Institute Principal, Professor Malory Nye completed an interesting and stimulating four-day visit to Malawi in August where a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Institute and the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College was formally signed.
Recognising the importance of international academic cooperation between universities and active engagement in a wider international scholarly community by members of academic institutions, and in order to enlarge academic and scientific relationships, the MoU, the first for the Institute in a sub-Sahara country, covers a range of topics aimed at benefiting students and staff alike in the years ahead.
Professor Nye said the new partnership agreement would strengthen ties between the Institute and Malawi, as part of the wider Scotland-Malawi Partnership, allowing for joint research, staff exchanges with students coming from Malawi to Scotland for courses, funded by the Institute.
The agreement contains the following articles explaining how the MoU will operate:
Article 1 – Exchange of Staff
To facilitate the exchange of scholars on informal or professional visits and exchange of visiting professors for teaching and conducting research with respect to procedures established within each institution. This will include encouraging members of staff planning their sabbatical leaves to spend their period of leave at the partner institution.
Article 2 – Exchange of Students
To provide access to higher education for qualified students, planning to pursue their graduate and post-graduate programmes at each institution.
Article 3 – Joint Research Projects
To promote advancement of the study of Islam and Muslims, multiculturalism, and inter-religious dialogue through joint research and academic conferences on topics of mutual interest and to foster contacts between researchers and research teams of both institutions.
Article 4 – Joint Publication
To encourage more research and intellectual discourse in relevant fields, both Institutions shall seek to jointly publish scholarly materials. To aid the process of publication, Al-Maktoum Institute Academic Press and Kachere Press can be used as the publishers (either separately or in collaboration).
Article 5 – External Examiners and Assessors
To encourage members of staff to become external examiners for dissertations and theses at the partner institution. Both parties also agree to cooperate, if needed, to be the external assessors for staff promotions.
Article 6 – Exchange of Educational Material
To exchange scholarly publications, prospectus, textbooks, course syllabus, references, journals and databases.
Article 7 – Joint Academic Programmes
To work together to provide high-quality academic courses at higher-education level by collaborating in academic courses. Students at one institution can be sent to the other for a fixed period of time as part of their course and the period spent at the partner institution will be recognised by the sending institution.
Article 8 – Exchange of Information
To provide information on substantive educational and research programmes and conferences, to conduct seminars on topics of mutual interest and to encourage and strengthen communication and cooperation between members of the two institutes especially in areas of mutual concern and benefits. Seminars and lectures can also be conducted via videoconferencing.
Article 9 – University Personnel Visits
To establish linkages between the two institutions which shall serve as a framework for further cooperation and to exchange academic information and develop joint academic projects and programmes. Arrangements for such visits will be made under the support of the two institutions.
Article 10 – Funding of Joint projects and Programmes
Before any particular project or programme is initiated, all financial details shall be negotiated and agreed upon by the two institutions. The institutions generally agree to share the costs as follows:
a. The sending institution will sponsor travel expenses
b. The receiving institution will sponsor the local accommodation
Article 11 – Joint Scholarships
To work towards, and if possible to agree and implement through a memorandum of agreement, the joint funding of scholarships for Malawi students to study on the programmes of the Al-Maktoum Institute.
Article 12 –Programme Planning
To facilitate programme planning, to attempt to hold annual meetings between representatives of the two institutions. The purpose of such meetings will be to develop close contacts and understanding of the needs and priorities of the two institutions and to establish as much as possible the framework of cooperative programming for the following semester.
Article 13 – Duration of Agreement
This present memorandum shall come into force for a period of three (3) years upon the signature of both parties, and shall be renewed automatically. It may be amended by written agreement of both partners. Each party may terminate the agreement with six months advance written notice to the other party. Such termination shall not affect the validity of any agreements already made under the terms of this agreement.
Article 14 – In any condition all the above mentioned articles should not be inconsistent with regulations and by-laws of both institutions.
Article 15 – Within the framework of this general memorandum, Chancellor College, University of Malawi and Al-Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies shall endeavour to set another particular agreement to take the necessary measures to ensure the execution of the mutually-agreed memorandum
This academic agreement is highly appropriate, not least because the Institute’s Patron, Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance of the United Arab Emirates, has set up and funded 34 schools in 21 countries across Africa.
