This is the second time that Professor Dr. Georg Krausch, the President of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), has visited the University of Namibia (UNAM), the largest university in the southern African country. Together with the UNAM President Professor Dr. Lazarus Hangula and the German ambassador to Namibia, Onno Hückmann, Krausch today officially opened a pre-clinical laboratory that Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz has played a critical role in equipping. Fifty optical microscopes from JGU's stock have been made available to Namibian students. This is a major contribution towards the establishment of a system of autonomous academic medical training, something that until recently was not available in Namibia. "It is absolutely vital that an independent country such as Namibia is able to train their own medical doctors," says Krausch. At the invitation of the Dean of Medicine of the University of Namibia, he is being accompanied by the Director of the Second Medical Clinic and Polyclinic of the Mainz University Medical Center, Professor Dr. Thomas Münzel.

The University of Namibia was founded soon after the country became independent in 1992. With its 13,000 students, it is the only comprehensive university in the country. In addition to the central campus in Windhoek, it has ten other satellite sites located throughout Namibia. The UNAM President, Professor Dr. Lazarus Hangula, is a former student of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, where he also acquired his Magister degree in History in 1984 and his doctorate in 1991 before returning to his homeland. Hangula still maintains close ties with Mainz and is pleased by the growing cooperation between the two universities. "We are very thankful for this support of a project which is so important to our country," says Hangula. "And we also hope that we can extend our cooperation in the future." However, it is not material support that is really in the foreground. According to Hangula, the exchange of views and experience is at least as important and could contribute to the development of both universities.

The JGU Center of Data Processing has already made significant progress in this area. The Director of the Center of Data Processing, Professor Dr. André Brinkmann, visited the Windhoek campus to participate in consultative meetings at UNAM in order to discuss with his Namibian counterparts, among other things, his team’s experience with the introduction of computer-based teaching and examination administration systems.

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) boasts roughly 37,000 students from over 130 countries, making it one of the ten largest universities in Germany. As an international hub for research and teaching, it considers one of its main missions is to build bridges between nations and cultures. JGU maintains global networks in science and research, learning and teaching, and works together with145 partner universities on all the continents of the globe.