2019 Annual Report

As the only university in the world to carry the name of Nelson Mandela, our institutional identity and mandate, learning and teaching, scholarly endeavours, innovation and engagement are underpinned by our namesake’s values and principles. During 2019, Nelson Mandela University focused on implementing
key strategic redirections emerging from our revised Vision 2020 strategy, the Vice-Chancellor’s inaugural address and the Listening Campaign across all campuses, faculties and divisions in Port Elizabeth and George.

The University’s positioning strategy is a critical precondition to thrive within the context of the prevailing volatile, complex challenges confronting the higher education sector across South Africa, the continent of Africa and globally. Challenges include policy uncertainty, slow economic growth, increased enrolments and growing student expectations for expanded support, rigorous accountability and regulatory requirements, and intensifying global competition for talent and funding.

Key institutional strategic trajectories in 2019 were:
• The transformation of health sciences education, which took major strides when the Department of Health gave approval to the University to establish the tenth medical school in the country. This approval unlocked progress on several fronts.
An accreditation site visit by the Council on Higher Education and HPCSA in November was another extremely significant milestone towards offering the first year of the MBChB curriculum at Nelson Mandela University in 2021.
• The Ocean Sciences strategy for 2020-2025, which is continuing to evolve and develop, supporting the faculties to develop inter- and transdisciplinary academic qualifications, short learning programmes, research endeavours and partnerships.
This will position the University as a premier destination of choice on the African continent for ocean sciences.
• Revitalising the Humanities, which is integral to Nelson Mandela University’s overall academic strategy. There were several significant developments over the course of 2019, including a successful colloquium hosted by the Chair in Critical Studies of Higher Education Transformation to round off Mandela Centenary celebrations. Other initiatives to revitalise the humanities included the launch of the Centre for Philosophy in Africa, the SARChI Chair for Identities and Social Cohesion in Africa, and discussions with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Human Sciences Research Council to establish the Transdisciplinary Institute for Mandela Studies