Curriculum Vitae

Prof Baijnath holds a BA from the University of Durban-Westville, a B. Ed (language Education) from the University of Western Cape, an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Durham, and a D Phil in Higher Education from the University of Western Cape.

As Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Baijnath  is responsible for cohering the ICT, Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL), Organizational Architecture (OA), Open Education Resources (OERs), Academic Planning and Procurement streams into a super-nexus that will take Unisa confidently into the digital age. Prior to that he was Unisa's Vice Principal: Strategy, Planning and Partnerships from March 2005 to December 2010. One of his most important contributions in this role was as main author of Unisa’s detailed ten-year strategic plan – Unisa 2015: An Agenda for Transformation –which has been acclaimed as exemplary by international peers and specialists. Previous employment include: Vice-Principal: Research and Planning – Unisa; Vice-Principal: Planning and Development – Technikon SA; Dean: Applied Community Sciences, Technikon SA; Director – Academic Planning Unit, University of the Western Cape, and; Co-ordinator of Academic Development – Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of the Western Cape.

He has been awarded numerous Fellowships and Honours including his election as a research fellow at St Edmunds College, Cambridge University.

Prof Baijnath has been on numerous editorial boards and is currently the Consultant Editor for the South African Journal for Higher Education and Distance Education publications, on the editorial panel of Progression and Journal for Institutional Research in South East Asia, and a member of the editorial advisory board for Indian Journal of Open Learning. In addition to his editorial contributions, Prof Baijnath has also authored a number of journals and articles, as well as the books Quality Assurance in Open and Distance Education and The Restructuring of South African Higher Education.

He is a member of the HEQC Board and Exco, the Black Management Forum, the Academy of Science of South Africa, and on the Global Advisory Board of Observatory for Borderless Higher Education.

Prof Baijnath's experience and expertise are held in high-regard both locally and internationally, and he has been invited to various presentations the world over. Most recently, he was requested as a participant in a panel on internationalisation in higher education at the Pan Commonwealth Forum at London University.

 In 2011 he served on the panel of prestigious jurors for the Opal Awards. Prof Baijnath also spearheaded Unisa’s role as a founding member of the international OER Tertiary Education Network. In 2012 he was invited to join the illustrious board of the Asian Journal for Higher Education.