Unisa’s ten catalytic niche areas

Unisa’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Puleng LenkaBula, has identified ten catalytic niche areas that will hopefully not only activate and enhance Unisa’s academic agenda but will also enhance academics' experiences as engaged scholars who will care to address the needs of our society.

Central to this initiative is Unisa's College of Science, Engineering and Technology, which has already received eight proposals relating to these niche areas, of which five have been supported as flagship projects and possible centres of excellence status. The college is encouraged by the fact that most of the submissions have commercialisation aspects embedded in their planning, a feature that will go a long way towards addressing the engaged scholarship aspect of the academic agenda.

1. Marine studies

According to the Marine Research Plan of the Department of Science and Technology (2014), coastal oceanography is still in its infancy. There exists a plethora of commercial activities and trade along the 2 800km coastline of South Africa. The Port of Durban is the biggest and busiest port in South Africa. Unisa needs to tap deep into the opportunities for supporting economic growth through teaching and learning, research and innovation as well as engaged scholarship, while at the same time creating awareness of how to protect our marine world from degradation.

The College of Human Sciences (CHS) has put its hand up with the development of a trans-disciplinary BSc in Marine Studies, in collaboration with the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, among others. 

The College of Law is currently developing a short learning programme and establishing a research group on custom and marine studies. 

2. Aviation and aeronautical studies

South Africa has 18 airports, with OR Tambo, Cape Town and King Shaka being international airports. These airports cater for people and goods coming into South Africa or transiting to and from other countries.

This information confirms that this is a niche area that would support a major component of the country's economy. Participation in aviation and aeronautical studies would range from, among others, aviation mechanics and engineering, electronics, operations and safety policy space in accordance with international standards and conventions, as well as traveller experience.  

3. Automotive studies

The South African Automotive Master Plan (SAAM) 2021 - 2035 envisages the automotive industry to grow from 600 000 to 1.4 million vehicles a year in production at its peak (Businesstech.co.za). This is a confirmation that there is a potential to be explored in Unisa’s commitment to producing quality students in this specific niche.

In 2022, students from the Department of Mechanical Engineering in Unisa's College of Science, Engineering and Technology set out on the Sasol Solar Challenge to showcase the solar-powered car that they designed and built to travel from Johannesburg to Cape Town without using a single drop of fuel.

4. Energy studies

The energy mix spectrum in South Africa comprises generation, distribution and service (including sales), all requiring different and specific knowledge and skills. Developments concerning power shortages are proof that there is an urgent need to review how we provide energy to the growing and transforming population. 

South Africa is blessed with natural light to generate solar energy, as well as wind energy which has since seen the establishment of wind energy farms in the Northern Cape. Developments such as these, are an opportunity for Unisa to participate in building an energy-secure country and a continent that is lit using sustainable energy.

Unisa's College of Graduate Studies has identified energy studies as one of the niche areas that it will support and promote. The Graduate School of Business Leadership is in the process of attracting a strategy partner to develop an executive education course on clean energy.

5. Space studies and the Square Kilometre Array

Unisa has been involved in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project since 2012. SKA is a $1billion international project to create an array of antennas for detecting radio waves that will have a receiving area of one square kilometre.

The work being done in this regard is of a pioneering nature, involving multi-disciplinary experts and scientists working collaboratively from across the globe. Building sophisticated and far-reaching telescopes would be a product of extreme engineering, the building of huge capacity information and communications technology hardware and software, and related functions and capabilities. The fact that the scope of this kind of project require skills from across the world, speaks to the internationalisation agenda that the university is embarking upon.

In the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, the Department of Physics offers undergraduate courses in Astrophysics, and specialisation in this field up to PhD level. Also in this college, the Department of Mathematics offers a comprehensive Astronomy course, which progresses from undergraduate to master’s and PhD level.

The Unisa Observatory, situated on the Muckleneuk Campus in Tshwane, is a modern, well-equipped facility housing a 14" telescope. The observatory is used to train Astronomy students, and has state-of-the-art instrumentation such as a CCD camera for doing research projects.

6. Fourth Industrial Revolution and digitalisation

The impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is upon us and has drastically changed production methods and trade methodologies. Disruptive technologies such as 3D printing, the use of cryptocurrencies, machine learning, the use of big data and algorithms to create data analytics, robotics, and so on, are defining the new normal of conducting daily business and studies. Such developments speak to the need for building capacity in the legal, commercial and technology fields at the university. It is clear that embracing the effects of 4IR cannot be left to "catch-up" processes at the tail end, but should be part and parcel of training and development by institutions of higher learning, such as Unisa.

The College of Graduate Studies will support and promote studies into 4IR and digitalisation, while the Graduate School of Business Leadership presents a short learning programme on Big Data.

7. Biotechnological studies

The current need for the development of vaccines illustrates the need to improve and rapidly develop research capacity and technology. With these studies, our lives and the health of our planet, including sustainable food production methods that are friendlier to the environment, could improve significantly.

Unisa's College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences is one of the main partners in the African BioGenome Project, a coordinated Pan-African effort to build capacity and infrastructure to generate, analyse and deploy genomics data for the improvement and sustainable use of biodiversity and agriculture across Africa. In June 2021, a pilot project was launched with the key objectives of sequencing 100,000 endemic species.  

8. Health/Pharmaceutical studies

Covid-19 has in many ways tested our capacity to respond to health challenges, including any other pandemic that may erupt. Research in molecular biology, healthcare, the development of health equipment and the development of specialised skills in pulmonary medicine is urgently needed.

In fact, the country has to develop the capacity to continue training medical specialists in different areas that may be deemed critical and urgent at the emergence of any other future pandemics and life-threatening diseases.

In the College of Graduate Studies, the UNESCO-Unisa Africa Chair in Nanosciences and Nanotechnology is leading is international research into the nanodelivery of drugs, including African herbal medicine. The College of Law offers an elective undergraduate module on Medical Law.

9. Feminist/Womanist/Bosadi theorisations

It is often stated that the most disrespected person in society is the black woman. The most unprotected person is a black woman. This is why mainstream/Western feminism is not enough, there is a need for intersectionality - feminism that protects all, regardless of one's race, gender identity or capabilities.

Bosadi is a theory for the context of black South African women encompassing racial oppression, sexist African culture, classism as well as general sexism. It is crucial for the university to focus on this field of research and studies.

In the College of Human Sciences, the Institute for Gender Studies conducts interdisciplinary research into eliminating gender-based violence, homophobia and transphobia, and discrimination against women in the workplace and the political arena. The institute also uses education about gender as an effective way to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The College of Education is renowned for engaged scholarship endeavours regarding this niche area that have led to, among others, publications on widowhood by academic staff members. The Graduate School of Business Leadership offers a short learning programme on Women in Leadership.

10. Student support and co-curricular activities

Being an African university that caters for numerous student populations drawn from different walks of life, including (and especially) those coming from poor backgrounds, proper support and tutelage to such students is important to Unisa.

Equipping students with life skills beyond academics is crucial. The ongoing globalisation and interconnection of the world order, dictate that the education and skills imparted to students are such that they allow them to be citizens of the world, who can compete favourably in the global village as they explore different ways of doing things and yet remain proudly African/South African.

Unisa’s College of Graduate Studies has developed a suite of training programmes through workshops, colloquia, video conferences and virtual research environments. It reaches out to candidates in Unisa's regional centres, from Gauteng to Akaki, Ethiopia.

The Advocacy and Resource Centre for Students with Disabilities, located in the Student Affairs portfolio, accommodates the needs of students with disabilities, and promotes the principle of access for success. Also in this portfolio, the Student Development Division provides students with social support, governance and leadership development services to enhance graduateness and citizenship.

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