Unisa online - Unisa invests in its young academics

An exciting new project aimed at developing Unisa’s young, promising and talented academics for the future was launched on Monday 15 September 2008. The Young Academics Project is an initiative that will assist in building the capacity of high-quality academics at Unisa.

Young academics will receive academic and management support. The project will fast track participants in the areas of tuition, research and academic management, and will provide them with the knowledge and skills required to be high achievers at Unisa and within the national environment and global stage.

A group of 16 academics from the five colleges has been identified to participate in the pilot project. The project entails a three-month training programme, which focuses on the three key areas of academic development, research and management development within the South African higher education context and, specifically, the Unisa open and distance learning context.

Speaking at the launch, Prof Mandla Makhanya, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, said the project tied in very well with what Unisa has been planning, as the Unisa 2015 Strategic Plan and the 2008 Institutional Operational Plan (IOP) acknowledge the importance of building a visible and critical mass of high-quality academics at Unisa, in particular a cohort of young academics. He also asked the wider Unisa community to contribute to the establishment of a supportive and enabling environment for the exciting and innovative pilot initiative.