The African University in the 21st Century SAARDHE 2005. 27 - 29 June. UKZN

STAFF AND ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT -MID-CAREER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR UNIVERSITY STAFF

The Advantages and Potential of a Regional Universities Partnership Programme

for the purpose of building institutional and human capacity

Nan Warner and Lesley ShackletonInternational Academic Programmes Office,

University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch 7700, South AfricaTel : 021 650-2822, Fax : 021 650-5667, Email : nan@world.uct.ac.za

On 9th February 2001 the Association of African Universities (AAU) presented a DECLARATION ON THE AFRICAN UNIVERSITY IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM.

Of the twelve points our presentation will address that which specifically mentions the necessity  to  “take  full  advantage  of  their  collective  potential  by  pursuing  …  opportunities for inter-institutional cooperation and  academic  mobility  …”.

1 . Introduction

2. Theory

We consider current theory underlying the content of the presentation in the following three categories

Co-operationNetworksStaff and Academic Development

Co-operation

Kanter (1994)Factors essential to partnership and co-operationThe role of personal relationshipsSeeking mutual benefitsAccepting differences

Chan (2004)Factors in shaping & driving international co-operation in HEMassification & marketisation of HEInternationalization of HE as response to globalizationAdvancement of information & communication technology

Other important factors in AfricaScarcity of resourcesNeed to remain connected to the broader community of scholars

Networks

Networks describe a form of multilateralco-operation.Four types have been identified (White, 2001):

HierarchicalEnclaveIndividualisticIsolate

In practice many networks are a combination of aspects of all or several of the four types, and this is considered to give strength and flexibility to a network.

Staff and Academic Development

“Staff  development  includes  everything  that is done to maintain and extend the knowledge and skills of staff so that they can contribute fully towards the achievements of goals  of  the  University.    …    Of  particular  importance for academic staff are ongoing development of teaching and research skills, and maintaining currency in the disciplines on which  the  University’s  programs  are  based.”

Australian Catholic University

3. The USHEPiA ProgrammeThe programme partnership comprises the Universities of Botswana, Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Zambia, Zimbabwe; Makerere University, and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology.

PurposeA regional universities partnership programmeinitiated for the purpose of building institutional and human capacity in African universities, and promoting collaboration amongst African researchers in the generation and dissemination of knowledge.

FundingFrom its inception in 1995 the Programmehas been awarded about $4,5 million in about 20 separate grants. Partner universities contribute salaries and staff time.Locality

All eight final partner universities come from Anglophone countries. This was fortuitous because of synergies in the British model of structure and governance. Other, important, synergies have become evident, in environment, research interests, and challenges.

Mutual NeedsThe partner universities approached thisfrom two different perspectives.

UCT needed to bridge its isolation from African academia, but had relatively good facilities.The other partners needed to attract, train, and retain academic staff in often resource-stressed institutions.

Much  of  Africa’s  postgraduate  training  currently  takes place off-continent. If studies could take place on the continent, this would have positive and significant implications.

Core ActivityThe central focus of USHEPiA is staff developmentFellowships in the fields of science & engineering, and the humanities & social sciences. USHEPiA Fellows must be staff members in their home

universities. They apply to undertake studies and research, jointly

supervised at UCT and their home university, that lead to PhD or Masters degrees. The research topics are usually in identified priority developmental  areas  in  the  Fellow’s  home  country.    Applications must be endorsed by the Vice Chancellor, Dean of

the Faculty, and Head of Department, to ensure that full support is given to the applicant. Care is taken to identify supervisors who are well-qualified,

experienced, and enthusiastic. An International Steering Committee comprising three Vice

Chancellors, the Project Leader, and the DVC (International) of UCT, make the final awards.

USHEPiA awards are not Fellowships in the narrow sense.

There is a recognition of the special difficulties faced by highly qualified staff in many of the African universities –isolationlack of modern equipment and library resourcesand the difficulty in getting research and travel funds which enable

the researcher keep abreast of the field.

Accordingly USHEPiA awards encourage and support not only the Fellow and his/her research, but also fund some equipment in the home university and require both the UCT supervisor and the home university supervisor  to  visit  each  other’s  laboratories/research  areasand promote on-going collaboration between research teams in the

different partner universities.

Performance to date

Since its inception USHEPiA has offered59 full degree Fellowships.

25 degrees have been awarded to date. 5 more theses have been submitted for examinationWe have had 3 withdrawals, and 3 deaths. 29 Fellows are still to complete. The first Fellows began their degree studies in 1996, so the record covers 9 years.

Most significant is the fact that, to date, not oneFellow has left the continent.

4. Fitness for Purpose

Is the USHEPiA framework addressing the stated purpose? To answer this question we will consider 3 sources of information.

External EvaluationAn evaluation of USHEPiA was carried out in 2003. The findings were that the structure and outcomes indicated a successful Programme. Key contributory factors were the regional nature  of  USHEPiA,  the  ‘enthusiasm  principle’,  and the quality of the Programme management.

Factors for Success

The Programme management has identified the following:

Thorough Advance ConsultationMulti-Level, Interacting Linkages‘Enthusiasm  Principle’  applied  to  all  participantsSustainable Capacity-BuildingFlexible Individual Fellowship ManagementProactive CommunicationNetwork Development Beyond Individual FellowshipAgreed Identification of ObjectivesHigh-Level Co-Operative Management Backed by Intensive Local Management and Support

These all tie in well with the current literature on partnerships.

Continued Professional Development

What happens to the successful USHEPiA graduates?They return home to their families and their duties. Often the environment has not changed in terms of collegial structure, research funding, teaching and administration loads, and academic isolation.In response to this, USHEPiA raised funds for small annual grants for which graduates who returned to their universities must apply. A variety of immediate small needs can thus be addressed. These include more computing power, fieldwork costs, journal subscription, conference attendance.

5. Advantages

In assessing the advantages and benefitsof the USHEPiA Programme it is useful tolook at

Specific implications for the variousstakeholdersThe broader implicationsSome of the associated projects resulting from USHEPiA

Specific implications for the various stakeholders

A consideration of the immediate stakeholders gives a superficial but good indication of the benefits of the programme.

USHEPiA FellowUCT supervisorHome university supervisorVice ChancellorsThe partner universitiesThe region

The broader implications

Perhaps the most significant outcome of USHEPiA is the fact that it is keeping people on the continentResearch is carried out on topics of importance to the regionResearch methodologies are developed that are appropriate for the regionRegional academic research networks can growCultural knowledge, values, and ways of approaching research and teaching can be sharedThe exchange of academics is enabling benchmarking of quality in research and teaching

Some of the associated projects resulting from USHEPiA

BenchmarkingIntellectual Property

AAU / USHEPiA Research Publication NetworkUN Emerging African Leaders Working ForumUNESCO Mobility Programme

6. PotentialThe potential of regional partnerships for staff and academic development is enormous. For USHEPiA members the clear direction is to further develop and expand existing activities, addressing such needs as

benchmarkingimproving access of women to Higher Educationcourses on writing research proposals and reportsmore small grants to enable greater mobility of academics and researchersgrants for the purchase of computer equipment and for improving communicationsidentifying centres of excellence and resources that could be sharedsharing expertise on curriculum development and transformationissues of ethics

These initiatives would lead to the development of institutional credibility in the region.

These internally identified activities are underpinnedby the external evaluation which identified a numberof important tasks that USHEPiA could undertakewithout compromising its commitment to staff development. These included

Curriculum development, particularly at the graduate levelExpanding support for research in the network. Research

capacity and publications could be enhanced by ensuring sabbatical leaves within the region & conference participationWays of facilitating institutional strengthening. Institutional

capacity would be enhanced by ♦ developing joint programmes for the professional development of support and administrative staff, ♦ maintenance and repair of scientific equipment and ♦ sharing of resources. ♦Improvement of electronic connectivity would also be important.

It is interesting to note that many of these suggestionsare congruent with the SADC Protocol on Educationand Training (1997) which advocates the following :

Quality in postgraduate educationResearch that is in line with national and regional needsSharing of research facilitiesCost-sharingDevelopment of science and technology policyAllocation of adequate resources to HEIsThe strengthening of basic Research and DevelopmentResearch co-operation across the various sectorsThe establishment of professional associationsCentres of excellenceFacilitation of movement of researchers within the SADC region

7. ConclusionsIn a time-period of about 10 years USHEPiAhas been the means of 25 African academics procuring their (mostly PhD) degrees. They have all remained in Africa and most have returned to their home university. All the research projects and results have contributed knowledge that is relevant to the region.In some cases the USHEPiA graduate has become the only academic with a specific expertise in the home country. Currently about another 30 Fellows are pursuing their studies, and all are expected to win through to their degrees. Fundraising for further Cohorts of Fellowships is ongoing.

The Programme has demonstrated flexibility inthe management of individual Fellowships and in its response to the needs of successful Fellows who have returned home. It has demonstrated strong and ongoing support at all

levels. Finally, the management is seen to be dedicated and

effective.

USHEPiA is successful in terms of all of the success factors identified in the literature. Moreover, there are clear synergies between the USHEPiA success factors and institutional and inter-university co-operation theory. We may therefore conclude that the structure of the Programme is fit for the purpose of the partnership, and has remained so for nearly 10 years.

In assessing the advantages of the Programme beyond basic statistics reflecting numbers of Fellows, we have shown that there are numerous other advantages that have accrued from the basic Fellowships. These we believe give a further indication of the efficacy of USHEPiA in meeting its stated purpose.In addition however, it must also be noted that it is difficult  to  measure  the  ‘soft’  advantages,  e.g.  the  feeling of empowerment of many of the women Fellows; but over a period of time these may turn out to be the most important of the benefits.

Lastly we have uncovered the considerable potential inherent in this Programme, to enhance and extend the benefits and therefore the underlying purpose of the partnership. Furthermore we know that everything that has been

suggested can be carried out, because we have considered the potential in terms of our actual and experiential knowledge.

We believe that the USHEPiA model clearly demonstrates the advantages and potential of a

regional universities partnership programme for the purpose of building institutional and

human capacity.

We would like to acknowledge the donor organizations who make the USHEPiA Programme possible. They are the Rockefeller Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, and the Andrew W Mellon Foundation.

The contribution from the partner universities, as can be seen from this presentation, is considerable.