Giving recognition to the UK Higher Education sector was an important part of the 25 year celebrations so the HE Links UK team and DFID hosted a celebration reception, on the 19th May at the British Council in London, as a special thank you and to bring together all the UK institutions that have played a part in the HE Links Scheme's success.  The UK HE sector have actively supported HE Links over the last 25 years and have given time, expertise and enthusiasm that the Scheme could not have effectively operated without. UK Link co-ordinators enjoyed celebratory drinks together and recounted HE Links' tales, good and bad, along with UK ambassadors of the 49 participating countries. The evening offered a unique opportunity for exchange of experience and forging of new relationships between UK academics and country representatives and the room buzzed with lively chat and discussion.

David Green, British Council Director-General gave the opening speech followed by Hilary Benn, the Secretary for International Development, who underlined the importance that DFID places on the role that the HE sector has to play in international development and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Professor Robert Boucher, Chair of the HEL Steering Committee gave thanks on behalf of Universities UK and then guests had the pleasure of Professor Memunatu Pratt, of the University of Sierra Leone, who engaged everyone with her positive experience of HE Links in Sierra Leone, emphasising the real impact of the HE Links Scheme for developing countries.

The reception gave us the chance to express our thanks but once again we would like to say a big thank-you to all Link co-ordinators, past and present, for the time and effort they have dedicated to Higher Education Links

'The event on Friday was great! I think it was one of the best events that I attended', was the enthusiastic response from one of our link assistants in China, and this was echoed by some 87 link co-ordinators, from China and the UK, who attended the celebration workshop on 4th March in Beijing. The China Agricultural University hosted our celebrations at the Jimma Spring hotel and the British Council offices in China, led by the Beijing team, brought together a wealth of HE Links experience in a day of presentations and discussions which was followed with close interest by some of the local media.

Adrian Davis, Director, DfID Beijing and Judy Powell, Director HE Division, British Council London, introduced the event with speeches on higher education in China and the future for links between higher education institutions. Presentations on actual Link projects were followed by lively discussion, highlighting experiences and difficulties, and institutions came away with a strong idea of what makes a successful link, and strategies for maintaining the partnerships forged through the HE Links scheme.

A newly upgraded China HE Links webpage, with an online HE Links contacts database, and a Chinese HE Links celebration booklet were the ultimate complement to the celebrations and will promote ongoing exchanges between the partners even after the HE Links funding has ended. For more information visit the China HEL celebration webpage.

The Near East and North Africa (NENA) HE Links celebratory workshop took place in Cairo on 11-12 May bringing together 43 representatives from Egypt , Morocco, Jordan, Palestinian Territories and Yemen to celebrate the success of the many long-lasting partnerships that were forged with the help of HEL funding. The HEL scheme sustained 38 links with the UK, across the NENA region, which have addressed a wide range of pollution issues, enhanced the role of women, and improved the management of the environment and natural resources, all linked by a central theme - research and capacity building to improve livelihoods

Presentations delivered by six dedicated teams of link co-ordinators from across the region, as well as the UK, celebrated the highlights of their HE Links. There was a strong element of collaboration and networking between participants sharing their perspectives and expertise. In addition to looking back and analysing its impact, the second half of the workshop focused on capitalising on the impetus created through the Links scheme through future collaborations and development opportunities. Participants voiced the need to set up networks across the region to link up its scientists and researchers more effectively.

BC Egypt is now engaged in the process of setting up a website to aid collaboration between countries which will provide a virtual meeting space, act as an information resource and carry links to research funding agencies.

As one of HE Links' largest participating countries it was going to be difficult to organise a celebration that would ensure all those involved in links in Brazil could attend. With this in mind the British Council, Brazil set about organising a one-day event that would connect guests with those who could not be present. In true HE Links style Recife and Rio de Janeiro linked together with Manchester and Edinburgh by video-conference on 4th August to share their HE Link experiences with presentations of collaborative work.

Brazilian partners eagerly travelled from as far as 1800 miles across the country to Recife to share the achievements of their HE Links and to demonstrate their value to the institutions and communities which have been the main focus of their work. The three-way video-link from here allowed for mutual exchange on a selection of link themes such as, gender and development, fisheries and biodiversity, child health and food production between University of Leeds, University of Glasgow, Universidade Federal da Paraiba and Universidade de Brasilia, to name but a few of the partners taking part. It was clear that this was a great opportunity for colleagues to touch base again.

HE Links funding is commonly found to act as a leverage for securing additional funding so that wider impact can be achieved and this was emphasised by link presenters at the workshop as one of the unique benefits of the Scheme. As well as looking back at past experiences and achievements there were also success stories of some HE Links attracting further support, financial and practical, from other agencies. University of Leeds were pleased to hear from their partners on the other side of the video-conference that their Gender and Higher Education HE link had been fruitful in helping the Brazilian Ministry of Education to develop gender-sensitive learning materials for classrooms across the country. The partnership originally aimed to integrate gender into the curriculum at Universidade Federal da Paraiba and into the community so this national initiative was an exceptional achievement.

Given the enduring nature of HE Links partnerships, this was in evidence once more as celebrations of past achievements were eclipsed with celebrations of the future.

Pakistan hosted the 25 year HE Links celebrations for their regional counterparts, Bangladesh and Nepal with an interactive Silver Jubilee workshop, 12-13 December 2005. Link co-ordinators and their teams from around the region came together for a three session workshop which addressed successes, weaknesses and, most importantly, ways forward for better partnerships. The two-day workshop was opened by Dr Tom Craig-Cameron, Director British Council Pakistan and Richard Martini, Head DFID Pakistan followed by an insight into their respective HE Link country programmes by each of the Link Managers from Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. The Higher Education Commission were also invited to present an overview of HE sector reforms in Pakistan.

Presentations from ten of the region's link co-ordinators set the background for great in-depth discussion on successes achieved and issues often confronted during the lifespan of a HE Link and this helped the participants to identify the positive partnership attributes which effectively achieve positive outputs. Lynne Heslop, Regional Education and Training Advisor for the region, facilitated further discussion on methods for sustainable partnerships, helping partners to map effective patterns of collaboration. Workshop outcomes have been developed into a set of guidelines which will help guide future partnerships to success. For more information visit the Silver Jubilee webpage.

Other HEL celebration booklets in the series are

East Asia

India and Sri Lanka

East West Africa

Southern Africa