Academics Attend Higher Education Leadership and Management Programme

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College of Law and Management Studies academic leaders, Professor Irene Govender, and Drs Sybert Mutereko, Joy Ndlovu and Andrisha Beharry-Ramraj attended the Higher Education Leadership and Management (HELM) programme held in Pretoria.

The specialist programme themed: Leading and Managing in the Contemporary University: Academic leadership in complexity and change provided university professionals in middle management positions (both academic and non-academic) with expert knowledge and skills in key functions in an institutional setting.

‘This was an important programme for academics who are starting or aspiring to academic leadership positions. It aimed to develop an informed perspective on the challenges facing academic leadership in a complex and changing Higher Education environment; promoting the development of creative problem solving through expert input, self-reflection and group interaction; and equipping participants with new skills that would contribute towards effective, proactive leadership and management at universities. An important observation made during this workshop is that “You are not alone”, in the issues facing Higher Education and a more informed perspective of leadership was gained,’ explained Mutereko.

Ndlovu who is in the process of completing her second Master’s dissertation on Leadership and Governance at Public Owned Entities, found the programme extremely informative, useful and impactful.

‘I learnt about key legislation guiding universities and budgeting and gained insight into different revenue attraction strategies for institutions of higher learning. This will empower me to make better decisions and I have identified my key developmental areas within the sector as I plan to publish from my master’s dissertation. I am also working with the students I supervise to produce practical and impactful research theses,’ she said.

For Beharry-Ramraj, the workshop gave her insights into how the challenges academics are faced with at UKZN are not unique to the Institution but are common challenges across South Africa.

‘Academic leadership and management are soon steering on towards complexity and change. As young academics, it is believed that we are the makers of the future. Having attended the programme, given the insight into the real world of academia and the challenges we face allow us to administer what we learnt and heard during the intensive two day programme into our everyday activities and lives at UKZN, making a meaningful difference matters,’ she said.

Words: Thandiwe Jumo

Photograph: Supplied