UKZN Academic Elected Chairperson of National Entrepreneurship Learning and Teaching Body

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Academic leader, Dr Thea van der Westhuizen has been elected Chairperson of the national Entrepreneurship in Higher Education (EDHE) Community of Practice (CoP) in Learning and Teaching.

The election of van der Westhuizen - Academic Leader: Management and Entrepreneurship Discipline in the School of Management, Information Technology and Governance at UKZN - was announced at the culmination of the third annual EDHE Kick-off event, held virtually from 24-26 March.

EDHE was established at the end of 2016 from within the University Education Branch of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET).

The EDHE Programme has since been included in DHET’s University Capacity Development Programme (UCDP), focusing on developing student entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial universities and entrepreneurship development in academia.

Addressing the opening of the EDHE Kick-off 2021 event, Director of Entrepreneurship at Universities South Africa (USAf) Dr Norah Clarke focused on the theme of the event – #against-all-odds – highlighting that it presented a challenge to the university community to grow entrepreneurially in this time of pandemic and unemployment. The purpose of the event, said Clarke, was to engage with the champions for entrepreneurship development in universities, following the successful conclusion of EDHE Phase 1 and the launch of the second three-year UCDP-funded cycle from April 2021.

Following two days of strategic input and workshops, the five Communities of Practice (CoPs) met in committee to debate and decide on priorities aligned with the EDHE Phase 2 structures and strategies. Delegates from the 26 public universities had the option to participate as members of any one of the five national EDHE CoPs, depending on their area of interest.

CoP members then elected a new chairperson and deputy chairperson for their respective CoPs for the duration of EDHE Phase 2.

A key change in the EDHE Phase 2 strategy is the restructuring of the previous CoP for Entrepreneurship in Academia into two more focused CoPs, ie the CoP for Entrepreneurship Research and the CoP for Entrepreneurship Learning and Teaching.

Van der Westhuizen, who had been head of the CoP for Academia for the last three years, will work closely with Professor Tshidi Mohapeloa of Rhodes University who was elected as Deputy-Chairperson of the CoP.

The sharper focus on Entrepreneurship Learning and Teaching is in no small part a consequence of the extraordinary challenges thrust upon universities by the demands of virtual and hybrid teaching and learning methods, as a result of COVID-19. In addition, there has been a recognition of the special teaching and learning needs in the field of entrepreneurship development, not least of which is the requirement to address the needs of surrounding communities as part of the wider national agenda for job creation.

As Convener of the CoP for Entrepreneurship in Academia since 2017, the EDHE team has worked with van der Westhuizen for several years and is confident she will advance both the national and UKZN agendas within the field of entrepreneurship development.

Clarke thanked UKZN for its continued interest in entrepreneurship development, saying she looked forward to making a bigger impact in advancing the economic participation of students and graduates, while supporting the research, innovation and entrepreneurship pipeline.

Words: NdabaOnline

Photograph: Supplied