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44: Public Intellectuals
Photo Cred: Aaron Burden Public Intellectuals aim to help societies to better understand themselves and the world around them. Their writing and public talks can help create an informed citizenry and more just societies. Athambile Masola, is a teacher, and a PhD researcher who blogs about education, feminism and politics. This week’s show features a…
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43: ECONOMIC INEQUALITY & PAY
Photo Cred: Christophe Hendrixe Most universities are at the forefront of denouncing social injustices and inequality yet, in 2013 for instance the highest paid chancellor earned an annual salary of 3.2 million. These figures reflect shocking high salary discrepancies between high earners in these institutions and low earners. Prof Mehita Iqani in this episode tackles…
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42: The Art of Language
Photo Cred: Lebogang Tlou (Talk of Town) Dr Hleze Kunje wrote his four-year-long PhD thesis in isiXhosa, about Xhosa people who settled in Mbembesi, an area outside of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He graduated with his PhD in April 2017 and is a lecturer at Sol Plaatjie University. Hailing from rural Mqanduli in the Eastern Cape, Dr Kunju…
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41: Africanizing Scientific Research
Photo Cred: Drew Hayes What does it mean to decolonise science? How can African knowledge be integrated into scientific research? Does emphasising indigenous knowledge systems mean abandoning western knowledge systems? In this week’s episode we explore these questions with Dr Nosiphiwe Ngqwala, a lecturer at Rhodes University in the Faculty of Pharmacy. The discussion touches…
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40: Gender Gap in Institutions of Higher Education
Photo Cred: Beth Tate One of the most significant worldwide transformations in education has been the drastic increase in women’s access to institutions of higher learning. But the question is, has this addressed the gender gap in institutions of higher learning in South Africa? In this episode, Dr Nosipho Mngomezulu and Dr Asanda Benya look…
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39: Cycle-Versities
Photo Cred: Susan Yin South African universities suffer from serious traffic congestion, lack of parking spaces and high pollution levels. Even though many staff and students aspire to own a car, arguably the bicycle offers huge potential to transform the environment and culture of campuses. In this episode Prof Mehita Iqani and Dr Njogu Morgan, a post-doctoral…
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38: Academic Mentorship in Higher Education
Photo Cred: Garrett Garms In 2016 the Department of Higher Education released a report which stated that almost half (47.9%) of the students who start university do not finish their degrees and a large majority of these are black. Dr Nosipho Mngomezulu took time to discuss these statistics with Leila Abdool Gafoor, the Team Leader…
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37: Community-Engaged Scholarship
Photo Cred: Marianne de Klerk Are universities stuck in an ivory tower, cut off from day to day reality? In this episode, Prof Mehita Iqani discusses how research should and could be engaged with “communities”. The guest is University of Cape Town Associate Professor, Tanja Winkler, deputy dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built…
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36: Online Learning in Higher Education
Photo Cred: Juliette Leufke Online learning takes the form of a virtual classroom in which students from across the globe can watch, listen to a lecture at a time convenient to them, at their own pace. It allows participants to interact with one another and engage with resources in work groups. The University of Cape…
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35: Student Resistance in India
Photo Cred: Biswarup Ganguly The fight for access to public universities is also taking place in India, where much unrest and protest has been experienced in its universities. At the root of the protests in India, despite student unions being banned in a majority of colleges and universities, is an unprecedented mobilization against discrimination in…
The Academic Citizen 