South-South-North Programme
The HGGS has been hosting outstanding doctoral scholars from South America, the Caribbean and other world regions since 2018. They have been funded through scholarships granted by the DAAD and the Baden-Württemberg Foundation, with the kind support of the International Office at Heidelberg University.
International applicants can be awarded the status of visiting scholar at the HGGS for a period of two to twelve months to participate in the academic programme at Heidelberg University and to carry out their research. Doctoral candidates, postdocs and university lecturers who are interested in applying as visiting scholars are encouraged to contact the HGGS at any time of the academic year.
A warm welcome to our first scholars from South Africa!
Genevieve Lentz
Genevieve Lentz is an academic and researcher dedicated to advancing transformative education, Africanisation, and inclusive pedagogical practices within higher education. She obtained her Master’s degree from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, in Education with Summa Cum Laude distinction and is currently pursuing her PhD, which focuses on developing a Framework for integrating translanguaging as a transformative pedagogy to promote Africanisation in the English curriculum in South African higher education institutions. Her research is anchored in the Translanguaging framework, reflecting her commitment to decolonial, contextually grounded, and socially responsive teaching approaches. In her academic career, Genevieve has contributed extensively to English studies lecturing and student supervision at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, nurturing reflective and critical engagement among future educators. In recognition of her academic excellence and research potential, she was awarded the prestigious Baden-Württemberg Scholarship to attend the Postgraduate Programme at the Heidelberg Graduate School for the Humanities and Social Sciences (HGGS) at Heidelberg University, Germany. Her participation in this international programme highlights her commitment to fostering global academic collaboration and to bridging African and European perspectives in educational research. 🏆 Besides being an excellent academic, Genevieve is also the first African woman to be Olympic Table Tennis deputy referee!
Anastasia Gordon
Anastasia Gordon is a mathematics teacher and researcher with over ten years of teaching experience. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Education at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), focusing on Hybrid Communities of Practice for Sustainable Critical Pedagogy in ICT-Integrated Mathematics Education among pre-service teachers. She holds an MEd in Education (CPUT, 2023), a BEd Honours in Education Management (Stellenbosch University, 2015), and a BEd in General Education (Cum Laude) (Stellenbosch University, 2014). 🏆 Outside academia, she is a 3rd Dan Black Belt in Kimura Shukokai Karate and an accomplished international competitor. Her achievements include World Champion gold (2014, Johannesburg), silver (2016, Berlin), bronze (2023, Cape Town), and 4th place (2025, Järvenpää, Finland) in Ladies Kumite events. She also represented the National Team multiple times in kata, kumite and team events. She is also a great team player and dancer - check out the reel on Instagram, filmed on location at the HGGS Writing Retreat 2025!
South-South-North COLLOQUIUM
With the scholars from the Universidad de La Habana, Cuba, and from universities in Venezuela and Bolivia, the HGGS has also started to host a colloquium and workshop series in Spanish, which allows participating doctoral candidates to present their research in their main working language. HGGS members from other universities in Latin America and Europe have also participated in these academic encounters; other interested members of Heidelberg University are always welcome to join.
Books
The results of the South-South-North exchange have been first published by the HGGS in collaboration with Prof. Cástor David Mora of the Universidad Nacional “Siglo XX”, Bolivia, in a collection of essays in 2020, where scholars present an important aspect of their doctoral projects. Further collections of essays with Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Corona Health Crisis and Critical Studies of Digitalization have been published in 2021-23; two new volumes on Transformation as well as Comparative Studies were published in 2024.
