North Eastern Region reimagines postgrad research

Unisa’s North Eastern Regional Centre hosted its 9^th Annual Postgraduate Students’ Conference from 30 September to 2 October 2019 virtually via Microsoft Teams. The theme of the conference was “Reimagining postgraduate research during and post Covid-19 Pandemic Era”. Its objective was to provide a supportive and friendly environment for research discussions with an audience of students and experienced researchers.

Prof M Sepota, North Eastern Regional Director outlining the purpose of the conference.

The conference was designed specifically to provide postgraduate students with interactive and diverse platforms to share their experiences with peers, and network with the wider postgraduate community and academics within the university.

In 2011, the region formed a postgraduate students’ forum with the aim of improving support to postgraduate students through roundtable discussions, colloquiums and workshops. In the same year it collaborated with the regional research committee to host its first annual postgraduate conference.

During the conference students who graduated under the forum’s guidance and support were acknowledged, as were all members of the forum who played a pivotal role in ensuring that the objectives of the forum, from its inception in 2011, are achieved.

As part of the programme, the conference brought together students and alumni to discuss research papers and present motivational talks on how to thrive in an open, distance and e-learning university. A number of graduates presented findings and preliminary conclusions from their respective fields of research.

According to the region, this project was initiated with the hope that interdisciplinary connections will provide the basis for many fruitful exchanges of knowledge and ideas over the duration of the conference and beyond on a virtual platform.

The work of the region involves providing a variety of support services to students through its various regional service centres around Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Among the services it offers to students are counselling, a library, tutorials, academic literacies, student administration and technology support.

Of importance, all attendees paid tribute to one of the brains behind this signature student support service in the region, the late Cathy Lekhanyane. For a university that prides itself in providing distance education through humanity and the 11Cs+1, this project is definitely defining a better tomorrow.

* By Lesego Ravhudzulo, Journalist, Department of Institutional Advancement.