Universities South Africa
Strategy Groups’ News
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...
Academic mobility is about a lot more than students travelling between countries
Professor Loyiso Nongxa started his presentation at Universities South Africa’s (USAf’s) Research and Innovation Dialogue by declaring he was a dinosaur. He used to work at...
SA needs a serious rethink of postgraduate study if it is to address the declining uptake – especially in local students
Fewer and fewer South Africans are undertaking postgraduate studies. A national review of South African doctoral qualifications between 2020 and 2021 revealed that 56.7% of...
Student mobility was a hot topic at USAf’s Research and Innovation Dialogue
Universities South Africa’s (USAf’s) 7th Biennial Research and Innovation Dialogue lived up to its name of being a dialogue, a conversation, when a discussion in...
Universities are key actors in creating vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystems for sustainable prosperity and development
The university can be an excellent player in ecosystem development, enabling an environment in which entrepreneurship contributes to achieving sustainable development and societal changes. So...
What happens in neighbouring Thohoyandou is our business, says UNIVEN’s Professor Vhonani Netshandama
At the recent Universities South Africa’s (USAf) 7th Biennial Research and Innovation (R&I) Dialogue 2023, held on 21 and 22 September in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, delegates...
Early findings show internationalisation is seen as part of SA universities’ core missions
Internationalisation is well embedded in the context of the core missions of South African universities, including research, teaching & learning and engagement. This emerged from...
Unpacking what went into the rapid trajectory of a successful Canadian university
The successful ecosystem-enabling experiences that drive social innovation and entrepreneurship at a Canadian university were shared with South African institutions and stakeholders at the 7th...
A clear vision and involved leadership; a recipe for achieving entrepreneurship and innovation goals
With only a decade in existence, the University of Mpumalanga (UMP) has an ambitious vision of becoming “an African university, leading in creating opportunities for...
Societally impactful research is already taking place in South Africa; institutions must locate the evidence and be more intentional about this approach
How can universities create impact with their research? Just start monitoring it, was the overriding message at a discussion on this topic at the 7th...
Africa, wake up and see your wealth creation and development potential – a visiting Ghanaian professor advises
Evidence of research and innovation generating jobs, sustaining wealth, and transforming societies for the better exists in so much abundance, globally, that Africa has no...
UCT’s Dr Linda Mtwisha calls for a national research impact assessment system
Dr Linda Mtwisha, the executive director of research at the University of Cape Town (UCT), said that it’s imperative to develop a national research impact...
Assessing the impact of university research is not complicated; it carries benefits for both the university and society, says Professor Chris Brink
Professor Chris Brink, who has been focusing on the societal impact of higher education research for about 10 years in both in the United Kingdom...
The HSRC’s Impact Centre is giving effect to the Council’s promise of “social science that makes a difference”
Creating impactful research in the knowledge system does not happen magically. Somebody needs to be driving it, says Professor Heidi van Rooyen, Group Executive: Impact...
USAf’s Transformation Dialogue seeks to shift higher education from a compliance-driven to an innovation and inclusivity-driven transformation process
Is there real transformative activity taking place in higher education, or has this been a box-ticking exercise? This question spurred Universities South Africa’s (USAf) Transformation...
Universities SA’s World of Work Strategy Group commits to an ambitious multi-year programme of action
Significant stakeholder engagements in the first half of 2023 sparked numerous project considerations in Universities South Africa’s World of Work Strategy Group (WSG) if the...
Unsettling paradigms; the quest for inclusive and democratised knowledge
From a scholarly project commenced in 2017, four academics had come together to share insights emerging from on-going research projects investigating what to change, how...
Unsettling paradigms; the quest for inclusive and democratised knowledge
She revolutionised the teaching of Instrumental Music Studies at Rhodes University by substituting western musical instruments for indigenous African performance practice. In just three years,...
Emerging researchers/silent majority study findings
The 2017 study on emerging researchers and the silent majority (the large number of early career academics at lecturer and senior lecturer level who are not...
Highlights from the Research & Innovation Dialogue 2018, 31 May – 1 June
The 6th Research and Innovation Dialogue of Universities South Africa (USAf), held at the Emperors’ Palace from 31 May to 1 June, attracted up to 80...
Research and Innovation Dialogue 2018
The 6th Research and Innovation Dialogue of Universities South Africa (USAf), held at the Emperors’ Palace from 31 May to 1 June, turned out to be...
The Research and Innovation Strategy Group (RISG)
The Rural Campuses Connectivity Project (RCCP) The RISG would continue to oversee the RCCP, whose objective it is to provide access circuits to connect rurally-based university...
Reconstituting institutional culture by focusing on the design of the universities around our students and around their more intensive engagement with their local and regional contexts:
There is a growing view that the TSG ought to be more engaged in the project of helping the sector to give effect to institutional culture...
Transformation Strategy Group
Implementation in 2018 of the transformation barometer in public universities: the Transformation Barometer is essentially a self-monitoring and reporting tool that enables institutions to set transformation...
Study on Emerging Researchers:
There is deep concern about the fact that many young scholars who have graduated with doctorates are not developing into NRF-rated researchers. There is a strong...
Research and Innovation Strategy Group
National Site Licence for Journals: One of USAf’s signature projects in 2018 will be the move towards a national site licence for journals. First calculations indicate...
Curriculum transformation:
At its first meeting of the year in 2016, the TLSG identified curriculum transformation as a strategic issue for discussion. Under the theme: “Curriculum transformation in...
Teaching and learning technologies:
It was reported at the TLSG meeting on 30 May 2017 that there is a significant move by publishers towards the development of custom digital publications,...
Teaching and Learning Strategy Group
Enhancing the student experience at public universities: Following an indication by the TLSG, that enhancing students’ learning experiences was not receiving adequate attention through the Quality...
Projects of Strategy Groups
Funding Strategy Group The study to determine the appropriate level of funding of South Africa’s higher education sector: This study will take into account what the...
Study to determine the Impact of Universities on Local and National Economies:
The concept paper in this regard was prepared during late 2016 and the project was duly scoped. The Office of the USAf CEO is making all...
Introduction
The biennial Research & Innovation conference was conceptualised by USAf’s Research and Innovation Strategy Group (RISG) in 2010. The initial event, held from 11-12 March 2010, was themed ‘Strengthening...
Black Researchers constitute only a third of DST development candidates
Speaking to the topic of Transformation and Human Capital Development in Universities, the Chief Director: Human Capital and Science Promotion in the Department of Science and...
Research & Innovation is central to performance on Sustainable Development Goals
The two-day Research & Innovation Conference on 7 and 8 April 2016 established that research and innovation is a key determinant in performance on the UN’s...
2016 USAf Research & Innovation Dialogue Report
USAf hosted the 4th Biennial Research and Innovation Dialogue with the theme ‘Levering Research and Innovation for South Africa’s Prosperity’. The Dialogue assisted to put...
2012 HESA Research & Innovation Conference Report
The global demand for greater social accountability, responsiveness and relevance on the part of higher education manifests as an emphasis on universities’ contribution to the...
2010_HESA_Research & Innovation Conference Report
It is in this consideration that Higher Education South Africa (HESA) hosted the Research and Innovation Conference on 11-12 March 2010, at the CSIR International...