Accordion

Teach: To provide academic programmes and short courses to address development, policy and economic challenges with expert tuition and supervision.

Research: To provide research and policy analysis in the areas of policy and governance.

Community engagement: We provide people with a platform to contribute to debates and dialogues about current issues that affect them.

Run networks: We want to expand our networks so our students can benefit from our partnerships.

Media engagement: Our public intellectuals offer their expertise to a number of international and national media.

Academics

There are over 40 highly qualified academics, including full and part time staff, at the WSG. With a broad diversity of experience and sectoral focus, we are in a position to offer over 40 short courses. Our academics are known for advising African policymakers on foreign and national security policy processes and frameworks as well as local policy makers. They have experience in social activism, working with trade unions and in global organisations. Several are sought-after for interviews and contribute to media reports by providing their expert analysis on various subjects.

Our academics¡¯ expertise: 

• Health, social security, humanitarian assistance, higher education, governance
• Socio-economic and development research
• Anti-poverty, civic education and good governance programmes
• Monitoring systems and programme evaluation
• Unemployment, vulnerability, economic empowerment and the green economy
• Public policy, African security, International Relations, foreign and security policy

Students

Our students are mainly public servants as well as politicians and parliamentarians. Given that they have years of work experience, they are engaging and active in our classrooms. Our students are committed to seeing positive changes in the world and are courageous about contributing to those changes. We also attract international students.

Our students are trained to be unapologetic in thinking critically about challenges in Africa and the global South. We empower out students with critical thinking skills to enable them to understand complexity and chaos and design appropriate governance responses.

The academic staff at WSG produces increasing numbers of research degree students, journal and book publications, and a continuing discourse between the WSG community and the broader community on a range of relevant economic, social and political issues.

The research undertaken focuses on a variety of governance, economic, and broader public administration questions, reflecting the multi-disciplinary nature of the school.

We engage with partners across the world to conduct collaborative research that feeds into our teaching. The partnerships also contribute to improving policy making.

We bring people closer to governance issues by organising public lectures, debates and dialogues.

The WSG Development and Rights Dialogue Series was launched to provide an opportunity to explore how key development  goals, such as reducing poverty, unemployment and inequality, and achieving a socially cohesive nation, translated into the rights guaranteed by our Constitution.

The School together with the OR Tambo Foundation, United Nations Development Programme, and the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation offers the OR Tambo Series Debates. High profiled panellists are invited to discuss current issues.

Together with the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the School also started a series to explore energy issues on the continent.

The WSG and Thabo Mbeki Foundation have partnered to create the African Centre for Conflict Management (ACCM) to strengthen peace in Africa, security, democracy and governance.

The ACCM started the annual Africa Day Lecture in 2016.