NUST NELGA NODE

The Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST), known internationally as a trailblazer in higher education and applied research, aspires to be Africa's preeminent institution. The Department of Land and Spatial Sciences (DLSS) provides relevant undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, including master's and doctorate degrees. The Department of Land and Spatial Sciences (DLSS) of NUST, in collaboration with the Integrated Land Management Institute (ILMI), is a pioneer in land governance and administration research and outreach.

NELGA (Network of Excellence for Land Governance in Africa) was established to strengthen the involvement of selected African universities and academic institutions in land policy development, implementation, and monitoring. NUST was chosen as a NELGA node for Southern Africa due to its demonstrated leadership and track record in academic land governance teaching, training, and research. To far, NUST, as a regional NELGA node, has awarded six DAAD scholarships on land governance (4 master's and two Ph.D.’s). The node is currently identifying partner institutions to fully implement NELGA operations. The establishment of a regional node for NELGA Southern Africa is one of the primary work packages. Many other activities are being planned for execution across the country.

• Introduction and promotion of NELGA node in the region,
• Conducting a Regional Research Scoping Study,
• Regional Journal on land governance,
• Hosting master classes
• Community of practice and
• Setting up a repository for data

NUST participated in a conference titled "Partnership for Action: Improving Land Governance in Africa" as a co-organizer. On the 15^th and 17^th August 2017, the conference took place in Pretoria, South Africa. NUST took advantage of this forum to promote NELGA by hosting a side event and round table discussion. This effort resulted in the identification of prospective areas of cooperation and partnerships between potential partner institutions.