Preparations for the SANORD Symposium 2014 are underway at Karlstad University in Sweden. The thematic focus for this occasion will be on a sustainable future through information technology and welfare development. Forty-two papers have been accepted. Registration is now open and the last day to register your participation is May 15.

Where and when?
Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden, June 10-12, 2014  

> Register here.
> Read more on the symposium site.

Uppsala University hosts a Partner Day for participants on June 9 in conjunction with the symposium. If you wish to take part in this day, please plan your travels accordingly. Transfer from Uppsala to Karlstad is included in the Partner Day programme. Participants must register separately from SANORD Symposium 2014. Please note that final hotel reservation and payment have to be taken care of by the participants themselves.

> Read more and register for Partner Day here.
> Make hotel reseravation here.

Professor Anne Christine Johannessen, Chairperson of SANORD and Vice Rector, and Sverre Ole Drønen, Communications Adviser both from University of Bergen (UiB) visited the SANORD Central Office (SCO) on Monday, 31 March. This marked the first visit of Prof. Johannessen to the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and in particular the SCO.  During the meeting Prof. Johannessen expressed her intention of bringing SANORD forward as UiB takes the leadership in 2014.

> Read more

The Central Office welcomes new Intern Chia-Yu Chou, a Masters student from the University of Jyväskylä. She is currently pursuing her M.A. degree in Intercultural Communication. Chia says her strength of facilitating communication across cultures could benefit the communication among SANORD members.

> Read more

Prof Ben Cousins, SARChI Chair in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (at the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), had an extraordinarily productive year in 2013.

> Read more

University of Jyväskylä will host the International SANORD conference 2018 in Jyväskylä, Finland, with support from the UniPID network. More information about the event coming soon.

UniPID awarded grants to University of Jyväskylä and University of Helsinki to organize seminars on global development. In January, UniPID launched a call for proposals to support seminars on global development issues to be held in 2014.

> Read more

The University of Eastern Finland is currently introducing a Master’s Degree Programme in Primary Education for teacher educators in cooperation with the University of Namibia. The two-year programme includes on-site studies both in Joensuu, Finland, and in Windhoek, Namibia.

> Read more

Innovative algae technology that could turn millions of tons of coal dust wasted annually in South Africa and elsewhere into high quality clean coal was publically demonstrated for the first time on Monday 27 January at the launch of the NMMU’s Coalgae™ technology.

The pioneering technology was developed by Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University over the past three years with funding from the Department of Science and Technology (DST).  The DST’s Biofuels Demonstration Programme provided the funding for NMMU to undertake research on algal-based biofuels, from the production of algal biomass to using algae for fuel production.

> For more information, please visit the NMMU Faculty of Science.
> Read more

University of Turku is also a partner in a new project MNEmerge which aim is to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the impact of multinational enterprises (MNEs) on United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in developing countries using case studies, quantitative data as well as policy analysis. For more information, please visit http://mnemerge.com

The LPI is an interactive benchmarking tool created by an initiative of experts in Turku School of Economics, University of Turku  to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in their performance on trade logistics and what they can do to improve their performance. The LPI 2014 allows for comparisons across 160 countries. For more information, please visit http://lpi.worldbank.org/

Professor Lorenzo Fioramonti, associate professor in the department of Political Sciences and Director of the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation at UP, has been appointed as Chair in Regional Integration, Migration and Free Movement of People by UNESCO in collaboration with the United Nations University.

> Read more

On 18 February 2014 the first veterinary online open educational resources platform in Africa – the African Veterinary Information Portal (AfriVIP) was launched at the Onderstepoort Campus of the University of Pretoria.

For more information on this highly exciting and innovative initiative, the following website can be consulted: www.afrivip.org

> Read more

The Vaal University of Technology marked 19 March 2014 as a special day to celebrate diversity through the annual French Day, held each year since 2012. French Day is organised in close cooperation with researchers, the Department of International Relations at participating universities in South Africa and the French Embassy.

> Read more

March is a significant month for many South Africans. It provides an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come as a democratic state. Vaal University of Technology hosted a commemorative public lecture on 20 March 2014 by Minister of Public Services and Administration Lindiwe Sisulu to remember those who fought for every South African citizen to be free and enjoy living in a democratic country.

> Read more

Prof Africa, Deputy Dean in the Science Faculty who is making great leaps in fostering significant advances in women’s health, shares her experiences of balancing her extensive award-winning research into female morbidity and her role as Deputy Dean (Gender and Equity).

> Read more

Time: May 14-16
Place: Linköping University, Sweden

The International Time-Geography Days 2014 will give opportunities for researchers from various scientific fields in the international research community to come together and discuss research efforts and progress inspired by the time-geographic approach.

> Read more

Hope@Africa and Hope International, two related international networks set on jointly promoting human development and tackling major societal challenges in Africa and in the rest of the world, were launched in Stellenbosch (in South Africa) on Thursday, 20 March 2014.

Through the efforts of Hope@Africa, a collaboration between seven leading African universities, and Hope International, a collaboration between Stellenbosch University (SU) and four Swedish universities, the lives of potentially millions can be improved.

> Read more

The first call for PhD scholarships was launched in March, with deadline May 15, 2014. TRECCAfrica (The Transdisciplinary Training for Resource Efficiency and Climate Change Adaptation) comprises seven research-intensive higher education institutions in Africa, as well as two Associated Partners. TRECCAfrica PhD scholarships are only available to students and staff from TRECCAfrica partner institutions. Please refer to TRECCAfrica for details on the PhD programmes available.

> Read more

Prof Alan Christoffels , Director of the South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI) at UWC,  shares some of the details of his laboratory’s work on genomics and the role that he plays as an educator of future scientists.

> Read more

Delegates at the SANORD conference in Malawi agreed to grow the organisation to welcome new member countries and universities. Read UiB vice-rector and SANORD chairperson Astri Andersen's thoughts from the conference here.

If you have any SANORD related information you would like to share, for example a published paper or book, a scholarly or institutional achievement, funding opportunities, a need to expand your research network, then please forward the information (not more than 200 words with hyperlinks where needed) to Maureen Davis (mdavis@uwc.ac.za) and/or Chia-Yu Chou (3477475@myuwc.ac.za) at our Central Office.

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