Chancellor of the University of Missouri and President of the University of Missouri System, Professor Mun Young Choi. University of the Western Cape, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robert Balfour, and Rector and Chancellor of Ghent University, Professor Petra De Sutter. Image: Shelley Christians/UWC.The University of the Western Cape (UWC) hosted Rectorate delegations from the University of Missouri System (UM System) and Ghent University to celebrate their academic partnerships and chart new directions for the enduring international collaborations that have spanned 40 and 30 years, respectively.
The trilateral meeting, known as 3CP, was opened by a moving spoken-word performance by UWC master’s student Zoe Bopp. Her poem, I Think Not, captured the lived experience, resilience and aspirations of UWC students and reminded partners of the human impact of collaboration and opportunity.
Presentations from the institutions highlighted the depth and breadth of their collective achievements. Ghent University shared insights into its comprehensive research ecosystem, international doctoral programmes and long-standing collaboration with UWC, including joint PhDs and co-edited scholarly outputs. The UM System reflected on four decades of exchanges, faculty collaborations, student mobility and impactful research, noting more than 1,000 faculty exchanges and significant innovation in science, agriculture, and radioligand therapy research. The renewed trilateral agreements that were signed highlighted the shared achievements and commitment of the three institutions and reaffirmed UWC’s central role in strengthening global academic networks grounded in public good, equity and inclusion and knowledge exchange.
Image: Shelley Christians/UWC.The 40th anniversary programme opened with a networking lunch and a display of UWC’s rich heritage through performance, followed by a video tracing the evolution of the partnership between UWC and the UM System since 1986. UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor Prof Robert Balfour welcomed delegates. They reflected on how the university’s transformation, from its origins under apartheid to its current standing as a leading research institution, has been shaped and strengthened through international partnerships rooted in mutual respect and shared purpose.
Prof Balfour said: “Partnerships between the Global North and South are essential for shaping the future, especially in a world where technology is both a social good and a social ill.”
He added, “Everything we do must make a difference in people’s lives. We define ourselves as a public-good institution, grounded in the upliftment of society…UWC has come from the margins to become a university deeply committed to giving opportunities and creating possibilities for our youth.”
Prof Rodney Uphoff from UM, who is also an extraordinary professor at UWC, said that over the years, there have been more than 1,000 faculty exchanges between the two universities.
“Our relationship dates back to 1986. When we first signed the trilateral MOU in 2013, it was built on two long-standing bilateral relationships that were already decades in the making. Capacity development has been a big part of the programme from the beginning. UWC graduate students have come to Missouri to work in our labs and offices, and many have completed their PhDs based on that work,” said Prof Uphoff.
“We are very proud that 24 UWC law students came to Missouri, earned their master’s in dispute resolution, and returned home. Two of them became the first UWC graduates to clerk for the Constitutional Court.”
For UWC, the partnership forms a key pillar of its global engagement strategy, providing pathways for research leadership, postgraduate development and collaborative problem-solving across continents. Prof Balfour outlined UWC’s institutional priorities, including multilingualism, transdisciplinary research, and public-good scholarship, and emphasised that meaningful partnerships amplify the university’s ability to address global and local challenges.
The event concluded with a forward-looking round-table discussion focused on expanding trilateral cooperation in areas such as plant sciences, precision medicine, youth development and innovation. Delegates reaffirmed their shared commitment to advancing a partnership that connects the Global South and Global North in ways that remain socially just, academically rigorous and future-focused.
