Johannesburg — HARVARD University President Prof Drew Faust and University of Johannesburg (UJ) vice-chancellor Prof Ihron Rensburg yesterday announced their universities were collaborating in establishing an institute that would train South African school principals.

The calibre of a school's leader could determine the school's fate, said Faust, the first sitting Harvard president to visit Africa.

The institute would comprise a network for South African principals to share experiences, leadership instruction and research, all of which should be running by 2011, said UJ education faculty dean Prof Sarah Gravett.

The network, part of which would be internet-based and part of which would involve instruction on topics for which the principals' asked, has been launched about three weeks ago, she said.

Discussions on the rest of the project were ongoing.

Universities had the freedom they needed to ask and answer challenging questions that could change the world, said Faust, who officially announced the collaboration on the UJ's Soweto campus, where the principals' institute is to be located.

Because of this, universities had to ask themselves what they could do for the public good, and the UJ/Harvard collaboration was part of the two institutions' answer, Faust said.

SA and the US, despite having "travelled different roads" and having very different histories, had founded their nations on the same goal -- liberty , she said.

"I am sure we can learn from you as much as you can learn from us, she said.

Harvard University's interest in Africa was "long and deep" and yesterday's announcement was part of a collaboration that crossed academic fields and spanned at least 50 years, she said.