CHAPTER THREE Research Methodology
3.2 Research Question, Sub-Questions and Objectives of the Study
3.3.7 Overviews of selected universities that agreed to participate Brief overviews of the selected universities are presented here. Brief overviews of the selected universities are presented here
North Africa
1. American University of Cairo
- American-style College with a strong emphasis on quality of teaching and learning.
- Student population of 6824 students.
- Academic staff compliment of 423 (Full-time) and 358 (Part-time).
- Has a total of 241 databases and its library possesses 538,680 journals.
- The Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings placed the American University of Cairo 348th in the world and the first in Egypt in 2013.
Source: Africa.com- Top 10 universities in Africa (2013), American University of Cairo (2013), Wikipedia (2013)
2. University of Dar es Salaam
- Oldest and largest public university in Tanzania, established in 1970.
- Research-focused institution, producing 279 journal papers in the academic year ending 2008.
- It comprises approximately 1127 academic staff and around 20,000 students.
- Ranked by University Ranking by the Academic Performance Centre as the 1618th best university in the world out of 2000 ranked universities in 2012.
Source: Africa.com- Top 10 universities in Africa (2013), University of Dar es Salaam (2013)
101 3. University of Ghana
- Originally founded as an affiliate college of the University of London and became independent in 1961.
- Population of around 38,000 undergraduate students.
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Research intensive university and has a graduate school of nuclear and allied sciences making it one of the few universities on the continent to offer programmes in nuclear physics and nuclear engineering.- Its library boasts a collection of over 300,000 volumes.
- It has forged partnerships with the Norwegian Universities’ Committee for
Development Research and Education and the Commonwealth Universities Student Exchange Consortium.
- Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is the university’s chancellor.
- It is also part of the African Virtual University initiative.
Source: Africa.com- Top 10 universities in Africa (2013), University of Ghana (2013), Wikipedia (2013)
4. University of Lagos
- Among the first generation of universities in Nigeria that is accredited by the National Universities Commission.
- Population of around 45 000 students- constitutes as one of the largest student populations of any University in the country.
- Strong emphasis on research and has published over 1,700 papers (most publications derived from the medical, science and engineering).
Source: Africa.com- Top 10 universities in Africa (2013), University of Lagos (2013) 5. University of Botswana
- Started out as a part of a larger university known as the University of Bechuanaland (Botswana) Basotoland (Lesotho) and Swaziland and gained independence in 1982 to reduce dependence on South African universities under apartheid.
- Undergraduate population of approximately 16000 students.
- Academic staff compliment of 900.
102 - Main library is one of the largest on the continent with 460,000 books, 123,000 full
text journals, and 200 internet-dedicated computers.
Source: Africa.com- Top 10 universities in Africa (2013), University of Botswana (2013) 6. Addis Ababa University
- Oldest and largest higher education institution in Ethiopia.
- Currently has 14 campuses and 65 undergraduate and 220 graduate programs (of which 69 are PhD).
- Student population of 50,000.
- Home to 2000 academic staff.
- Has contributed substantially to the economy of Ethiopia by providing trained and skilled manpower and research.
Source: Addis Ababa University (2013)
7. Polytechnic of Namibia
- Leading institution in Namibia and focused on the belief that development is based on knowledge and knowledge management.
- Formed in 1994 via the merger of 2 institutions (College of Out-of-School Training (COST) and Technikon Namibia).
- Population of 11 500 students driven by 300 Academic Staff and 670 Support staff.
- Offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the areas of business and
management, engineering, information technology, journalism, hospitality, natural resource management, and medicine.
Source: Polytechnic of Namibia (2013), Wikipedia (2013)
South Africa
1. University of Cape Town
- South Africa’s oldest university and rated as the best university in Africa (Academic and Research).
- Placed prominently at 113th in the world.
103 - Population of around 25,500 students of which twenty per cent are international
students from over 100 different countries locally and abroad.
- Home to approximately 1000 academic staff.
- Houses 32 leading and internationally acclaimed (A-rated) researchers and one of its most famous alumni includes heart surgeon Dr. Christiaan Barnard.
Source: Africa.com-Top 10 universities in South Africa (2013), University of Cape Town (2013)
2. University of Witwatersrand
- Regarded as one of the leading research institutions on the continent.
- Boasts 15 South African research chairs, seven research institutes and 20 research units.
- Made up of under 900 academic staff and approximately 28 000 students.
- Has a strong reputation built on research and academic excellence and it is one of only two universities in Africa ranked in two separate international rankings as a leading institution in the world.
- Possesses 14 museums, 2 art galleries, 12 libraries, over 1 million book volumes, 400,000 journal titles and over 40,000 new electronic resources.
Source: Africa.com-Top 10 universities in South Africa (2013), University of Witwatersrand (2013)
3. Stellenbosch University
- The Times Higher Education World University Rankings has recently ranked Stellenbosch University in the 251-275 category in the world and third in Africa.
- Predominantly Afrikaans-language university.
- Provides education to over 28,000 students facilitated by 915 academic staff.
- Prides itself on innovation, especially its iShack system, which was developed to improve living conditions of people living in shack/informal settlements. This was done via the use of a basic solar energy system.
- The university’s Desmond Tutu TB Centre earned an international award for childhood tuberculosis research.
104 Source: Africa.com-Top 10 universities in South Africa (2013), Stellenbosch University (2013)
4. University of Western Cape
- Renowned for its pivotal role during South Africa’s apartheid struggle.
- First enrolment of less than 200 ‘coloured’ students in the early years of 1960.
- Currently prides itself with a population of 15000 diverse students.
- Has the largest dental school in Africa which is accredited as a World Health Organisation collaborating centre and is also rated as the best dental school on the continent.
- Research intensive university and academic staff are highly qualified with 50% of academic staff holding doctoral degrees.
- Research at the university has an international element and its vast network of international partners ensures a flow of students and distinguished scholars from other countries to enrich the university even further.
Source: Africa.com-Top 10 universities in South Africa (2013), University of Western Cape (2013)
5. University of Johannesburg
- Formed in 2005 via the merger of three universities.
- Caters to over 48,000 enrolled students and retains approximately 2942 academic staff.
- Invests heavily in intense research activity and boasts 22 research centres.
- Has 115 rated researchers of which six being A-rated researchers.
- Recipient of the highest external financial support from donors and partners all over the world which demonstrates its formidable reputation internationally.
- Ranked in the top 4% of universities in the world for the 2013/14 Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings after only eight years post establishment and the youngest of all ranked universities in South Africa and in Africa.
Source: Africa.com-Top 10 universities in South Africa (2013), University of Johannesburg (2013)
105 6. Cape Peninsula University of Technology
- Formed in 2005 via the merger of Cape Technikon and Peninsula Technikon.
- Internationally acclaimed and the only university of technology in the Western Cape - Largest university in the Western cape with a student population of approximately
32000.
- International student population of 2200.
- Has approximately 720 academic staff.
- Has five campuses and 6 faculties.
- The Department of Information Technology in collaboration with the Bridgetown Community, Athlone (Ireland), Co-operative Financial Institute of South Africa (COFISA) and Impact Direct Ministries launched the ‘Athlone Living lab’ in 2008.
This is a community ICT innovation project and the first Living Lab in the Western Cape.
Source: Cape Higher Education Consortium (2013), Cape Peninsula University of Technology (2013), Wikipedia (2013)
7. Rhodes University
- Public Research University.
- Was a constituent college of the University of South Africa and became an independent university in 1951.
- Committed to rigorous research and research occurs across the 6 faculties (Commerce, Education, Humanities, Law, Pharmacy and Science) as well as in various Research institutes.
- Has approximately 7000 students (undergraduate and postgraduate).
- Home to 357 Academic Staff.
- Regarded as the institution with the most favourable academic staff to student ratio among South African universities.
- Webometrics ranked the university the 5th largest in South Africa and 700th in the world in 2011.
Source: Rhodes University (2013), Wikipedia (2013)
106 8. University of South Africa
- Established in 1873 as the University of the Cape of Good Hope and became the first public university in the world to teach exclusively by means of distance education in 1946.
- Largest university in Africa with a student population of almost 330,000 students.
- Academic and research intensive.
- Attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa and has international students from 130 countries in Africa and abroad.
- Dedicated to open distance education and proclaimed as longest standing dedicated distance Education University in the world.
- Offers a variety of internationally accredited vocational and academic programmes in Engineering, Science, Health Science, Humanities, Law, Technology.
- Regarded as South Africa’s most productive university and accounts for 12.8% of all degrees conferred in the country.
Source: University of South Africa (2013), Wikipedia (2013)
The primary reason for using these universities was due to them being academically ranked as the top universities in the African continent. Furthermore, the websites of each of the selected universities were analysed by the investigator and this exercise reflected that there was a potentially strong investment in IT/IS and e-Learning resources at these universities. It can be assumed that IS and technology is a strategic practice at these institutions. A general assumption is that technology plays a key role in the improvement of an institution’s reputation. Hence, it was examined if these universities were engaging in successful KM practice and using KM as a source of strategy development for the institution.