DAAD exchange in Zimbabwe: research, culture and international networking

The program was divided into three pillars: Teaching, research and international cooperation. The focus was on lectures on the history of social work in Zimbabwe, gender studies and excursions to political and cultural sites such as the Parliament of Zimbabwe, the ruins of Great Zimbabwe or the Institute for Women Social Workers in Goromonzi.

These visits enabled the participants to get to know local research contexts, political processes and traditional social work practices - for example by working in children's homes such as the Chinyaradzo Children's Home or the SOS Children's Village.

The program also offered space for research presentations, individual mentoring sessions with supervisors such as Dr. Mildred Mushunje and Dr. Noel Garikai Muridzo as well as field visits that sharpened the participants' analytical perspective.

Miguel Sanchez Lopez, lecturer at the Fachhochschule Dortmund's Faculty of Business Studies, also took part in the program and enriched the exchange with a transdisciplinary perspective as a representative of a non-social science field.

The participants' feedback was consistently positive:

• "The methodology sessions with Dr. Simbine deepened my understanding of African-centered research approaches - especially in philosophy, design and data collection." Nokuthuthuka Mtethwa, UJ
• "The exchange strengthened my belief that sport can be a powerful tool in social work." Miguel Sanchez Lopez, Fachhochschule Dortmund
• "The exchange was not only educational, but also personally enriching: I reflected not only on Zimbabwe and South Africa, but also on Germany and my own cultural background." Lea Mueller, Fachhochschule Dortmund

A central aim of the DAAD program is to create social transformation from the partnership between the universities through research, collaboration and personal connections. The visit to MSU's Research and Innovation Hub offered insights into projects that transform research into products and services for society.

MSU Vice Chancellor Prof. Victor Ngonidzashe Muzvidziwa and Acting Vice Chancellor Dr. Gift Manyatera welcomed the group and underlined the importance of exchange for international networking.

The participants also had the opportunity to submit abstracts for a specialist conference - a further step towards making the results of the program visible.

Dorothée Boecker and Prof. Dr. Michael Boecker, the driving forces behind the cooperation at Fachhochschule Dortmund, see the exchange in Zimbabwe as further proof of the value of intercultural learning experiences and cooperation across disciplinary boundaries: The participants returned with new research ideas, expanded networks and a deeper understanding of local and global challenges in social work - and with the certainty that such formats will continue to play an important role in the future.