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Juanita Burjins joins USAf leadership team, contributing strategic expertise

04 May 2023 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Supplied

Juanita Burjins, Head: Leadership and Development in the Department of Human Resources at the University of the Free State, was recently appointed as a member of the Universities South Africa’s Leadership Management Strategy Group (LMSG). The appointment to the group in April 2023 is a testament and a recognition of Burjin’s leadership and expertise, not only in the field of human resources but also in the higher education sector.

The LMSG is responsible for initiating activities that would allow it to develop evidence-based influences on the work of Higher Education Learner Management (HELM), and to advise the board on the programmatic direction of HELM, including its financial sustainability and identifying opportunities for the growth and expansion of its post-school education and training.

As a member of the USAf Leadership Management Strategy Group – a position Burjins will hold for three years – she will contribute and provide strategic advice to the USAf Board, the Chief Executive, and the Director of Higher Education Leadership and Management, regarding planning, implementation, and monitoring.

Burjins said: “I was nominated by the Skills Development Facilitators Forum; in the group, I will be responsible for engagement and alignment with member universities and other key role players in terms of their leadership and management development needs.”

Beaming with pride, Burjins is looking forward to “working with a group of expert leaders within the higher education sector and contributing to enabling and empowering learning opportunities”.

“I am proud that I could represent the University of the Free State in this capacity and contribute to the stability and effectiveness of institutional leadership and management in the higher education sector. With the opportunity, I am also looking forward to providing strategic advice, advocacy, and tactical programme management support for HELM, and identifying potential national and regional collaborations and partnerships with other universities,” added Burjins.

Burjins believes it is important to have the USAf Leadership Management Strategy Group in higher education, as it provides ‘strategic advice to the USAf Board on the planning, implementation, and monitoring of HELM for the engagement and alignment of member universities in terms of the leadership and development needs as well as the relevance and responsiveness of programme offering and other services in leadership and development.

News Archive

Internet Broadcast Project grabs attention of Commonwealth – and yet another award

2015-07-28

Learn more about the Internet Broadcast Project and its impact on learners’ lives

The Internet Broadcast Project (IBP) has brought yet another international award to the University of the Free State (UFS). This project – which is changing the lives of Free State school learners – has won second place in the Commonwealth Education Good Practice Awards, a huge achievement considering that the IBP was chosen from 89 submissions entered by a total of 20 countries belonging to the Commonwealth.

This latest award comes close on the heels of another international award that was presented to the IBP recently. In April 2015, the project was the winner of the 2015 Enterprise Video Award (EVA) in the category Video in Education Scholarship. This makes it two in a row, since the IBP also won an EVA in 2014 for Innovation in Pedagogy.

Mr Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, presenting the second-place prize for the Commonwealth Good Practice Awards to Sarietjie Musgrave, Head: ICTISE (ICT in School Education) on behalf of ICTISE.
Photo: Peter Ramsay

Live broadcast at no cost to schools
The IBP – presented from the UFS South Campus – makes use of the best teachers to broadcast lessons to school learners who do not have access to quality education. More than 10 subjects are broadcast live, via VSAT Internet Access, to 70 centres across the province. The technology provided at each school allows learners to communicate with the presenter in the studio during broadcast at no cost to the school or learner.

“Through the IBP,” says Sarietjie Musgrave, Head: ICTISE (ICT in School Education), “we aim to bring quality education to each and every learner, regardless of their socio-economic status or geographical location, while delivering cost-effective continuous teacher professional development directly relevant to the Free State community we serve.”

Making a positive difference
The Commonwealth Education Good Practice Awards honour education programmes that have made a positive difference to the status and condition of school children, teachers, or the education system in their countries. The IBP was lauded for its excellence in six of the Action Areas of Good Practices:

• Relevance
• Measurable impact and effect
• Sustainability
• Efficiency and effectiveness
• Community participation
• Replication

“Receiving this international award,” says Musgrave, “shows that we are having an impact worldwide.”

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