Page 68 - Transformation Indaba Report

internAtionAlisAtion; PostgrAduAte ACCess And suCCess; reseArCh

PArtnershiPs; CAPACity develoPment oPPortunities

dAy 2, breAkAwAy room 3 │ Facilitated by DVC RII Dr Thandi Mqwebi

REPORT BACK TO PLENARY ON THEMES EMERGING FROM B/A DISCUSSION

“Transformation Journey”

Six broad parameters / key elements:
1. Enhancing research capacity – inadequate funding; expand funding sources
2. Research leadership transformation
3. Supporting digital transformation – reimagine new ways of showing how impactful we are /
4. Research impact – find new ways of being impactful
5. IP rights
6. Internationalisation – how to enhance receiving and giving / transformation of numbers (students)

SUMMARY OF POINTS MADE DURING BREAKAWAY

• Research needs to be viewed as a core area of transformation.
• Explore Digital Scholarship fully and urgently to enhance research agenda. Add DS to the university’s offerings.
• Mandela Uni as internationalisation ‘giver’ vs Mandela Uni as internationalisation ‘receiver’ – understand the interplay.
• Define research impact and view it more holistically/non-silo. Profile better our many impact stories.
• Internationalisation brings ‘business’ to Mandela University – need to view it differently.
• Create intra-African mutual learning spaces for ‘Africans’ (across African continent).
• Improve multi-disciplinarity through educating researchers (especially individual ‘stars’) about the institutional nature of
research agreements.
• Profile Mandela University’s research themes. They should feature in partnerships.

KEY POINTS MADE DURING B/A DISCUSSION - Drivers for capacity-building opportunities. Individual
institution funders influence.
• Prof Soudien spoke about how the sector is producing - Enhancing research capacity: Students – enhancing
graduates that are not open to a variety of ways of access and success has been through funding for
thinking. scholarships.
• The research space is where knowledge is acquired/ - Inadequate funding. Proportions – females = 79%.
generated/disseminated yet it seems research is not - Missing middle in terms of levels.
regarded as a core area of transformation. - Academic staff and PG support – we’ve responded to
• We shouldn’t think research and T&L is mutually exclusive. the opportunities presented to us, for example, Ngap,
Many staff have 70% T&L and 30% research. NRF, DHET, targeted funding for supported…etc. but
• Recap of Day 1 B/A Discussion: we have not managed to expand beyond Govt support
- Internationalisation’s impact on drive in HE to create adequately.
graduates with global knowledge competencies, impact - Transformation of research leadership – Research Chairs
on influencing diversity. (x 16) has even split between genders. 22 x research

NelsoN MaNdela UNiversity • traNsforMatioN iNdaba • 2022 62