Dr Nico Jooste
SOUTH AFRICA
Professional Biography
Dr. Nico Jooste is the Founding Member and Director of the African Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation (AfriC).
With a career spanning several decades, Dr. Jooste has been a pivotal figure in South African higher education. He firmly believes that internationalisation is fundamental to the institutional academic project, integrating it as a core discipline rather than just an administrative activity.
Global Strategy
Re-thinking internationalisation globally and architecting the South African National Policy for Higher Education Internationalisation.
Governance Specialist
Pioneered the recognition of internationalisation within University Academic Senates and academic governance models.
During his tenure as the Senior Director of the Office for International Education at Nelson Mandela University (2000–2018), he grew international student numbers from 130 to over 1,500, transforming the office into a self-funding entity and winning the Excellence in Internationalisation Award in 2012.
Dr. Jooste's influence extends to national policy. He was appointed by the Department of Higher Education and Training to head the advisory committee responsible for drafting South Africa's inaugural National Policy for Higher Education Internationalisation.
A former President of the International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA), his academic background includes history and economic history. His research focuses on international relations, Cold War history, and higher education management in developing countries. Identified as one of 27 global "international education provocateurs" by the AIEA, Dr. Jooste brings a wealth of strategic and policy-level expertise to the AppliedHE Ranking Advisory Board.