Cultivating socially engaged thinkers and innovators who help change things, for good
- Wits University
The Multipurpose Sports Hall has seldom seen an academic procession, but the venue was packed for the official Postgraduate Welcome ceremony.
The high-level delegation of Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Deans, and senior executives from the Research Office, seated on a platform fashioned for the occasion in the sports hall, signalled the importance that Wits University places on postgraduate students and research (and the impressive growth in the number of postgraduate students numbers, which has outgrown the Great Hall).
‘A place where magic happens’
Mr Jerome September, Dean of 足球竞彩app排名 Affairs and programme director, kicked off proceedings at the official Postgraduate Welcome on 28 January. The Welcome preceded the Postgraduate Orientation programme on 29 and 30 January.
In welcoming postgraduates to this city, this University – “a place where magic happens” – September told postgrads that in late 2025, Wits University was ranked No.1 in Innovation in Africa, a testament to its excellence.
But in addition to the pursuit of academic and research excellence, postgraduate students should participate fully in the sports life of the University, said September. He noted he already knew it was “going to be a beautiful morning, because I’ve just seen a Kaizer Chiefs top over there...”
“Our women’s basketball team is the national champion, our men’s basketball team is the current national champion, our young boys’ rugby team is the national champion at the Varsity Cup level. We have national players in the Proteas netball,” said September.
“So look out for those opportunities to participate so that you form communities, so that you connect with people, because postgraduate study can, at times, be a very lonely journey.”
‘Contribution, not revolution’
Fundamental to enabling and supporting such community is the Postgraduate Association (PGA). The PGA advocates for the needs of all postgraduate students, acts as a resource. and provides support and services that help advance the postgraduate experience.
PGA Chairperson Mr Mahloromela Silas Seabi welcomed postgraduates and encouraged curiosity, which he says is important for research. Invoking the Black Consciousness leader, Steve Biko, an “intellectual visionary”, Seabi urged postgraduates to “appreciate every intellectual mind”, “remember where you come from”, and “use it [knowledge] to uplift.”
Seabi alluded to South Africa’s “leadership crisis” and told postgraduates, “In the area you are in, you are a leader. Move from the ‘position’ to service. A PhD is not about revolution, it’s about contribution.”
‘Connected, supported and collegial’
Professor Lynn Morris, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation delivered the keynote address, speaking after the PGA Chairperson.
“Silas exemplifies the kind of postgrads we want to produce here at Wits…he thinks deeply, he thinks broadly, and he thinks about the future,” said Morris.
She told postgraduates that they are amongst the more than 9,500 Honours, Master’s, PhD, and diploma students registered at Wits as of this morning, “and we’re only halfway there, because postgraduate students enroll throughout the year.”
“Currently, about 40% of our students are postgraduates, so when everyone is fully enrolled, that will translate into about 17,000 postgraduate students here at Wits across all five faculties.”
Morris told postgraduates that they are embarking on an exciting journey of advanced study, discovery and innovation – “not as students, but as emerging scholars, innovators and future leaders and we’re especially proud that you are doing this work from here – from Johannesburg, from Africa, at a University that sees itself of the leading edge of the Global South.”
Morris said that Wits’ goal is to build a postgraduate experience that is “connected, supported and collegial” and this pursuit is supported by a dedicated postgraduate student strategy.
The overarching goal of the strategy is to produce postgraduate students who are socially engaged thinkers and innovators who will help change things for the better. “Not only in our country, but in Africa and across the world,” she said.
An ethical AI-driven future
The strategy also lays out how Wits will provide this stronger, more enabling environment, particularly when doing research in an AI-era.
With the objective of enabling a “stimulating, swift and secure” postgraduate experience, the Graduate Research Management (GRM) system, the AI-enabled GOLD programme and the Wits Doctoral Academy are amongst the structures and systems available to postgraduates, as well as resources for maintaining mental health.
Furthermore, the Postgraduate Research Hub was launched yesterday as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for postgraduate students. “It’s also a space that you can discover opportunities that go beyond your own school and faculty,” said Morris.
Morris urged postgraduates to “shape a AI-driven future ethically”, noting that the University has released an overarching framework for the use of AI at Wits, guided by six principles. Briefly, these are:
- Upholding unwavering integrity and personal accountability
- Foster AI literacy
- Adapt research, pedagogical and assessment practices
- Prioritise human oversight over augmentative use
- Manage institutional risks and promote responsible implementation
- Equitable, inclusive and social just AI practices
“A thoughtful, human mind lies at the heart of excellent research,” said Morris.
‘All of these people are your community’
Professor Jennifer Fitchett, Head of Postgraduate Studies and Researcher Development, told postgraduates “you are here to generate knowledge.”
“Make the library your home,” she said, adding that postgraduates should use facilities such as the libraries and the Writing Centre. “You are now senior students, writing tutors, knowledge-generators.”
The annual inter-faculty postgraduate symposium is an opportunity for postgraduates to showcase and present their research. Successful research could result in National Research Foundation A-ratings (denoting internationally recognised research), patents, and entrepreneurial opportunities. “This is the type of research that makes news headlines and rewrites textbooks,” she said.
Fitchett said the postgraduate journey need not be lonely. “All of these people are your community,” she said. “Rely on each other. Together, you are a collective.”