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SISSTEM: Leveraging inequality to build a successful and sustainable partnership between a continental and a small island state university

Buys, Nadine
; Mertens, AnoukOrcid icon; Arens, Patrick; 
Gielen, Georges
; Mijts, EricOrcid icon
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Location research
Date
2025-06-17
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SISSTEM Repository
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20250619_Turning the Tide_Canada_NBuys.pptx
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Abstract
Advancing sustainable development and enhancing the resilience of small islands in the face of climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource scarcity relies on state-of-the-art knowledge of technological solutions embedded in local contexts. This necessitates building local and regional capacity, with higher academic education playing a crucial role. In response, the University of Aruba launched the SISSTEM (Sustainable Island Solutions through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)) academic bachelor's, master and research programs. Given the University of Aruba’s scale and available resources, a strategic partnership was formed with KU Leuven, a renowned university in Belgium, Europe. Literature on North-South partnerships emphasizes the importance of equality among partners. However, interuniversity collaborations often face inherent inequalities in access to resources and scale, which were also evident in this specific partnership. This contribution demonstrates how acknowledging and leveraging these inequalities can foster an equal and sustainable partnership in which the complementarity of the institutions’ capacities is pivotal. Through an explorative case study analysis using semi-structured interviews, we have identified some of the key drivers and barriers to establishing such a robust partnership. Here, we focus on the institutional levers and obstacles that made this partnership possible from the perspective of the larger continental institution.
Citation
Buys, N., Mertens, A. Arens, P. Gielen, G. & Mijts, E. (17 June 2025) SISSTEM: Leveraging inequality to build a successful and sustainable partnership between a continental and a small island state university. Turning the Tide Conference 2025.
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Turning the Tide Conference 2025
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14473/1553
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