Transforming UKZN’s Academic Sector

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As part of its quest to be the Premier University of African Scholarship, UKZN developed the Accelerated Academic Development Programme (AADP).

The programme, which aims to transform the academic sector through the accelerated development and promotion of emerging academics, has seen a total of 63 lecturers and senior lecturers credentialed since it was approved in 2013.

The University’s Director of Human Resource Development Mrs Busisiwe Ramabodu said that in 2020, eight members of staff were successfully credentialed from the programme after completing their PhD studies.

Mr Jabulani C Nyawo, who is one of those credentialed in 2020, is a lecturer within the Discipline of Public Governance. Hailing from the rural area of Jozini in northern KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), his research interests include community development, governance, regional and local economic development, human development and sustainable livelihoods. ‘I am particularly keen on understanding, discussing and finding solutions, through research, to the problems that are widely affecting rural and peri-urban areas,’ he said.

Reflecting on how the AADP influenced his career and personal development, Nyawo said: ‘With the AADP, I was offered numerous opportunities to attend workshops for personal and career development. I published 15 articles in accredited peer-reviewed journals while I was under the programme and supervised numerous honours’ and masters students. I completed my PhD in 2020 which will be conferred this year.’

UKZN alumnus Mr Siphiwe Mqadi also participated in the AADP programme. Born and bred in Margate on KZN’s south coast, he is a lecturer in Auditing in the School of Accounting, Economics and Finance. Mqadi holds a Master of Science degree in Accounting and will graduate with a PhD in Accounting this year.

His areas of specialisation include Financial Accounting and Auditing, while his research interests stem from his PhD study on the practices on audit committees in municipalities in KZN that focused on ethics, and corporate and municipal governance.

Mqadi’s academic and research capacity was strengthened by participating in the AADP programme. ‘I grew immensely from a young and aspiring academic, and was nurtured and integrated into the academic profession,’ he said.

‘I was able to lecture and study towards my PhD with ease, as ample time is allowed for one to focus on one’s research while gaining valuable experience in academia,’ he added.

He acknowledged the support he received from leadership and the academic sector. ‘There is ready access to several support structures and great minds; for instance, the Dean and Head of School, Professor Mabutho Sibanda is personally involved in development. My PhD supervisor, Professor Msizi Mkhize is also instrumental in my growth on an ongoing basis. I have grown within the AADP to the extent that I now sit on the UKZN Teaching and Learning Office (UTLO) Committee and the School’s Teaching and Learning Committee.

‘The opportunities are endless and the learning experience is indeed life changing. I hope to impart the knowledge I gain to others.’

Mr Siyanda Kheswa (soon to be Dr Kheswa) is a lecturer in the School of Social Sciences in Pietermaritzburg. Born in Port Shepstone, Kheswa grew up in the rural area of KwaMachi in Harding and Gamalakhe township in Port Shepstone.

His speciality is Library and Information Science (Information Studies) and his research interests include school libraries, information literacy, library user perceptions, public libraries and adult education (informal learning experiences).

He credits the AADP with equipping him to be a first rate academic at one of South Africa’s finest institutions. ‘The programme gave me a platform to adapt and grow in this demanding and challenging educational journey.’

Kheswa thanked HR Development for hosting writing retreats, meetings and workshops ‘where we voiced our challenges and success stories. Though the programme was designed to help us adapt easily and quickly to the University culture and system by completing our PhD through lighter or manageable workloads, this did not apply to everyone and varied across Colleges and Disciplines. In my case, my colleagues from the Information Studies Discipline gave me a workload similar to theirs. They assigned masters students to me to supervise, which was not generally the case with other AADP lectures from other Schools and Disciplines. As a result, I managed to supervise six masters’ students to completion as an AADP lecturer, and I am proud of this achievement.’

Interim Dean and Head of the Graduate School of Business and Leadership Professor Ana Martins congratulated the programme participants. ‘Indeed, the individual academics that are part of this group have been afforded the unique opportunity to gain an academic skills-set pertinent to be part of the ecosystem at the Graduate School of Business and Leadership. These academics have built their capacity and gained experience in the various roles that are part and parcel of academia,’ she said.

Acknowledging the bright, young minds who have made it through the programme, Ramabodu said the HR Division is pleased to have been a part of the University’s determination to enrich and broaden diversity within the academic sector. ‘Some of the AADP lecturers successfully applied for promotion to Senior Lecturer in 2020. This is testament to their hard work and the opportunities the University has provided through the Deans, mentors, senior academics, HR and the Colleges.’

The following academics are the AADP lecturers credentialed for 2020:

Jabulani C Nyawo
Mlondi Vilakazi
Siphiwe Mqadi
Mutshidzi Maraganedzha
Siyanda Kheswa
Taemane Phoofolo
Simphiwe Mngomezulu-Dube
Daphne Ntlhe

Words: Raylene Captain-Hasthibeer

Photographs: Supplied