Urban Futures Centre (UFC) has, over the last four years, been involved in the Cocreate My City project organised by Nuffic Neso South Africa (see http://cocreatesa.nl/ ). The first engagement was in June 2018, when a UFC staff member served as mentor to Durban University of Technology and University of KwaZulu-Natal students, who were selected to participate in a student challenge hosted by the Delft Univerisity of Technology in the Netherlands. South African students were given the opportunity to work collaboratively with Dutch students to devise solutions to a local mobility challenge faced by the City.
Since then, the international collaboration has been strengthened through DUT’s International Affairs office, and consolidated under the Collaboration Online International Learning (COIL) programme; a platform that uses “internet- based tools and innovative online pedagogies…to foster meaningful exchanges [and collaborations] between academics and students with peers in geographically distant locations and from different linguacultural backgrounds.”
As a result of a series of engagements between the Nuffic Neso SA Office and the UFC during 2020, it was agreed that UFC will be the core partner in the Cocreate My City Living Laboratory Initiative. The CoLab has a special focus on quadruple helix partnerships, and involves engaging multiple stakeholders in a multi disciplinary solution-based process on a city challenge, in an applied learning environment.
Since the thematic focus for the Durban City 2021 programme centred on “smart and resilient urban planning and development for hard-to-reach communities”, the Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre has been selected as the principal site for this international collaboration between South African and Dutch universities. The intention is for postgraduate Dutch students to work in partnership with local teams to support the Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre. The Centre will be understood as a possible model for building frugal institutions, particularly in the realm of public health. Some of the proposed projects emanating from this program include research on measuring urban inclusivity, integrating leisure for vulnerable groups, creating employment and developing skills, and managing urban waste.