Our partnership with the University of Namibia

Our partnership with the University of Namibia (UNAM) provides a wide range of international engagement opportunities for staff and students at both institutions.

Our partnership with UNAM began in 2014 with the launch of the Phoenix Project, one of the University’s five flagship engagement projects, and the commitment to build a long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationship between our institutions.

Our collaboration continues to expand as new projects spanning education, research and capacity building add to the growing portfolio of joint activities. To date, more than 30 distinct activities have been delivered under the Phoenix umbrella, from anaesthetics training to software programming, and mathematics summer schools to digital learning technologies.

The new academic collaborations between our institutions have already attracted prestigious research awards, including the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) award for 'Transnationalizing Modern Languages', enhancing effective communication in a country where both English and Afrikaans are spoken, as well as many indigenous languages.

UNAM’s extensive links across Southern Africa provide opportunities for developing multi-partner collaborations within the wider region. The Medical Research Council (MRC) Public Health Intervention Development award for the development and distribution of a trauma pack in Namibia brings together the Paramedic School from the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), UNAM and Cardiff University.

Following a Royal Society award for a sub-Sahara research capacity building programme on New Materials for a Sustainable Energy Future, funded by the UK Department for International Development, Cardiff University and UNAM are collaborating with the University of Botswana and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST) in Ghana. The joint work combines high performance computer modelling and experimental techniques to enhance the solar cell material properties of copper, a raw material widely mined but not developed into high value products in Namibia.

If you are interested in finding out more about our international activities or forming a partnership with us, please contact the International Partnerships team.