WITH IMPACT ENGAGEMENT

As an integral part of society and an institution for the public good, the University recognises the importance of our stakeholders and the need to engage with them meaningfully in areas of shared interest.

An example of our approach is our continued effort to advance transdisciplinarity in teaching, learning and research. This involves both internal and external stakeholders. From an internal stakeholder perspective, there is increasing collaboration between different faculties around defined complex challenges, and using the platforms created in the University such as Future Africa, Javett Art Centre and Innovation Africa.

Institutional collaboration is largely through multiuniversity networks covering an expansive African footprint, and an equivalent global reach. Networks include the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), the Australia-Africa Universities Network (AAUN), the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), the Alliance for African Partnerships – Michigan State University (AAP), and the University Social Responsibility Network (USRN).

In 2022, the University had 202 active international partners, made up of universities or entities in the higher education sector with whom we share Memorandums of Intent, Institutional Agreements or Faculty Agreements.

Institutional agreements

Mutual collaboration between institutions enables us to make important advances in teaching, learning, research and innovation. In 2022, the University signed a range of agreements which will further leverage international and national funding opportunities, student and academic exchange and collaboration.

King’s College, London

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UP and King’s College, London, aims to establish a partnership regarding potential collaborative opportunities on postdoctoral research, and global and transnational leadership. Specifically, the first project will be a Doctoral Engineering Programme anchored at UP.

University of Nairobi

Our two universities have been collaborating on an informal basis, and the signing of an MoU takes the partnership to the next level, making it easier to mobilise resources to support implementation. Both universities share the desire to strengthen intra-Africa university collaboration, are members of ARUA, and jointly host the ARUA Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems with the University of Ghana in Legon, Accra.

Dr Sam Motsuenyane Development Foundation

This agreement will see us collaborating in areas that include rural development, poverty and unemployment alleviation, as well as township economic revitalisation. The foundation was established by Dr Sam Motsuenyane, a pioneering businessman who has dedicated his life to empowering individuals and communities to participate in rural and township economies.

Oppenheimer Generations Foundation and the Benjamin R Oppenheimer Trust

Through this agreement, UP has instituted two research chairs that will pursue important and novel research. The Oppenheimer Chair for Emerging African Scientists in Non-invasive Wildlife Research was awarded to the Director of our Mammal Research Institute, Professor André Ganswindt, as principal investigator. The chair supports highly motivated postgraduate students from Africa to conduct research that focuses on non-invasive approaches to wildlife research and management.

Carleton University, Canada

UP and Carleton University agreed to facilitate and promote cooperation, with a view to supporting research collaboration, capacity building, and other forms of academic partnerships.

In 2022, UP signed 20 student exchange agreements to ensure strategic engagement with international partners: 17 are in Europe, two in Asia, and one in the USA.

Engaging events

The University hosted a number of high-profile events which underscored our engagement on many levels. Four are listed below.

Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress 2022

A joint initiative of Future Earth and the Belmont Forum, SRI is an emerging global platform of advocacy for sustainability scholarship and innovation, transdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration, and knowledge to action. The event was a success, with over 1 350 participants.

Pamoja project

UP and the Embassy of Sweden co-hosted an event to celebrate democracy and the activism that keeps it responsive. The event was held on the Future Africa Campus. The Pamoja project is an innovative web-based experience that documents Sweden’s role in the fight for democracy and human rights across the continent. The project partners – the Swedish Institute, Liliesleaf Foundation and the Embassy of Sweden – launched the site to show how international solidarity can inspire younger generations to tackle today’s challenges.

MBH means business UP hosted the launch of the Mamelodi Business Hub in collaboration with UNICEF and PwC. The MBH (formerly the Mamelodi Business Clinic) was established by the Department of Business Management with the primary purpose to develop entrepreneurs in the local community.

2022 Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans

UP was proud to host some of the 22 individuals associated with UP who featured on the list of promising young professionals under the age of 35. Since the inaugural awards in 2005, 137 UP alumni and alumni associates have made an appearance on the 200 Young South Africans list.

Community engagement

Community engagement represents a special form of stakeholder engagement. It recognises that we are embedded in our host communities and affirms the importance of communities and civil society.

Students apply their knowledge and skills to solve problems in partnership with local communities that have identified a problem in their environments. Student learning is therefore highly contextualised and, as such, develops social responsibility. Students learn how to work with underserved communities, to help them solve immediate problems, and to transfer and develop skills so they can independently solve problems in the future.

In 2022, 15 000 students participated in curricular community engagement activities, involving more than 3 000 projects, with over 1 000 community partners in various parts of Pretoria.

Some ways in which we shared our skills for the benefit of the community in 2022 are:

The Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology has adopted the Phathudi Comprehensive School in Atteridgeville, Pretoria (see left). The Faculty will revitalise a computer centre and offer basic computer training to learners at the school, and assist them with the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists and other projects. The school will also join the JuniorTukkie initiative and use the JuniorTukkie online platform.

The Pre-University Academy (PUA) collaborated with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to provide school learners from Mamelodi with a rich learning experience in robotics and coding (see left below). The PUA is a secondary school project that readies high school learners for tertiary education, focusing its efforts on Mathematics, Science, creative writing and Philosophy.

The workshop involved 16 students from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 63 learners from the PUA and five UP Engineering students. The PUA was the 11th group of learners to participate in the project and the only group from Africa.

Learners e-learning platform

JuniorTukkie is a flagship project that helps high school learners with schoolwork and career choices. Through their free jTOnline e-learning platform, the team from the Department of Enrolment and Student Administration has embraced the educational opportunities that the virtual world presents, one video at a time. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the JuniorTukkie YouTube channel was launched, followed by an e-learning platform, juniortukkie.online. The jTOnline platform and its associated channel have garnered over 100 000 views. The platform provides extensive free learning content for Mathematics, Physical Science, Accounting, Life Sciences, Natural Sciences and English for Grades 8 to 12 across South Africa.