SARUA Strategic Focus Areas
To guide and support the SADC higher education community in addressing regional grand challenges and achieving strategic priorities for regional development
What are our Strategic Focus Areas?
Each SFA is supported by an SFA leader, and within each SFA specific programmes and projects are identified and managed. These SFAs also aim to foster a community of practice.
Strategic Enabler – Regional Higher Education Management Information System
The development of the regional higher education management system will provide SARUA and its member universities with a comprehensive, integrated and standardised data management system. The provision of a centralised database that is updated on a regular basis will improve decision-making processes at both institutional and regional levels and support academic planning. It also will support inter-institutional collaboration, including benchmarking, the development of joint research projects and academic exchanges. The management information system will provide SARUA, its network members and other stakeholders with a holistic view of the regional higher education landscape, enabling identification of trends, gaps and opportunities for collaboration and improvement. Finally, the development of the regional higher education management information system during the period of this strategic plan intends to develop the capabilities of the regional higher education sector for data collection and analysis.
SFA 1: Knowledge Co-Production
This Strategic Focus Area (SFA) emphasises the growing significance of universities’ engagement with society, within the broader context of sustainable development. It aligns with key initiatives including the United Nations’ Global SDGs, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and SADC Vision 2050, as well as other continental and regional plans. It advocates for interdisciplinary collaboration among HEIs in the SADC, as well as partnerships with communities, and the public and private sectors. This multi-sectoral approach intends to address sustainable development challenges through teaching, research and innovation, and community impact, with the aim to contribute towards an inclusive, prosperous, and resilient region.
SFA 2: Leadership and Professional Development
SARUA recognises the importance of fostering thought leadership, foresight, evidence-based planning and professional development within the higher education sector. This SFA aims to create an ecosystem where continuous learning and improvement are integrated into our collaborative commitment to institutional resilience, innovation and excellence. We will draw on the power of our network to support leadership development through opportunities for specialised training aimed at increasing competencies of staff in leading and managing in a complex environment, by means of workshops and courses. We also intend to provide capacity development opportunities in new pedagogical approaches, research methodologies, or emerging areas in higher education that are facilitated by members of our network. In additional to specialised training, we will provide opportunities to engage in foresight and sense-making through webinars, opinion pieces and commissioned research that foregrounds the specialised work of staff from our network members.
Through these diverse initiatives, we aspire to guide our network members in crafting internationalisation strategies that are not only globally relevant but are also thoughtfully attuned to the distinct cultural, economic, and educational landscapes of our region. This involves grounding their academic plans, curricular frameworks, and policies for teaching, learning, research, and innovation within the regional realities. Ultimately, our aim is to facilitate a harmonious blend of global best practices with local insights, thereby nurturing intercultural understanding and fostering collaborative innovation.
SFA 3: Institutional Quality Management
SARUA is committed to supporting the objectives outlined in the SADC Protocol for Education and Training, which include staff and student mobility, credit recognition and transfer. Echoing the 2022 UNESCO World Higher Education Conference, we believe that the dual objectives of ensuring agile, affordable, and quality higher education are inextricable from building trust and credibility within the sector.[1] This Strategic Focus Area focuses on assisting SADC HEIs to establish robust internal quality management systems that are based on international standards for good practice. We are committed to supporting our network members in the development of student-centred frameworks and mechanisms to ensure the relevance and quality of their educational offerings by means of formal and non-formal tertiary education programmes. We recognise that these frameworks provide the basis for student mobility and credible systems for credit recognition and transfer. Over time, and with appropriate capacity, SARUA intends to assist its network members to provide opportunities for student mobility based on robust internal quality management systems.
[1] Karakhanyan, S., 2022. Quality and relevance of programmes in higher education. Paper commissioned for the World Higher Education Conference 18 – 20 May 2022.
SFA 4: Higher Education Digital Transformation
Digital transformation in higher education is proceeding at an unprecedented pace. To fulfil its role in serving the developmental needs of the SADC region, the higher education sector must embrace and adapt to the game-changing developments in digital transformation. This Strategic Focus Area is designed to empower SADC HEIs to effectively leverage digital technologies across multiple domains—teaching, research, administration, and beyond. We aim to support our network members in the integration of digital technologies into their educational ecosystems, thereby facilitating innovative teaching and learning methodologies, streamlining administrative processes, and fostering cutting-edge research opportunities.
