Page 21 - Transformation Indaba Report

Prof Soudien shared that all universities report an increase in understandings exist. In some institutions, it is a highly
outputs and productions, but more significantly, the histori- developed field of study but not sufficiently across the
cally disadvantaged universities have increased their outputs. whole sector. He reported that across the 26 institutions, no
He has noticed a shift towards high-impact journals and standard approach to transformation exists to enable us to talk
much interest in the institutional experience. Graduate and of trends in easily distinguishable ways. Instead, there are 26
institutional culture surveys have provided the sector with different ways in which institutions are addressing the issue.
great insight into what’s happening inside institutions. All universities are confronted by particular challenges, doing
some things well while doing other things not so well.
Prof Soudien remarked on the exiting shift toward Engaged Therefore, it has not been easy to map what is going on.
Scholarship across the sector but felt too many different

5. Societal Relevance and Community Engagement (slide)

• The universities were making increasing efforts to integrate their identity and core functions within their immediate
and extended community-region, including through the idea and practice of community engagement, as well as
new notions such as the university as “anchor institution”.
• Although community engagement tends to focus more on immediate, local communities (especially in historically
black and rural universities), all institutions engaged with a plethora of stakeholders (especially industry, local
communities, schools, SETAs, the government) in pursuit of various developmental and social transformational
objectives.
• The extent to which community engagement was contributing internally to the transformation of academia or to
the transformation goals of external communities was typically not considered in depth in the annual reports.

Transformation Approach:
Culture of Innovation

Type 1: Type 2:
Focused on equity Focused on relevance
within a strong within a strong
improvement culture improvement culture
Transformation Approach: Transformation Approach:
Equity Development
Type 3: Type 4:
Focused on equity Focused on relevance
within a compliance within a compliance
culture culture

Transformation Approach:
Culture of Compliance

The state of transformation/mapping of transformation (slide)

• No particular transformation challenge was the exclusive realm of one distinct group of universities or any particular
type of institution. All public universities faced significant transformation challenges and none had apparently been
able to transcend the legacy of their particular histories.
• There is no single “state of transformation”. 26 “states of transformation” at these institutions is closer to 26, but
two self-representation narratives emerging – ‘equity’ or ‘development’. ‘Equity’ narrative largely internal -
characterised by a culture of innovation in translating transformation commitments into best practices and
progress. ‘Development’ narrative largely external – characterised by emphasis on ‘prepared graduates for real
world’. Transformation challenges in both.

NelsoN MaNdela UNiversity • traNsforMatioN iNdaba • 2022 15