21st-century challenges are high on the agenda for Prof Letlhokwa Mpedi, UJ’s newly appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, including producing future-fit graduates.
the first World Congress of Labour Law and Social Security, which was held in Chihuahua, Mexico in 2012. He has many fond moments to remember accomplishments from his tenure as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law. Too many to mention, he says, but singled out the following four: • Successfully overseeing the review and accreditation of the LLB programme of the Faculty. • Leading from the front and
have served the university and its stakeholders well, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. UJ was better prepared than many of its peers in South Africa and the African continent and, as a result, made a swift and successful transition to online teaching and learning and remote working.” With the above context in mind, Prof Mpedi’s plans are tied to the vision and mission of the University. A lot is being done at UJ in 4IR, including the use of virtual and augmented reality in teaching and learning. However, he believes there is a need to showcase this excellent work. In addition, he says, the current best practices in teaching and learning using technology that emanate from faculties/college and relevant divisions, should be rapidly replicated throughout the institution. “I am determined to build on current efforts towards the advancement of the scholarship of teaching and learning. I believe strongly that teaching and learning, as well as research, are two sides of the same coin.”
Prof Mpedi comes well prepared for his new challenge. He previously held several key academic leadership roles at UJ, which he believes have prepared and will serve him well. Some of these positions include Head of Department, Vice-Dean and Executive Dean: Faculty of Law. He also served in a range of leadership positions with national and international associations/ organisations which advance teaching and learning (e.g. the South African Law Deans’ Association and South African Judicial Education Institute and the International Association of Law Schools. He is, therefore, mindful of the challenges facing the University and higher education sector, particularly in teaching and learning. Prof Mpedi is an accomplished scholar who have published several books and contributed immensely to books and accredited journals, both nationally and internationally. He is an internationally acclaimed researcher with a B3 rating, received the CEO Titans: Building Nations Award on three occasions, and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal after the conclusion of
seeing the Faculty of Law thrive in a variety of key
performance areas, including teaching and learning, research, internationalisation, and community engagement. • Building strong international partnerships which, empowered junior colleagues to interact and publish in books with international scholars. • Submitting, during his term, on average 100 research output units for accreditation. In 2001 he obtained an LLM degree in Labour Law from the then Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg) and in 2006 an LLD degree in Mercantile Law (University of Johannesburg).
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