Global Knowledge Partnerships Programme Implementation Framework for the 2024 Academic Year

This Global Knowledge Partnerships (GKP) Implementation Framework document presents the guiding principles and key approaches required to integrate and incorporate a period of three (3) to eighteen (18) months of international experience opportunities into the research and education programme of exceptional doctoral students, Postdoctoral Research Fellows (PDRFs), and Early Career Researchers (ECRs) who are funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF). The exceptional doctoral students, PDRFs and ECRs will either be based at a local university or pursue a joint degree or undertake short-term research visits at an international institution to advance their research projects aligned to specific thematic areas.

The objectives of the GKP programme are to:

• Accelerate the career pathways of exceptional PDRFs and ECRs to become leading international researchers with strengthened academic rigour and competitiveness through increased international exposure, collaboration and mentorship opportunities;
• Strengthen the NRF’s capacity to identify and sustain partnerships that enhance international opportunities for exceptional doctoral students, PDRFs, and ECRs, working in close collaboration with higher education and research institutions;
• Create platforms that increase international networking opportunities for a globally engaged cohort of exceptional doctoral students, PDRFs and ECRs; and
• Contribute to the NRF’s transformation imperatives, as guided by the approved Transformation Framework.

Below is the framework document: