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INTPART I – International Partnerships for Excellent Education and Research (completed)

While there is increasing attention to mobility and linguistic diversity resulting in widespread multilingualism in a European context, there is a growing interest and need to draw attention to southern experiences of multilingualism, mobility and diversity.

South Africas flag with the colours black, red, yellow, green and white. Illustration.

About the project

With its eleven official languages, South Africa offers a truly ideal setting for the study of multilingualism. MultiLing wants to draw attention to southern experiences of multilingualism, mobility and diversity, and the South African scholars involved in the project are all engaged in relevant research for MultiLing’s research goals.

The project activities include jointly organized seminars, workshops and conferences; guest researcher visits; exchange of research and teaching staff, as well as research administrative staff; postgraduate student exchanges; and discussions towards enriching course and curriculum development.

The project officially started in 2016, with the kickoff event taking place at STIAS (Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study) at Stellenbosch University on March 7–8, 2016, where 60 researchers from all the partner institutions met up for the workshop "Interdisciplinary approaches to the study of multilingualism: Bridging the gap".

Objectives

The main goal of the partnership project is for MultiLing to establish, further develop and strengthen collaboration with scholars at four key South African universities whose work is highly relevant for MultiLing’s research agenda, in particular our primary goal of bridging the gap between psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic approaches to language and multilingualism. In line with the central aim of the INTPART scheme, the project seeks to link research and higher education cooperation in the project activities.

Outcomes

We envisage that the proposed INTPART project partnership will greatly contribute to MultiLing’s goal and vision. Moreover, this collaboration will contribute to mutual development and the enhancement of unique and sought-after knowledge, as well as the promotion of an international recognition for an increasingly important field in a global context.

More specifically, we aspire to having the work from the long-term international partnerships between MultiLing/the Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies/UiO and the selected world-class research institutions in South Africa result in the following:

  • Joint courses, seminars and educational programs established and institutionalized within the framework of the partnership (cf. particularly the MA course program in multilingualism for the Department of Linguistics and Scandinavians Studies, UiO)
  • Mobility of students and researchers, as well as structures that support mobility, within the framework of the partnerships;
  • Joint articles and publications between researchers and/or (post)graduate students in the partnerships;
  • New research funding applications developed and submitted within the framework of the partnerships;
  • Cooperation with the public sectors.

Dissemination of research results is imperative in the study of multilingualism given its high societal relevance and importance in today’s society. Collaborative efforts between MultiLing and the partner institutions will be promoted in reaching out to central stakeholders in the public sector.

Reciprocity of knowledge exchange, through research and education, from southern and northern researchers with an interest in linguistic diversity, promises to enrich global understanding of multilingualism, a phenomenon that not only has personal possibilities and challenges but also consequences for society at large.

Duration

3 years

About INTPART

The MultiLing project is a network project under the International Partnerships for Excellent Education and Research (INTPART) (external link). The main goal of INTPART is to develop world class higher education and  research institutions in Norway by promoting and funding long term institutional partnerships with strong academic groups and institutions in eight prioritized countries: Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Russia, South Africa and the USA. The scheme aims to increase the quality and relevance of cooperation with selected countries, particularly through integration of the higher education and research components.

Financing

The Research Council of Norway and the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education, INTPART scheme (NOK 3.9M)

Published May 18, 2016 4:39 PM - Last modified Apr. 21, 2020 8:08 AM