Global Partnerships

Articulation agreements enable students to transfer from a partner institution to SOAS with advanced standing, based on predefined credit recognition. 

These arrangements map curricula between institutions to ensure academic alignment. Students complete an initial phase of study at the partner institution and, subject to meeting academic requirements, enter SOAS at an agreed point in the programme. Articulation provides a structured and transparent pathway for progression while maintaining academic standards. 

Dual programmes are collaborative arrangements in which students study at two partner institutions and, upon successful completion, receive two separate academic awards, one from each institution. 

For a dual programme, the curriculum is jointly designed and coordinated, with agreed study periods spent at each institution. Each partner institution independently awards its own qualification, provided that its academic and regulatory requirements are met. These programmes offer students an enhanced international academic experience and exposure to distinct academic environments.

A franchise arrangement allows a partner institution to deliver a programme designed and approved by an awarding institution, with students receiving an award from that institution. The awarding institution retains responsibility for the curriculum, assessment, and quality assurance.

Joint programmes are integrated academic programmes delivered collaboratively by two or more institutions, with students awarded a single joint qualification. 

Partner institutions jointly develop, deliver, and assess the programme under a shared academic framework. Students are enrolled at all participating institutions and receive one award that bears the names of all partners. Academic responsibility, governance, and quality assurance are shared in accordance with agreed regulations. 

Progression agreements enable students from a partner institution to apply for entry to programmes at a receiving institution, usually with agreed entry criteria. These agreements may include benefits such as a tuition fee discount. Admission remains subject to the receiving institution’s standard selection procedure.

Validation is a partnership model in which SOAS validates a programme designed and delivered by a partner institution, leading to students being granted a SOAS award. 

Under validation, the academic content, assessment, and quality assurance processes of the partner’s programme are reviewed and approved by SOAS. While the partner institution delivers and assesses the programme, SOAS retains oversight of academic standards and awards the final qualification to successful students. 

Kanina leads the development and delivery of SOAS’s global partnerships strategy, which focusses on building high-impact, equitable collaborations that advance SOAS’s academic mission, international reach, and financial sustainability. This portfolio spans transnational education, joint programmes, executive education, and strategic institutional alliances across multiple regions. 

Kanina focuses on cultivating partnerships that generate new opportunities for collaborative teaching and training while strengthening SOAS’s global reputation. She is particularly interested in innovative models of international collaboration that support globally connected and financially resilient higher education systems. 

Email: kf15@soas.ac.uk 

Linda has worked in international higher education for almost 20 years, with a particular focus on international development, transnational education, and global engagement. She serves as Head of Global Partnerships for the Humanities, supporting the development and management of collaborative teaching arrangements, equitable international partnerships, and executive education initiatives aligned with the College of Humanities’ strategic priorities. 

Working closely with academic colleagues, senior leadership, and international partners across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, she is passionate about building equitable global collaborations that enhance institutional impact, expand academic opportunity, and strengthen long-term strategic relationships.

Email: lh48@soas.ac.uk

Nick has nearly 20 years of experience across international education initiatives in the charity, public, and higher education sectors. As Head of Global Partnerships for Law and Politics, he supports strategic partnership development in Anthropology, Law, and Politics, including collaborative academic programmes, executive education and skills training, and traditional TNE arrangements. 

Drawing on extensive experience building relationships and forging links with organisations across the Global South, Nick contributes to SOAS’s commitment to equitable partnership and expanding access to education.

Email: nr41@soas.ac.uk

Vidhi brings two decades of experience in international education across higher education, government and multilateral sectors. As Head of Global Partnerships for the Social Sciences, she leads the development and management of global partnerships for SOAS’s School of Finance and Management, the Department of Development Studies and the Department of Economics. 

Working collaboratively with academic and professional services colleagues, she is responsible for a broad portfolio of transnational education partnership models, including collaborative provision, equitable partnerships, and executive education programmes. She is committed to advancing long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships that reflect SOAS’s global mission and values

Email: vs2022@soas.ac.uk