The Strategic Initiatives and Administration Unit of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) hosted the digital launch and orientation of the Research Leadership Programme (RLP) on Monday, 20 April 2020.
The RLP is a bespoke, 12 month programme, specifically aimed at developing research leadership for outstanding female researchers, at Senior Lecturer, Associate and Full Professor levels, towards becoming world-renowned scholars. This is the equivalent of A & B National Research Foundation (NRF) rated scholars.
The number of NRF-rated researchers within an institution remains a national indicator of researcher base and excellence. As such, a key focus of the programme, within research leadership relates to academic prowess and stature that enables high quality research performance.
The keynote address was delivered by Prof Stella Nkomo, an NRF A-rated Researcher and Strategic Professor: Department of Human Resource Management, at the University of Pretoria. Professor Nkomo has received numerous awards including the Distinguished Woman Scholar in the Social Sciences Award from the Department of Science and Technology (South Africa) and the Sage Scholarly Contributions Award for her research on gender and diversity in organisations. She is an elected member of the Academy of Science of South Africa.
Professor Nkomo shared her personal and professional experiences with the participants and her inspirational journey towards sustained research excellence. She echoed the significance of the RLP initiative as ”a formalised programme to help you become key researchers that we so desperately need in South Africa, Africa and the world.”
The RLP Programme complements existing institutional human capacity development interventions, such as the Accelerated Academic Mentorship Programme (AAMP) which was launched in 2015 and other research capacity development interventions from the Postgraduate School and Faculties/College.
