Page 38 - Transformation Report 2023

6 TRANSFORMATION

GOAL

Black Academics Advancement Programme pursue higher qualifications, scholarly publications and INCREASE COLLABORATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER
supervision of PGs to meet the standard requirements as- INSTITUTIONAL TYPES TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE, RESOURCES, AND
The Black Academics Advancement Programme (BAAP) sociated with academic ad personam promotions. ASSIST WITH CAPACITY BUILDING AND ARTICULATION
currently funds five academics, two of whom are wom-
en. These grant holders are committed to PG student This is evident in the lack of diversity at associate profes-
training and augment supervisory capacity. The Thuthu- sor and full professor levels, with a diverse pool of aca-
ka Funding Instrument is a further key NRF intervention demics at associate lecturer and lecturer levels.
aimed at supporting emerging researchers. In 2022, there Research Excellence – Research Research Chairs
were 15 active Thuthuka grant holders at Nelson Mandela LT Collab Chairs and Rated Researchers
University, of whom 93% were Black and 67% women.
To empower staff within the University, the Teacher Ex- Nelson Mandela University hosts 18 Research Chairs (see
cellence Cluster, APQA and TD, held a curriculum devel- The Research and Innovation Strategy has a target of six table 23), up from 16 in 2022, including a joint research
Academic Capacity Development opment and review workshop in July to capacitate staff new Research Chairs between 2020 and 2024. This target chair with the University of Johannesburg and a SARChi
Community of Practice. Dr Leslie Powell, Chair: Youth
Opportunities on programme development and quality reviews. Teach- will be achieved with the assistance of external and indus- Unemployment, Employability & Empowerment (CYUEE)
try funding. The number of Research Chairs and National
er Excellence is central to curriculum revitalisation and
transformation toward an African curriculum infused with Research Foundation (NRF)-rated researchers has been resigned mid-2023.
multilingualism. increasing steadily as reflected in Table 22 below.
The TD Unit and the Office of Research Development, re-
spectively, provide various programmatic interventions to Early career academics are supported through the
academics, postdoctoral fellows and PG students aspir- ECAAP. Several themes are presented through this pro-
ing to follow academic careers. Through the UCDG, vari- gramme; one of which is The Transformation and Decol-
ous capacity development interventions were conducted onisation of Learning and Teaching in the Mandela Uni-
during the year under review, amounting to R5 508 848.
versity Context. This theme aims to empower the Early
Career Academics (ECAs) to participate meaningfully in Table 22: Overview of Research Chair and NRF-Rated Research at Nelson Mandela University.
Academic Leadership conversations regarding HE in SA and furthermore, criti-
cally engage with past, present, and future challenges to
Capacity Development for HoDs took place on 8 and 9 HE in SA.
February 2024. This had been postponed from 2023, as
there was a clash of calendars. Prof Mlamuli Hlatshwayo from the University of Johannes-
burg facilitated this theme for the third-year cohort. The
Beginning Your Journey (BYJ) second theme, Transformation of HE in South Africa, was
facilitated by Prof André Keet, DVC: Engagement and
Through the Beginning Your Journey (BYJ) programme, Transformation. This theme aims to provide a platform
newly appointed academics are onboarded and inducted for the ECAs to engage in critical thinking, reflection,
into the values of the University, particularly in terms of and learning to facilitate epistemological access within a
our Humanising Pedagogy educational philosophy and decolonial context. It also seeks to empower the ECAs
student-centric approach. This programme runs twice a to consider ways in which LT can be transformed, so that
year. decolonisation and transformation can enhance episte-
mological and universal access.
Early Career Academic Advancement
Programme The following capacity development topics are provided
to academics as part of the LT Collab interventions:
The Early Career Academic Advancement Programme •
(ECAAP) aims to enhance the academic skills and knowl- • Critical pedagogy
edge of Early Career Academics (ECAs) to enable them • Pedagogy of Discomfort
to contribute sustainably to the academic community. A • Pedagogy of Hope
long-term view of sustainability is encouraged by advo- • Pedagogy of Care
Multilingual pedagogy – to approach how we fos-
cating for the inclusion of diverse perspectives, IKS, trans-
formation, and decolonisation. ECAs are encouraged to ter multilingualism in LT in a guided, grounded, and
actively critique unsustainable, socially unjust, and de- scholarly way. This includes facilitating multilingual
moralising practices and policies, in order to identify eth- tutorials, training tutors and lecturers in multilingual
ical and innovative solutions. and trans-languaging strategies and providing multi-
lingual glossaries for students.
• Innovative pedagogy – to push boundaries
However, due to the increasing resource constraints ex- •
perienced across the HE sector, higher workloads of ac- • Digital pedagogy
ademics may hamper the ability of ECAs to successfully • Problem-based Learning/ Project-Based Learning Table 23: List of the Research Chairs at Nelson Mandela University.
Design Based Education (DBE) and thinking

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