CHARLES MOLELE
“I am not here to fill anyone’s shoes. I am bringing my own shoes,” says newly appointed Vice Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg, Professor Letlhokwa Mpedi, in response to a question about walking into the big shoes left by his predecessor Professor Tshilidzi Marwala.
Speaking exclusively to Inside Education from his West Wing office in Kingsway, Auckland Park, Mpedi makes it clear he will bring a different leadership style from that of his predecessor, who elevated the university into one of the most respected on the African continent.
“There is only one Professor Tshilidzi Marwala…and the factory is closed. There’s only one Professor Mpedi, and I can only excel at being myself more than somebody else. Prof Marwala is a scientist. I am a lawyer,” says the soft-spoken Mpedi.
He sat down with Inside Education shortly after his inauguration as the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg at a ceremony held on Friday, 10 March 2023.
Mpedi replaced Marwala, who stepped down last year to take on a new appointment as rector of the United Nations University in Tokyo, Japan, and becomes the third vice-chancellor since the institution’s opening 18 years ago.
Dressed in a grey Nehru suit, Mpedi outlined his key priorities, including establishing the first ever medical school at UJ.
“What we want to do at the university is to combine medicine and technology. We are waiting for the green light [from the Department of Higher Education] and are hoping that we will have the first cohort of students in 2025,” says Mpedi.
“As UJ, we are ready to launch a medical school. If the national departments of health and higher education can support and trust us, we would bring a medical school like no other in South Africa; we would combine medicine and technology and be leaders in that regard. If we get the go-ahead today, we are prepared even to put in our own limited resources,” says the Hammanskraal-born academic.
He expressed delight and profound honour in accepting the position of vice-chancellor, succeeding Marwala and his predecessor, Professor Ihron Rensburg, who have both played significant roles in building a solid university.
Mpedi had nothing but praises for his predecessors, saying they left a strong University behind, with UJ now ranked second in South Africa and on the African continent. UJ was previously ranked in third place by the QS World University Rankings.
“I’m delighted and deeply honoured to be taking up the role of vice-chancellor of this great university. Prof Marwala and Prof Rensburg have built a strong university, and I see many opportunities to take the institution’s ambitious strategy forward. I am particularly looking forward to working with staff and students to build a truly inspirational and
transformative institution where all are included and supported to thrive,” said Mpedi.
Mpedi says that under his leadership, UJ will remain committed to innovation, Pan-Africanism and the Fourth industrial revolution (4IR), which have become part of the university’s DNA.
“The commitment to innovation, Pan-Africanism and the emergence as a fourth industrial revolution (4IR) university has become part of our DNA. This will continue to remain our focus and ethos in the future. However, we cannot ignore the context of the world around us. Steep rises in inequality, growing divisions, pandemics, climate change and leadership crises are but a few descriptors of our current era.”
Another key priority for Mpedi will be to focus on social security laws in dealing with challenges such as unemployment and other social ills in South Africa using 4IR technologies.
“We will also intensify our 3D printing project in collaboration with the Department of Science and Innovation to continue to leverage the technology of the 4IR and find sustainable solutions that benefit local communities,
including the provision of housing,” says Mpedi. He cites the university’s project in Gwakwani, Limpopo, as an example. Gwakwani, a small village in northern Limpopo, had no running water, electricity, cell phone reception or internet access. But since the university started introducing innovative Internet of Things (IoT) systems there, much has changed in the remote village.
“We are also proud of our colleagues in the School of Electronic and Engineering Department for setting up the first smart village in South Africa using solar technology; today the village has among others, mobile connectivity and this has impacted on the lives of ordinary people in Gwakwani,” says Mpedi.
The new vice chancellor will also be working towards bringing down the dropout rate at UJ and raising the completion rate in record time.
“That’s one of my biggest priorities; to achieve a lower dropout rate from 32% and, most importantly, to a single digit. It would be amazing if I achieved that at the end of my term,” said Mpedi.
One of Mpedi’s goals in his first 100 days was to oversee the development of the UJ Island at the Vaal River.
“We will turn it into an academic project, training courses, conference centre and food garden project.”
Mpedi says he also wants the university to offer more online courses by the end of the year, some of them free of charge.
“We have about four online courses at the moment. But by the end of the year, we should have at least ten of these online courses.”
His focus will also involve turning UJ into a research-intensive university. In the past few years, UJ has seen a surge in its accredited academic research output. The University, which has set a goal to increase its certified research output, has achieved this and is ranked among South Africa’s top 2 universities.
“We want to build a research-intensive institution. Research is important to teaching and learning. The research contributes to a new body of knowledge and is a pillar to community engagement,” said Mpedi, who is a National Research Foundation (NRF) rated scholar and is placed in the B category at level B3 (a researcher who enjoys considerable international recognition by peers).
Turning to student issues, Mpedi says he wants to raise more money to cover student fees and registration costs, particularly the missing middle group.
“We have the SRC Trust Fund to help students to register and raise funds for the missing middle. I have also contributed R50 000 to the fund. We also appreciate the role played by the Motsepe Foundation in contributing R30 million. Are we where we need to be? No,” says the Syferkuil- born academic.
Amongst his academic achievements, Mpedi holds an Advanced Management and Leadership qualification from the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford (2022), as well as in ‘Leading in Artificial Intelligence: Exploring Technology and Policy Programme, from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Executive Education (July 2022).
Mpedi completed his B Juris degree in 1996 and LLB degree in 1998 at Vista University. He holds an LLM in Labour Law from the Rand Afrikaans University (now UJ) and an LLD in Mercantile Law from UJ.
He publishes labour law and social security. Mpedi holds a B3 rating (Internationally Acclaimed Researcher) issued by the National Research Foundation.
He is a recipient of several awards, including the Continental Award for Education and Training: Academic and the South African and Southern African Development Community Regional Awards for Education & Training: Academic.
INSIDE EDUCATION
