UJ READYING INDUSTRY FOR THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL …...shifting business into greater interdependence...

UJ READYING INDUSTRY FOR THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

UJ readying industry for the Fourth Industrial Revolution 1

Table ofContent

INDUSTRY AND THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 2

THE UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG 4

Background 4

UJ: The University of the Future 6

The Institute for Intelligent Systems (IIS) 7

TALENT READY FOR THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 8

UJ Talent Pipeline Scholarship Programme 10

Process Related Elements 12

Benefi ts 14

Short Learning Programmes for the Fourth Industrial Revolution 15

CONCLUSION 16

2 UJ readying industry for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

We are currently living through the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The advances in artifi cial intelligence (AI), robotics and automation, nanotechnology, and material sciences are catalysing the revolution and profoundly changing the face of society, economies, and industries. Increased digitisation and globalisation are shifting business into greater interdependence and interconnection. The advanced technologies of Industry 4.0 can capture and analyse incredible amounts of data that we use to predict trends and disrupt markets.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution brings about many exciting challenges and opportunities, but at the same time, it brings about fear and uncertainty for tomorrow. In pursuit of advanced technologies and the opportunities they bring, it is easy for leaders to lose sight of another critical aspect of the organisation, its people. Industry 4.0 is as much about people as technology.

All sectors are changing at an alarming speed due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The education sector, fi nance, mining, manufacturing, automobile, health and practically every industry

Industry and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

you can think of, will be infl uenced by Industry 4.0. A key success factor during this global shift is the importance of skills and the agility to change. The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) report on The Future of Jobs concerning the Fourth Industrial Revolution (2016), asserts that employees’ skills need constant changing. According to the WEF, “across nearly all industries, the impact of technological and other changes is shortening the shelf-life of employees’ existing skill sets”.

The WEF predicts that by 2020, a third of core skills in most occupations today will become irrelevant. Currently, organisations are hiring, developing and promoting employees based on skills that will be immaterial soon and, in the process, wasting time, energy and money.

It is in this framework that we wish to suggest a collaboration between the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and industry. Not to fi nd all the solutions of our uncertain tomorrow, but to prepare and secure a future for the next and current generation of workers, with new skills, for the businesses of tomorrow.


The Fourth Industrial Revolution

brings about many exciting

challenges and opportunities, but at

the same time, it brings about fear

and uncertainty for tomorrow.


UJ came into being on 1 January 2005 due to the merger of the Rand Afrikaans University, Vista University (Soweto Campus) and Technikon Witwatersrand. Vibrant, multicultural and dynamic, UJ shares the pace and energy of cosmopolitan Johannesburg, the city whose name it carries. Proudly South African, the University is alive down to its African roots, and well-prepared for its role in actualising the potential that higher education holds for the continent’s development. UJ has transformed into a diverse, inclusive, transformational and collegial institution, with a student population of over 50 000, of which more than 3 000 are

international students from 52 countries. This makes UJ one of the largest contact universities in South Africa (SA) from the 26 public universities that make up the higher education system. The University has seven faculties – Art, Design and Architecture; Education; Engineering and the Built Environment; Health Sciences; Humanities; Law; and Science; as well as the College of Business and Economics, which houses the newly established Johannesburg Business School. The University has four campuses, namely the Auckland Park Bunting Road Campus; the Auckland Park Kingsway Campus; the Doornfontein Campus; and the Soweto Campus.

Background


According to the 2018 Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Rankings and Times Higher Education Ranking systems, UJ ranked in the top 500 in the world and fourth in South Africa and is the only African university admitted to Universitas 21, a respected consortium of 27 research-intensive universities in the world.

The University’s accredited research output has increased by 434% between 2005 and 2017; from 325.99 units to 1 741.41 units. UJ hosts 24 research centres and institutes and is home to 13 of the Department of Science and

Technology’s South African Research Initiative (SARChI) Chairs.

With over a thousand permanent employed academic and research staff , the University currently has 200 National Research Foundation (NRF) rated researchers of which six are A-rated researchers.

Furthermore, UJ has elevated several of its fl agship programmes, departments and institutes to ensure its strategy is achieved in its drive to be globally excellent. Some of these institutes play a crucial part in UJ’s Industry 4.0 drive. >>

The University of

Johannesburg

With over a thousand permanent employed

academic and research staff , the University

currently has 200 National Research

Foundation (NRF) rated researchers of

which six are A-rated researchers..


<< UJ continues to play a nurturing and pioneering role in restructuring higher education in Africa. The University of the Future will no doubt look very diff erent due to the digital disruption. UJ is strategically aligning its research and curriculum focus to the brave new technological world. We are committed to generate innovative ideas and seek ways to challenge our students’ minds. UJ is resolute to create a space where open innovation and analytical minds can thrive.

UJ has leading experts that ensure the University embraces all new technology, excel in research and impart the knowledge necessary to bring the Fourth Industrial Revolution to the continent and its people.

UJ’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Tshilidzi Marwala, leads its experts to further advance its vision of excellence in teaching, research and innovation, internationalisation, public scholarship and community engagement and to fulfi l the strategic goal of the University to become Africa’s epicentre of critical intellectual inquiry and a leader in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Prof Marwala’s research interests are multi-disciplinary and include the theory and application of computational intelligence to engineering, computer science, fi nance, social science and medicine. As a B-rated researcher, he has published nine books, over 300 papers in journals, proceedings, book chapters and magazines and holds three international patents. He is an associate editor of the International Journal of Systems Science (Taylor and Francis Publishers) and has been a reviewer for more than 40 ISI journals. Prof Marwala was appointed to serve as Deputy Chair on the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution by President Cyril Ramaphosa in April 2019.

His global network is comprehensive and includes being a visiting scholar at Harvard University, at the University of California at Berkeley, at the Wolfson College of the University of Cambridge and Nanjing Tech University. Prof Marwala is also a member of the programming council of the Faculty

of Electrical Engineering at the Silesian University of Technology (Poland).

Through collaborative, forward-thinking, industry leading experts and creative academics, tutors and students, we develop new approaches to research, teaching and learning and we use these approaches to assist industry in not only embracing but thriving in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. >>

UJ: The University of the Future

<< Due to the complexities related to Industry 4.0, UJ has established an Institute for Intelligent Systems (IIS) with the primary mandate to fast track the transitioning of the institution into the Fourth Industrial Revolution. IIS, along with other departments, faculties and divisions, in a multi-disciplinary approach, is driving UJ’s strategy to be Industry 4.0 integrated during the next fi ve years.

Driven by the IIS Director, together with renowned researchers, the Institute embraces technology innovative related projects to advance UJ’s evolution into the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Projects within IIS include:

Block chain and cryptocurrency technology Intelligent transport systems – from port to

roads to improve transport in South Africa Visible light and power line communications

(enhanced data mechanisms) Artifi cial intelligence and the impact thereof on

humans and the current workforce Last mile access for broadband internet in rural

areas Security and privacy of applications in emerging

networks for rural areas Living in the future (water, energy, waste and

biofuels) Smart banking Short courses and online courses related to

Industry 4.0


The Institute for Intelligent Systems (IIS)

Through collaborative, forward-thinking,

industry leading experts and creative

academics, tutors and students, we develop new

approaches to research, teaching and learning


UJ is currently at the forefront of technology

innovation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

in South Africa. Through our collaboration with

companies and industry bodies, we support the

knowledge transfer of Fourth Industrial elements

to a wide range of sectors.

UJ combines its research, teaching and learning

expertise to ensure that your sector attracts young

talent that espouses the skills needed to succeed

in the current industrial revolution. Furthermore,

through designing pragmatic relevant Short

Learning Programmes (SLPs) with industry

partners, organisations or industry bodies, we can

ensure that the current workforce is upskilled to

thrive in the new world of work.

Talent ready for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

UJ Talent Pipeline Scholarship Programme

<< With more than 50 000 students bustling through the gates of its four campuses, UJ is a veritable hub of student activity; being one of the largest comprehensive education institutions in South Africa off ering focused technology diploma courses as well as traditional academic degrees up to postdoctoral fellowships.

Our students come from all parts of

the world, with approximately 3 000

international students representing 52

foreign countries. UJ has become the

University of Choice for working class,

fi rst-generation students.

We produce an average output of

13 500 graduates annually and have

an exceptional reputation for making

a sizeable contribution to the skilled

population of the country. Our student

profi le comprises 22% new undergraduates

and 12% postgraduates (annually), of

which 90% are previously disadvantaged,

and 55% are female. This makes the pool

of students, from which businesses can

choose, exceptionally diverse.

By investing in our student and emerging industry talent through the UJ talent pipeline scholarship programme, you have access to the future graduates who will be able to bring fourth industrial skills to your workforce. We encourage that students are selected for this programme through an informative recruitment process, with the help of your company’s HR division and psychometric testing, and to be groomed from their second year over the next three years (supporting the students from second year to complete a four-year degree or a three-year degree plus one-year honours degree). Only the students, as per your criteria, will qualify for this scholarship.

Students in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) disciplines can be selected and recruited from the Science, Engineering and Art, Design and Architecture Faculties. Students with attributes towards the following specialities can be considered – coding, IT (information technology), mathematics, big data, health science, digital fi nance, digital law, design thinking, futuristic marketing and communications etc. Moreover, in a continually shifting environment, students in Human Sciences and Management, such as Industrial Psychology, Human Resources and Corporate Communication, can be considered to assist with change management endeavours.


The envisaged three-year support programme towards each student will then see the completion of either a four-year degree (like an Engineering degree) or a bachelor’s degree plus one-year honours degree.

To ensure the students are fully embedded in your business’s culture and understand its strategy, it is vital that the students are nurtured into your organisational culture and long-term vision, with a structured programme that will include workshops, think tanks related to the future, design thinking interventions, vacation work and mentorship over the next three years. This programme should complement the academic curriculum of UJ as a unique off ering to create the best future workforce who will be job ready in three years.

Master’s degree students can form part of your pro-gramme, as they can work on specifi c challenges in your business. These master’s students could work closely with the undergraduate cohort and can be included in some of the think tanks and workshops envisaged to form a group of more experienced people to support this initiative further. Please note that a master’s programme takes two years.

UJ’s Centre for Psychological Services and Career Development (PsyCaD) together with UJ’s Student

Finance Offi ce can assist with the identifi cation of suitable students, the interview process and any further development that students may need to step into your business confi dently. It is important to note that this programme is not only for UJ’s top students but also for average performers, as statistics show that average performing students tend to be more hard working, tenacious and quickly grow into management positions.

Interviews can take place, either in person or remotely, at PsyCaD’s Career Centre, specially developed for organisations to interview prospective graduate employees and scholarship students. Furthermore, PsyCaD can off er a variety of psychometric testing batteries and align the testing to the battery currently used by your business to ensure that the correct students are chosen for your organisational culture. After successful completion and award of scholarships, PsyCaD further works with you and the students to design and implement personalised developmental programmes to ensure that students are well-rounded and a cultural fi t for the organisation that awarded them a scholarship. The development plans include soft skill and emotional intelligence training to provide versatile incumbents for your business. >>


Process Related Elements

<< It is vital that a solid operational plan is implemented for the creation of your customised talent programme. UJ and the business join forces to ensure that it is a governed process and that some of the most suitable students within UJ’s various faculties and one college are selected for this programme.

The industry partner determines the specifi c criteria which will be used to select the students.

UJ proposes a rigorous HR supported process whereby a larger student body will be selected at fi rst and narrowed down to the most favourable over a period.

To achieve optimum results, we envisage that this process should start soonest to ensure your business gains a talented group of students for this programme.

UJ guides you as to what is required within the support programme outside of the academic programme managed by your business and will discuss an envisaged timeline for this.

UJ, together with your organisation, will determine the projects identifi ed by you for the master’s students to ensure the correct master’s students are assigned to this programme.

It is essential to have an agreement with the

students and UJ for this project. UJ can manage

the funds on your behalf, and this will be

stipulated in the Memorandum of Agreement

with UJ. Concerning the contract with the

student, it is crucial to specify the conditions

of the programme, i.e. whether the student is

expected to work at your organisation for a

period on completion of his/her studies and

what happens if the student fails a subject(s)

during this period, etc.

Other important aspects related to this programme will be clearly defi ned within the relevant contracts and during discussions. >>


Your organisation will grow a cohort of individuals who will be work-ready to help you realise your future vision.

You will have exposure to UJ students in a sustainable manner that can be replicated and continued on graduation to provide a steady fl ow of talent to your business.

You could give this cohort a unique name to distinguish them from the rest, and that could also serve as marketing. This could be communicated on various online platforms, including the web and social media and as an initial press release.

You could develop new positions for this cohort, including master’s students who will enter the organisation on completion of their studies. These jobs could be newly defi ned and not necessarily relate to traditional jobs/skills.

You could further benefi t from the master’s research projects which could be fully aligned with current challenges within your organisation.

You will qualify for an 18A Tax Benefi t Certifi cate.

By investing in the skills development of unemployed, previously disadvantaged youth in the form of bursaries to UJ students, your organisation will be able to add B BBEE points to your scorecard, while developing future talent for your business.

Benefi tsBenefi ts


Technology is rapidly changing our economic, cultural and social realities, and the need to upskill the current generation and workforce for the Fourth Industrial Revolution remains a pressing issue for both industry and UJ.

It is crucial to ensure that the South African workforce, whether from the newer more tech savvy generation or older generation, has the ability and opportunity to continually learn and adapt so that they can apply new technologies in their industry sector and organisations.

Due to the impending technological changes across sectors, UJ develops Short Learning Programmes (SLPs) aimed at specifi c industries to allow professionals and employees to embrace new technology in their industry.

Off ered online or in a blended format, these SLPs are geared to teach new technologies in a way that is both engaging and manageable for busy executives, professionals and employees. UJ has already embarked on developing SLPs with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) for the accounting profession and with the Media, Information and Communication (MICT) Seta, and more programmes are currently being developed to serve various industries.

By investing in the development of SLPs for your industry, you will be able to take the lead in skills development in your sector while ensuring that your workforce is future fi t.

Short Learning Programmes for the Fourth Industrial Revolution



We invite you to reimagine the future with us.

For us to move South Africa from the

fringes of globalisation and to inject our

economy with innovation and supply it with

relevant skilled graduates and support job

creation, we need to take hands with prolifi c

industry partners.

The global business environment is

undergoing a dramatic change, and your

investment in a three-year project to train

a group of young people to become the

next generation of skilled employees or to

capacitate your current workforce through

short learning programmes, with values and

capabilities related to the Fourth Industrial

Revolution could put you ahead of your sector.

Thank you for considering collaborating with

UJ, we look forward to developing workable

programmes for your business.

Conclusion

UJ READYING INDUSTRY FOR THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL …...shifting business into greater interdependence...

Documents

Transcript of UJ READYING INDUSTRY FOR THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL …...shifting business into greater interdependence...