“Mission accomplished” pretty much sums up USAf’s Higher Education Conference 2024

Published On: 19 November 2024|

The 3rd Universities South Africa (USAf) Higher Education Conference 2024 set out “to bring the university sector with its multiple publics to engage in conversations related to sustaining the future of universities”.  

Anchored on the theme The Future of the University, the platform was intended to provide for rigorous, evidence-based, robust debates and for multiple and diverse voices to be heard and inform and shape our collective imaginations of the future…

Judging from the calibre and number of executive leaders of universities, industry and government who participated in the conference, and the level and quality of engagement that unfolded in the three days, USAf more than achieved its objectives.

In presenting her vote of thanks on 11 October, USAf’s CEO, Dr Phetiwe Matutu (right), said: “There’s been a lot of goodwill, and I’m amazed by the extent to which people value higher education in South Africa, and by the high regard afforded Universities South Africa. We’re very appreciative of that”.

She thanked the leadership of USAf — pretty much the Board of Directors – who had played a leading role in determining this conference agenda. The Board of USAf comprises the vice-chancellors (VCs) of South Africa’s 26 public universities. Those at the conference were:

  • The Chairperson of the Board, Professor Francis Peterson, who is VC of the University of Pretoria
  • The Deputy Chairperson of the Board, Professor Rushiella Nolundi Songca, and VC: Walter Sisulu University
  • Professor Bismark Tyobeka, VC: North-West University and Chairperson of the Funding Strategy Group
  • Professor Sizwe Mabizela, VC: Rhodes University and Chairperson of USAf’s Admissions Committee
  • Professor Andrew Crouch, VC: Sol Plaatje University and Chairperson of the Teaching and Learning Strategy Group
  • Professor Peter Mbati, VC: Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University
  • Professor Pamela Dube, VC: Central University of Technology and Chairperson of the Transformation Strategy Group
  • Professor Nokuthula Sibiya, VC: Mangosuthu University of Technology
  • Professor Thandwa Mthembu, VC: Durban University of Technology and Chairperson of the World of Work Strategy Group
  • Professor Stephen Khehla Ndlovu, VC: Vaal University of Technology; and
  • Professor Thoko Mayekiso, VC: University of Mpumalanga and Chairperson of the Research and Innovation Strategy Group.

Not only the reigning vice-chancellors participated in the conference. Five former vice-chancellors also played key roles. “Bear in mind that we do not pay speakers; they are here, they prepare and they support us in driving the work of Universities South Africa,” said Dr Matutu.

She was referring to:

  • Professor Adam Habib, former VC of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and now VC of the School of African and Oriental Studies at the University of London, who spoke on Three Decades of Democracy: Reflecting on Higher Education Achievement and Challenges
  • Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, former VC of the University of Johannesburg (UJ), now rector of the United Nations University in Japan, who delivered a pre-recorded video presentation on The University, Its Future and Academic Freedom: A Global Conversation
  • Professor Chris Brink, former VC of both Stellenbosch University in South Africa and Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, who participated in a video linkup about USAf’s open Call for Societally Impactful Research Case Studies, an initiative he is leading
  • Professor Loyiso Nongxa, former VC of Wits, and now chair of the Strategy and Steering Committee of the National Graduate Academy for Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, who, on account of ill health was unable to attend but had committed to chair one of the conference sessions; and
  • Professor Ihron Rensburg, former VC of the University of Johannesburg and now leadership coach and mentor, and Programme Associate for USAf’s Higher Education Leadership and Management (HELM) programme. Professor Rensburg had on Day Three delivered a keynote address online on Higher Education Leadership and Management.

Dr Matutu extended a vote of gratitude to the Council on Higher Education (CHE) for partnering with USAf on the plenary themed Insights onto the Future: Learning and Teaching Scenarios in 2036, which turned out to be “very informative and insightful,” she said, referring to the CHE’s newly released Alternative Futures for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education in South Africa – Scenarios for 2036 report, which would be invaluable for shaping universities’ future strategies.

Other leadership at the conference included senior researchers, registrars, HR practitioners, and finance executives – mostly members of USAf’s communities of practice or strategy groups. Dr Matutu said she was grateful for their attendance “and also the contribution they make to provide direction to this very important sector of ours”.

The conference had also featured international speakers, with some presenting online while others “had travelled from far and wide to share insights into the future of the university, and others to listen and contribute ideas that we found very useful,” Dr Matutu said.

She mentioned that USAf has many local and international collaborators of individual institutions or groups of universities, she said, and they were also present at the conference, as was a representative of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Pretoria, another collaborator, as well as the deputy vice-chancellor of Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, who is driving the South Africa-Canada Universities Network (SACUN).

Other attendees represented:

  • The private sector, such as Standard Bank, whose head of corporate citizenship, Dr Kirsten Greenop, spoke in the session, Financial Sustainability of Higher Education Institutions.
  • Government departments such as the Office of the Auditor-General in the person of Dr Thamsanqa Zikode, Head of the portfolio: Regularity Audit, and the Ministry of Higher Education and Training, in the form of Dr Clarence Tshitereke, Special Advisor to Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, the Minister, and senior other officials of the Department. Dr Tshitereke had delivered the opening keynote address.  
  • Former Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, one of the lead speakers on The University, Its Future and Academic Freedom; and
  • NGOs, NPOs, foundations, and philanthrophy organisations. 

Dr Matutu’s gratitude went to the people in all these categories and also to the members of USAf’s organising team. “You would have seen USAf staff in navy golf shirts,” she said. “In addition to the intellectual considerations and the discussions and the debates, which can all be credited to the strategy groups, there has been the operational side of things within the USAf Office.” She said many people had remarked on the staff efficiency in rendering all manner of support at the event, and their willingness to assist the delegates.

Professor Sizwe Mabizela had said: “These people remind me of China. They are ready to serve you. You just don’t find this anywhere else”. Writer and social activist, Ms Elinor Sisulu, who also attended the conference, had suggested that this USAf team train be deployed to train customer-facing staff in South Africa’s tourism sector. 

The conference wrap-up on 11 October marked the beginning of future planning – with the strategy groups now working on turning the Conference recommendations into future focus areas, projects and programmes — as USAf gears up for a sustainable future.  

The biennial HE Conference will next take place in 2026.

Gillian Anstey is a contract writer for Universities South Africa.