News & Media
Student-centred orientation focuses on innovation and lifelong learning
Reflecting Unisa’s 150th anniversary theme, Reclaiming Africa’s Intellectual Futures, this year’s virtual orientation for students in the Department of Psychology was yet another demonstration of a concerted effort by various units at the university to put in practice its principles of service to students and other relevant stakeholders. Read more
Researching shamanism and altered states of consciousness in literature
“The function of mind-altering drugs is to facilitate a momentary escape from mundane reality, to act as a gateway to spiritually inspired revelations, to access suppressed emotions or to help critique the social order”, said Professor Alan Northover of the College of Human Sciences, Department of Afrikaans and Theory of Literature, at his recent inauguration. Read more
Freedom Day: People-centred, feminist and Christian-infused leadership examined
In observance of Freedom Day, an online seminar hosted by Unisa’s Chief Albert Luthuli Research Chair reflected on what leadership in contemporary South Africa should look like, and what can be gleaned from the past to make the free and socially just South Africa that Chief Albert Luthuli fought and was prepared to die for. Read more
Recognised for producing research that promotes justice and human dignity
Having received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research at Unisa’s recent Research and Innovation Awards Ceremony, Prof Puleng Segalo says that the award recognises her endless labour to contribute towards scientific knowledge production and grounding within communities. Read more
"This achievement means that I have worked hard and earned my crown"
Unisa's Gauteng regional student leader, Sanelisiwe Siyothula, recently obtained a Public Relations Diploma to bridge theory and practice in student leadership. Siyothula's academic achievement tells a story of a township girl who wants to solve the world's communication challenges. Read more
Unisa linguist attempts to solve the literacy crisis in South Africa
Delivering her inaugural lecture recently, Prof Carien Wilsenach from the College of Human Sciences’ Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages argued that there is a literacy crisis in South Africa. This refers to the fact that 78% of learners in Grade 4 cannot understand what they read, and more than 50% of children do not know the letters of the alphabet by the end of Grade 1. Read more
Multilingual education the driving force behind transformed HEIs
Unisa's theme for its 150th anniversary year is Reclaiming Africa's Intellectual Futures , and, reflecting this, the central message at the university's International Mother Language Day celebration was that multilingualism and mother-tongue-based education are the driving forces for transformed and Africanised higher education institutions. Read more
Unisans share the world of language studies and careers with rural learners
Learners, especially those in rural areas, are not always aware of career paths involving indigenous languages. This void was recently addressed when Unisa's Department of African Languages visited KwaZulu-Natal in the spirit of the university's 150th anniversary theme, "Reclaiming Africa's intellectual futures". Read more
Why classical European philosophy is relevant to African ubuntu
In his inaugural lecture, Prof Callum Scott, of the Department of Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology, examined the intersection between the church’s formal philosophical and theological tradition and the indigenous knowledge systems of Africans. Read more
Unisan appointed by International Council on Archives (ICA)
Prof Ngoako Marutha’s career proves that your background doesn’t define you – through hard work and dedication, you can achieve anything in life. He started his career as a trainer of German shepherd security dogs and has progressed to a full professor in information science. Read more
