Sol Plaatje University (SPU) hosted its inaugural Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Symposium on Monday, 17 November 2025, marking a significant milestone in strengthening the University’s academic project and advancing its commitment to excellence in teaching and learning. The event, coordinated by the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Programme Development, brought together academic staff to reflect on scholarly teaching in an era increasingly shaped by Artificial Intelligence.
In his opening address, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, Professor Paul Green, emphasised that the Symposium represents a pivotal moment in SPU’s maturation as a young university. He underscored that the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is central to fostering academic quality, cultivating reflective teaching practice and ensuring student success. Professor Green noted that as higher education continues to evolve within a digital and AI driven landscape, universities have an obligation to strengthen scholarship in teaching so that learning remains ethical, rigorous and human centred. He also reaffirmed CTLPD’s role as an institutional catalyst in supporting academics, elevating pedagogical practice and advancing SPU’s academic mission.
The keynote presentation was delivered by Professor Clever Ndebele from Walter Sisulu University, who offered a theoretically rich and compelling analysis of what meaningful Scholarship of Teaching and Learning entails. Drawing on Ernest Boyer’s seminal work on the four pillars of scholarship, he described the field as a rigorous, evidence based and publicly disseminated form of academic inquiry that goes beyond reflective teaching practice. He highlighted the distinction between scholarly teaching and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, noting that while scholarly teaching improves classroom practice, SoTL contributes knowledge that benefits the wider academic community.
Professor Ndebele also unpacked the internal and external horizons of SoTL. Internally, it operates within the pedagogical, ethical and interpersonal dimensions of teaching, while externally, it intersects with broader disciplinary, professional, cultural and political contexts. He cautioned that without a clear theoretical foundation, SoTL risks becoming descriptive rather than scholarly. His address reinforced the importance of institutional structures that support SoTL, including recognition in promotions, funding pathways, academic development opportunities and platforms for dissemination. This emphasis aligns strongly with SPU’s strategic priority to strengthen research, innovation and postgraduate development.
The Symposium’s overarching theme, “Leveraging the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Effective Student Success in an AI Driven Higher Education Landscape”, framed the day’s conversations. Presenters and participants explored the transformative potential of AI in higher education, engaging in discussions on ethics, assessment integrity, curriculum innovation, student engagement and inclusivity. These contributions reflected SPU’s broader strategic commitments to academic excellence, student centricity and technological advancement, with a shared understanding that AI offers both opportunities and responsibilities for educators, requiring thoughtful adaptation grounded in evidence and pedagogy.
Throughout the day, the Symposium reinforced the collective responsibility of SPU academics to advance student learning through reflective, research informed and technologically responsive practice. It also demonstrated CTLPD’s ongoing mandate to cultivate a scholarly and innovative teaching community that is prepared to adapt to emerging educational challenges in alignment with institutional goals for quality teaching, embedded engagement and digital enablement.
The success of SPU’s inaugural Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Symposium marks a meaningful step in building a strong culture of academic inquiry and pedagogical excellence. It contributes to the University’s strategic vision of ensuring innovative, ethical and student centred teaching practices that prepare graduates for a rapidly changing world and supports SPU’s long term mission of changing lives and enabling brighter futures. In his concluding remarks the Director of the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Programme Development, Dr Severino Machingambi, indicated that the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Symposium will become a flagship annual event going forward at the University.
