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Please note that this version

of the programme

is being printed.

Should there be any further

changes, they will be

announced during

the conference.

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PRE-CONFERENC

WEDNESDAY, 2 OCTOBER

Pre-Conference Workshops

08:30 – 11:45 Student success

(participation by invitation only)

HELM

(participation by invitation only)

CONFERENCE

10:30 – 11:45 Registration Tea and coffee on arrival

12:00 – 12:30 Opening and welcome

Prof Thandwa Mthembu, Vice-Chancellor: Durban University of

Technology and Chairperson: Universities South Africa Board of

Directors

Diamond

12:30 – 13:00 Opening plenary

The Honourable Minister of Higher Education, Science and

Technology, Dr Bonginkosi Emmanuel (Blade) Nzimande

Diamond

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch Diamond

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14:00 – 15:30 SESSION A

Ruby

Ethics and integrity in

research publishing

Speakers:

Dr Molapo Qhobela,

Chief Executive Officer:

National Research

Foundation

Prof Stephanie Burton,

Vice-Principal: Research

and Postgraduate

Education, University of

Pretoria

Prof Narend Baijnath,

Chief Executive Officer:

Council on Higher

Education

SESSION B

Emerald

New Technologies and

the Labour Market

Speakers:

Dr Surendra (Colin)

Thakur, Director: NEMISA

KZN e-Skills CoLab,

Durban University of

Technology

Ms Amy Thornton,

Researcher:

Development Policy

Research Unit, University

of Cape Town

SESSION C

Diamond

The production of

Institutional Culture in

South African

Universities and the

limits of transformation

Speakers:

Prof André Keet, Chair of

Critical Studies in Higher

Education Transformation:

Nelson Mandela University

Prof Pamela Dube, Deputy

Vice-Chancellor: Student

Development and Support,

University of the Western

Cape

Ms Khuselwa Kafu,

Student: Hons

Development Studies,

University of the Western

Cape

Mr George Mvalo,

Director: Social Justice and

Transformation, Vaal

University of Technology

15:30 – 16:00 Afternoon tea Foyer

16:00 – 16:30 Plenary 1:

South Africa’s Adventures into Open Access

Speakers:

Prof Ahmed Bawa, Chief Executive Officer: Universities South

Africa

Dr Molapo Qhobela, Chief Executive Officer: National Research

Foundation

Diamond

16:30 – 17:00 Plenary 2:

New priorities for the CHE for the MTSF period

Speaker:

Prof Narend Baijnath, Chief Executive Officer: Council on

Higher Education

Diamond

17:30 – 19:00 Welcome reception CSIR ICC

4

THURSDAY, 3 OCTOBER

08:30 – 09:30 Plenary 3:

Towards a National Plan for Post-School Education and

Training: process, parameters and possibilities

Speaker:

Dr Diane Parker, Deputy Director-General: University

Education, Department of Higher Education and Training

Diamond

09:30 – 11:00 SESSION D

Emerald

From gatekeepers

to gateways: the

opportunities and

challenges of high

risk courses

Speakers:

Prof Francois

Strydom, Senior

Director: Academic,

Centre for Teaching

and Learning,

University of the Free

State

Dr André van Zyl,

Director: Academic

Development Centre,

University of

Johannesburg

Ms Tsitsi Mpofu-

Mkweta, PhD

candidate, University

of Cape Town

SESSION E

Ruby

Student funding – past,

present, future

Speakers:

Ms Thandi Lewin, Chief

Director: Governance and

Management Support,

Department of Higher

Education and Training

Ms Chantyl Mulder, Co-

CEO, Ikusasa Student

Financial Aid Programme

(ISFAP)

Mr Simon Trupp, Co-

CEO, ISFAP

Prof Philippe Burger, Pro

Vice-Chancellor: Poverty,

Inequality and Economic

Development, University of

the Free State

SESSION F

Diamond

Transformation by

design – Staff and

Student Centrism as

‘architectural’ principles

of social justice change

in universities

Speaker panel:

Ms Sebenzile Matsebula,

Transformation Oversight

Committee

Ms Fundisile Nzimande,

Transformation Oversight

Committee

Prof Puleng LenkaBula,

Vice-Rector: Institutional

Change, Student Affairs

and Community

Engagement, University of

the Free State

Mr Jerome September,

Dean: Student Affairs,

University of the

Witwatersrand

Mr Thabo Shingange, National Spokesperson of

the South African Union of

Students (SAUS

Mr Jackie Shandu,

Activist Intellectual

11:00 – 11:30 Morning tea Foyer

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11:30 – 13:00 SESSION G

Diamond

Repositioning

graduates as creators

of work

Speakers:

Prof Sibusiso Moyo,

Deputy Vice-

Chancellor: Research,

Innovation and

Engagement, Durban

University of

Technology

Mr Stuart Hendry,

Convenor of Genesis

Project: Applied

Management, Faculty of

Commerce, University

of Cape Town

Prof René Pellissier,

Director: Strategy and

Internationalisation,

Cape Peninsula

University of

Technology

SESSION H

Ruby

Higher Education

funding: realities and

parameters

Speakers:

Dr Diane Parker, Deputy

Director-General:

University Education,

Department of Higher

Education and Training

Dr Vimal Ranchod, Chief

Research Officer:

Southern Africa Labour

and Research Unit,

University of Cape Town

SESSION I

Emerald

Remaking the

University –

Transformative

Engagement as

Embedded Practice in

Local Contexts

Speakers:

Prof Crain Soudien,

Chief Executive Officer:

Human Sciences

Research Council

Prof Xoliswa Mtose,

Vice-Chancellor:

University of Zululand

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch Deck

14:00 – 14:30 Plenary 4:

Generating talent: transforming support for the research

landscape in South Africa

Speakers:

Dr Joanna Newman, Chief Executive and Secretary General:

Association of Commonwealth Universities

Prof Ahmed Bawa, Chief Executive Officer, Universities

South Africa

Diamond

14:30 – 15:00

Plenary 5:

Profiles, Partnerships, Problem-solving: reconfiguring

university-society relationships in the 21st century

Speaker:

Prof Peter Maassen, Professor in Higher Education Studies:

University of Oslo, Norway

Diamond

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15:00 – 15:30 Plenary 6:

Designing a Higher Education system for the future:

Optimising the role of Private Higher Education to

enhance open access

Speakers:

Prof Alwyn Louw, President, IIE MSA

Dr Linda Meyer, Dean: Institutional Advancement, Boston

City Campus and Business College

Prof Bennie Anderson, Chief Executive Officer, The Da Vinci

Institute

Diamond

15:30 – 16:00 Afternoon tea Foyer

16:00 – 17:30 SESSION J

Ruby

Imagining

the exponential and

entrepreneurial

university of the 21st

century

Speakers:

Prof Bavesh Kana,

Centre of Excellence for

Biomedical TB

Research, University of

the Witwatersrand

Prof Brian Armstrong,

Adjunct Professor:

Graduate School of

Business

Administration,

University of the

Witwatersrand

SESSION K

Emerald

Technology in Learning

and Teaching in Higher

Education: A futuristic

view

Speaker:

Prof Paul Prinsloo,

Research Professor:

Department of Business

Management, University of

South Africa

Respondents:

Prof Willie

Chinyamurindi, Associate

Professor: Department of

Business Management,

University of Fort Hare

Mr Mike Swanepoel,

Coordinator:

Interdisciplinary Studies &

Lecturer: Graphic Design,

Department of Applied

Design, Nelson Mandela

University

SESSION L

Diamond

Work Integrated

Learning & Internships:

moving from a gravel

road to a highway for

reinvention

Speakers:

Dr Henri Jacobs,

Deputy Director: Work

Integrated Learning and

Skills Development,

Central University of

Technology (CUT)

Dr Jeanette du Plessis,

CUT

Mr Gideon Potgieter,

Chief Executive Officer,

Resolution Circle

Panel:

Dr Roelien Brink,

Senior Lecturer:

Department of Applied

Information

Management, University

of Johannesburg

18:00 – 21:00 Conference dinner CSIR ICC

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FRIDAY, 4 OCTOBER

08:30 – 09:20 Plenary 7:

The Challenges and Opportunities of the Fourth Industrial

Revolution for African Universities

Speaker: Prof Paul Zeleza, Vice-Chancellor: United States International University – Africa, Nairobi, Kenya

Venue

09:20 – 10:50 SESSION M

Diamond

The State of Higher Education

Research in South Africa today

Speaker:

Prof Johann

Mouton, Professor

and Director: Centre

for Research on

Evaluation, Science

and Technology,

University of

Stellenbosch

Reflection:

Prof Rasigan

Maharajh, Chief

Director: Institute for

Economic Research

on Innovation,

Tshwane University

of Technology

SESSION N

Ruby

Curriculum for the Future

Speakers:

Prof Ylva Rodny-Gumede,

Senior Director:

Internationalisation, University

of Johannesburg

Prof Vasudhevan Reddy,

Dean: Faculty of Humanities,

University of Pretoria

Prof Sabelo Ndlovu-

Gatsheni, Head: Archie

Mafeje Research Institute and

Full Professor: Development

Studies, University of South

Africa

SESSION O

Emerald

Infrastructure for a

growing and evolving

sector

Speakers:

Mr Thato Lehutso,

Senior Manager:

Business Processes,

WitsICT, University of the

Witwatersrand

Mr Ludwig Hansen,

Member: Department of

Higher Education and

Training Macro-

Infrastructure Framework

(MIF) Infrastructure

Development Support

Team

10:50 – 11:10 Morning tea Foyer

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11:10 – 12:10 Plenary 8:

The Impact of the New, Integrated Technologies on Higher

Education's Future

Speakers:

Prof Tshilidzi Marwala, Vice-Chancellor: University of

Johannesburg

Prof Derrick Swartz, former Vice-Chancellor and Principal:

Nelson Mandela University

Diamond

12:10 – 12:40 Plenary 9:

Beyond Engagement: the idea of Responsiveness

Speaker:

Prof Chris Brink, Emeritus Vice-Chancellor: Newcastle

University, United Kingdom

Diamond

12:40 – 13:00 Conference closure Diamond

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch and departure Deck

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PARALLEL SESSIONS IN BRIEF

Ethics and integrity in research publishing

On 31 July 2019 twelve fundamental principles of scholarly research and publishing were

reiterated in a Statement on Ethical Research and Scholarly Publishing Practices that was

issued jointly by the Department of Higher Education and Training, the Department of Science

and Technology, the Council on Higher Education, the National Research Foundation, the

Academy of Science of South Africa and Universities South Africa. With a view to supporting

quality research of high integrity in South Africa and globally, issues related to these principles

will be raised and debated during this session.

New Technologies and the Labour Market

While changes in the nature of work as a function of “disruptive” technological developments

such as automation, robotics and artificial intelligence are sparking concern about potential

job losses, these changes are creating opportunities for new types of jobs and conditions of

work that have significant consequences for the way in which students are prepared for the

labour market. This session will shed light on anticipated changes in the labour market such

as those currently occurring in the banking sector, also in South Africa, and stimulate

discussion and debate about the implications for universities.

The production of Institutional Culture in South African Universities and the limits of

transformation

This panel probes the processes, behaviours and mechanisms by which Institutional Culture

(IC) is produced. It does not seek to simply describe the character and features of IC. Rather,

it inquires about IC as a function of the values, systems and means that ‘steer’ the reproduction

of individual and systemic practices; and the ‘ruling relations’ within universities. The

possibilities for transformative praxes are, to a large extent, determined by the ‘openings’ and

‘cracks’ that need to be crafted on IC.

From gatekeepers to gateways: the opportunities and challenges of high risk courses

The focus of this session is on how we shift ‘high risk’ courses to ‘high impact’. In this ‘vision

for the future’ high risk courses become ‘gateways’ to students’ chosen pathways of study

rather than ‘gatekeepers’. ‘High risk’ courses are critical to student success; they offer students

foundational thinking for further academic progression, hence they are typically requirements

for graduation.

Some of the premises of this session are the following: 1) Throughput, completion and drop-

out rates are unlikely to change unless we address the challenges of high risk courses. 2)

While failure rates are not necessarily a problem, high failure rates, and particularly racial and

gender gaps in performance, serve as flags calling attention to underlying problems. These

include problems of assumptions about student preparedness, decisions about course and

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programme curriculum structure, including assessment, and issues of pedagogy. 3) A better

understanding of these problems requires access to, analysis and interpretation of, a variety

of institutional and course level data. 4) Strong data analytics will not by itself bring about

change. This requires carefully designed, sustainable interventions which address both policy

and practice.

Student funding – past, present, future

Despite revolutionary changes in student funding in recent years, challenges prevail. Many

universities carry significant amounts of historic student debt, there are concerns about the

sustainability of the provision of “fully subsidised free higher education and training for poor

and working-class South Africans”, and provision for students in the “missing middle” category

is inadequate. Short presentations on government’s position and plans, a private sector

initiative and possible alternative student funding models will provide the context for discussing

and debating ways of dealing with the enduring challenge of sustainable student funding.

Transformation by design – Staff and Student Centrism as ‘architectural’ principles of

social justice change in universities

This panel focuses on ways we can co-create sectoral and institutional architectures that work

for student development and student success and empower staff against the backdrop of the

social forces that impact on the system. What kind of intellectual, organisational and social

architecture would we design that would best fit the access and success profiles that we seek

as a sector and as a nation? And perhaps most importantly, what would it take in terms of the

ways that we construct our institutions to alleviate the condition of alienation that many

students experience, whether real or perceived?

Repositioning graduates as the creators of work

University students across the country are responding to the challenge of entrepreneurship,

primarily as an exciting career option in itself, and secondarily as an alternative to the real and

growing risk of unemployment. Similarly, universities are increasingly rethinking and adapting

their role as entrepreneurial institutions of higher education that provide an environment in

which students can explore and implement entrepreneurial practices. Within such contexts,

students are not only being prepared for business, but also for the various other forms of work

they might choose to pursue in their future careers. In this session approaches to and

successful practical examples of supporting students to be entrepreneurial will be shared.

Higher Education funding: realities and parameters

Universities South Africa has commissioned a research project, funded by a University

Capacity Development Grant, to determine what the appropriate level of funding is for higher

education in South Africa, taking into account what it is expected to achieve in terms of the

production of graduates and diplomates, in terms of its research and innovation outputs and

in terms of other roles that universities play in South Africa. During this session some early

insights, derived from the research that is still in progress, will be shared. Light will also be

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shed on the parameters for government funding of universities which is the main source of

income for most.

Remaking the University – Transformative Engagement as Embedded Practice in

Local Contexts

Engaging with the social imaginaries that limit our thinking of how the universities could be,

this panel explores the possibilities of (re)creating the relationship of the universities with its

publics. There is a need to develop a holistic philosophical framework to drive such an

intervention – to provide the opportunity for theoretical and experiential expansions. What this

means is that universities (and the sector as a whole) as knowledge intensive social

institutions must find ways to interlock engagement into their knowledge projects in ways that

provide for a growth in trust that as social institutions universities serve society, that gives

people the chance to stake an ownership of these institutions as their institutions. At a more

practical level, what kinds of new conversations should there be between universities and their

publics: industry and business, government at all levels, the NGO sector, communities,

families of students and, of course, students themselves?

Imagining the exponential and entrepreneurial university of the 21st century

Higher education, like all other institutions, has to contend with “disruptions” posed by the

“fourth” industrial revolution. Among these are changes in the way of pedagogical delivery and

the generational mix of new entrants whose base of learning depends on technology. This is

taking place against a backdrop of near exponential changes in technology shaping societies

in unprecedented ways.

Various industries have put forward imaginative measures to manage the future of how they

will engage with and deploy these emerging technologies in order to keep themselves as

relevant players in the future of work. The question for universities is: are they gearing up for

the new reality that will also impact on the higher education sector?

Technology in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: A futuristic view

Technology provides an ever-burgeoning range of opportunities for teaching and learning, and

students increasingly want greater agency with regard to when and where learning occurs.

Fundamental to the need to embrace technology is to ensure that it is discipline-appropriate,

cost-effective and strategically integrated into teaching and learning goals. Within these

parameters, it is important for universities to design and implement wholly online and blended

programmes, and to reimagine on-campus teaching and learning spaces and facilities. It is

therefore imperative to continuously explore pedagogically sound and forward looking

strategies for the integration of technology to enhance student learning.

The session focuses on articulating aspirational elements/ways of enhancing the integration

of technology as a way of improving accessibility and flexibility of teaching and learning instead

of merely dwelling on the current use of technologies.

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Work Integrated Learning & Internships: moving from a gravel road to a highway for

reinvention

The objective of this session is to identify hurdles that hamper progress and need to be

crossed and removed to create a highway that will unlock the full potential of Work Integrated

Learning (WIL) and internships as pedagogies and mechanisms ideally suited to drive and

complement reinvention. The modus operandi will thus be to provide a holistic overview and

take stock of what WIL and internships entail, identify barriers and how to unlock these by

means of existing innovations and successes already achieved.

The key topics to focus on will be: 1) to find a common understanding of what is meant by and

included under WIL and internships to achieve definitional clarity, 2) understand how the

curriculum can be used as instrument for innovation and reinvention, 3) consider various

management models that can be adopted to support WIL and internships, 4) analyse funding

opportunities and 5) determine global trends relevant to WIL and internships.

The State of Higher Education Research in South Africa today

This session will commence with a presentation based on a recently released report titled “The

state of the South African research enterprise”. The presentation, with a focus on higher

education research, will cover issues such as investment in research, human resources

capacity for research, research performance, trends in doctoral enrolments and graduation,

current research priorities in specific strategic fields and their alignment with international and

national goals. The presentation will be followed by critical reflection and discussion.

Curriculum for the Future

The World Economic Forum’s 2017 Executive Briefing on the future of jobs and skills in Africa

states that:

Africa’s educators should design future-ready curricula that encourage critical thinking,

creativity and emotional intelligence as well as accelerate acquisition of digital and STEM skills

to match the way people will work and collaborate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. (2017:

iii)1

What needs to be clarified is whether our curricula produce students with the skills needed for

their current studies, but even more importantly, once they graduate, whether they will be

equipped to deal with the needs of the future. A brief survey of the anticipated skills needed

to meet the demands of the 4IR indicate that critical thinking, complex problem-solving skills,

collaboration and networking, adaptability and mental agility, entrepreneurship, creativity,

curiosity, imagination, judgment and decision-making, and service orientation are key. How

then do universities respond in relation to revisiting curricula?

1 World Economic Forum (May 2017) Executive Briefing: The Future of Jobs and Skills in Africa.

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Infrastructure for a growing and evolving sector

The focus of this session will be on principles underpinning infrastructure planning from a

spatial development perspective – with a focus on teaching, learning and living spaces and

the intersection between the infrastructure development side (design/construction) and the

academic side (usage and purpose) that requires collaboration and integration – specifically

in the context of reimagining university spaces in the 21st century and within a context of scarce

resources. During this session perspectives from government and institutions will be shared

to provoke innovative ideas and discussion about responding to infrastructure challenges and

opportunities for innovation in spatial planning at universities.

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