centre, used her award to join a team of volunteers in Sierra Leone, evaluating Freetown’s waste management needs and developing an action plan for the city. In addition, Marta Kanabus took part in a volunteer programme in Kenya, dedicated to educating local women and children on how to prevent and protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.


“ Dr Annan is one of the world’s most accomplished thought leaders and practitioners on human rights, peacekeeping, conflict resolution and global poverty alleviation. He is a truly inspirational international figure and a role model for our staff and students. We are delighted that he has accepted this award from our University”


Photo: (Left) Dr Annan receiving his honorary degree; (opposite) Kirsty McAllister, Magnussson Award winner, at the Namikango Maternity Clinic in Malawi




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The University is involved in a number of partnerships across Africa, encouraging capacity building and collaboration.

Transnet Freight Rail Business AcademyGCU is working in partnership with the University of Johannesburg and the Institution of Railway Operators to deliver a BSc in Railway Operations Management by Learning Contract to South Africa’s largest freight rail organisation, Transnet Freight Rail.

Transnet Freight Rail is the largest division of Transnet, with approximately 25,000 employees throughout the country. It is a world class heavy haul freight rail company that specialises in the transportation of freight.

The programme was designed by GCU’s Scottish Centre for Work Based Learning in partnership with the Institution of Railway Operators and has involved over 300 UK participants.

It is now being rolled out in South Africa in partnership with the University of Johannesburg. Through a distance learning model, the programme will be delivered to over 150 Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) staff.

Transnet participants will also become members of the UK Institution of Railway Operators, the organisation of choice for those seeking to develop their career within the rail sector.

Johannes Makhusha, Head of Transnet’s School of Rail, said: “We know that we need to build on our operational competencies and collaborate with local and international service providers to access learning solutions that are world class. We expect our employees to go back and plough what they have learned and we think that this programme journey will change participants’ lives.” The Railway Operations Management programme launch comes at a time of a commitment by the Transnet Group

to invest R300bn over the next seven years in strategic rail and ports infrastructure to support South African economic growth.

UK trade Commissioner to South Africa Andrew Henderson has praised GCU’s model as one of the best UK-SA examples of education and development. The Chief Executive of Scottish Development Anne McColl also reported on GCU’s pioneering approach and innovative work-based learning programmes to the UK Assocation of Business Schools annual conference. The University has also been applauded by Scottish Development International (education and overseas teams) and UK Trade & Investment for its entrepreneurial approach to this opportunity.

For more details of GCU’s work with the Academy, please contact: [email protected]


“ Glasgow Caledonian University is an international university with strong access and international missions. This focused knowledge and capacity building programme is a wonderful illustration of that agenda and an opportunity for us to learn from our South African partners”


Working with partners



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Malawi Institute of TourismThe Malawi Institute of Tourism (MIT) and the Moffat Centre at GCU joined up as key partners to develop a sustainable and state-of the-art education and training facility in order to supply Malawi’s emergent tourism industry with quality trained and educated staff.

The Malawi Institute of Tourism infrastructure upgrade project has catalysed and impacted positively on a wide range of recipients since Moffat Centre involvement from 2007. Following an award of development grant funding from the Scottish Government, totalling £370,000, the Moffat project has been involved in the development of:• ITlaboratoriesandastockedtourismlibrary• Foodproductionandfoodservicefacilities• IT-ledteaching• Commercialtrainingservicesforindustry

In addition, seven members of staff were selected to undertake an MSc International Tourism Management. They successfully completed the programme and graduated on 19 October 2012. Attendees at the graduation ceremony included the Honourable Daniel Liwimbi MP, Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Culture, Isaac Katopola, Director of Tourism, Malawi, Ted Nandolo, Chief Executive of Blantyre City and Charles Nakanga, District Commissioner, Blantyre.

Whilst this project has been ongoing, Moffat Centre staff have also raised money on behalf of a nearby orphanage called Yamikani House, and donated shoes, books and clothes (www.kenyawi-kids.com). Raising money for food, clothing and educational materials has meant that GCU’s relationship with the local community has also grown. Sponsorship

of children through the school system and volunteer teaching activities by wider family members have also characterised efforts to make a real impact at a local level. The relationship will continue after the formal project input and the impact of this GCU project will be much greater than initially anticipated.

In recognition of its work with the Malawi Institute of Tourism, Glasgow Caledonian University was awarded the Academic Excellence - Provider (Higher Education) award at the 2012 African Achievement Awards Scotland, hosted by the African Forum Scotland.


Working with partners

“ We are proud indeed in partnering with Glasgow Caledonian University, a very distinguished and reputable institution in Scotland that has impacted so much and continues to contribute to the sustainable development of Africa, through nurturing, training and up skilling of African students and personnel”

Beltus Etchu, CEO, African Forum Scotland

Photo: (left) Professor John Wilson, Executive Dean of Glasgow School for Business and Society, presenting to graduates of the MSc International Tourism Management, (opposite) Children at Yamikani House show off their new shoes.



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Glasgow Caledonian University has successfully secured Tempus funding for the MEDINOALL and MEDAWEL research projects .

MEDINOALLThe MEDINOALL project brings together GCU with three partner universities and one chamber of commerce, alongside 12 higher education institutions from Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. The Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, the Ministry of Education of Morocco, the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technology of Tunisia and a number of business associations are also involved.

It is designed to assist universities in their interaction with business, stimulating innovative thinking and creative solutions. The project will establish Knowledge Transfer Excellence centres within the higher education institutions, designed to share best practice and stimulate innovative thinking. Support

will also be provided to develop innovation strategies within the university communities, providing professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to take these strategies forward in the future.

For more details, please contact Mark Anderson, Head of European Programmes, [email protected], T: 0141 331 8842 or visit: www.medinoall.eu

MEDAWELGCU is working with the University of Alicante and University College Cork on the MEDAWEL project, which provides Higher Education Institutes across Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt with a holistic approach to student services. The aim is for increased student wellbeing and applicable service offers via targeted planning and development on institutional, national and regional levels, in line with national goals and regional Tempus priorities. As such, student support lies at the heart of the project. From Student Union style

bodies and multi-faith worship facilities, to facilities for aggrieved students and counselling assistance, the project facilitates shared practice across institutions in order to improve the overall student experience.

In line with this, a number of delegates recently visited GCU on a fact-finding exercise, speaking to our student support staff, alongside students. Dr Walid Salemeh, Dean of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research at Princess Sumaya University for Technology in Amman, Jordan, stated after the event: “We are impressed by GCU’s long history of excellence in student services and will try to implement many of the systems and projects we have seen here at our own institutions.”

For more details, please contact Mark Anderson, Head of European Programmes, [email protected], T: 0141 331 8842


Excellence in research

“ GCU is actively supporting the development of Higher Education institutions in North Africa and the Middle East, helping them innovatively think in their approach to research and knowledge exchange as well as promoting and improving their student services”

Mark Anderson, Head of European Programmes



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“ GCU, in particular the School of Health and Life Sciences, has a very good relationship with Africa particularly for research, curriculum development and staff training in food, nutrition and healthcare professions with assistance from agencies such as the British Council and the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the cordial relationship with the continent is still growing”

Professor Kofi Aidoo, School of Health and Life Sciences


GCU staff carry out a wealth of globally recognised research.

Professor Aidoo, a University employee for over 25 years, has recently been appointed to sit on the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), the international scientific expert advisory board administered by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation. The influential body has been meeting since 1956 to evaluate the safety of food additives and its work now also includes the evaluation of contaminants, naturally occurring toxicants and residues of veterinary drugs in food.

Professor Aidoo, who has been invited to speak at meetings and conferences across Europe, North America and Canada, has also contributed to a European food safety project and, most recently, collaborated with

colleagues in Australia, China, Africa, Mexico, the US and Brazil to investigate the transfer of micro organisms from bank notes to the food chain. He is also involved in research, teaching, food manufacturing and food safety in collaborative partnerships across Ghana, Nigeria, Libya, Burkina Faso, Morocco and Ethiopia.

For more information on Professor Aidoo’s work, his report – Dirty Money – can be read at Microbiology Today www.sgm.ac.uk/pubs/micro_today/pdf/081104.pdf

After years of working as a Chartered Valuation Surveyor and Asset Management Surveyor for local councils, Malawi Ngwira has been a GCU lecturer for over five years. As well as serving as a visiting lecturer in Mzuzu University, Mr Ngwira has worked with

the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, within the Malawi government, to deliver a series of workshops focusing on the application of modern valuation techniques, use of computer systems to undertake mass appraisal of urban properties for taxation purposes and utilisation of PPP principles to leverage project funding. Mr Ngwira has worked closely with the Ministry of Lands in Malawi to access funding from the Scottish Government to assist with capacity building in the area of asset management. Malawi has also trained staff who are involved in a resettlement project sponsored by the World Bank, in the assessment of land for compulsory purchase and acquisition.

For more information on Mr Ngwira’s work, full details can be found here: www.gcu.ac.uk/ebe/staff/malawingwira/

“ The School of Engineering and Built Environment at GCU has strong relationships with a number of organisations in Africa, forging research and partnership links. Staff development is also supported with visiting lectureships in a number of institutions, including Mzuzu University”

Malawi Ngwira, School of Engineering and Built Environment

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Kumbirai Mabwe, a PhD student at GCU, specialises in risk and the banking sector. Ms Mabwe is undertaking studies in operational risk within UK banking as well as bank performance in Africa. More specifically, she has investigated South Africa’s commercial banking sector for the period 2005-2009. Her work utilised financial ratios to measure the profitability, liquidity and credit quality performance of five large South African based commercial banks.

For more details, please contact: [email protected]

A follower of discursive institutionalist and ideational approaches in research, Umut Korkut has been lecturing at the University for three years. With a specialist interest in social policy, liberalisation, religion and

gender rights, migration, democratisation and Europeanisation in Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey, Dr Korkut is also the co-convenor of the Political Studies Association Comparative European Politics Specialist Group. Most recently Dr Korkut has undertaken research which investigates the ways in which regional actors (such as Brazil, China, India etc.) employ political and cultural discourse in order to enhance their economic gains particularly in Africa.

Dr Korkut’s most recent paper is to be published in International Journal, 2013, vol LXVIII, no. 1. He has also published the following titles: The Discourses and Politics of Migration in Europe & Liberalization Challenges in Hungary: Elitism, Progressivism and Populism. For more details, please contact: [email protected]



“ GCU is a global institution with a diversity of students and staff and international engagements, alongside continuous support for research on current issues and a policy focused academic profile”

Umut Korkut, Glasgow School for Business and Society


“ GCU is a young and vibrant university, attracting students from a variety of African countries. This has helped to put GCU on the map in Africa, with the University supporting and collaborating on a number of projects”

Kumbirai Mabwe, Glasgow School for Business and Society

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The GCU student community reflects the range and depth of global diversity that expands the opportunity to learn from each other’s rich experiences. Each year, GCU welcomes 2,000 international students, from over 100 countries, creating an ethnically and culturally mixed campus. Within this, with regular recruitment activity undertaken across Africa, GCU is currently home to over 300 African students (Nigeria, Ghana, Botswana, Gambia, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast and Zambia.)

Award-winning student supportA thriving Nigerian Student Society, alongside our award winning International Student Support Service, works with students to arrange events and offer support, with students reporting positively of their time at GCU.

GCU’s Nigerian Student Society was formed to foster unity amongst Nigerians at GCU, encourage social cohesion amongst Nigerians and their friends and provide wider academic and welfare support for both Nigerian and international students at GCU. It also aims to create a platform for a future Nigerian based GCU alumni network and to encourage cultural integration, exchange and shared practice. ‘We are heavily involved in organising events, giving students a voice and representing our members’ interests. I can highly recommend GCU to prospective students. It has a strong support culture and expert lecturers and provides a really friendly, welcoming student experience.’ Raymond Okojie, President of the Nigerian Student Society

Global graduatesIt is no surprise that many of our students find their place as productive global citizens. Hundreds of our alumni, including Scottish graduates, have gone on to work across Africa with a number of leading employers including BP, Save the Children, UNICEF, Diamond Bank and the Gambian government.


“ My decision to study further for a PhD at GCU following the successful completion of an MSc programme at the same institution, testifies to the fact that the quality of education delivered here and the international experience is incontestable. I strongly recommend it as a choice destination for international education to anyone, any day, any time”

Marcus Edino, PhD student

A global community

“ The people and culture at GCU are wonderful. In Glasgow I particularly like Kelvingrove Art Gallery, the Botanic Gardens and the architecture of the City Chambers. I always want to be here”

Oluwole Adeshina Shokunbi, Nigerian student


“ GCU has an ability not only to inspire and teach its students but to do so in a way that prepares them for industry to the benefit of themselves and their future employers”

Stephen Sharp, Executive Director, Marketing, Marks & Spencer

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