In partnership with OBREAL-Global Observatory, Technological Higher Education Network South Africa (THENSA) is proud to announce the official launch of the ‘Higher Education Reform Experts South Africa’ (HERESA) project, which is slated to take place on March 16th on Zoom at 14h00 CET/15h00 SAST.

The HERESA is an Erasmus+ Capacity Building Project for Higher Education (CBHE) which seeks to build a network of Higher Education Reform Experts in South Africa, modelled on the Higher Education Reform Experts (HERE) in the EU neighbourhood. Funded by the European Commission, the HERE has been behind major policy changes in the EU neighbourhood region for over a decade, proving to be an influential player in the Higher Education sector. 

HERESA is inspired by the HERE Europe experience, yet adapts the approach to the South Africa context. Implemented as a pilot project over three years in the member universities of THENSA, it aims to strengthen and revitalise teaching and learning strategies in the areas of Entrepreneurship, Work-Integrated learning (WIL) and teaching for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The public launch event will look at the HERE as a mechanism for policy change and EU-Partner country relations, and evaluate the policy context in South Africa and opportunities the project affords.

In light of recent comments by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Dr Blade Nzimade about the importance of STEM subjects in tackling unemployment, HERESA will not only meet this challenge from the Honourable Minister, but also encourage students to become job creators in their respective fields. HERESA strives to foster closer cooperation and networking amongst EU and South African universities that could potentially see the HERE concept applied in other parts of the African continent. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed some of the issues within Higher Education, emphasising the need for South African universities to prioritise technology and innovation in teaching and learning. As a major advocate of technology-focussed education, THENSA believes that the HERESA project will play a crucial role in ushering South African universities into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and re-iterate the importance of domestic and international cooperation to this effect. The HERESA public launch event is open to South Africa’s higher education and policy-making audience, as well as more those in the SADC region and universities, associations and higher education organisations in Europe and other parts of the world.

Registration to attend: https://obrealglobalinfocus.obsglob.org/en/obreal-global-in-focus-2021/#OBSregistro