?????It is more important than ever for doctoral scholars today to produce research that matters: solutions for real-world impact that reach beyond the confines of academia, says Prof René Pellissier, Director of the Cape Higher Education Consortium's (CHEC) Leadership Academy, renowned for her extensive work with various local and international universities as a strategist, researcher and system engineer.
She was a guest speaker at Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 International's (SUI) African Doctoral Academy's (ADA) Hybrid Winter School. The Winter School was held from 7 to 25 July 2025 at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) where ADA welcomed over 120 participants from 14 countries to its three-week school, offered both online and in-person.
Prof Pellissier, who is also a focus area leader for die Knowledge Co-Production at the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA), shared her extensive knowledge and experience with PhD scholars who attended the African Doctoral Academy (ADA) Hybrid Winter School. Her talk followed a two-day workshop on: A blueprint for research impact: Project-based research thinking towards academic scholarship.
Comparing the journey of an academic scholar to climbing Africa's highest peak, Kilimanjaro, she took the audience through the historical ages of human development to the impact of Artificial Intelligence and technology today, emphasising the need for universities to focus on continuous learning and economic development. "As an academic scholar, you need to be a researcher, an author, a teacher, a mentor and a critic. You are a critical thinker, a public intellectual, but most of all, you have to be a change agent," she said. "A purposeful scholar works with purpose and uses knowledge production as impact. You become the bridge between the knowledge that the university creates and the knowledge the society or community needs and wants – and most importantly, the community needs to become an active part of your research to ensure that you produce sustainable, impactful outcomes."
This year's ADA Winter School offered a three-week-long research and methodology training programme for master's students, doctoral candidates, supervisors and researchers. It is designed to sharpen academic excellence and accelerate career advancement. In her opening remarks, (SU) Director of the Centre for Capacity Development in Africa, (based in Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票's International division) Prof Sarah Howie, highlighted the challenges of limited doctoral capacity, research opportunities, and brain drain in Africa, explaining how ADA, established in 2009, addresses these issues through flagship doctoral schools, master class webinars and informal networking events.
Keynote speaker, Prof Robert Lensink, Professor of Finance at the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) and Vice-Dean for Research, 中国体育彩票 of Groningen in the Netherlands, and a "Professor Extraordinary" at SU, spoke about the growing relevance of joint PhDs and multidisciplinary research in a complex world. He emphasised the importance of PhDs for innovation, policy, and education, and the challenges of funding PhD education, considering budget cuts. He also mentioned the concept of joint PhDs, where students are based at two universities to expand access to resources and international experience. "Amid the many global challenges, we are facing today, the relevance of multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research is certainly increasing. We need people from different disciplines working together, combining their strengths to solve real-world problems such as dealing with Social Development Goals (SDGs), social development or responding to global policies."
Prof Lensink encouraged the attendees to be bold and innovative in their research, using a case study as an example on a project that is empowering women to improve food security and nutrition, focusing on barriers such as access to credit and confidence to address poverty and malnutrition, two of the African continent's most pressing challenges.
Dr Natalie Kowalik, Programme Manager for the ADA, explained that delegates hailed from South Africa, Africa and beyond, and therefore these schools are an opportunity for candidates to network with fellow delegates and presenters, and exchange ideas and knowledge during sessions and informal networking events.
One of the candidates attending the winter school, Sandre Jose Macia, from Mozambique, is conducting a geospatial analysis on food insecurity in the country. He found the school incredibly insightful, especially the interactions with facilitators and learning from their experiences firsthand.
Kumbirai Takamira, who earned his master's degree in sustainable agriculture at SU, said he gained a great deal of new knowledge while attending the school. "Although I would like to pursue a career in academia, I would eventually like to return to my farming community in Mozambique, setting up a homestead and applying my research and learnings in practice on this land. This is the place where I would like to retire one day."
Dr Kowalik said she is confident that the candidates attending the Winter School will take back valuable learnings from this year's programme, which consists of 10 courses running over three weeks. "The fact that we presented the programmes online and in-person also provided attendees who could not travel to SU the opportunity to have the same learning experience."
The Winter Programme's popularity reflects the exceptional academic and cultural value it offers to scholars and students from around the world. Beyond world-class lectures, the ADA provides a rich intercultural experience—especially for in-person attendees—through immersive excursions to historically significant sites in and around Stellenbosch, offering a deeper connection to South African heritage.The ADA looks forward to welcoming participants to its upcoming Doctoral Schools, Master Classes, and other future events.
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