The UNAM Social Work department, recently hosted Karin Lundkvist and Jenny Höglund, Social Work Lecturers from Karlstad University in Sweden.
According to both Lundkvist and Höglund being an exchange lecturer is truly a challenge that provides new perspectives on both work and personal life. “Through these exchanges we learned that the world is actually quite a small place, that we benefit from each other and that we all have different needs on many levels with which we can help each other”, they remarked.
The UNAM Social Work department also officially welcomed Mathilda Davidsson recently, a social work student from Karlstad University, who started her 2nd semester social work studies at UNAM. According to Davidsson, “coming to Namibia as an exchange student has been overwhelming in the sense that I felt confused a lot of times, due to the differences between Namibia and Sweden. I have been here for only a week now and I am already having the greatest experience of my life in stepping out of my comfort zone.”
Around the same time that Mathilda arrived, two UNAM social work students, Petronella Gaeses and Dessary Simaata departed to Karlstad University, on a student exchange programme. Both students are looking forward to an educational and enriching experience in a country that is quite different from their own.
The Linneaues-Palme partnership between the Social Work sections at the University of Namibia and Karlstad University is funded by SIDA, a Swedish Governmental Agency, since 2015. It aims to establish long term cooperation between UNAM and Karlstad University. The objective is to promote cooperation and the advancement of academic and educational exchange; academic visits; joint teaching programmes; joint research activities and publications; participation in seminars; exchange of academic materials and other information.
Members of UNAM’s senior leadership, such as Professor Jairus Kangira, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences have praised the Linneaues-Palme partnership under the flagship of Karlstad University with funding from SIDA. The funding covers both students’ and staff’s travel, accommodation and living allowances in Namibia and Sweden.
