Sol Plaatje University (SPU) ICT department hosted the Higher Education Information Technology South Africa (HEITSA) Spring General Institutional Meeting (SGIM) on 27 and 28 of September 2022 at its South Campus Conference Facility in Kimberley.
SPU Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Andrew Crouch officially opened the two-day meeting and shared experiences of running a university in the digital age. “We need to be a digitally empowered university, adapt and be agile to the changing landscape in the world around information technology. SPU is defined as a comprehensive university, but we want to be an innovative university. I refer to us as a boutique university” said Professor Crouch.
Keynote speaker at HEITSA Spring General Institutional Meeting, Director for Institutional Advancement at SPU, Mr Qondakele Sompondo engaged delegates on the importance of positioning the university favourably and taking it forward. He highlighted the need for a responsive university that is purpose-driven to drive agile programmes for the future sustainability of the university. One such programme is SPU’s Lesedi La Afrika Fund endowment fundraising campaign to raise R100 million to create access to the University for young people from the Northern Cape. The funds will support scholarships, infrastructure, social impact projects, and staff wellness programmes.
A total number of 40 delegates were in attendance. HEITSA represents 26 public universities in South Africa that were invited to attend this event, as well as other guests and affiliates from the higher education ICT sector. Ms Liezel Ijambo Services and Solutions Manager at HEITSA shared her presentation on the Security Scorecard service offering and gave delegates an overview of visibility and digital footprint and implored universities to benchmark against their peers.
Ms Amber Crookes, Key Account Manager for Higher Education delivered her presentation on how education is rapidly changing and the importance of education in the 21st century. Ms Crookes reiterated the importance of smart education.
Delegates were also paired where they discussed IT issues they are currently facing, and possible solutions were tabled by delegates.
On the second day of the SGIM, Ms Andiswa Msi, Director for IT Academic and Office Solutions at North-West University shared a few antidotes on the importance of collaborations and the benefits of collaborations, “True collaborations are about people engaging in processes, it is about building deep relationships”.
Mr Thato Lehutso, Senior Manager in the Office of the CIO-ICT at the University of the Witwatersrand highlighted the importance of transitioning from the traditional contact university to hybrid learning. “Universities are competing globally for students and academics; we need to think ahead beyond our organizational strategy,” he said.
Corporate partners as well as other industry leaders exhibited the latest technology and engaged with all stakeholders at facilities on the SPU South Campus.
