NEWLY APPOINTED DLT DIRECTOR AIMS TO TRANSFORM TEACHING AND LEARNING FOR A BETTER WSU

“If the education of an individual does not make an individual to champion a better world for others, that education is irrelevant.” These are powerful words from the newly appointed Walter Sisulu University (WSU) Director of Learning and Teaching (DLT), Dr Kolisa Siqoko.

With more than two decades of experience in the Higher Education sector, Dr Siqoko joins WSU with a mission to strengthen the visibility and impact of the DLT across the university.

She is determined to ensure the directorate informs, advises and directs on teaching and learning priorities, while also Incorporating itself in the structures of governance that shape the institution’s academic future.

Her career began as a librarian before she moved into lecturing Business Administration at the former Border Technikon, now WSU. She later headed the Student Sponsorship Programme for academically gifted learners in the Eastern Cape and went on to serve at the University of Fort Hare’s Teaching and Learning Centre, where she spent five years driving staff and student development through UCDP programmes.

In 2017, she was appointed Deputy Director for the Sibusiso Bengu Development Grant at the Department of Higher Education and Training, working with leaders from eight historically disadvantaged universities on projects ranging from research and teaching to learning and infrastructure development.

She also holds a PhD in Education Humanities from the University of Pretoria, where her research explored student access, success and constitution of rural students’ identity at urban universities.

At WSU, Dr Siqoko says her immediate focus will be on aligning DLT’s internal units with the university’s governance structures such as Senate committees, faculty boards and student success committees to ensure a that DLT is visible in university structures and makes a meaningful contribution.

Passionate about teaching and learning development, student success and academic staff capacitation, she hopes to inspire her team to become active agents of change.

“I am hoping to influence and inspire the DLT team members to play an agential role in making a positive contribution to all relevant governance structures of the university, particularly academic governance structures,” she said.

Her vision is to promote an academic culture that embraces data-driven decision-making, strengthens graduate attributes and produces entrepreneurial and agile graduates who can pivot and contribute positively to the country’s economy.

“I am also hoping to lead a team with academic development efficacy and pride in the role we play in shaping the structures and cultures of Teaching and Learning in our university. This will assist the unit to respond with quality and ensure an empowered team that understands student and faculty challenges first-hand and devises interventions accordingly,” she added.

She said that will be responding to the goals of quality impactful teaching and learning, good governance and improved student experience. 

For Dr Siqoko, student engagement is central. She believes that bringing students along through active collaboration will nurture curiosity, self-directed learning, and deeper investment in their studies.

“I hope our Teaching and Learning strategies will drive our innovation and digitisation and not the other way round. I also hope we will deepen the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning across the university, through faculty collaborations with DLT at the core of supporting and driving these engagements,” she said.

She strongly believes collaboration is the key to transformation.

“Our Academic Development Unit is well positioned to drive a collaborative Teaching and Learning environment which places students at the centre of the academic project. How we approach, inform and educate faculty and students is going to be a defining factor for positive collaboration and transformation in our university,” she said.

Above all, Dr Siqoko emphasised that she is here to serve. She is committed to working closely with faculties, directorates and stakeholders within and beyond WSU for the benefit of the university community.

By: Yolanda Palezweni