Postgraduate supervision for emerging supervisors

Course Description

There is a rapid increase in doctoral enrolments at universities in Africa which requires that emergent supervisors are well equipped and prepared to meet supervision challenges. Also, changes in funding and delivery of research programmes at universities, in recent years, have resulted in significant changes to research supervision.

This workshop is designed to capacitate emergent postgraduate supervisors develop best practice in postgraduate supervision. Participants will be able to advance practical knowledge, skills and capabilities postgraduate supervision drawing from examples. Also, the participants will become familiar with the practices, theories, policies, methodologies and strategies related to the supervision and mentoring of postgraduate students.

The workshop also encourages and empower emergent supervisors who are looking for innovative ways of engaging with the challenges and opportunities of research supervision emerging from an African, local and regional contexts.

Target Audience

The workshop is suitable for:

• Emergent and experienced postgraduate research supervisors;
• Experienced postgraduate research supervisors who intend to improve their supervision skills;
• Internal examiners of research degrees;
• Directors of research studies; and
• Academic developers responsible for the professional development of supervisors.

Importance of the Course

At the end of this workshop, the audience should be able to:

• Build postgraduate supervisory skills and capacity
• Create awareness of and the power of supervisory relationship;
• Understand the notion of scholarship to advance teaching and learning;
• Create an interactive and inclusive environment for student expectations and exchange of ideas and practices; and
• Provide a solid, holistic platform from which to build future supervision practices.

Benefits of Workshop

The workshop exposes participants to the supervision process for masters and doctoral studies. Additionally, various postgraduate supervision models will be discussed, giving the delegates flexibility in supervision approaches. This is particularly important given the diverse nature of topics considered by students with diverse backgrounds. The management of the relationship between the student and the supervisor will be explained to ensure that the project is not affected adversely by misunderstandings that may result in unnecessary power struggles between the two. Finally, delegates will have an opportunity to learn about the process of examining dissertations and theses.

Course Facilitator

Prof Joseph Chisasa

Prof. Joseph Chisasa is the Chair of the Department of Finance, Risk Management & Banking in the College of Economic & Management Sciences at the University of South Africa. He holds a BCom (Honours) in Banking, MSc in Finance & Investment and a Doctor of Commerce in Business Management. His academic career spans 13 years during which he has taught courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Prof. Chisasa supervises both Master’s and Doctoral students. His research focus areas are in banking, agricultural finance and risk management from which he has published in international journals, receiving several accolades in the process. Currently, he serves as an external examiner for several local and international universities. He is also involved with the implementation of Unisa’s Memorandum of Understanding with the Africa Union Commission, the purpose of which is to provide research support for operationalising the Africa Union Agenda 2063. Prior to joining the University of South Africa, Prof. Chisasa served as manager corporate banking and risk management for Barclays Bank and CFX Bank in Zimbabwe.