The Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Engagement and the Directorate for Research and Postgraduate Support (RPS) have sent out the call inviting applicants from the DUT community to apply for the prestigious DHET Future Professors Programme. This is the third call for the Future Professors Programme (FPP) Phase 01 which is now officially open. The FPP is a competitive and selective programme of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to prepare promising early career academics to become a new cohort of South African professors across the disciplines. Professor Jonathan Jansen is the Project Leader.

The FPP seeks to identify a group of the country’s most talented young academics to benefit from a structured and intense programme aimed at accelerating their readiness for the professoriate. Thus, it aims to produce a critical mass of academic excellence and leadership within South African Higher Education. The programme is intended to complement initiatives hosted by both the DHET and individual universities aimed at developing a pipeline of early-career academics with an emphasis on black and woman scholars. Academics preferably-but not exclusively – in the lecturer and senior lecturer categories in South African public universities, may be nominated by their universities. Applicants should hold a doctorate and already boast a track-record of some academic achievement that would signal advancement to the senior ranks of the academy. From these nominations a cohort will be selected for the programme, to commence in January 2023.

Last year, DUT’s Dr Saheed Sabiu, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, who was successfully appointed as a participant into the Future Professors Programme (FPP), said he will take full advantage of this opportunity in learning to network, collaborate and becoming a leading researcher in his field.

Dr Sabiu’s advice to future, emerging lecturers and researchers at DUT who would like to be part of the FFP is to have passion for what one does and be dedicated at the same time, and these are key to achieving one’s dreams.

“Those willing and aspiring to be part of the programme, need to up their research game, which will ultimately translate to measurable outputs and must be guided to communicate or publish their findings in highly reputable and accredited journals such as those indexed by Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed etc.,” he said.

The programme seeks the following attributes in candidates:

• A deep commitment to the pursuit of advanced scholarship. 
• Evidence of productive and imaginative scholarly work. 
• Early signs of purpose and direction in academic work. 
• Novelty, richness and a willingness to take risks in the pursuit of large ideas. 
• Personal qualities of self-awareness, teachability and the need to grow. 
• Evidence of resilience and persistence in the face of setbacks. 
• A willingness to benefit from and contribute to a community of scholars.

Documentation required for the application process should include one’s curriculum vitae, a two-page evidence based submission and contact details of three referees. Please consult the call for specifications related to the application, US-FPP-Call 2022.

The internal closing date for this application is Monday, 31 January 2022. All applications must be submitted online on the link: DHET FUTURE PROFESSORS PROGRAMME. 

Please direct all enquiries to vanesh@dut.ac.za.

Pictured: Dr Saheed Sabiu

DHET/Waheeda Peters