HESA Quarterly Volume One | Edition Two In this Issue: CEO's Message Meet the new Chairperson, Prof Adam Habib Welcome to our second edition of the HESA Quarterly. (Part One) Call for Applications for HELM 2015 In keeping with our promise in April, we update you on developments in HESA, keep you up to speed with Parliamentary Committees pay attention and hear the latest happenings on our strategic partnerships HESA out front, while also drawing your attention to what lies ahead in the immediate future. Collaboration mooted between universities and Parliament A particularly outstanding feature of this edition is the HESA meets with the Minister of Science & introduction to the sector of our recently-elected Technology Chairperson, Prof Adam Habib, who shares a) what keeps him wide awake at night, b) the outlook and Home Affairs undertakes to respond to vision he has for HESA, and c) his suggestions universities' needs towards addressing the most pressing challenges of Registrars' capacity-building workshop ends on a the higher education project. He mentions a number high note of those challenges which many of you will find interesting; others might want to respond in one way or another. We welcome feedback and The Rural Campus Connection Project (RCCP) is constructive debate on the pressing issues he tables for our joint consideration. completed HESA nominates members to the CAS Service We draw your attention to a Call for Applications for participation in 2015 in the Higher Model Committee Education Leadership and Management (HELM) Programme, while also informing you of events we have held in the recent past in pursuit of a range of objectives. As we proudly Send-off for the Class of Commonwealth Scholars showcase the results of some of our support initiatives, such as the completion of the Registrars' capacity-building workshop, we also proudly report on the recent send‐off for the Colloquium commits to address NSFAS funding challenges 2014 cohort of Commonwealth Scholarship recipients. Global Fund grant strengthening HEIs' responses In conclusion, be advised that the Strategic Framework for HESA, 2015 ‐2019 was finally to HIV&AIDS adopted at the Board of Directors' final sitting for the year in October. Considering that many of the impending changes in this Framework are up for implementation from 2015 onwards, we deemed it fitting to dedicate our year‐end edition in December to this theme. Watch this Published by: space and stay informed. Higher Educaon South Africa (HESA) Building 3, UNISA Sunnyside Campus Meanwhile, we hope you find this publication worth your while. Rissik Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria Contribuons may be sent to Ms 'Mateboho Green at: Dr Jeffrey Mabelebele [email protected] Chief Executive Officer, HESA www.hesa.org.za 1 Meet Prof Adam Habib, the New HESA Chairperson Short biography Professor Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), was elected HESA Chair at the Annual General Meeng in July 2014. He had served as Wits VC since June 2013. He was previously the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovaon, Library and Faculty Co- ordinaon at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). He is an academic, an acvist, an administrator, and a renowned polical media commentator and columnist. A professor of polical science, he has more than 30 years of academic, research, instuonal and administrave experse. His experience spans five universies and mulple local and internaonal instuons, boards and task teams. His professional involvement in instuons has always been defined by three disnct engagements: the contest of ideas; their translaon into aconable iniaves; and the building of instuons. He was instrumental in transforming UJ following the naonwide mergers of terary instuons in 2005 and played a key role in increasing research output. Prof Habib holds qualificaons in polical “We need to priorise conversaons on Transformaon, science from three universies. Transformaon, democracy and development Funding, Differenaon of Higher Educaon Instuons, are fundamental themes of his research. He is well-published and renowned as a while also seeking to create Naonally Responsive and key leader in higher educaon and polical studies in South Africa and around the Globally Compeve instuons,” says Prof Adam Habib world. on his outlook on HESA. Higher Education Needs a Deliberated Discourse that Feeds Society as a Whole Q&A with Chairperson of the HESA Board The HESA Quarterly team recently interviewed the newly- We need to get the right mix of the two at our instuons. The elected Chairperson. He is a man of ideas, a visionary and, debate is not whether or not we need to transform. It is about some would say, an iconoclast. Not a man who minces his how. We must figure out if it's appropriate to have largely white words, Prof Habib outlined, in no uncertain terms, the universies or largely black universies, or if we need the right challenges and opportunies facing the higher educaon mix between the two. Should that mix be different for Wits in sector. Gauteng, the University of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape, or the University of Venda (UNIVEN) in Limpopo? Q: Congratulaons on your elecon. What are the priories facing the HESA Board and execuve management at this Now the fact that we haven't had this deep debate and we've me? le it to be addressed at instuonal level has created tensions A: HESA must be the enabler of the difficult conversaons for some instuons. The higher educaon sector needs to about the sector. HESA is here to get consensus about how to idenfy the parameters that govern all of our choices in this confront the big issues. These issues have been idenfied regard. before and are well known. I may not necessarily have the right answers, but I know that we need to have the deep There've been successes addressing student transformaon deliberaons to address them. and we should build on these. However, the second element of transformaon that has hardly been addressed is staffing. 1. Transformaon There are people who use the long lead mes required for The first is the obvious, twofold issue of transformaon. As 21st training as an excuse not to transform (connues on page 7). century instuons we need to be both demographically diverse and cosmopolitan. www.hesa.org.za 2 Call for Applications for HELM 2015 Higher Educaon South Africa (HESA) is pleased to announce a new call for applicaons for the Higher Educaon Leadership and Management (HELM) Programme for the 2015 academic year. Professionals in middle management posions (both academic, as well as non-academic) within the university sector who exhibit management and leadership potenal in their instuon may apply for selecon. A maximum of 40 will be enrolled for the 2015 programme which will run between the months of February and June 2015. In 2015, the HELM programme will take the form of three residenal workshops of 2-2½ days' duraon. These workshops, to be facilitated by senior experts from the higher educaon sector, will be held in Gauteng on dates shown below: Workshop Dates Theme 1 25-27 Feb 2015 Higher education system: Legislation, policy and governance 2 21-24 Apr 2015 The role of planning in higher education 3 24-25 Jun 2015 Funding of higher education and financial management The HELM programme is one of the university support iniaves flowing from HESA's commitment to the promoon of strategically planned leadership and management development for middle managers in the higher educaon sector. The programme has been running in various formats since 2003. The underlying aim of this intervenon is to nurture leadership and management capability within universies for middle and senior managers in both the academic and non-academic fields. The purpose is to develop in these individuals, the knowledge and skills required for playing a construcve managerial role in advancing overall instuonal performance -- within the framework set by naonal higher educaon legislaon, policy and governance arrangements, a variety of system and instuonal planning measures, including those related to teaching and learning and research, and the funding of higher educaon instuons. Past parcipants have spoken so highly of the intervenon that they deem it a must for every leader and manager within higher educaon In addion, the HELM programme seeks to raise the awareness instuons. of parcipants with regard to major developments in internaonal higher educaon and also to expose them to the Detailed informaon on condions for parcipaon, the fundamental role played by a number of 'so skills' in the subject material to be covered in 2015, envisaged programme realisaon of instuonal goals and objecves. In broad terms, outcomes as well as the applicaon guidelines and process are the objecves for this programme are to: explained in a Call for Applicaons: 2015 document distributed to all vice-chancellors of public universies, with applicaon Enhance the leadership and management competence of forms. This informaon may also be accessed on the HESA middle management staff members in the higher website (www.hesa.org.za). Applicaons need to be submied educaon sector; by 16:00 on Friday, 28 November 2014. Expand the pool from which senior leaders and managers in the higher educaon sector could be drawn; Meanwhile, queries related to the HELM Programme may be Contribute to the transformaon of exisng leadership and addressed to Dr Berene Kramer, Director: Operaons and management staff profiles in the higher educaon sector; Sector Support ([email protected]). and Contribute to improved effecve leadership and The HELM programme is made possible by a grant from the management pracces in the higher educaon sector. Educaon, Training and Development Pracces-Sector Educaon and Training Authority (ETDP-SETA). www.hesa.org.za 3 Parliamentary Commiees Pay Aenon and Hear HESA Out The determinaon of funding for higher educaon instuons requires the collecve input of all key players if the process is to yield meaningful outcomes for all.