The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) marked its centenary with a four-day symposium in Cape Town, South Africa (13–16 October 2025), focused on “Global Responsibility – Local Impact: Higher Education Partnerships for the SDGs.” Organized by DAAD and funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) under the SDG Partnerships programme, the event convened participants from across Africa and Germany to exchange approaches for embedding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in university teaching, research, and international collaboration.
Mount Kenya University (MKU) participated through the DAAD-sponsored Student Training for Entrepreneurial Promotion for Sustainability (STEP-S) programme (2024–2027). Professor Peter Wanderi, Principal Corporate Services at MKU and Chair of the UNAI SDG 9 Hub on Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure for 2025–2027, represented MKU and facilitated a World Café session on research, innovation, and knowledge transfer.
Discussions highlighted practical models for integrating the SDGs into higher education and underscored the role of partnerships among academia, policymakers, civil society, and other stakeholders. MKU emphasized long-standing ties with German institutions—including Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Leipzig University, Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, the Technical University of Munich, and Koblenz University—which have expanded MKU’s collaboration portfolio over the past decade. STEP-S collaborators at the symposium included Leuphana University (Germany), Godfrey Okoye University (Nigeria), and the University of Venda (South Africa).
As UNAI’s global SDG 9 Hub Chair, MKU signaled plans to deepen engagement with DAAD and other partners to advance inclusive, sustainable industrialization and innovation, in line with the commitment to “leave no one behind.” The centenary coincides with the United Nations’ 80th anniversary in 2025, marking shared milestones in support of education, peace, and sustainable development.
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