From Windhoek to Addis: NUST Champions Land Governance Conversations
Earlier this month, the African Union’s Dialogue Forum held in Addis Ababa. The high-level event was attended by Vice-Chancellors, Ministers responsible for land, representatives of AU Member States, officials from the African Development Bank, delegates from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and members of the NELGA network.
The Dialogue Forum sought to enhance collaboration between governments and higher education institutions by aligning land governance curricula, professional training, and research outputs with national and continental policy priorities, guided by the African Union’s curriculum development framework. Dr Erling Kavita, NUST Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Teaching, Learning and Technology, led the delegation and highlighted the University’s regional leadership in this field, reaffirming its commitment to advancing capacity development across the continent. He emphasised the importance of “structured collaborations between universities and governments for sustainable capacity development”, noting that NUST’s work within NELGA positions it as a key partner in advancing land governance reforms in Africa.
During the dialogue, Prof Eugene Chigbu, from the Department of Land and Spatial Sciences reaffirmed NELGA Southern Africa’s commitment to harmonising university programmes with government policy objectives and ensuring that research outputs effectively inform national land governance agendas.
The Dialogue Forum coincided with the Sixth Conference on Land Policy in Africa (10–13 November 2025), where another delegation from the Department of Land and Spatial Sciences presented more than six research papers. Their contributions reflected the Department’s ongoing leadership in land administration, land policy research, and capacity development across the region.
In 2017, the African Union designated the Department of Land and Spatial Sciences as a Centre of Excellence in recognition of its leadership in land governance education, training, and research. As a designated Centre of Excellence, NUST serves as the Southern African node of the African Union’s Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA). Under the coordination of Prof Chigbu, this role continues to strengthen the University’s continental engagement and its contribution to shaping land governance policy frameworks across Africa.
