NEWS: The Intellectual Directions of Higher Education in South Africa

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The Intellectual Directions of Higher Education in South Africa

A National Webinar on Reimagining the Futures of the University

We are pleased to invite you to a national webinar on the intellectual directions of higher education in South Africa, co-hosted by Nelson Mandela University, Rosebank International, the University of the Free State, Higher Education Media Services, and EdNews Africa. 

As South African universities navigate profound socio-economic, political, cultural, and technological shifts, alongside pressing planetary challenges, much of the sector's attention understandably turns to governance, administration, institutional functioning, and sustainability. While these concerns are important, they should not eclipse a deeper focus on the intellectual and social purposes of higher education. Institutional functioning and sectoral purpose are inseparable aspects of the same reality.

Against this backdrop, the conversation will consider the future intellectual directions of higher education in South Africa. It will explore key themes such as transformation, knowledge production, artificial intelligence, institutional autonomy, social justice, sustainability, and the role of the university in engaging meaningfully with a rapidly changing world.

Keynote address: Honourable Buti Manamela, Minister of Higher Education and Training

Panel discussion:

• Professor Sibongile Muthwa, Vice-Chancellor, Nelson Mandela University

• Professor Linda Meyer, President, Rosebank International

• Professor Hester C. Klopper, Vice-Chancellor, University of the Free State

  
  

Date: 12 October 2026

Time: 16:00 to 17:30 (SAST)

Venue: Online (Microsoft Teams)

Click here to RSVP.

For enquiries, please contact Michaela Penkler at michaelap@mandela.ac.za.