The Engagement Office serves an institutional function in positioning Mandela University as a transformative and responsive institution that is locally engaged, regionally alive, nationally active, and globally awar under the Engagement and Transformation Portfolio and implementation of Mandela University V2030. Key to the institutional positioning is the intersection of Mandela University’s key strategic focus areas in achieving inclusive student access for success.
Against this backdrop, the Engagement Office is embarking on a re-imagining process to understand the intellectual, scholarly, and demonstrable work needed to support the University’s transformative engagement agenda. The process of this re-imagination involves developing an understanding of, and continual support for, existing work, as well as providing strategic direction to the hybrid engagement praxes across the University through the various units in the Engagement Office, notably: i) Career Services, ii) Continuing Education, iii) Engagement, Information and Capacity Development, and iv) Community Development.
Additionally, the integration of two institutional projects - the Hubs of Convergence and the Mandela University Food Systems Programme - within the Engagement Office will further contribute to deepening our praxis as we continue to cultivate an agile Office that can respond to the strategic imperatives of our institution.
Additionally, the integration of two institutional projects - the Hubs of Convergence and the Mandela University Food Systems Programme - within the Engagement Office will further contribute to deepening our praxis as we continue to cultivate an agile Office that can respond to the strategic imperatives of our institution.
Our Office’s partners collaborate and engage with various internal and external stakeholders of Mandela University, playing an integral part in informing the re-imagination and reshaping of the Office.Further, our engagements and collaborations are grounded in processes which seek to recognise the contributions of diverse voices to the discourse. This foundation necessitates an embracing of - and agitating for - transversal and transdisciplinary collaboration which constitutes the hybrid engagement praxes within Mandela University.
The work of Converged Engagement follows a critical participatory, collaborative approach that endeavours to strengthen emerging relationships with internal and external stakeholders with a mutual interest in co-constructing a socially just world. The illustration below presents our proposed Converged Engagement. The Converged Engagement approach is founded on i) convergence, ii) reciprocity and iii) mutually beneficial multiple forms of outputs. We continue to learn from all Mandela University stakeholder-communities interested in working with our Office to explore how we can jointly develop sustainable solutions in service of society.
Director: Engagement Office
Dr Bruce Damons