Faculty presentation Research and postgraduate education May 2017 - Professor Stephanie Burton - Research and postgraduate education ...
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Faculty presentation ‐ Research and postgraduate education May 2017 Professor Stephanie Burton
2017 to 2021 : The 5 -Year plan
Strategic Plan, UP 2025 – Vision:
To be a leading research-intensive university in Africa, recognised
internationally for its quality, relevance and impact, and also for
developing people, creating knowledge and making a difference locally
and globally.
5 Strategic goals in the 2017-2021 Plan:
1. To enhance access and successful student learning
2. To strengthen the University’s research and international profile
3. To foster and sustain a diverse, inclusive, and equitable
University community
4. To optimise resources and enhance institutional sustainability
5. To strengthen the University’s social responsiveness and
impact in society
2
Goal 2:
To strengthen the University’s research and international profile
Research remains central to UP’s vision –
“We aspire to be an institution that advances the frontiers of knowledge
and makes a positive impact on the world by focusing on areas of
greatest societal need.”
The starting point:
- wide-ranging expertise and research platforms focussing on some of
the major challenges confronting Africa and the world
- well-positioned to play a leading role as a hub for African and global
research networks
- a solid history of international engagement and a primary focus on
Africa.
UP Strategic Plan 2017-2021
Intended outcomes in 2017-2021 plan:
1. Increased output and impact of research
• heightened national and international profile and visibility and
• improvement of UP’s position in the international university
rankings
2. A more inclusive research environment
• greater participation by students as well as academic staff
3. Enhanced postgraduate throughput and success.
4. Increased innovation
• leading to successful commercialisation of research.
Update on research performance data…
Journal article publications - 2008 to 2016*
1900
1800
1700
1600
1500
1400
1300
1200
1100
1000
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
*2016 data to be confirmed
Journal article publications - 2008 to 2016*
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
*2016 data to be confirmedWeb of Science publications 2006-2015
National report on 2015…
Research output data from DHET report on 2015
2014 2015
Internation SA Total % Internation SA Total %
al ISI and journals journal internation al ISI and journals journal internation
IBSS output al IBSS output al
UKZN 1197 405 1602 75 1201 444 1645 73
UP 1115 346 1461 76 1173 411 1584 74
UCT 1196 76 1372 87 1206 187 1389 87
WITS 1066 185 1272 85 1099 209 1308 77
SUN 994 340 1334 74 964 291 1256 58
UNISA 587 440 1027 57 681 488 1169 65
NWU 624 624 980 64 700 373 1074 65
UJ 567 194 761 75 638 261 899 71Total of all publication units
(with books and proceedings)
Overall Units in 2015 % of overall Units
nationally
UP 1837 11.3
UKZN 1763 10.8
UCT 1653 10.1
WITS 1554 9.5
SUN 146 8.7The really good news…
Weighted research output per capita
Research Weighted
Per capita Masters Doctoral Total Weighted Research
publications Graduates Graduates Units Research Output outputs per
Units capita
UP 1.54 1023 999 3859 3.24
SUN 1.32 924 801 3141 2.92
RU 1.53 195 207 889 2.80
UKZN 1.31 799 1014 3576 2.67
UCT 1.40 595 669 2917 2.47
WITS 1.36 588 609 2751 2.41
Thank you!Target Target
UP PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 2014 2015 2016
2016 2017
% academic staff with doctoral degrees
1 56.2 62.97 63.4 58 64.00
(excluding joint appointments)
% Black staff (Department of Labour EE
2 41.2 42.78 53.8 44% 56.8%
definitions)
3 Publication units per academic FTE staff 0.81 1.05 1.2 1.0 1.18
Weighted M and D graduate output per
4 0.88 1.34 1.4 1.05 1.85
academic FTE staff
First-time entering undergraduate headcount
5 8 648 8 773 7868 8787 8 937
enrolments*
6 Total undergraduate headcount enrolments* 34 747 35 551 35698 33500 35 450
7 Master’s headcount enrolments* 6 853 6 911 6120 6853 6 721
8 Doctoral headcount enrolments* 2 155 2 279 2357 1967 2 283
Number of graduates in scarce skills areas
9 4 257 4 684 4759 4257 4 809
(excluding distance education)
10 % of UG black contact students 48.3 49.95 51.7 50.0 51.89
11 % of PG black contact students 55.4 56.80 58.9 56.6 58.47
12 % registrations in SET (contact students)* 53.3 52.50 53.0 53 52.70
% successful FTE students to total FTE
13 82.7 83.6 84.2 82 84.00
enrolments*
FTE contact students per FTE teaching staff
14 21.2 26.44 29.3 25 25.77
memberKey strategies for research
1. Conducting research that has impact – “Research that matters”
– Build world class, high impact research productivity
• internationally recognised research
• interdisciplinary approaches to complex challenges
• partnerships with key stakeholders
• external funding.
– Play a leading role in research focussing on Africa
– Develop institutional and faculty research focus areas
Improve UP’s ranking positionHigh impact, emerging and new focus areas The environment, its natural resources and sustainability Food production, food security and nutrition Human and animal health Sustainable development, governance and human rights Computer science and computational opportunities New materials and energy Humanities and society Future cities and smart transportation Sport and exercise medicine and diseases of lifestyle Neurosciences Astrophysics and astronomy Data science and digital technologies
Greater impact is key
RANKING SYSTEM IMPACT MEASURE % WEIGHTING
Times Higher
Education (THE) – Papers per research and academic staff 6%
– Reputational survey 18%
– Citation impact (normalised average citations 30%
per paper)
– proportion of internationally co‐authored 2.5%
research papers
QS Citations per staff 20%
Academic reputation 40%
QS BRICS – Papers per staff member 10%
– Citations per paper ( over 5 years) 5%
– Academic reputation ( over 5 years) 30%
QS Subject Citations per paper (over 5 years) % is weighted
rankings
Normalised H‐index per subject area (over 5 differently per
years) discipline
Academic reputation (over 5 years)
17Articles published in journals with IF > 2 and > 5 (2011-2016*)
% of articles in journals with IF > 2 or > 5
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
docs with impact >=2 docs with impact >=5
18Faculty papers and citations (WoS)
FACULTIES: 2015/2016 2016/2017
Papers Citations Papers Citations
Arts and Humanities 504 274 921 492
Engineering and Technology 1928 3711 2264 4486
Life Sciences and Medicine 4040 11358 4704 14244
Natural sciences 1651 3341 1840 4036
Social sciences & management 2239 2304 2108 2711
19ESI subject fields where UP features in comparison with other SA research Universities
by citations per paper
25
20
15
10
5
0
23 UP UCT WITS SU UKZNWhat we can do to increase research impact
Impact is influenced most by citations and peer review / reputation
– Incentivise high impact publication
• Reward publication in top (1 % normalised) impact factor journals using
research subsidy allocation
• Provide research subsidy allocation to drive publication in international
journals
• Incentivise book publications and monographs
• Provide reduced subsidy for journals with impact measure lower than 50%
within the normalised sector
• Provide reduced subsidy for articles in South African journals with IF lower
than 1, even if in the SA DHET list.
• Discourage conference proceedings
- Ensure author identification is associated with UP - ORCID
25What faculties need to pay attention to
• Publications in high impact journals
• Beware predatory journals! (UP: 1.2% in period 2005-2014)
• More international collaboration and co-authorships
• Strategic partnerships
• Increase international visibility
• Have clear - and visible - research plans and focus areas
• Reduce reliance on a few leading researchers, find succession
plans
• Increase external funding
• Translate and commercialise researchThings NOT to do: X Decrease the number of article units X Encourage young researchers to go for low impact SA journals X Condone publishing in non-listed journals X Allow publications in predatory journals
Key strategies (2)
2. Creating a more vibrant and transformed research community
• Build research capacity to enable transformation and development
– Set targets for improving research output and impact
– Support leading and emerging researchers
• Provide an enabling environment
– Strengthen programmes for development of emerging researchers
– Strengthen programmes for supporting postgraduate students
– Seek external funding
• Support internationalisation activities to increase visibility and impact
– Attract international staff and students to the University
– Increase international postgraduate numbers
– Build strategic partnershipsKey strategies (3)
3. Enhance student success through research at all levels of study
• Build an inclusive culture of research
– by including students in research programmes
– establish research focussing on student success.
– blended learning, inquiry led curricula, and online approaches
• Develop the postgraduate environment and experience
– Improve completion times and throughputPostgraduate education – what needs to be done
1. Position within the broad research activity of the University and linked
to research strengths:
2. Address improving completion times
3. Strengthen supervisory capacity
better supervision practices
attract increasing numbers of talented postgraduate students
effective skills training
efficiency in completion of degrees
4. Plan for effective recruitment
link into the University’s areas of research excellence
5. Recognise postgraduates as emerging researchers
part of the academic community of scholars
fostering their intellectual development 311. Postgraduate completion times: 11 PhDs > 6 years
153 MSc > 3 years
Average Graduation time to completion, 2014 ‐ 2016
6.00
5.67 5.59
5.31 5.26
5.11
5.00 4.76 4.71
4.44 4.53 4.52
4.13 4.10 4.14
GRADUATION INDEX (YEARS)
4.08 4.04
4.00 3.97 3.80
3.59
3.42
3.22 3.20
2.96
3.00 2.76 2.81 2.78
2.60
2.26 2.26 2.32
2.00 1.90
1.11 1.19 1.21 1.15 1.07
1.00
0.00
0.00
EBIT Edu EMS HS Hum Law NAS Theol VS
Honours Masters (Formal Instruction plus Research) Masters (Research) DoctoralImproving postgraduate completion times
1. The General Regulations:
– Registration for 2 years and then Dean’s permission for re-registration
– Assignment of supervisors - within 1 month, recorded on the PS system
– An Agreement between student and supervisor - within 1 month of confirmation
• To include a workplan, timelines and expectations for completion
– Annual reporting on progress
• Effective faculty management of proposal and ethics approvals to complete in
first year - at least!
• Close monitoring of progress on PS system – for re-registration and bursaries
2. Expectations: What is required of a Masters?
- A Masters degree does not require that the student completes original research which
makes a novel contribution to the body of knowledge in the field.
- ‘A research Masters student must have acquired a body of advanced-level knowledge,
have completed a piece of independent research, and have applied skills of critical
analysis and evaluation to the results of the research”
- Masters by coursework only is permissible
35Improving postgraduate completion times (2)
1. Doctoral degrees:
– A PhD degree is a research-based qualification, awarded for an
independent study conducted in the sciences or humanities.
– requires the creation and interpretation of new knowledge
– making a significant and original contribution at the forefront of the
academic discipline or area of professional practice,
– manifest ability to conceptualise, interrogate and answer high level
research questions, and understanding of relevant research techniques.
– The work must be of a quality to satisfy peer review and merit publication.
2. Planning
– The Agreement is key – with agreed objectives upfront
– Co-supervision helps
– Thesis by compilation of published articles is possible
3. Examination processes
– No more orals…
36Improving postgraduate completion times (3)
1. Thesis / dissertation word limits?
DEGREE Word limit
PhD 90 000
Masters (Research) 50 000
Masters (Coursework) 25 000
2. Cohort supervision and peer group learning
3. Collaborative supervision, joint degrees
4. Professional doctorates
5. Responsibilities
• HoD –
– assign and confirm supervisors within one month of the student’s registration,
– oversee and record the agreements between supervisors and postgraduate students,
– monitor and report postgraduate student progress annually.
• Supervisor –
– Signing agreement with the student within 4 weeks of assignment of the supervisor
– Ensuring finalization of the proposal and completion of Ethics approval within [6] months of
registration
– Ensuring completion of the research work with sufficient time for writing of the dissertation / thesis
37 – Ensuring submission of the dissertation / mini-dissertation / thesis on the required date to enable
graduation.Postgraduate supervision practices – quality supervision
“The Art and Science of
Supervision”
• Its an Art because:
– Many skills and qualities cannot be
learned from text
– It takes practice and hands-on
experience.
• Its also a Science as:
– There is a body of research that
described the process and how to
use skills in order to achieve good
outcomes.
We need more workshops
on supervision, colleagues
Professor Carmel McNaught. Being an effective
supervisor, presentation at UP, May 2017
http://www.xybodytreatments.com.au/images/pictures/large/metadata/leader_good.jpgPostgraduate supervision capacity
Adequate, high quality supervisory capacity is a draw-card for students
As the enrollment of postgraduate students at UP increases, there will be an
increase in the amount of supervision required
Increasing the number of supervisors available
nGAP and emerging academics
Early Career Researcher Programme
“Smarter” ways of providing supervision
cohort supervision
use of online platforms
international collaborations
• The supervisory workload of academic staff members needs to be closely
monitored and managed.
Is everyone doing their share of supervising???How to we gauge postgraduate supervision capacity?
Senior Associate HOD/
Lecturer Professor
Lecturer Professor Director
1. Research Publications
1a. Number of
1 3 4 6 5
publications
1b. Number of units 0.5 1 2 2.5 2.5
2. Supervision Load
2a. MSc 2 3 4 5 4
2b. PhD 0 2 3 4 3
2c. Post‐doc 1 2
SUPERVISION OUTPUT
2a) No of MSc graduates
1 1.2 1.6. 2 1.6
per year
2b) No of PhD 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
41How can departments gauge supervision capacity?
Theoretical
DEPARTMENT X PROFESSOR / DR 2015 2016 2017
Prof A 1 2
Prof B 3 2 2
Prof C 3 2 1 2
Prof D 3 2 2
Prof E 6 6 4 2
Prof F 1 1 2
Dr G 1 1 1 1
Dr H 1 1 1
Dr I 1 1 1
Prof J 4 2 2
Dr K 1 1
Prof L 1 1 1 2
Prof M 1 1 1 2
Prof N 5 5 4 2
Dr P 1 1 1 1
Prof Q 1 1 2
Dr R 1 1 1
Prof S 1 1 2
Dr T 3 3 2 1
19 academics with PhDs 39 32 15 32Postgraduate recruitment
The critical factors in the achievement of effective postgraduate training:
Recruitment and creation of a conducive research environment for high
levels of productivity
Main focus areas:
• Recruitment of new postgraduate students
• Retention of enrolled postgraduate students
• Visibility and attractiveness of UP’s postgraduate programmes
• The quality of administrative and academic services rendered to
postgraduate students
• The availability of funding opportunities to academically deserving
candidates.Recruitment targets agreed with the DHET
• The University of Pretoria’s projected postgraduate enrolment growth rates for Faculties
from 2017 to 2021 are shaped by national postgraduate requirements as set by the
DHET.
• With the exception of the Faculty of Theology, all faculties are projected to have positive
annual growth rates for Masters and PhD degree programmes.
• The Faculties of Law, Natural and Agricultural Science and Veterinary Sciences are
projected to have the highest growth rates of 3.2%, 3.5% and 7.6%, respectively, for
doctorate degrees.
• The expected overall annual growth rate for all the faculties is 1.9%, which means
postgraduate recruitment activities should be aimed at achieving this growth rate.
• Given the diversity of prospective postgraduate candidates in terms of socio-economic
characteristics, no single postgraduate recruitment approach would be adequate to meet
the needs of all prospective postgraduate students.
• Hence an integrated approach that addresses different needs or challenges that are
likely to be encountered by postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows throughout
the postgraduate life cycle should be implemented.The present postgraduate enrolment position
Date run: 5/5/2016 and 5/5/2017
General
Honours Master Doctorate
Postgraduate
FACULTY
2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017
00001 ‐ Humanities 7 2 351 337 612 584 195 212
00002 ‐ Natural and Agricultural Sc 411 416 732 741 536 521
00004 ‐ Law 435 500 168 182
00005 ‐ Theology 21 29 34 212 140 135 108
00007 ‐ Economic and Management Sc 38 623 693 430 654 614 169 190
00008 ‐ Veterinary Science 2 1 47 20 156 157 85 95
00009 ‐ Education 188 213 328 367 260 263 155 166
00010 ‐ Health Sciences 208 143 110 103 731 762 140 152
00012 ‐ EBIT 1629 1432 1311 1337 314 314
00018 ‐ GIBS (Faculty) 365 406 333 303 24 53
Grand Total 808 1409 3598 3139 5436 5401 1921 1993University of Pretoria HEMIS student headcount forecasts Annual
Faculties growth rate
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2017‐2021
M‐level 922 979 905 926 946 948 950 1.2%
Health
Sciences D‐Level 168 144 168 175 183 187 191 3.3%
Sub total 1090 1123 1073 1101 1129 1135 1141 1.5%
Date run: 5/5/2016 and 5/5/2017
General
Honours Master Doctorate
Postgraduate
FACULTY
2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017
Health Sciences 208 143 110 103 731 762 140 152
Grand Total 808 1409 3598 3139 5436 5401 1921 1993How do postgraduate students find information and make choices? 48
What faculties need to do about recruitment
Faculty/Academic programme-targeted recruitment
• Fix the websites!!
• Identify focus areas and academic programmes where they need to recruit postgraduate
students
– Programmes that do not attract adequate forecast numbers of registrations may
need to be prioritized - or dropped.
• Take into account the targeted enrolment targets
• Determine teaching and supervisory capacity.
Research focus area targeted recruitment
• Target the broad institutional and faculty research themes and focus as attractive
options for postgraduate students seeking projects
• Multi-disciplinary research needs collaboration between different faculties
– Research involving multi-disciplinary researchers has higher chances of being
funded than small research projects conducted in disciplinary silos.
– Big projects are a platform for postgraduate research projects, with supervisory
capacity available from teams of research-active academics.Recruitment action plan for postgraduates at UP
FOCUS AREA Activity
USING TECHNOLOGY Improvement in information provision and visibility on the UP website
EFFECTIVELY Online Request Form on UP Web
International Online platforms
BIRAP and ITS reports
Enhancement of PeopleSoft Online Application Process (OAP) system for postgraduates
PROVIDING EXCELLENT International Application fees removed
SERVICE Direct contact with potential superviors
Rapid responses and admission outcomes
Follow‐up on prospective students
Research preparation
Using bursaries, scholarships and exchange programmes to enhance postgraduate recruitment
Postgraduate Support Desk
Communication between the Graduate Support Hub and postgraduate students via emails
SPECIFIC INITIATIVES Postgraduate Fly @ UP
Media platforms
UP Pipeline focus
Networking with undergraduate and postgraduate students
Establishing long‐term relationships with specific funding organisations or companies
Networking with other institutions of higher learning
Collaboration with South African Embassies
Alliance with national or international partners
Partnering with UP AlumniPostgraduate education and UP’s international profile
The primary focus is on building and strengthening strategic research
partnerships with research universities in the fields that UP has
prioritised
A meeting place for scholars from Africa
Strengthening research productivity and impact
Achievement of recognition
Access to international funding
A postgraduate destination in Africa.
We have collaborative relationships and formal partnerships with many
institutions abroad
based on research collaboration, staff and student exchange
postdoctoral fellowships, international students at undergraduate and
postgraduate levels.
We must develop more international postgraduate programmes and co-
supervisory arrangements with international partnersThings NOT to do: X Decrease the number of article units X Encourage young researchers to go for low impact SA journals X Condone publishing in non-listed journals X Allow publications in predatory journals X Expect too much from Masters dissertations X Prolong PhD studies X Neglect MoUs with postgraduate students X Pay too little attention to postgraduate students X Neglect your websites X Ignore recruitment opportunities X ….
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