Guilford College and Cornell University will host a one-day summit next month in Washington, D.C., convening higher-education institutions from the U.S. and Africa to explore partnership-building and collaboration between countries.

The 2024 University Partnership Summit on April 26 at the U.S. State Department will explore a number of topics including entrepreneurship, climate and biomedical research, education and youth engagement and exchange programs between students, faculty and staff.

About 125 people from higher-ed and groups partnering with colleges and universities  in educational exchanges and partnerships are expected to attend.

President Kyle Farmbry says the opportunity to have so many higher-ed representatives with similar interests in the same room will lead to an increase in collaborating projects.

“We’re looking to see what types of partnerships can come out of these conversations, but we’re also looking to see what types of funding might get generated through all the entities that will be there,” Kyle says.

He adds, “I'm really interested in raising Guilford’s visibility internationally, and not just within higher-ed circles, but also with foundations and with federal agencies.”

The meeting is a follow-up to a similar State Department-funded summit held in February of 2023 at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Kyle and a small delegation from the College attended that meeting during which Kyle signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Pretoria on Feb. 8 that will facilitate exchange opportunities and collaboration between the institutions.

It was the first of three MOUs signed by Guilford with South African universities last year. The College also reached similar agreements with the University of Venda and the University of Mamelodi.

Next month’s summit will feature remarks by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee, the State Department’s top official for African affairs. She’ll be joined by speakers from the Department of Defense and Department of Education.

Even though the summit will be held at the State Department, the meeting is being spearheaded by Guilford and Cornell, providing an opportunity for both schools to learn more about each other, says Kyle.

“Cornell is a leading institution in the world, and for Guilford to be able to build this relationship is a great opportunity for both schools,” he says.