College of Education
Unisan recognised as outstanding social justice champion
Recognised for his impactful research in the social justice sphere, Dr Nathi Zongozzi, a researcher at Unisa’s Institute for Open and Distance Learning (IODL), reached the finalist stage at the recent Human Sciences Research Council and Universities South Africa (HSRC-USAf) Awards for Social Sciences and Humanities.
Prof Puleng LenkaBula (Unisa Principal and Vice-Chancellor), Dr Nathi Zongozzi (Researcher: IODL) and Prof Zethu Nkosi (Acting Executive Dean: College of Human Sciences)
The awards acknowledge scholars who have made outstanding contributions to the social sciences and humanities through their research. This year, these prestigious academic awards aimed to recognise research excellence under the "Social Justice" theme.
Under this theme, the adjudication panel identified innovative research projects centred on analysing social justice inquiry, theories and practice, and aimed at achieving transformative impact in communities – socially, scientifically and otherwise.
Over 30 nominations were received for this year’s awards, which were presented in four categories: Emerging Researcher, Mid-career Researcher, Established Researcher and Team. Zongozzi reached the finalist stage in the Emerging Researcher category.
Zongozzi’s work has been published and cited in leading local and international journals. He is an alumnus of the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) programme and has become involved in the initiative by facilitating public management classes. "I use this as a platform to make my research more meaningful by collaborating with youth across Southern African Development Community to find solutions to African problems."
As individuals and as a collective, the staff members of the IODL provide ODL research leadership to Unisa’s colleges, institutional forums and a range of stakeholders and ODL research interest groups.
Zongozzi recently served as a panellist for the Gauteng Legislature during a session on the topic Assessing financial governance and accountability. This session investigated the state’s ability to deliver services efficiently and effectively.
IODL researchers provide a forum for strategic research collaborations in several areas, including Technology Enhanced Learning, Alternative Assessment Practices, Student Support, Changing Roles and Capacity Development in ODeL, Digital Literacies, Mobile Learning, Designing for Accessibility to Support Students with Disabilities, and ODeL Policy Formulation.
The IODL manages a resource-rich research website that supports and celebrates innovation and excellence in ODL research. IODL staff supervise postgraduate ODL research in collaboration with Unisa colleges and, as part of their interdisciplinary initiatives, establish, sustain and grow individual and collective national and international networks in ODL research. In addition to conducting basic research in ODeL, IODL researchers collaborate with other researchers nationally, continentally and globally.
* By Dineo Horner, Acting Marketing and Communications Specialist, College of Education
Zongozzi is an alumnus of the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) programme and has become involved in the initiative by facilitating public management classes.
Publish date: 2023-05-19 00:00:00.0
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