MEP host SMU & UNIVEN for Benchmarking Multilingualism in Higher Education

The University of Venda and Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University visited UCT on the 22 – 23 April 2025 for a best practice, benchmarking and potential collaborations. The afore-mentioned universities came to engage with UCT in the areas of multilingual education, lexicography and language policy implementation as they begin with their language development plans. The main areas of interest to learn from UCT were:

- multilingual language policy, institutional language policy implementation

- lexicography & terminology development 

- community engagement 

- language revitalization. 

Based on the discussions and sharing of ideas possible collaborations emerged, the discussions were in line with the institutional language development and language implementation plans of the respective universities. In addition, in alignment with the DHET’s New Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education institutions in South Africa that was promulgated in 2020 effective in 2022.

The delegation from the University of Venda, included the office of the DVC: Teaching and Learning, hence the UCT DVC, Prof Brandon Collier-Reed and the CHED Deputy Dean Prof Bob Osano were in attendance.

The Multilingualism Education Project (MEP) in CHED at UCT successfully hosted the visit on behalf of UCT.