MIST Research Support Centre

Closure
The MIST Research Support Centre closed it's doors at the end of December 2009.

Vision
The MIST Research Support Centre aims to support, facilitate, encourage and inspire a strong research culture among staff and students in the disciplines of Mathematics, Information Communication Technology, Science and Technology (MIST) education. The MIST Research Support Centre also aims to build MIST Education within the Eastern Cape, through joint initiatives with other HEIs, organisations and relevant fora with the ultimate goal of furthering the National MST agenda through the vital contribution of research. This project fits in with Rhodes University’s commitment to excellence in teaching, research and community outreach – making a real contribution to the improvement of education in the schools in the Eastern Cape (one of the two poorest provinces in the country), and hence to the upliftment of an impoverished part of the country.

Mission
The MIST Research Support Centre will:
- support MIST staff and students in their publication and conference activities;
- support MIST staff in the throughput of MEd and PhD students;
- seek to attain financial sustainability.

Objectives
To support MIST staff within The Department to establish the research activities and priorities of each of the disciplines of MIST Education in order to support publications:

• Sourcing and securing funding for:
  • - sustainability of the Centre
  • - furtherance of research in the fields of MIST education (projects / conferences / publications).

To source contract research to enhance the profile of MIST Education at Rhodes University and as a means of supplementing the Centre’s funding.

To facilitate access to appropriate research resources (particularly in the library).

To facilitate courses and workshops which aim to build research capacity in the Education Department and MIST education in particular.

To support and sustain ongoing initiatives, which facilitate and support MIST education research locally, provincially and nationally (including fora such as AMESA, SAARMSTE, SAASTE, Technology Association, ECSTEM, ERF and the Education Department’s Research Forum).

To track the professional development of students who have received bursaries from Carnegie.

To provide reasonable logistical support for MIST students’ research activities (poster development, thesis, etc).

To provide administrative support for conference attendance for both MIST staff and students.

To support the Education Department’s research activities by organising forum sessions and seminar series.