South African Council of Postgraduate Schools/Centres Launched
South African Council of Postgraduate Schools/Centres Launched
Launched at the Fifth Biennial Conference on Research into Postgraduate Supervision, hosted by Stellenbosch University, South Africa, a conference representative said;
“Graduate/Postgraduate schools have the potential to play a pivotal role in the transformation of postgraduate education in higher education institutions. During the last decade many South African universities established postgraduate schools or centres to address the needs of postgraduate students and to identify and develop research talent. These schools/centres differ significantly in their functioning and strategic focus. The pressure to expand the postgraduate cohorts at universities necessitates a strategic focus on the role of postgraduate centres/schools.
“Forming a national body to promote the interests of graduate schools could serve as an important resource for newly established postgraduate schools/centres and such a body could take the lead in benchmarking postgraduate research education practices.
Attending the conference, former UKCGE Vice Chair Professor Pam Denicolo said;
“Like many of across the globe, colleagues in South Africa are under pressure to support more doctoral researchers, each well qualified to enter a range of professional roles. They too recognise that this can more easily be achieved through co-operation within universities and collaboration between them. Thus they are beginning to explore ways to do this that fits their context and culture, drawing on examples from around the world such as UKCGE for inspiration.”
