Research & discovery

Unisa has enjoyed tremendous recognition for its researchers’ accomplishments, which include a wealth of outstanding contributions in fields as diverse as African studies, archaeology, astronomy, law, statistics, chemistry and wildlife conservation, and a host of others.

After the 2004 merger of Unisa with Technikon Southern Africa and the Vista University Distance Education Campus, various Unisa faculties were rationalised and a number of colleges established to encourage focused research and teaching. The colleges of Human Science; Agriculture and Environmental Science; Law; Science, Education and Technology; Management Studies; and Accounting Sciences joined the existing School of Business Leadership as distinct entities. Graduate Studies followed in 2010 and the College of Education in 2011.

Launched in 2013, the new state-of-the-art science hub at Unisa’s Florida Campus in Roodepoort promises to become a home for dedicated scientific researchers from across Africa and the world. Meanwhile, Unisa’s Institute of African Renaissance Studies continues to fulfil its mission to develop African-centred, African-articulated research into the continent’s challenges. In its quest to constantly improve its own institutional performance, Unisa’s Institute for Open and Distance Learning engages in ongoing ‘self-research’ around the effectiveness of new distance learning strategies and technologies.