Walter Sisulu University’s latest instalment of its webinar series saw the institution’s 2030 vision subjected to acute scrutiny by a trio of decorated scholars charged with, from varying perspectives, interrogating and testing the veracity, reliability and viability of the university’s bold journey into the future.
So critical and pertinent was the subject, themed: ‘WSU Relevance Through Its Vision 2030’, that a plethora of stakeholders representing the university itself, other universities, TVET colleges, government, municipalities, NGO’s, think tanks, state agencies, amongst others, availed themselves not only to listen but to actively participate in the deliberations in an effort to express their position in relation to the discussion at hand.
“It’s a pleasure for us as WSU to engage our stakeholders as we take our vision and mission out into the world and open these up to interpretation and critical discussion as is our social mandate as a public institution of higher learning.”
“The themes and topic discussed, quite deliberately, emanated from the university’s vision 2030, because as a university, we believe that our vision should be a reflection of context, and thus, we open our choices to difficult dialogue, complex reflection so that our hypothesis is tested,” said WSU Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Rushiella Songca.
The three academics, one of which heads their respective institution, Prof Tshilidzi Marwala and Prof Siphamandla Zondi from the University of Johannesburg (UJ), as well as Prof Derek Swartz, who headed Nelson Mandela University until 2017, attempted to surgically and skilfully dissect the theme in three – politics; technology and digitization, as well as social activism.
Probably best known for summiting Japan’s Mount Fuji in an effort to raise funds for students, Prof Swartz laid bare the harsh conditions within which WSU reimagines its future and prepares to traverse its journey – an environment capitulating under the destructive effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, extreme and intrusive globalization as well as knee-jerk re-nationalization of economic boundaries.
“All of the above are, in many ways, tied up with profound and far-reaching technological disruptions following the digital revolution that’s been sweeping across the world in recent decades. The above conditions have thus in some way created these triple crisis of poverty, inequality of unemployment and have accelerated the pre-existing and inherited inequalities we brought forth from colonialism and the Apartheid system,” said Prof Swartz.
He said the abovementioned context is significant in that it shapes the economic and social geography within which WSU thinks about its strategies of reconstruction, development, and its vision 2030 and what impact it wants to make on society.
In a thought-provoking address, UJ Vice-Chancellor Prof Tshilidzi Marwala addressed the significance of technology and its infusion into the anatomy of a university, especially in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“A year and a half into the pandemic, technology has become the driving force in most industries, including education. The pandemic is been a major catalyst in propelling us into being a completely digital university,” said Prof Marwala.
He said the aggressive push towards technology was to ensure that the UJ community had access to information more than ever before via digital platforms, an exercise that requires spectrum.
Prof Marwala said gone are the days when the spectrum should be reserved for the telecommunications industry, but rather opened and made accessible to higher education institutions as well so that data costs are dramatically decreased and the subsequent cost of education is lowered.
“As UJ, together with WITS, we’re creating a virtual 5G network in between our campuses so that our staff and students can be able to access information much faster and much cheaper,” he said.
-Thando Cezula