SA TO GET TWO NEW UNIVERSITIES
If the Department of Higher Education and Training’s plans work out, South Africans will have the option of attending two new universities in the next couple of years.
This was announced during the Department’s annual tabling of its performance plan for the 2022/2023 financial year.
The Department established a steering committee in April 2021 with the aim of conducting a feasibility study for the two new universities.
The committee includes representatives from the South African Police Service, the National Research Foundation, the city of Ekurhuleni, the city of Tshwane, Universities South Africa, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, the University of Pretoria, the University of Johannesburg, and the University of the Witwatersrand.
The first university will focus on science and innovation subjects. It will also include STEM subjects like data science, machine-learning, artificial intelligence, blockchain, robotics, as well as hydrogen-powered technologies like smart transportation and logistics systems.
Business Tech reports that the second university will focus on crime detection and fighting, and is expected to be built in Hammanskraal in northern Gauteng. It is hoped that the new university will improve the quality of general and specialised South African Police Service investigations.
Earlier in the year, Minister Blade Nzimande confirmed that the curriculums and subjects presented at South Africa’s universities are to undergo an overhaul. The aim of the project is to better prepare students for finding jobs once they have graduated and are ready to enter the workforce.
Image credit: Careers Portal