On 6 December 2023, the Technische Universität Dresden welcomed students from Stellenbosch University (SPL), South Africa. A similar exchange between the universities had already taken place in 2017. The delegation of 13 students was accompanied by Prof Zwelinzina Ndevu, Director of the School of Public Leadership, SPL.

Prof. Dr Alexander Kemnitz, Dean of Studies, Prof. Dr Thomas Günther, Chair of Business Administration, in particular Management Accounting/ and Control, Prof. Dr Daniel Karthe, Head of Research Programmes, UNU-FLORES and Dr André Lindner, Managing Director of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Advisor Internationalisation, who also moderated the event, took part in the three-hour programme in the ballroom of the Faculty of Business and Economics. Dr Markus Blocher, Head of Office, Office of Civic Affairs, City of Dresden, and Mr Jens Zappe looked after the students on behalf of the City of Dresden.

In order to keep the exchange as interactive as possible, short keynote speeches followed by a discussion were chosen as the format. After a brief introduction by Dr Lindner, Prof Kemnitz presented the research and teaching profile, current research projects and opportunities for early career researchers to the participants.

Prof Günther's lecture dealt with the "New Public Management", such as the Tilburg Model and its effects on society. He applied the model to the City of Dresden and named local and regional universities and institutions where you can train and study public management, which gave the lecture an interesting local connection.

The UNU-FLORES Institute, which has its thematic focus on the Sustainable Development Goals and places the concept of the Resource Nexus at the centre, was presented by Prof. Karthe. As project manager for the Resource Nexus for Sustainability Transformations (NEXtra) project, which receives funding by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for around 60 doctoral students, he also presented current opportunities for graduates.

After a brief introduction to the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dr Lindner informed the participants about joint TUD/UNU-FLORES doctoral programmes (Joint Junior Research Programme, Joint PhD Programme in Integrated Management of Water, Soil and Waste) and the Master's programme Water Security and Global Change starting in 2024. He also introduced the Centre for International Postgraduate Studies of Environmental Management (CIPSEM), which has been in existence for 46 years and is an institution within the Faculty of Environmental Sciences (TUD). It is responsible for the implementation of the UNEP/UNESCO/BMUV international Postgraduate Training Programme in environmental management for developing countries.  Dr Lindner concluded his presentation with a detailed list of various funding opportunities for students and doctoral candidates wishing to come to Germany.

In addition to the event held by TUD during the multi-day programme, the students were also informed about the work of the City of Dresden Welcome Centre. Topics such as the recruitment of skilled labour and skilled labour opportunities for Dresden also played a role. Attracting skilled workers from abroad is an important issue for the city in view of the current and ever-increasing shortage of skilled labour in Saxony.