Universities South Africa
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USAf 2025 Annual Report Announcement!
USAf Publishes 2025 Annual Report, Showcasing Sector Leadership and Responsiveness in Higher Education Pretoria, South Africa – Universities South Africa (USAf) has successfully published...
Employability Practices in South African Higher Education
This webinar, hosted by HELTASA and the DELT CoP in collaboration with the Council for Higher Education (CHE) and International Finance Corporation (IFC), shares insights...
From the classroom to the constitution: three scholars on putting African languages to work
If Professor Leketi Makalela's keynote set out why South African universities need to teach through African languages, the three conversation starters that followed at the...
Professor Leketi Makalela on language, identity and curriculum transformation
Curriculum transformation without language is cosmetic. That was the argument at the centre of the keynote address Professor Leketi Makalela gave to the Community of...
Showing it can be done: a UCT booklet and the practice CoPAL exist to share
Progress in the teaching of African languages is discussed far more often than it is documented in a form that others can use. That is...
A R520 million bursary roll-out to 5200 students is a powerful leap for higher education
A R520 million new university bursary scheme offered by the Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Services SETA) in partnership with Universities South Africa (USAf)...
A new R520 million bursary scheme will help more than 5000 SA university students
An ambitious R520 million new university bursary scheme, just launched this year, will help more than 5000 South African university students achieve their tertiary ambitions...
USAf makes the case for global talent in South Africa’s universities
Universities South Africa (USAf) notes with concern recent public statements by members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, calling for detailed disclosures on...
USAf and IBM partner to strengthen AI capacity across South African universities
Universities South Africa (USAf) entered into a strategic partnership with International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation aimed at developing a coordinated approach to artificial intelligence (AI)...
Professor Jonathan Jansen challenges set practices in postgraduate education in SA universities; Calls for a renewal
South African universities must restore the intellectual purpose of postgraduate education, defend the academy's openness, and strengthen the quality of supervision. This was the central...
Assessing the scholar, not just the thesis: Senior academics challenge postgraduate evaluation models
How South African universities assess master’s dissertations and doctoral theses is no longer a narrow technical matter. It is increasingly bound up with wider questions...
A USAf-hosted webinar to tackle governance threats in public universities
On 23 March, Universities South Africa (USAf) will host its first webinar addressing a critical governance challenge facing the country’s public universities. Themed Institutional Governance:...
Entrepreneurship development and successes in KZN universities
Collaboration – ranging from system-level partnerships to inter-institutional resource sharing – is critical for innovation and enhancing the quality of education at South African universities....
A Bachelor’s pass on its own does not open doors to university education
It is a perennial challenge, yet it manifested in unprecedented ways in January 2026, as parents increasingly turned to Universities South Africa (USAf) for assistance,...
Professor Francis Petersen remains the Universities South Africa Chairperson for a second term
The Chairperson of Universities South Africa (USAf), Professor Francis Petersen, who is also the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria, has retained this...
2025 NSC Results: Universities announce a revised timeline for issuing admission decisions
For the first time in many years, public universities will release application outcomes to prospective first-time entering students only after the official release of the...
Enhancing the circular economy of minerals by using enhanced numerical modelling techniques to optimise mine pillars and increase extraction ratios
Submitted by University of Pretoria Summary of the impact: Mines are an important part of the circular economy of the mineral value chain....
Advancing Renewable Energy, Science Education, and Sustainable Development in South Africa through Hydrogen and Electrolysis Research
Submitted by North-West University, HySA Centre of Competence, Faculty of Engineering Summary of the impact: Over the past five years (2018–2024), research collaborations...
Transforming Road Safety and Community Livelihoods through the Pothole Eradication Programme (PEP)
Submitted by Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) Summary of the impact: The Pothole Eradication Programme (PEP), a partnership between CUT and...
Realising Multilingual Education for isiXhosa and Kaaps speakers in our schools and universities: a CMDR case study
Submitted by University of the Western Cape Summary of the Impact: Several national departments and bodies, provincial departments, schools and parents, academic...
Improving Vision and Empowering Futures – The University of Johannesburg Optometry Department’s Partnership with Camp Sizanani
Submitted by University of Johannesburg Summary of the Impact: Since 2023, the Department of Optometry at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) has...
Research with reach: How the study on antiretroviral drugs in South Africa’s water influenced policy and public awareness
Submitted by North-West University Summary of the Impact: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the body’s CD4 cells, a...
Transforming waste into hope: A community-driven solution in the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve
Submitted by University of the Western Cape Summary of the Impact: This university-community partnership has transformed waste management practices across three rural...
Rooted in science, growing worldwide – the measured impact of rooibos health research led by Professor Jeanine Marnewick
Submitted by Cape Peninsula University of Technology Summary of the Impact: Professor Jeanine L. Marnewick has been one of the most visible...
Universities South Africa hosts Open Access (OA) webinars during International Open Access Week, 2025
“The access, use and value derived from research and scholarship ought not to be a privilege that few enjoy, but should become a shared, public...
Intersectionality principles must guide universities’ initiatives aimed at closing the gender gap in STEM fields
The CEO of Universities South Africa (USAf), Dr Phethiwe Matutu, has called on public institutions of higher learning to critically examine programmes aimed at advancing...
Closing the Gender Gap in STEM Careers – A Radiographer’s and a Sportswoman’s Perspectives
Radiology departments often display stark warnings: Pregnant women not allowed. The reason? Radiation poses serious risks to unborn children, including birth defects and childhood cancer....
Visionary parental stewardship births a lucrative STEM career in a rural, bright mind
She was born to a father who very firmly laid out a rule in his household that all his children would study science, a non-negotiable,...
USAf welcomes two new appointments to the Ministry of Higher Education and Training
The Board of Directors of Universities South Africa warmly welcomes the appointment of Mr Buti Kgwaridi Manamela as Minister of Higher Education and Training. USAf...
USAf and Absa Bank launch a R5.5 million entrepreneurship partnership across 26 public universities
Wednesday, 25 June 2025, saw Universities South Africa (USAf), through its Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) programme, formalise a groundbreaking R5.5 million partnership with...
The EDHE-Absa Innovation Challenge unlocks tech solutions to societal challenges
The EDHE-Absa Innovation Challenge officially opened for entries on Wednesday, 25 June 2025, launching what organisers describe as a structured pathway to develop student innovations...
Beyond banking: how corporate citizenship is reshaping SA’s entrepreneurial landscape
In a keynote address that challenged traditional notions of corporate support, Ms. Nonhlanhla Magagula, Head of Absa's Corporate Citizenship Programmes, outlined a transformative vision where...
Who owns AI? Digital literacy, inequality, and the future of learning
Tools like ChatGPT have become a daily part of life for students and educators alike. But beneath the surface of convenience and efficiency lies a...
Digital literacies in the era of AI; A lively discussion
The rapid rise of generative AI tools like ChatGPT has forced educators and policymakers to grapple with urgent questions: How should universities prepare students for...
USAf and THENSA sign a formal agreement to collaborate for the common good of higher education in South Africa and beyond
On Tuesday, 28 January 2025, Universities South Africa (USAf) and Technological Higher Education Network South Africa (THENSA) signed a collaborative agreement that the chief executive...
There are as many models of mentorship as there are mentors and mentees, says Professor Stephanie Burton
In the true spirit of a community of practice (CoP), which meets to share knowledge and information and support on common concerns, the recent meeting...
Challenging established rules is the way forward for teaching and learning at universities
A university is a space for challenging established ideas and engaging in open-ended inquiry, where students and faculty alike are encouraged to question, reflect, and...
Five crucial lessons learnt from the last 30 years in higher education
A dark dystopian future awaits our children and grandchildren, said Professor Adam Habib, Director: School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS) of the University of...
How universities can make globalisation achieve better results and longevity — Adam Habib’s perspective
The incentive structure on research subsidies and the ranking systems have pushed South African universities to try and be like each other. This undermines the...
Higher Education has lost a legend in Human Resources management
Universities South Africa (USAf) deeply mourns the loss to premature death, of Dr Kgomotso Kasonkola, Senior Director: Human Resources (HR) at the University of the...
Advancing doctoral assessment strategies; the importance of standardisation and the viva voce mode of assessment
Assessment standards as applied in postgraduate (especially doctoral) research proposals, dissertations and written and oral examinations were the subject of discussion at a recent meeting...
SAJU 6 is set to foster sustainable research, innovation and impact partnerships from Stellenbosch University in 2024
Universities’ executive leaders, senior and emerging academics and researchers, as well as students interested in global research partnerships will descend on the 6th South Africa-Japan...
Behind every successful person there is a story worth drawing from
Paul Ryan once wrote that “behind every business, there’s a story worth knowing.” He was recently proven right through the extensive thought leadership that was...
Universities South Africa’s third higher education conference is set to be a deliberations powerhouse
The third biennial higher education conference of Universities South Africa (USAf) promises to be a deliberations powerhouse, judging from the range of speakers confirmed to...
Public universities are invited to showcase their positive impact on the South African society
Universities South Africa (USAf) recently invited universities to submit case studies illustrating the positive outcomes of their research and academic work in society. This initiative...
Universities South Africa announces the launch of a cross-cultural energy transition project partnership with the Texas International Education Consortium (TIEC)
Universities South Africa proudly announces the launch of a cross-cultural energy transition project partnership between herself and the Texas International Education Consortium (TIEC). This relationship...
Universities South Africa signs a collaborative agreement with a consortium of Texas universities
Universities South Africa (USAf), a representative association of South Africa’s 26 public universities, has sealed an exciting partnership with the Texas International Education Consortium (TIEC),...
The USAf Board welcomes a new member while bidding goodbye to a long-serving USAf employee
The first ordinary meeting of Universities South Africa’s (USAf’s) Board of Directors on 19 March opened with the Chairperson, Professor Francis Petersen, officially welcoming the...
USAf’s Education Deans’ Forum acquires new leadership
The inaugural meeting of the Education Deans’ Forum (EDF) on 6 March saw the deans electing new office bearers, recognising that the term of office...