None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful ~ Mother Teresa
At the heart of Rhodes University’s strategy is the academic project. Our teaching and learning strategies are reinforced by mutually beneficial external partnerships and collaborations. Some of our strategic teaching and learning partnerships are listed in Table 12.
|
Project Title |
Partners /Funders |
Aim |
|
Pathways to the Public Good |
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) |
To Track of the student experience from registration through to postgraduate study and career for research-led teaching and learning |
|
Enhancing Postgraduate Environments |
Six South African and six European universities. European Union Erasmus funded |
To develop and disseminate Creative Commons licensed online materials for postgraduate scholars and supervisors |
|
Short Courses and workshops for academic staff |
On-going with various higher education institutions in South Africa |
To develop various aspects of teaching and learning at many HEIs in South Africa. |
|
Developing sustainable models of academic induction |
Ten HEIs in SA under the auspices of Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa (HELTASA) |
To establish institutionally appropriate induction programmes for academic staff at institutions thereby inducing academics into their roles as university teachers |
Table 12: Strategic Teaching & Learning Partnerships
Over the next four years, the Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching & Learning (CHERTL) will lead, on behalf of HELTASA’s Professional Development Special Interest Group, two cross-institutional collaborative research projects. The first is a symposium on postgraduate diplomas in higher education and a series of publications on various aspects of PG Dip programmes. The second is the development of open educational resources for academic developers on a range of topics of current interest to the field. The projects will enhance the knowledge of the professional development community about important aspects of the field. They will also grow the capacity of the community to engage different kinds of writing projects across a range of publication genres.
These and many more partnerships and collaborations are envisaged to promote our philosophy of drawing on research-led approaches to curriculum design, teaching and assessment for improved academic outcomes at our University as well as other universities in the sector.
Research partnerships bring much needed funding, enabling the expansion of research at RU and, depending on the nature of the research, in many instances necessary additional expertise and researchers into research projects.
Our two largest research partnerships are with the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The NRF funds all disciplines and a wide range of instruments such as the SARChI research chairs, individual Incentive Funding for Rated researchers, and the Thuthuka Programme for developing researchers. The NRF also funds bilateral research partnerships with a range of countries and grants dedicated to focused areas of research, including many other NRF initiatives. NRF funding averages R50 to R60 million per annum. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (U.S.A) provides support only for the Humanities disciplines. This has averaged R80 million per three-year cycle.
Ongoing long-term research partnerships exist with the Water Research Commission (WRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC). Our Research Development Grant (RDG) of 2014 to 2017 is earmarked for research funding from DHET. This continues in 2018 to 2021 with the new University Capacity Development Programme (UCDP). Research partnerships also exist with the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Health, the Department of Arts and Culture, the Department of Agriculture and Land Reform, the Department of Environmental Affairs, Department of Water & Sanitation, and the National Institute for Occupational Health (NIOH).
Rhodes University also has partnerships with the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NHISS), the World Health Organisation, the Open Society Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the British Council, USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the FirstRand Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme, Grain South Africa, Nedbank Green Trust and ActionAid, amongst many others.
Research projects, programmes and collaborations exist with local and international universities, such as the University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, Nelson Mandela University, University of Western Cape, University of Fort Hare, University of Witwatersrand, amongst many other South African higher education institutions. In the international sphere, RU has mutually beneficial partnerships with international Universities. Notable amongst these are Leeds University, UPPSALA University, York University, Cambridge, Guangzhou University, Oregon State University and many more.
Rhodes University – reimagining and building our future through engaged partnerships
The University is a key stakeholder in society and exists for the public good. Partnerships enable us to express our values and realise this strategic purpose. It is also through partnerships that we can acknowledge our location as a place of knowledge in a remote town stricken by poverty and other social ills.
We seek to establish mutually beneficial partnerships which are reciprocal and tackle issues of local and national relevance. We respect the knowledge contributed by communities to the knowledge production processes. We work hard to make these processes participatory and democratic. We are also cognizant of the benefits to our students’ own learning and growth which derive from partnerships. Community partnerships are established for various purposes but always with a common objective and based on justice, equality and mutual respect, shared responsibilities and sustainable outcomes.
Community Engagement contributes to community development by establishing partnerships as follows:
Student citizenship programmes (volunteerism) and service learning: Rhodes University prides itself on producing independently minded and social progressive students who are critically engaged with the world and their place in society. Key to the development of these qualities is engagement in the broader community through volunteerism and service learning programmes. The university has signed MOUs with 78 local community organisations who create opportunities for student learning while working together to achieve their annual strategic goals. An example of this is the Vice-Chancellors education initiative, a citywide intervention working with all education stakeholders to revive public schooling and ensure a better quality education for all children in Grahamstown.
Engaged research: Academic departments have established partnerships locally, provincially and nationally to tackle intractable societal problems using engaged and participatory methodologies. These allow for the co-creation of knowledge and solutions. They also support the emergence of local leadership.
Partnerships with Government: Rhodes has established partnerships with local government to improve service delivery and future planning for water, sanitation, electricity reticulation, training for public servants, and exploring fresh produce supply projects with the LED office. As well as partnerships to enhance service in clinics and the Fort England Psychiatric Hospital.
Last Modified: Wed, 13 Mar 2019 09:24:13 SAST