Our 2026 Activities

We are incredibly proud to celebrate the outstanding success of our post-grad students at the recent African Engineering and Technology Network (AFRETEC) Makerthon. Hosted at the University of Nairobi’s Chiromo campus from 16-21 March 2026, this pan-African initiative, led by Carnegie Mellon University – Africa, brings together the continent’s brightest minds to develop innovative solutions under the network’s Entrepreneurship pillar. Representing Wits with distinction were Zanele Dira (Wits Business School), Cuan Pienaar (School of Law), and Nish Parus (School of Electrical and Information Engineering). Our students were placed into interdisciplinary teams tasked with tackling real-world problems through collaborative engineering and entrepreneurship. Through their hard work and creativity, one of the teams featuring our students secured the overall bronze prize.

In an even more significant achievement, both teams involving Wits post-grad students received an exclusive invitation to join the Carnegie Mellon University Africa’s Innovation Hub Tech-incubator.

This prestigious opportunity includes financial support as well as access to specialist consulting services to help bring their visionary projects to life. The two winning projects addressed critical challenges: tackling the stigma surrounding women’s health issues, and navigating the structural paradox of Africa’s high-growth mobile economy to ensure inclusive, uninterrupted digital participation for all.Their success is a testament to their individual dedication and the spirit of innovation we strive for at Wits. We look forward to seeing the positive impact their work will undoubtedly have on the future of our continent.

Matjema Caroline Maeane (Wits School of Education) and Almerinda Mlambo (Student) attended the She Can in ICT programme offered online by the American University in Cairo during January and February 2026. The students report that the programme was a highly enriching experience, which offered a practical, hands-on approach to entrepreneurship and innovation. A particularly valuable aspect was the opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration. This created a meaningful learning environment in which diverse perspectives contributed substantively to problem-solving and solution development. Through this experience, they developed a deeper understanding of the importance of collaboration within entrepreneurship, particularly the role of integrating different areas of expertise to create viable and sustainable solutions.

The programme reinforced that impactful innovation is grounded in collective effort rather than individual contribution. One of the key learning activities involved generating value from minimal resources. This exercise highlighted the importance of creativity, adaptability, and contextual awareness in entrepreneurial thinking, demonstrating that constraints can often stimulate innovative approaches when navigated strategically. Building on these experiences, the team conceptualised a business venture centred on a mobile professional development platform for teachers. The platform is designed to address key challenges faced by educators, including time constraints, cost barriers, and limited access to contextually relevant training. The proposed solution focuses on delivering flexible, accredited, mobile-based, and accessible professional development that aligns with the realities of teachers’ working environments. Importantly, this initiative has extended beyond the programme itself. The team is currently exploring ways to further develop and potentially implement the platform, including identifying suitable incubation opportunities and strategic partnerships. They have developed and are refining the prototype of this mobile platform.  

The second iteration of this programme was offered in March and April 2026. It was attended by Vuyiswa Mthethwa, an Honours student in Development Studies, who developed an app designed to support the disabled community, by providing accessible solutions while also creating job opportunities, which is particularly crucial given the high unemployment rates in South Africa and across Africa. Two other students who attended were Rhulani Maluleke and Surprise Mashigo. The SHE CAN ICT program was transformative, equipping students with invaluable entrepreneurial skills. The initial session, led by Prof. Hesham Abdelghaffar, focused on self-discovery and helped students better understand themselves as  individuals and entrepreneurs. The program officially began on March 27th with a module on Idea Generation and Validation (Part 1), followed by continuation on April 3rd under the guidance of Dr. Abdelghaffar. This foundational phase helped to refine concepts and validate  potential impact.

Subsequently, students attended a highly impactful session on Finance for Entrepreneurs conducted by Dr. Khaled. They found this session particularly enlightening. Dr. Khaled’s teaching style made complex financial concepts accessible and practical, allowing them to better understand how to manage the financial aspects of their business ideas.

The program further deepened their knowledge with modules on Business Modelling and Marketing, again taught by Dr. Abdelghaffar, who provided strategic frameworks to develop and position ideas effectively. Additionally, Mr. Zenhom’s session on leveraging technology and practical tools through social media revealed the power of digital platforms in promoting and scaling projects.

The program culminated in a collaborative group project where the team developed a practical app solution addressing issues at taxi ranks. The app focuses on coordination and ensuring commuters arrive punctually at their destinations, tackling a real-life problem with technology and teamwork.

A Design for Impact workshop was held at the American University in Cairo on 29-30^th March 2026 and was attended by Mei Luo (Learning Experience Designer, CLTD) and Adriano Giovanelli (Learning Experience Designer, CLM Teaching and Learning Unit). The workshop provided a structured opportunity to engage with human-centred approaches to course design and to develop a draft professional learning offering in collaboration with a colleague. A key takeaway from the workshop was the emphasis on designing with a clearer understanding of who we are teaching. Through the persona activity, we were encouraged to move beyond abstract notions of “the student” and instead engage more concretely with the realities of our learners and ourselves as academics.

In our case, this extended into the development of a persona of the academic as learner, which surfaced a number of persistent tensions. These included balancing depth with accessibility, the pressure to cover content versus enabling meaningful learning, and the challenge of innovating within constrained institutional contexts. This resonated strongly with our context at Wits. The persona we developed reflects a mid-career academic who is open to improving their teaching but is navigating limited time, uneven support, and uncertainty around how to meaningfully integrate new approaches. There is a clear desire to design more engaging and relevant learning experiences, yet this is often constrained by structural and cultural factors, as well as assumptions about student readiness.

The programme prompted reflection on how course design can meaningfully impact learners’ lives, connect with both cognitive and emotional dimensions of learning, and account for personal and cultural diversity. These considerations were positioned as critical to improving engagement, achieving learning outcomes, and supporting learners’ readiness for professional contexts. A key outcome of our participation was the co-design of a professional learning course (currently in development).

The course focuses on supporting academics to examine how students engage with disciplinary knowledge, and how this engagement can be supported through small, intentional design shifts. Rather than positioning the course as a set of strategies or tools, it creates a space for participants to work with their own teaching contexts through structured reflection, persona development, and scenario-based analysis.The workshop also reinforced the importance of making thinking visible in teaching.

This is reflected in our course design, where participants are asked not only to analyse how students engage with knowledge, but also to redesign a specific element of their teaching in response to these insights. The intention is not to require full course redesign, but to enable manageable, contextually grounded changes that can strengthen student engagement. In addition, the face‑to‑face component of the workshop facilitated the development of a community of practice with colleagues from across African universities. Engagement across diverse institutional, cultural, and educational contexts enriched the design process and highlighted common challenges and shared concerns. Overall, the Design for Impact workshop provided a valuable framework for slowing down the design process and working more deliberately with the relationship between students, knowledge, and context.

This work has direct relevance for ongoing institutional support in learning and teaching at Wits, particularly in supporting academics to navigate tensions between innovation, student engagement, and institutional constraints. The professional learning course developed through this process will be further refined, with the potential to be piloted as part of broader institutional learning and teaching initiatives. The initiative was highly valuable and demonstrates the potential of collaborative, cross‑institutional professional development within the African higher education context. Extending the duration and allowing greater reflection time would further enhance its impact.

From April 27-29 the Wits University Disability Rights Unit (DRU) visited the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lagos, Nigeria. The purpose of the Visit was to participate in and contribute to a conference on Inclusive Education and Disability Inclusion, to exchange knowledge and experiences between Wits DRU and UNILAG stakeholders, to explore opportunities for collaboration between the two institutions, and to assess strategies for improving access, participation, and success of students with disabilities in universities. The conference brought together academics, disability practitioners, policymakers, NGOs, and student representatives. Discussions were anchored on the theme of strengthening Inclusive Education practices across African universities. Key focus areas included: Institutional policies for disability inclusion; accessibility of learning environments and infrastructure; assistive technologies for students with disabilities; teacher and lecturer preparedness for inclusive teaching; bridging the gap between policy and implementation.

The conference provided a platform for critical dialogue on the realities faced by students with disabilities, particularly in resource-constrained environments.

The Wits DRU delegation played a significant role in the conference through:

• Presentations on the Wits model for disability support services.
• Sharing experiences on mainstreaming Inclusive Education within higher education.
• Demonstrating the use of assistive technologies and support systems for blind and partially sighted students.

The delegation emphasized that universities must take a leading role in preparing inclusive educators who can effectively respond to diverse learning needs from the onset of their careers.

Several important issues emerged during the conference discussions:

• Gap Between Policy and Practice: While policies on Inclusive Education exist, implementation remains inconsistent and often lacks clear strategies.
• Lecturer Preparedness: Many educators are not adequately trained to teach in inclusive settings, limiting the effective participation of students with disabilities.
• Accessibility Challenges: Physical infrastructure, learning materials, and digital platforms are not always fully accessible.
• Limited Use of Assistive Technology: There is a need for greater investment and training in assistive technologies, especially for blind and partially sighted students.
• Student Support Systems: Universities need to strengthen support services, including academic accommodations and psychosocial support.

The visit highlighted several key lessons:

• Inclusive Education requires intentional planning, not assumption.
• Universities must embed inclusion into their core teaching and learning strategies.
• Collaboration between institutions enhances knowledge sharing and innovation.
• Engagement with disability advocacy groups is essential for informed decision-making.
• Continuous training and professional development for educators is critical.

The visit opened avenues for future collaboration between Wits University DRU and UNILAG, including:

• Joint research initiatives on Inclusive Education in Africa.
• Exchange programmes for staff and students.
• Capacity-building workshops for lecturers and support staff.
• Development of shared frameworks for disability inclusion.
• Co-hosting future conferences and seminars.

The Wits DRU visit to UNILAG was a valuable and impactful engagement that reinforced the importance of collaboration in advancing Inclusive Education across the continent. The conference provided meaningful insights into both progress and persistent challenges.

It is evident that while there is strong commitment to Inclusive Education, greater effort is required to align policy with practice, strengthen educator training, and ensure that students with disabilities—particularly blind and partially sighted learners—receive equitable, high-quality education.

The DRU remains committed to working with partners across Africa to promote inclusive, accessible, and empowering learning environments.

Recommendations emerging from the conference include:

• Strengthen university-level training for inclusive educators.
• Develop clear implementation strategies for Inclusive Education policies.
• Increase investment in assistive technologies and accessible resources.
• Foster partnerships between universities, governments, and NGOs.
• Establish monitoring and evaluation frameworks to track progress.

From Laboratory Research to World-Class Companies Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD), Senegal 28-30 April 2026

This workshop, attended by Gideon Chinamatira, CT Scanning Manager, Evolutionary Studies Institute and PhD Candidate (Computed Tomography) and Sivu Situngu , Senior Lecturer, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, as designed to address the gap between research outputs and real-world impact, particularly within universities.The focus of participation was on strengthening institutional capacity to translate academic research into innovation, partnerships, and scalable solutions that contribute to societal and economic development.

The workshop followed a three-day, studio-based and output-driven format, combining expert instruction with practical team-based activities. Participants were grouped into interdisciplinary teams, reflecting the collaborative nature of modern research commercialization. Each day of the program built toward a final output: Day 1: From research output to opportunity (Venture Canvas development) Day 2: Venture design, IP strategy, and business model development (Lean Canvas and MVP validation) Day 3: Pitch development and presentation to an expert panel. This structure ensured that participants moved from conceptual thinking to execution-ready outputs within a short, intensive timeframe.

A central theme of the workshop was the need for universities to move beyond knowledge production toward knowledge application. It was emphasized that research impact is not automatic; it requires deliberate design of pathways that connect research outputs to users, markets, and stakeholders. The workshop encouraged a shift in perspective from an academic lens to an entrepreneurial lens. This involves asking not only what research discovers, but also who benefits from it and how it can be delivered effectively. This mindset is critical for universities seeking to enhance relevance, visibility, and societal contribution.

The Venture Canvas and Lean Canvas frameworks were introduced as structured tools for translating research into viable opportunities. These tools help clarify the problem being addressed, the users involved, and the value created, while also defining how that value can be delivered and sustained. Additionally, strong emphasis was placed on intellectual property (IP) and technology transfer. Universities play a key role in ensuring that research outputs are protected, appropriately managed, and positioned for commercialization through licensing, partnerships, or spin-off ventures. 

The Duolingo case study was used to illustrate the full journey from research to global impact. Originating from academic research in human computation, the platform was designed to address the challenge of access to education. The founder’s mission was to make learning universally accessible, particularly for those excluded by cost barriers.

A key lesson from this case was the importance of iteration. Duolingo’s initial business model, based on crowd-sourced translation services, failed due to quality and scalability challenges. However, by revising its approach and focusing on a freemium learning platform, the company achieved global adoption and long-term sustainability.

For universities, this case highlights the importance of experimentation, adaptability, and aligning research-driven solutions with real user needs and market realities. 

Participation in the workshop provided valuable insights for strengthening the university’s role in innovation and commercialization. The structured frameworks introduced can support the development of research-based ventures, improve engagement with industry partners, and enhance the translation of academic work into practical solutions.

The workshop also reinforced the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration within universities. Bringing together diverse expertise allows for more comprehensive problem-solving and increases the likelihood of developing impactful innovations.

Furthermore, the emphasis on pitch development and communication is directly relevant to how universities present research to external stakeholders, including funders, industry partners, and policymakers. 

The “Spin Them Off” workshop provided a practical and structured approach to bridging the gap between research and impact. It highlighted the need for universities to actively design pathways that move research beyond publication into application, adoption, and scale.

The experience has contributed to a deeper understanding of how universities can position themselves not only as knowledge producers, but also as drivers of innovation, entrepreneurship, and societal transformation.