Prof Tshilidzi Marwala shares his vision
“I have visited divisions and faculties on all four campuses. I have interacted with our students and unions to deal with all the outstanding issues, especially around salary negotiations. We have overhauled our systems of financial governance to prevent future lapses in governance. I have met with industrial players to create programmes and projects that are of mutual benefit. Now is the time! I therefore call all our stakeholders in society, industry, government, domestic and international as well as our alumni, staff and students to join me in this great initiative of taking our University into the Fourth Industrial Age. Let us jointly mobilize our intellectual and physical resources to facilitate success in this great initiative”.
Prof Marwala told Impumelelo recently that significant progress had been made in the course of the year, from streamlining registration to resolving labour issues. He said that his major challenge was increasing the graduation rate of students. “Also how do I create a culture of responsible behaviour, of working hard and of being ambitious in our students?” he asked. “How do I take UJ to industry and bring industry to UJ, especially given the serious financial governance challenges we experienced last year that led to the departure of senior leaders of our university? How do I deal with outstanding issues around accreditation and how do I create a university of the Fourth Industrial Age?” He said he had adopted a strategy of communication.
our implementation capacity and infrastructure. Our approach should facilitate open engagements. It should facilitate blended learning where technology is the integral part of teaching and learning”. He said one of his immediate priorities was the newly established Johannesburg Business School, which would “facilitate the flow of the latest technology, leadership and management to our industrial and government sectors”. Another was to establish a Medical School.
“Again, we need to mobilise support from both local and
national governments to achieve this. We will be seeking also the participation of the private medical industry. Our Medical School should allow graduates with three-year degrees to complete a medical degree in four years”.
ALUMNI IMPUMELELO
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