New academics ease in

New on the block: Ernesto Ismail (mechanical engineering) introduces himself at the New Academic Practitioners Programme

Thirty one new lecturers and tutors were invited to the Sport Science Institute this week for the start of the New Academic Practitioners Programme (NAPP), now in its fourth year. The project was initially launched to help new academics ease into - and understand - the rigours of university life with its triple demands of teaching, research and administration.

NAPP is run by the Centre for Higher Education Development, and provides newly-appointed staff with a year-long orientation, part of their professional development.

"There are too many casualties," convenor Jeff Jawitz told the group at the one-day workshop (other workshops will follow during the year). "Too many people spend years hating it. This programme is about the way we can change that. This is the way your experiences can be fed back into the institution."

In his welcome, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Njabulo S Ndebele, said the new academic practitioners are a vital part of annual re-invigoration on the campus.