College of Education
Unisan appointed as Commonwealth of Learning Chair
Prof Geesje van den Berg
Prof Geesje van den Berg, of the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies in the College of Education, has been appointed as a Commonwealth of Learning Chair. This prestigious appointment results from a memorandum of agreement between Unisa and the COL, covering the period from 2023 to 2026.
Recognised as an eminent scholar in her field, Van den Berg is one of six chairs appointed in April this year from five Commonwealth countries (New Zealand, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Cyprus and South Africa).
The COL, with its headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, selects experts as COL Chairs to lead research, drive innovation and provide thought leadership in COL’s key areas of expertise. These key areas include open distance learning (ODL), technology-enhanced learning (TEL) and open educational resources (OER).
This initiative, known as the Chairs Programme, was established in 2010 to facilitate the development of effective open and distance learning, as well as technology-enhanced education and training, by promoting advocacy, research and capacity-building across the Commonwealth. The programme aims to strengthen regional cooperation and enhance COL’s visibility within the field.
As newly appointed chair, Van den Berg has been assigned specific responsibilities by the COL President and CEO, Prof Asha Kanwar. Her primary focus will be open and distance e-Learning (ODeL) for teacher education. This encompasses activities related to capacity building and research within the university, the country and the region. Van den Berg says that she aims to foster regional cooperation by creating an environment that facilitates and sustains the sharing of intellectual resources, thereby promoting ODL, OER and TEL.
Given her role as the programme coordinator of the structured Master’s in Education in ODL, Van den Berg is already actively engaged in teaching and collaboration with students and colleagues in the field. Her teaching, postgraduate supervision and research expertise revolve around the theory and practice of ODeL. As a COL Chair, she plans to make further contributions in these areas over the next three years.
Apart from the valuable research opportunities associated with this appointment, she regards one of the most significant advantages of the chair position as the potential for local and regional collaboration with colleagues and students who work in ODL. These collaborations have already begun, and Van den Berg says that she is enthusiastic about the possibilities they offer.
In carrying out her duties as the chair over the next three years, Van den Berg says that she feels honoured to represent COL and Unisa, being well aware of the responsibilities that come with this position.
* By Christy Jean Kotze, Lecturer, Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies, College of Education
Publish date: 2023-07-06 00:00:00.0
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