Prof. SP SongcaWalter Sisulu University

South African e-Skills Research Networks(ResNes)

eSkills – a foundation for Human Capital Development in South Africa

Building an Information Society and Creative Knowledge Economies in South

Africa through network partnerships

© TISI 2009

Model description

Eidos South Africa

How did we get here?

The Four Founding Partners

The founding agenda

Title and Description

The Concept and Setting

Fundamental Concepts

Presentation Outline

Progress update

Location of ResNes

Human Resource Planning

Legal arrangements

Governance arrangements

Statement of Purpose

A sample of projects

Current Status

End – thank you.

© TISI 2009

A model is being described for multi-stakeholder cooperation between government, higher education, business and civil society to form alliance that stands a much better chance of delivering on the mandates of each than it would on individual mandates of each without the others.

Special focus is on national, even regional eSkilling – one of the most important key success factors for knowledge economies the world over.

The model is based on tried and tested approaches that integrate and harness the combined strengths of the research based knowledge generation, innovation and intelligence of the nation and its economic networks in the space of information and communications technologies.

It seeks to provide research based intelligence support to, and thought leadership for the national strategic response to the priority areas of the medium term strategic framework (MTSF) and related government policies.

Brief Background and Description of ResNes

© TISI 2009

It is estimated that South Africa currently experiences a shortage of over 70,000 IT professionals. There is a serious shortage of skills within the ICT sector and within civil society in general in South Africa.

This situation is likely to deteriorate, given that the supply side for ICT graduates from the universities is now showing decline. Addressing the eSkils shortage through this traditional route of supply is clearly insufficient.

This shortage of e-skills, should be addressed in other ways - through involvement of all relevant stakeholders in the society.

The key stakeholders include education, particularly higher education, local, provincial and national government, civil society and business.

Through their networks of international linkages business, government and particularly higher education can harness existing capacities for research, intelligence, innovation, latest technologies and resource mobilization.

Eidos South Africa Projects Website

© TISI 2009

Following a series of engagements within the country and abroad, with the background as outlined, high level thinking has concluded that the best way forward in order to establish a dedicated funding mechanism is to implement a pilot project in South Africa based on the Eidos Institute Ltd.

Similar thinking has led to the pilot establishment of the South African eSkills Research Networks (ResNes) to drive multi stakeholder eSkills programmes and provide them with multi-stakeholder research intelligence support.

Establishment of this formal South African e-Skills research body will start with the founding four university partners that have signed the MoU with eSI to collate current activity, develop a national agenda, develop a strategic plan and conduct today’s colloquium alongside the e-Skills Summit.

Participation will draw from excellence across the higher education sector, government agencies and from business. It is undesirable for membership to be limited to the founding universities that have signed the MoU with eSI.

Eidos South Africa – How did we get here?

© TISI 2009

The Four Founding Partners

MoU with the Meraka e-Skills Institute (e-SI)/Department of Communications through the

establishment of an e-Skills Higher Education Research Alliance (ResNes) involving

UP DUT UWC WSU

© TISI 2009

ResNeS is one of several projects! Multi Stakeholder Collaboration Program - International Exchanges Open and Distance Learning Shared Knowledge Centres e-Skills Research Funding options Developing the basis for a National eSkills Action Plan e-Skills thought leadership seminars e-Skills Summit

The founding agenda – an overview!

© TISI 2009

Title and Description

Developing an academic research base for e-Skills to support the National e-Skills Dialogue Initiative (NeSDI) emerging from government.

The holistic scoping focus areas span the continuum of eLiteracy, participatory democracy, government, business, information and communications technology end users and professionals.

ResNeS is initially championed by the four universities, and will become an attractant for thought leaders, intellectual discourse and development of national research agendas and funding mechanisms for e-skills and community informatics.

© TISI 2009

The Concept and Setting

Due particularly to rapid developments and globalization, the skills needed for the future are very different to those needed in the past.

The impact of the convergence of ICTs is changing the basis and reality of service delivery across the socio-economic spectrum of emerging societies everywhere.

There are fundamental concepts relating to these changes for national education systems, particularly for higher education in South Africa.

There are also urgent responses required from the sector in relation to these changes in order to meet changes and realities of service delivery across the socio-economic spectrum.

© TISI 2009

Fundamental Concepts

Collaborative approaches across disciplines, sectors and societal structures to problem solving and addressing local, provincial and national strategic objectives are required and are of prime importance.

Education, particularly higher education, has an important role in providing easily accessible integrated content, strategic and pedagogical leadership in e-skills development for creative workforces for the Information Society and Knowledge Economies.

It also has an opportunity to provide the space, the collaborative leadership, the analysis frameworks and the strategic direction for multi-stakeholder collaborations to develop, deliver and grow e-skills based projects across government, business, civil society and education that distribute service delivery benefits and that provide post-graduate qualifications.

© TISI 2009

Progress update

In formalizing the commitment to e-Skills as outlined in the MoU with the Meraka e-Skills Institute (e-SI)/Department of Communications through the establishment of an e-Skills Higher Education Research Alliance (ResNes) initially involving the University of Pretoria, the Durban University of Technology, The University of the Western Cape and the Walter Sisulu University, the WSU has engaged several units within itself, including FSET, SoC, planning, legal, and community and international partnerships to establish ResNes at the Walter Sisulu University within the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, as an independent entity.

Prepare a draft MoA for ResNes Establish an appropriate legal vehicle for ResNes Propose the constitutional structure and arrangements Propose an operational and human resource structure

© TISI 2009

Walter Sisulu University

University of Transkei

Eastern Cape Technikon

Border Technikon

A comprehensive Developmental University

© TISI 2009

WSU has 4 faculties FSET, FHS, FED, FBMSL and a proposed 5th - FAGRIC in the drawing board. FSET has five schools

School of Computing – SoC.

School of Engineering – SoE.

School of Technology – SoT.

School of Mathematics and Computational Sciences - SoMACS.

School of Applied and Environmental Sciences - SoAES.

Faculty of Science Engineering and Technology

© TISI 2009

The Structure of the FSET

© TISI 2009

Location and structural arrangements

Research coordinator Networks coordinator

Executive DeanFaculty of Science, Engineering and Technology

Faculty Manager

School of Applied and

Environmental Sciences

School of Engineering

School of Mathematical and

Computational Sciences

School of Computing

School of Technology

School Manager

ManagerResNes

Information Technology

Computer Science

Office Manager

Applied Informatics

© TISI 2009

Academic Schools and Departmental Composition

© TISI 2009

Human Resource Planning

ResNes Manager.

Overall manager of the unit and its activities. Responsible for operations, finance, marketing and strategic visioning.

Secretariat.

Secretarial support to the unit and especially the manager Networks coordinator

Manages/coordinates the research networks membership and participation.

Research coordinator

Manages/coordinates the research programmes and projects.

© TISI 2009

Legal arrangements

An independent entity

The ResNeS is an entity within the faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, located in the School of Computing, reporting to the director of the School who reports to the executive dean of the faculty. ResNes manager accounts to the ResNes governing board.

A section 21 company or similar instrument

The legal status of the entity is envisaged as a section 21 company an independent not for profit business organization within the SoC.

The structure and Funding

The structure of ResNes includes the manager, research coordinator, networks coordinator and a secretariat. The funding support will be independent of the WSU finance and accounting system so that it will be managed and audited separately.

© TISI 2009

Governance structural arrangements

The Governing Board

The Board of ResNeS is comprised of four Senior Institutional Research Administrators/Leaders with institutional responsibilities for research coordination (one from each of the founding universities).

The membership

The membership of the ResNeS is made up of existing and emerging researchers from academia, government, business & civil society from across South Africa, Africa and internationally.

The constitution

The constitution of ResNes is expected to increase with time as more universities join. However membership and participation in research is not limited to the constituting universities.

© TISI 2009

Statement of Purpose

research classification research working groups evaluation of e-Skills impacts e-Skills thought leadership constitution policy ….

© TISI 2009

Statement of Purpose

Thought leadership

Commence a process of e-Skills thought leadership, seminars, conferences, summits across education, business, government and civil society.

Develop a constitution

Develop a constitution that would allow a participative process across the structure of the organization, provide for growth and sustainability as well as define the basis for an academic recognition of the generic role of eSkills as a valuable and legitimate contributor to academic enquiry, pedagogy and policy development.

Research classification

Develop a research classification for current and emerging e-skills applicable for the Information Society and Knowledge Economies.

© TISI 2009

Statement of Purpose

Research working groups Establish research working groups across disciplines. These working

groups are the research expertise and resource of the research network. Develop integrated approaches for policy development Engage with university, government and business structures and

processes to develop integrated approaches for policy development. Research and evaluation of e-Skills impacts Research and evaluation of e-Skills impacts, applications and the

underpinning pedagogy.

© TISI 2009

ResNes has conceptualized a number of projects to be tested for further development by the combined think tank of the founding member universities and experts from across the sector and the other stakeholders.

(1) A consolidation of all baseline research on eSkills in South Africa. Significant work has been done on a much broader scope in this regard: ResearchICTAfrica fills a strategic gap in the development of a sustainable information society and network knowledge economy by building the ICT policy and regulatory research capacity needed to inform effective ICT governance in Africa (Alison Gillwald & Christoph Stork; 2008). This should really lay the foundation for more focused baseline and gap filling studies. While there is a proliferation of statistical data on ICTs in South Africa, very little is known about the ICT and eSkills status of grass-roots communities particularly those in the rural and peri-urban communities.

A sample of projects – work in progress!

© TISI 2009

(2) An audit of ICT training and an evaluation of its impact on eSkills. In this area too a substantial body of work exists on the broader African context and to some degree the finer Southern African focus. An example is the survey of ICT and education in Africa - a summary report based on surveys from 53 countries, including South Africa. More important in this proposal is the impact assessment and therefore the potential projection of provisioning to meet the challenges and bridge the gaps.

The value of these studies is mainly in their potential to influence education policy and strategy for ICT provisioning. For example it should be asked whether the number of high schools, primary schools and lower primary schools that actually teach basic ICT subjects and the learners enrolled for these subjects can support the ICT provisioning at further and higher education that is required for a national eskilling agenda that will address the desired creative knowledge economy.

A sample of projects – work in progress!

© TISI 2009

Given that the focus and scope of ResNes projects will depend largely on the programme of action or action plans, I shall not elaborate on the rest of the potential pipeline research projects.

However, it is necessary to emphasize that what is being pursued here is a national programme of action as opposed to “strategic plans or frameworks” of which there is a legendary proliferation and remarkable paucity of implementation.

It is also necessary to emphasize that a critical requirement for the feasibility of any programme of action is a solid support with relevant and current research based intelligence to expose the status quo, for critical path definition, forecasting and projection analysis, monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment.

Work in progress

© TISI 2009

Current Status

Agreements MoA – working progress Proposed legal arrangements – working progress Proposed structural arrangements - finalized Human resource plan - finalized Purpose statements - evolving

© TISI 2009

End thank you

End, thank you