Tackling transformation in research at UCT

The University of Cape Town (UCT) Employment Equity Cluster 10 Collective (EEC 10) recently hosted a colloquium in commemoration of Africa Month. This to facilitate deep conversation and reflection on how institutional structures, systems and practices enable or constrain a more just, inclusive and future-oriented research ecosystem. 

Convened on 27 May under the theme “Transforming the Research Space at UCT: Culture, Power and the Future of Knowledge Systems”, the event invited executive; academic; and professional, administrative support and service (PASS) staff to critically reflect on the relationship between transformation, institutional culture, research and internationalisation.  

“When we were discussing what transformation and inclusion actually mean within the context of the Research Office and its work, it led us to envision what a transformation colloquium might look like if it intentionally created space for those PASS staff perspectives alongside academic and executive voices,” said Janine Carlse, capacity development specialist in the Office for Postgraduate Studies (OPGS), the chairperson of the Research Office Transformation Committee and the chairperson of the Cluster 10 EE Committee. 

“The idea was that meaningful institutional change requires engagement across the entire university community.” 

Over the course of the colloquium, participants considered how power, inclusion, belonging and knowledge production shape the university’s internationalisation and research ecosystem. UCT’s role in responding to broader global challenges and reimagining more equitable and socially just futures for higher education was also explored. 

Power and institutional culture 

The first panel of the colloquium, chaired by UCT’s International Office’s Zinzi Nkalitshana, focused on how institutional culture, power and everyday practices shape the experiences of staff working across the research and internationalisation ecosystem at UCT. 

Talking about how institutional culture shapes the day-to-day experience of staff across research and internationalisation, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (VC) for People, Culture and Society Professor Elelwani Ramugondo highlighted three ways in which culture takes root at institutions like UCT. 

“Culture doesn’t exist in isolation; it’s linked to people. People bring culture into being through what they do every day. There are three pillars that hold up the institutional culture that we live,” she explained. 

“The first is what is modelled by leaders – and leaders at all levels. The second is what is incentivised or rewarded. In other words, who is getting promoted or published, and what behaviour do they display? 

“The culture we’re trying to create now at the university is more around collaboration, sharing ideas and learning that we can all succeed and thrive in the space.” 

“The last factor, which links to the second, is what gets ignored. Are there any toxic behaviours that are being put up with simply because someone is publishing and bringing in funding? Or are those being confronted so that we can steer the culture in the right direction?” 

Building on this, Director: Seconded to the Office of the Vice-Chancellor (VC) Olwen Manuel noted that culture is also shaped by how those in the spaces where the culture is being built see one another as whole human beings. 

“The culture we’re trying to create now at the university is more around collaboration, sharing ideas and learning that we can all succeed and thrive in the space. It’s shaped by small moments of humanity that allow people to feel psychologically safe, and that they can come as they are on any given day and still be given the space to shine,” she said. 

Psychology lecturer Haile Matutu echoed this sentiment, noting that putting people first is likely the most effective means to transforming culture in the research space. 

“The culture of the university is often organised around outputs rather than people. We haven’t put the idea of instrumental and concrete care into a policy, so it doesn’t get the same attention as other factors and it sees us lose some of the possibilities of understanding how things really are and how we can harness our knowledge to bring about change,” he said. 

Equity in the research ecosystem 

The second panel discussion, led by Paula Saner from the Office of Research Integrity, homed in on how greater equity and access in the research ecosystem can drive more inclusive forms of knowledge production and, ultimately, lead to much-needed innovation. 

On this topic, Director: Centre for African Studies Professor Suren Pillay noted that some of the biggest challenges standing in the way of this are the historical sensibilities and prejudices carried by many in the research field. 

“As Africans, we are often excluded from being producers of knowledge. Our contribution to global knowledge is between 1% and 3%, yet we have 15% of the world’s population,” he said. 

“What this doesn’t mean is that there’s no knowledge in Africa; what it does mean is that we need to be paying more attention to who holds the power – in publishing networks, in the way knowledge can be accessed, in who is determined as being the object of knowledge and who are the intellectuals.” 

Isha Dilraj, global engagements project manager in the Office of the VC, emphasised this, noting that internationalisation itself can reproduce inequalities if we are not careful.  

“Internationalisation for universities is often measured through prestigious partnerships, mobility numbers, global visibility, rather than through meaningful reciprocity, mutual learning and solidarity,” she said. 

“The future of higher education cannot continue to operate through these one directional flows and, as institutions increasingly look towards the African continent as a site of intellectual leadership, innovation, demographic possibility and alternate futures, our institutions need to think about how we can shape this moment on our own terms.” 

Innovation for transformation 

According to Deputy VC: Research and Internationalisation Professor Thokozani Majozi, funding – where we get it and how we apply it – has more than a small part to play in our ability to effectively reimagine the research ecosystem in a way that addresses the structural inequalities we are seeing today. 

“We, unfortunately, are not investing enough where it matters most and, if we want our voices to be heard equally with those who do, we need to rethink our funding models as a university and as a country,” he said. 

“Where we publish, what languages we use, the types of research being done – all of these are important issues. However, the people who get to define the gravity and importance of these things are the ones who are investing the most in the research agenda.” 

“There’s a need for true transformation in the innovation space.” 

This, noted Senior Manager: Innovation at Research Contracts and Innovation Dr Bruce Maseko, presents an unmatched opportunity for research institutions to commit to exploring diverse forms of knowledge, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation that is responsive to the needs and aspirations of society.  

“There’s a need for true transformation in the innovation space. We need to be building our own infrastructure as Africans so that we have the ability to turn our raw African resources into African knowledge economies,” he said. 

“We need to find industrial partners and align with them so that we can get the capital we need to create the solutions that we need right here. South Africans have the know-how and are competent enough to produce things that the whole world needs. It’s time for us to begin to innovate to solve our own problems here at home.” 

The colloquium was part of a joint effort of the Research Office, International Office and Research Contracts and Innovation to encourage an exploration of transformation at UCT as part of Strategy 2030.