Universities should rethink how they lead, teach, research and serve communities, and learning institutions should move beyond institutional silos and national boundaries to embrace a regional identity that is “united by purpose and empowered by institutional leadership”, according to Professor Quinton Kanhukamwe, chairman of the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA).

Kanhukamwe delivered the opening address at the SARUA conference which took place at the University of Lusaka in Zambia from 21 to 23 May 2025.

“We know that higher education plays a critical role in shaping the future of our economies, our societies, and our democracies. We also know that the challenges we face – social justice for all, climate change, youth unemployment, inequality, digital disruption – are too large, too complex, and too interconnected for any one institution or country to tackle alone. That is why this conference and SARUA matter,” he said.

At least 60 universities from 38 countries within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), across the African continent and beyond, were represented at the conference, co-hosted by the pan-African Unicaf, the University of Lusaka and the University of Zambia. The theme was, ‘Innovating Higher Education for Sustainable Development across the SADC: Innovation for impact’.

Cooperation built on shared goals

During the conference, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed bringing together the Association of African Universities (AAU) and SARUA, autonomous membership-based organisations serving higher education institutions in Africa and globally.

The cooperation builds on shared goals, including strengthening African higher education in core areas such as capacity development, leadership training at multiple university levels, quality assurance and regional alignment, and strengthening universities’ role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The cooperation will also support the use of technology in teaching and learning, promote joint research initiatives and academic collaboration, expand engagement with global higher education and higher education networks, and create platforms for discussion on key challenges and innovations in higher education.

The MoU was signed by Professor Erold Naomab, vice-chancellor of the Namibia University of Science and Technology on behalf of AAU-SARO (Southern African Regional Office) with the SARUA leadership, Professor Stephen Simukanga, and Kanhukamwe.

Stronger leadership and governance

Kanhukamwe said: “An example of the urgent need for collaboration and alignment is the situation of Unicaf. This is a private, highly performing university that grants various professional degrees to its 8,100 students from across Africa. However, many SADC countries do not accept these degrees as equivalents.

“Not recognising the degrees from this university in Lusaka across the SADC is a disservice to our regional development. These are the kinds of alignment issues that SARUA and the AAU-SARO office seek to address.”

He said, for African universities, “this partnership promises stronger institutional leadership and governance, better access to international funding and networks, enhanced digital readiness and innovation in pedagogy, improved quality standards across regions and more inclusive participation in global knowledge production”.

SARUA a dynamic platform

During the opening remarks, Kanhukamwe said that the conference was an affirmation of the organisation’s shared commitment to a collective vision in which universities are leaders of transformation, engines of innovation, and pillars of sustainable development across Southern Africa.

“SARUA is more than an organisation – a network of leaders, of purpose and progress. It is a dynamic platform where the voices of leadership, scholarship, and policy converge to meet the needs and opportunities of our region.

“Our strength lies in our connection and our ability to come together across institutions, countries, and sectors to build a resilient, inclusive, and impactful higher education ecosystem.”

Kanhukamwe said the conference was a crucial part of SARUA’s mission – an opportunity to strengthen cross-sector collaboration between universities, governments, civil society, and industry and to deepen the regional integration vital to a collective future. “It is through dialogue and knowledge-sharing that we foster understanding, trust, and action,” he said.

Shared sense of leadership

Kanhukamwe said participants were to learn from and inspire one another. “We are here to highlight and replicate best practices and successful transformation models. We are here to engage in meaningful conversations about digital transformation, quality assurance, and the role of higher education leadership as agents of change. And, most importantly, we are here to build and renew the relationships that will carry us forward long after this event ends.”

The SARUA conference created a space for higher education leadership at all levels – from VCs, senior executives, directors, deans, and department heads to emerging leaders to dialogue, share knowledge, and grow as leaders prepared to face complex challenges within the region.

At least 20 vice-chancellors attended the regional gathering, which provided a rare and valuable opportunity for institutional leaders to engage in strategic dialogue about the future of higher education in the SADC and Africa at large.

The conference also allowed vice-chancellors to discuss the changing higher education landscape and their changing role. It was noted that leaders across higher education institutions, especially in regions like the SADC, often face complex challenges that require balancing academic priorities with administrative, financial, and political pressures.

Connecting the region

Kanhukamwe implored university leaders to match innovation with excellence while upholding the highest standards of teaching, research and institutional performance at learning institutions.

“It is through this dialogue and regional knowledge-sharing that we cultivate a shared sense of leadership, accountability, and vision. At SARUA, we are especially focused on connecting the region. For it is through authentic, sustained, and value-driven connection that we can truly advance our sector. When we come together in spaces like this, we affirm that our challenges are shared, our solutions are collaborative, and our impact is greater when we act together,” he added.

Dr Noah Sobe, chief of the Section for Higher Education at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), reaffirmed the need for regional integration in the presentation, ‘Transforming higher education to transform the future’, which laid out the state of higher education globally, key guiding principles, key lines of transformation and the global common good.

He emphasised the importance of a shared resolve and collective action in addressing existing global challenges. It is crucial for the higher education sector to transform, enabling collaboration and solidarity to become its defining features – both in terms of teaching and learning, and in the ways higher education systems are structured.

“In our pedagogy, we want to foster the practical and moral capacities of students to work together, to collaborate. An overarching aim of higher education should be to build collective and individual capacities for facing our common challenges together. And we need this commitment to cooperation in higher education ecosystems themselves, so that the inefficiencies of inter-institutional competition are replaced by an ethic of collaboration and solidarity,” Sobe said.

Commitment to international collaboration

“It is important to recall that academic work is collective work. It relies, not only on shared endeavour and fruitful debate within the university, but also with civil society, private enterprises, social movements, and the public sector, all of whom have a significant stake in the work of universities.”

Sobe said a strong commitment to international cooperation in higher education is necessary. “One key part is ensuring the smooth and effective functioning of processes for the recognition in one country of study undertaken and academic qualifications earned in another – as is advanced in UNESCO’s global and regional conventions on the recognition of qualifications.”