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The SERA Relationship Managers, Dr Thulani Dlamini of CSIR (L) and Prof Robin Crewe of UP (R), with UP Vice-Chancellor, Prof Cheryl de la Rey. |
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The workshop was attended by over 50 participants from both CSIR and UP. |
As part of SERA's continued drive to promote effectiveness and efficiency, the Relationship Managers and CSIR and UP Principals recently hosted a management workshop at the CSIR Knowledge Commons.
The workshop, which was held on 17 May 2010, was attended by SERA Focus Area leaders, UP Deans and CSIR Executive Directors and Managers. The first of its kind, the event aimed to formally introduce the partner institutions' management to the Alliance and encourage them to interact with and support those of their respective staff members that are participants in SERA activities.
The programme featured a presentation on SERA achievements and impact to date as well as presentations from nine of the current Focus Areas. Attendees then participated in in-depth discussions on taking the Alliance forward - the focus of which was on identifying current challenges, possible solutions and the role that the UP and CSIR managers can play in facilitating the success of SERA and its initiatives.
Prof Cheryl de la Rey, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Pretoria and SERA Principal cited SERA as being a valuable "conduit for working jointly to create human capital". She also encouraged participants and stakeholders to explore and maximise opportunities for further cooperation between the institutions, with an increased focus on multi-disciplinary activities. "We should look at how we can involve even more faculties and units at UP and CSIR", she said.
Among the outcomes of the workshop was an agreement to establish a joint Task Team to address current obstacles and develop a common operational framework to overcome barriers to collaboration between the partner institutions. It was also agreed that further regular workshops should be held to both strengthen existing collaboration and identify new areas in which to work together.
The full workshop slides with outcomes and action list are available for access by CSIR and University of Pretoria staff members on the SERA intranet.
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