Professor Nathaniel Mofolo heeded the call in 2017 and enrolled for a professional Doctorate in Business Administration in Higher Education Management offered by the University of Bath in the United Kingdom (UK). The University of Bath has established itself as one of the top 10 UK universities with a reputation for research and teaching excellence.
This was a collaborative partnership with the Nelson Mandela University’s (NMU) Teaching Development Grant funding from the DHET to implement the Future Leaders Initiative programme. The programme aimed to provide high-level development opportunities for professional, administrative, management and support staff involved in leading and managing sections or divisions linked to the academic project in universities. It also aimed at enhancing the general quality of teaching, student learning and success.
Prof Mofolo was part of the second cohort of 27 senior professional staff who started in 2017. The professional Doctorate is an innovative, research-based programme designed to meet the needs of senior professional staff. It is offered on a part-time basis, through a blended mode of delivery, with four 8-day residentials (contact sessions) in the first two years of the programme. The first and last residentials were held at NMU and the other two at the University of Bath. After the two years of course work, a doctoral research study is undertaken. This means that the programme, generally, takes 4 to 8 years to complete. Professor Mofolo completed his Doctorate in 2022; and he is the third to complete in his class. He will be graduating on the 19th July 2023 in the UK.
The title of his thesis was: Evaluation of the implementation and assessment of AfriMEDS physician competency framework in an undergraduate medical programme: A South African mixed- methods case study.
The study focused on the evaluation of the implementation and assessment of milestones achieved in entrenching the AfriMEDS physician competency framework in an under- graduate medical programme in South Africa. The study concluded by showing that a framework, guidelines and benchmarked assessment tools are needed to infuse the AfriMEDS framework to transform an undergraduate medical curriculum. Furthermore, the developed guide- lines, when implemented, will lead to the improvement of the quality of medical students.
SMU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Peter Mbati, on behalf of the university congratulates Prof. Mofolo for this monumental achievement.
