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The merger of historically disadvantaged two technikons
and a university within rural South African setting presents a complex
historical heritage. In 2005, Border Technikon; Eastern Cape Technikon;
and University of Transkei were merged into a comprehensive university:
Walter Sisulu University (WSU). The birthed institution is faced with
varied existing challenges inherited from the defunct institutions and
novel challenges emanating from the merger exercise. The Eastern Cape
Province occupies 14% of the land areas of South Africa , and has 14.5%
of the country's 45 million inhabitants.
Walter Sisulu University
is located in the Eastern Cape Province together with University of Fort
Hare, Rhodes University and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
Primarily,
WSU serves the people of Eastern Cape Province with strong aspirations
for national and international educational leadership standings. The University
has four campuses: Buffalo City; Ibika; Mthatha; and Queenstown with eleven
knowledge dispensing sites. With four Faculties: Business, Management Sciences
and Law; Education; Health Sciences; and Science, Engineering and Technology;
of which two offer doctoral programs. It is committed to advancing the
frontiers of research in Eastern Cape in particular, South Africa and
the world at large.
Vision
Walter Sisulu University
(WSU) will be a leading African comprehensive university focusing on innovative
educational, research and community partnership programmes that are responsive
to local, regional, and national development priorities, and cognisant of
continental and international imperatives.
Our Mission
In pursuit of its vision
as a developmental university, WSU will:
- Provide an educationally vibrant
and enabling environment conducive to the advancement of quality academic,
moral, cultural and technological learner-centred education for holistic
intellectual empowerment, growth and effective use of information;
- Prove and maintain the highest
possible standards in innovative learning and teaching, applied and
community-base research and community partnerships in cooperation with
development agencies, the public and private sectors;
- Provide affordable, appropriate,
career-focused and professional programmes that address rural development
and urban renewal with primary emphasis on science, technology and development
studies;
- Create a new generation of highly-skilled
graduates capable of understanding and addressing complex societal challenges,
with critical scholarly and entrepreneurial attributes grounded on morally
sound work ethics and responsible leadership.
Goal
To create an enabling environment for
staff to conduct both applied and basic research and empower staff and
students with research knowledge and skills so that they can:-
- independently initiate quality
research projects
- contribute to the existing body
of academic knowledge
- conduct a systematic analysis
of problems relevant to society
- Walter Sisulu University's efforts
in developing an unequivocal research culture through which the
- institution could possibly be catapulted
to the forefront of an African developmental university par excellence
are recognised.
With strategic projections in place, the
institution is positively poised to continually implement changes that
promote research culture as it is being developed.
Strategic Projections for Research Development
at WSU
- Operational policy documents etc.
- Research documentation services
- Establishing very strong workable
relationship with industries
- Working with different communities
in solving problems
- Integrating the three tier university
research committees
- Aggressive mentoring systems
- Establishing functional research
groupings
- Full scale collaboration
- Focusing on elevation researcher
ratings, & other recognizable systems.
- Netting and bringing in South
African Research Chairs Initiative (SAChls)
- Working with Research Councils
- Establishing Support systems for
Graduate Research, Emerging Researcher, and Established Researcher
- Target at least 25% of staff to
get NRF rating in accordance with NRF expectations
- Aggressive approach to having
NRF research projects through all the available options
- Improve services for Intellectual
Property and Patents
- Work on SAPSE publications
- Integrated collaboration with
Government departments, agencies and other institutions
- Workshops and seminars
- Professional bodies - ECSA, SAIMM,
GSSA, SSSSA, ASSAF etc.
Strategic Approach for Enhancement of Research at WSU
- Develop a five year research strategic
plan for WSU
- Increase number of infrastructures
(laboratories, research equipment and instruments) research centres,
offices.
- Re-furbish existing research infrastructure,
and replace ageing research equipment
- Increase the pool of researchers
- Create a cadre of research technical
staff
- Recruit research and academic
associates
- Seek more funds from government
and international agencies to provide adequate funding for research
and research training
- Improve the coordination and relevance
of research activities
- Promote research collaboration
with industry
- Enhance research outputs
- Enhance WSU staff and students
participation in international, regional and national conferences, seminars
and workshops
- Encourage applied research focused
on community development
- Get WSU research facilities accredited
and certified
- Increase the number of contract research activities
Way forward for Research Growth
and Development at WSU
- Management, and support the development
of research capacity and promotion of research
- Set targets that must be realized within
timelines
- Use a combination of strategic management;
complexity management; and governance, risks and ethics principles in a project management system
approach to accomplish targets
- Staffing is extremely fundamental; researchers
must be RISK TAKERS
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