Annual Research Report 2020

5 Sol Plaatje University (SPU) was formally established as a public higher education institution by Government Notice 630, under the Higher Education Act 101 of 1997 (Government Gazette no. 36771) on 23 August 2013. The first academic year commenced in February 2014. SPU was the first of two new universities to be established in post-apartheid South Africa and is also the first university to be established in the Northern Cape province. Positioned as a niche university SPU was established as a comprehensive university, offering ac- ademic programmes of a high intellectual nature in fields that meet the needs of the South African thrust to develop a nation that is proud of its heritage and its roots. In developing the focus for its academic disciplines, SPU has looked to the unique needs, competence and characteristics of the Northern Cape region. This approach has brought the current focus areas of teacher educa- tion, ICT and data science, heritage studies, paleo-sciences and creative writing in African languages to the fore. Furthermore, in an era of concern about global warming and the more serious threat to arid regions like the Northern Cape, SPU is developing future programmes in the agricultural sciences with a focus on water-stressed conditions. The availability of physical resources together with the intellectual capacity to deliver such programmes will determine how quickly they can be implemented. Developed as a city university SPU has been developed as a city university in the town of Kimberley, occupying a combination of existing and purpose-built structures. The architecture of the new buildings has a unique personality and embraces a modern approach to light and space, as well as being inclusive of artwork and design that reflects the heritage of the area. An important characteristic of a great city is that it has a good university. Here is the nexus that aligns the development strategies of the city and the University, and that demands of SPU to develop and sustain high quality, as well as exciting academic programmes that will attract staff and students from the region and beyond to learn, work and live in Kimberley. SPU | 7 years Later The city of Kimberley allocated land parcels to SPU, which include substantial buildings, the Old Legislature Building and the Old William Pescod School. How did SPU achieve this? Governance and Management Central to guiding SPU’s rapid growth has been a robust governance structure, supported in the beginning by the New Universities Project and assisted by the Department of Higher Education and Training. SPU’s main governing body is Council, which started as a five-person Interim Council in 2013 and developed into the full Council which presides today. In carrying out its functions, Council takes account of financial and academic sustainability, the devel- opment needs of students and issues of transformation, addressing the skewed social development and widescale human hurt caused by apartheid. The SPU governance systems take various forms such as Council committees and management structures – this is a key strength. These bodies are critically important for steering the University in the strategic direction it has embarked on, ensuring that it is led ethically and serves as an important informant of future sustainability. Pride in its namesake SPU takes pride in the fact that it bears the name of Sol Plaatje, a visionary South African intellectual who embraced the values and ethos to which the University subscribes. Sol Plaatje University: The First University in the Northern Cape Four academic schools (Education, Humanities, Economic and Management Sciences, Natural and Applied Sciences) offer courses leading to the qualifications of Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Data Science, as well as other diploma and degree programmes. 3 Campuses 2 349 Total number of enrolled students in 2020 Figure 1. Student enrolment profile, 2014–2020 3 000 2 000 1 000 0 2014 175 2020 175 2 174 Undergraduates Postgraduates Figure 2. Academic qualification profile, 2014–2020 20 10 0 2014 2020 Undergraduate programmes Postgraduate programmes 3 11 8