(Published - 10 July 2019)

The 12-month programme, run by the Registrar's office and Department of Human Resources, is an accelerated developmental programme aimed at harnessing valuable human capital to bring about effective improvements in services geared towards positive growth and change at UWC.

On July 8, five groups presented their ideas based on what they perceived to be current challenges facing staff and/or students at UWC to a panel, which included UWC Registrar, Ms Nita Lawton-Misra, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Student Development and Support, Professor Pamela Dube, Executive Director: HR, Mr Meko Magida, and Faculty of Education Dean, Prof Vuyo Nomlomo.

These projects could all be expanded and implemented with further help and support from various managers and executive members. 

“The programme is also aimed at equipping administrative and professional support staff with essential personal, professional and peer skills to navigate the changing higher education environment, as well as improving service delivery at UWC,” said Ms Lawton-Misra.

The teams and their projects are as follows:

A PAPERLESS UWC by 2025 - Khanya Mooi, Heide Bastian, Clayton Alexander, Deborah Gordon 
Implementing a 20% reduction in paper consumption per annum which would see the University go paperless by 2025. 

EXCELLENCE IN ETHICS 2018 - 2019 Melissa Jacobs, Natasha Schoeman, Kelly Herborn, Charmaine Trueman 
Designing an online process to obtain ethical clearance for registered research projects. 

DRESS TO IMPRESS - Adelaide Hartzenberg, Shanaaz van der Schyff, Zizi Mlonyeni, Juliet Lesch 
Establishing a clothing bank to dress students for job interviews and provide mentors to guide them through the process.

STUDENT AND STAFF TRANSPORT & TRACKING SYSTEM - Mercia Mottie, Mandy Samuels, Nadia Jansen
Implementing a transport system for UWC staff and students to and from campus.

UWC ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SYSTEMS - Albertina Halindintwali, Sharon Dankers, Charlene Davids, Collette Schroeder 
Evaluating and improving UWC administrative systems.

Caption: Two teams who competed and presented their innovative ideas for The Service Excellence Ambassador Programme (SEAP), a pilot initiative aimed at providing staff with the developmental skills and platforms necessary to achieve excellence in all that they do. Photos: Harriet Box