Session
✅ Included for all participants
Inspired by Vrije Universiteit Brussel's International Equitable Cooperation strategy and aligned with the theme of the rhythm of revolution, this session will challenge the North–South divide in higher education. Drawing on insights from Europe and Africa, we will encourage institutions to rethink cooperation as an equitable, context-driven process of co-creation in which reciprocity replaces aid, shared growth replaces hierarchy, and partnerships create win–win outcomes.
Sushmita Bista is an Erasmus+ Project Coordinator at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), where she manages European and international cooperation projects. With over five years of experience in EU‑funded programmes, education policy and project management, she specialises in coordinating cross‑border initiatives, supporting consortium development and ensuring high‑quality implementation of Erasmus+ actions.
Tracy G. Firfirey is the International Relations Manager in the Office of the Rectorate at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa. With nearly three decades of experience in education management across South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States, she specialises in international higher education, institutional internationalisation and strategic partnership development.
At UWC, a historically disadvantaged institution with a strong anti-apartheid legacy and social justice ethos, Tracy contributes strategically to advancing the university’s internationalisation agenda. Her portfolio includes international partnership management, institutional MOUs and agreements, multilateral and bilateral collaboration, capacity building, joint research, student and staff mobility, and diplomatic and institutional engagement.
Tracy’s professional expertise centres on developing equitable, sustainable, reciprocal and mutually beneficial international partnerships. She is particularly committed to South-South and North-South cooperation, the decolonisation of internationalisation, and strengthening Global South knowledge systems through respectful, context-sensitive engagement. With a background in communication and global studies, she brings strategic insight and critical perspectives to international education. She is also involved in professional associations, networks and collaborative initiatives that advance international higher education and contribute to a more inclusive, just and sustainable global sector.
Director of International Relations and Partnerships, UIR
Meryem El Alaoui leads the Department of International Relations and Partnerships (DRIP) at the Université Internationale de Rabat, where she oversees the university's international strategy across student and staff mobility, institutional agreements, Erasmus+ projects, strategic partnerships, customized international programs, and the hosting of foreign delegations. She works closely with partner universities across Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa to develop equitable and sustainable academic cooperation, and plays a central role in advancing UIR's internationalization agenda.
