Universities of technology to build network of experts

South African universities of technology are set to benefit from a project, funded by the European Union, which aims at strengthening and revitalising the country’s technology-based institutions of higher learning.

The Higher Education Reform Experts South Africa (HERESA) project, launched on 16 March, is set to build a network of experts dedicated to positively influencing the higher education sector to achieve better institutional and learning outcomes.

“The HERESA is an Erasmus+ Capacity Building Project for Higher Education which seeks to build a network of higher education reform experts in South Africa modelled on the Higher Education Reform Experts in the European Union neighbourhood,” the Technological Higher Education Network South Africa (THENSA) said in a statement announcing the launch.

THENSA was previously known as the South African Technology Network.

THENSA saw a gap for a network of higher education reform experts in South Africa and approached the OBREAL Global Observatory to help put together a 160-page project proposal to the European Commission.

The OBREAL Global Observatory has had long experience in managing European Union-funded projects in collaboration with lead research and teaching higher education institutions, higher education organisations, associations and other social and governmental partners.

The global expertise sought by THENSA from OBREAL Global helped them secure funding amounting to €754,834 (about US$901,000) for a three-year period.

Strong minds come together

THENSA’s application ranked among the top 13% of quality applications out of a total of 1,005 entries globally.

Universities that will benefit from the project include the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, the Central University of Technology, the Durban University of Technology, Tshwane University of Technology, the University of Venda and the Walter Sisulu University, which are all THENSA members.

Dr Sershen Naidoo, the executive director of the Institute of Natural Resources and a key role player in the establishment of HERESA, said the pilot project will focus on a few thematic areas important to reforming the higher education sector in South Africa.

“We identified competency-based learning, work-integrated learning, curricula for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and leadership as challenges that the higher education sector in South Africa are facing,” he said in a telephone interview with University World News.

“We are bringing together strong minds and strong capacities across the sector to bring about reform in the sector,” he added.

The network’s core mandate will be to support governance, strategic planning and management of technology-focused higher education institutions in the country to effect better institutional and national strategies for teaching and learning in response to evolving labour market and societal needs.

Deputy vice-chancellors nominated

“We conceived the project before COVID-19, but I think these areas become salient during the pandemic,” said Elizabeth Colucci, who is an OBREAL Global adviser.

Explaining the structure of the HERESA model, Colucci said: “The first level will be to start to consolidate a network of individuals who are from the THENSA member universities.

“One of those individuals is a leader in academics or teaching and learning. In almost all the universities, we have nominated the deputy vice-chancellor for teaching and learning, in addition to another strategic individual in the university either working at the administrative level or working as a professor.”

The European model differs in that national Higher Education Reform Experts teams comprise six to 12 experts appointed by the education ministry and the European Commission. Thus, there is high professional recognition attached to being an expert.

This model also represents a diverse range of stakeholders including institutional leadership, government and students who all have a varying degree of influence.

National policy goals

The Higher Education Reform Experts’ mandate in the European context is to support policy reform processes at national level, participate in international training and peer-learning events around core policy priority themes for the higher education sector, publish and disseminate on relevant higher education reform themes, and work collaboratively with the other reform experts’ groups and policymakers to shape new policies, based on evidence and international practice.

“We didn’t want to stretch ourselves too thin in the pilot so we decided to focus on one or two issues so that we can build capacity on those issues first and then the network could start to expand and engage in other thematic areas at a later stage,” Colucci said, explaining why HERESA’s mandate was limited to a few thematic areas compared to its European blueprint.

Naidoo added that HERESA’s core pivot is to speak to the policy agenda of the country rather than to influence it.

“We are bringing together a group of people who are setting out to reform the higher education sector in areas that speak directly to our 2030 national development goals to create jobs and job creators, to build the entrepreneurship sector and fill the gaps that exist in terms of intergenerational leadership,” he said.

During the three years of the pilot phase, training will be facilitated by some of the European corporates and universities who are instrumental and strategic partners in the implementation and operation of the project.

According to Colucci, the idea is for the HERESA network to generate lessons and expertise for feedback that can, for example, be shared with the South African Qualifications Authority when they conceive teaching and learning strategies for South Africa.

THENSA said in its statement that the public launch event scheduled for 16 March will look at the Higher Education Reform Experts as a mechanism for policy change and EU-partner country relations, and evaluate the policy context in South Africa and the opportunities the project affords.

And although the pilot project is limited to South African universities of technology which are THENSA members, if the project is a success, there are plans to extend it to other universities no matter what their specialisation, and the rest of the SADC region, both Colucci and Naidoo said.

This article is part of a THENSA and University World News media partnership.

This news report was updated on 18 March 2021.