Prof Kelvin Bwalya, from the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) School of Consumer Intelligence and Information Systems (SCiiS) has been appointed to the National Committee of Experts of the Higher Education Authority in Zambia. This committee is mandated to shape the direction of tertiary education and coordinate quality assurance implementation for competitiveness in Zambia.

UJ will also benefit from the experience of Prof Bwalya as he provides expertise in the different efforts of the newly formed College of Business and Economics as it aims to position itself to be the epi-centre of intellectual enquiry and innovation and conquer the global knowledge value chains.

Prof Bwalya explains: “The Higher Education Authority (HEA) is a newly established institution (established in 2014) that was formed to bring rationality to the higher education landscape in Zambia by ensuring that quality tertiary programmes are offered in higher education institutions. This was because there was a sudden increase of higher education institutions in Zambia (currently standing at 61 universities, over ¾ are private) offering all sorts of programmes. The HEA was mandated to register the institutions meeting laid-down criteria, accredit the programmes being offered and provide guidance on skills development.”

He adds that, “A call was made in 2016 for people who wanted to be included on the national committee of experts to help in quality assurance matters and grow the capacity of local universities to grow competencies to compete at a global level. Thus, I was included in this committee and I’m delighted in the confidence of the HEA in my expertise and very excited to contribute effectively to the overall mandate and represent UJ well.”