SIYAPUMELELA PROJECT

The Siyaphumelela (“We Succeed”) Initiative focuses on broadening evidence-based postsecondary student success strategies in South Africa and is funded by the Kresge Foundation. The Siyaphumelela project is currently in its second phase which commenced in 2020 and will end in 2023 (Siyaphumelela 2.0). DUT was the only University of Technology that participated in the first phase from 2017 to 2019 (Siyaphumelela 1.0). The current phase of the Siyaphumelela project aims to enhance student success through expanded support to seven of South Africa’s 26 universities. The nationwide network consists of partner and member institutions. The network is coordinated by SAIDE (South African Institute for Distance Education), a South African non-profit organization committed to transforming education to increase equitable outcomes for all.

The main goals of Siyaphumelela are to

(i) develop institutional capacity to collect and integrate data across various divisions within Universities, such as Institutional Research, Information Technology, Academic Development, Planning and other Academic Divisions.

(ii) improve South African Universities Models for ensuring success by using data analytics to improve student outcomes.

(iii) create greater awareness and support for using data to improve student success and work towards building a culture of data-based decision-making through a large cadre of experienced data analytics professionals supporting student success.

Dr Mzwandile Khumalo

Position: Institutional Researcher

Tel No: +27 (0)31 373 3122

Email:  mzwandilek@dut.ac.za