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The role of business in making universities relevant

Queen Ramotsehoa 

In an article entitled, “Six myths about South Africa's skills shortage” the Centre for Development and Enterprise argues that “many young people are unemployed because the education system has failed to provide them with the literacy, numeracy and life skills they need to meet employers’ requirements.”[1] This highlights the existence of a disconnection between universities in general and business. Wits University, albeit not the only university located in the economic hub of Gauteng and South Africa, can carve out a strategic position for itself. The question is how Wits can leverage this geographical position and its reputation as a brand of excellence In this article I share my ideas on what I believe Wits should do if it wants to be one of the top 100 universities in the world. My definition of a top university is one that serves specific focus areas in business and government:

  1. Think-tanks: Wits has to establish think-tanks and curriculum forums per School, where the forums function more like the SETA’s Standard Generating Bodies (SGB’s). These must be made up of champions of industries in specific skills areas, which are identified as “scarce skills” areas. These bodies’ mandate must be to confirm current and projected strategic direction of industries, and in a very detailed fashion, identify skills, knowledge, quality and the calibre of person needed to operate the industries. These bodies must also play a strategic role in ensuring that there is efficient quality assurance.
  2. Curriculum Design: The think-tanks must work with curriculum specialists who will be able to translate the output of the detailed discussions into curricula. These curricula must be detailed, and have very specific assessment criteria to ensure clearly defined competency requirements.
  3. Integrated Internships: The think-tanks must work with business to ensure that the curricula have space for integrated internships. What this means is that students complete internships at least once a year, to ensure that the University produces skills that have already been introduced to the world of work, to ensure a speedy access to the human capital once students complete their studies.
  4. Visiting Lecturers: Build into the curriculum a close-knit relationship where champions of industries visit the university for special discussion forums, where students get directly involved in the discussions that address strategy, future of industries and current industry debates. The benefit would be to postgraduate students, as well as enticing and whetting the appetite of students still in undergraduate degrees to be inspired to continue their studies.
  5. Corporate Social Investment (CSI) budget: Wits can partner with business to use the CSI budget for mutual benefit, in a way that the industry will also start consciously building the identified scarce skill. Once the curriculum is confirmed, and the year plan is agreed on with integrated internships, then Wits can structure the bursary fund, (this is already in place with business generously giving to Wits) so that these bursaries fund specific studies, and in that way ensure that the potential available is transformed into skill, in a structured, conscious manner.
  6. Feeder System into the HR Strategy: Involved businesses recruit the best graduates into full time internships, where the rest of the learned knowledge is consciously translated into fully fledged, needed skills. Business on the other hand has to supply properly skilled mentors, committed and passionate about ensuring that business gets a return on investment in bursaries, manpower hours,  its think-tank membershop and  mentoring of interns.

A strategy like this will need, firstly, for Wits to want to be one of the top 100 Universities. The million dollar question is possibly: What makes these steps a magic formula?

Possible results from this strategy:

1.  Companies want to work with a structured university – which commits its attention, energy and focus to world-class graduates – that guarantees a more efficient intake of recruits.

2.  The best students want to go to universities that have a reputation of investing in the future of their students.

3.  Academics who want to be successful, who are protective of their legacy, want to be part of a winning institution. This means Wits can attract champions of industries who are enthusiastic about taking part in creating the future.

4.  The capacity of involved industries will be enhanced in a way that will attract South African talent that has left, or may leave the country.

5.   Successful industries will attract foreign investment because of a guarantee to access required capacity.

6.  Wits will attract the funds it needs for research, equipment and special projects because businesses that are involved benefit from using their CSI budget, with long-term benefits for the organisation and the industry as a whole.


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