HERESA Training Workshop Summary (Durban 21 - 24 March 2022)

“Curricula should not become cemeteries for dead knowledge”

It is not too often that one emerges from a four-day event feeling more energised and inspired than one did at the start. This was certainly the case for the HERESA Training Workshop which took place from 21st to 24th March at The Premier Hotel in Umhlanga, Durban. As the first face-to-face event for this project, we had great hopes that this meeting would not only provide an opportunity to discuss some of the outcomes of the Appraisal Study, but also to strengthen our commitment to North-South relations, inculcate a feeling of collaboration and partnership amongst members and expand upon the four thematic areas of concern around which our Communities of Practice (CoPs) are organised: Curricula for the 4IR, Entrepreneurship Education, Competence-Based Learning and Work-Integrated Learning (WIL).

With Durban’s stunning shores as our view for the week, members, guests and participants came together to strategise around some of the most pressing issues facing their institutions, offering their thoughts and ideas on how to institute an environment for curricula to become more innovative, dynamic and responsive to the changes within our fast-paced world. While all but one of the sessions were recorded in line with the safe space that HERESA prides itself on fostering for our members, it would be remiss of us not to mention a couple of highlights from this productive week. On the first day of the workshop, Dr Anshu Padayachee, CEO of THENSA and HERESA project Leader, gave her opening remarks which also included an acknowledgment of those who lost their lives in the Sharpeville Massacre. Without their sacrifice, bravery and determination, we would not have had the opportunity to gather together as citizens of South Africa and the world to discuss the possibility of reforming higher education for the betterment of all.

Following that powerful moment was a “bonfire” session led by Dr Elina Botha and Professor Juha Lahtinen of Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK), who gave members and guests the opportunity to be candid about the state of higher education in South Africa. A striking feature of the bonfire session was how little it veered into complaint and derision. Despite some of the frustrations that our members expressed at the issues emanating within their institutions and the South African higher education system as a whole, there was a genuine desire for the conversations to adopt a proactive tone. Interestingly, Dr Botha, who is married to a South African, was adamant on telling the room that the problems facing South African academics are also shared by academics in Finland, dispelling the myth that the Scandinavian approach to education is without its flaws and glitches.

This honest and proactive approach would characterise the sessions for the rest of the week. After the session with our colleagues at TAMK, we had two presentations on WIL led by Dr Henri Jacobs from the Central University of Technology (CUT) and Dr Irene Sheridan from Munster Technological University (MTU) in Ireland. The importance of providing students with placements that will prepare them for the workforce is a key component of this area of learning. Another interesting point of discussion was how to eliminate competition amongst member institutions in terms of securing industry relationships. This scarcity mindset was identified as a hindrance to identifying synergies between universities, imparting the importance of collaboration to students, as well as harming the growth of WIL in the Higher Education sector.

A presentation from Professor Keo Motaung of the Durban University of Technology (DUT) provided some food for thought around the necessity of patenting research for students, especially those with entrepreneurial ambitions. For Motaung, approaching corporate South Africa, particularly startups and hedge funds from the tech world, could prevent institutions from having to lean on the government for funding. However, given the extreme financial unpredictability and uncertainty startups and hedge funds have to navigate for their survival, there were questions around the stability of this potential relationship. If an organisation cannot guarantee their own future then what more could they do for students and institutions?

Professor Dina Burger of Cape Peninsula Technology and Dr Tessie Herbs of the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) gave a fantastic session on leadership in Higher Education, challenging our members to reimagine and re-conceptualise what it means to be a leader within their own institutions. An insightful comment came by way of Professor Nosisi Feza of the University of Venda (UNIVEN), who also urged members to harness the leader in their respective colleagues, as opposed to looking to one person to fulfill that role. We also had sessions from the Sharing and Learning Session on Innovation
in curricula due to the 4IR from Sonja Sechi and Pierluigi Leone from Politecnico di Torino (PoliTO) in Italy, and Sharing and Learning Session on Innovation from Victor Kordas and Mohammad Saleh from KTH Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden. The entire week was concluded with conversations on the future of HERESA, the makeup of its partners and scope of its reach which will remain confidential until more concrete plans are put into place.

If the purpose of HERESA could be summed up in a quote, it would touch on a sentiment expressed by Professor Juha Lahtinen from TAMK: curricula should not become cemeteries for dead knowledge. To ensure that the Higher Education sector remains a hub for ground-breaking research and lifelong pursuit of knowledge, we need to ensure that curricula is just as forward-thinking as it is relevant. It must speak to the most urgent needs in South Africa while also anticipating potential ones. As many of our members recommended, it must also be interesting and fun. If students see no joy or fascination in the curricula that are being taught, then it ought to be reconsidered and reformed to make it such.

We would like to thank our coordinating partners Obreal-GLOBAL Observatory and the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). We would also like to thank all participants, speakers and guests from our member institutions and other partner institutions, especially those who travelled internationally at a time of great risk. We would also like to extend gratitude to the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA) and the Association of Technical Universities and Polytechnics in Africa (ATUPA), who provided excellent contributions throughout the week. In conclusion, we were extremely heartened by the genuine warmth, enthusiasm and camaraderie on display from our partners and members who forged connections between rural and urban institutions, the Global South and the Global North. We hope that the identified synergies and strategic implementation plans will be channeled to promote higher education reform within our member institutions, South Africa and the continent.