The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) College of Law and Management Studies presented a highly successful development workshop for postdoctoral fellows.
The event was attended by the executive leadership of the College, including the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Ernest Khalema; the Dean of Research Professor Phocenah Nyatanga, and invited senior academics Professor Gabriel Kabanda, Professor Purshottama Reddy, Professor Mogie Subban and Professor Thea Van Der Westhuizen.
The workshop sought to reflect on “where one is currently and where one would like to be in the future relative to the postdoctoral space at the College and University”.
It was the first workshop hosted for postdoctoral students by the College and it proved to be very interactive, engaging and insightful for all.
According to the postdoctoral students, the two-day engagement with fellow postdoctoral researchers and the host institution provided clarity on the expectations and responsibilities of the fellows, hosts/supervisors, and the University. The discussions introduced a new perspective that emphasized collaboration and the development of a structured personal development plan. The focus shifted beyond publications to include grant applications, teaching and learning, and community engagement as key components of the postdoctoral fellowship programme.
Earlier this year, two forums were created to respond and address the postdoctoral experience in the College: one for postdoctoral fellows and the other for the hosts of the postdoctoral fellows.
The two forums provided the platform and opportunities to reflect on the progress made to date, and additionally how the said experience could be enhanced more holistically. The postdoc forum proposed a postdoctoral experience matrix with four key attributes highlighted – whether it was enriched, standardised, rewarding and supported. Additionally, the hosts forum proposed both a postdoctoral assessment matrix and a professional development plan (PDP) with these frameworks representing a strategic approach to advancing postdoctoral scholarship within the College.
The workshop facilitator was Professor Yashaen Luckan, a senior South African academic currently based at Lincoln University in the United Kingdom whose presentation focused on reimagining higher education in a disrupted 21st Century. It critiqued the challenges of the global North–South and the resultant policy tensions as well as opportunities for transformative thinking and practice presently and in the future.
The workshop was also geared to guide the postdoctoral fellows into producing a Personal Development Plan (PDP) within the broader and robust global context.
The post docs said “the workshop had concluded with a well-defined plan for 2026 and a more synergistic approach moving forward”.
Words: NdabaOnline
Photograph: Supplied