College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2021 31 UJENIUS STRATEGY UJenius is an institutional initiative aimed at providing incentives and enrichment for top performing students. The number of CBE UJenius members increased by 8% from 464 in 2020 to 502 in 2021. Events and activities for UJenius students are expected to be arranged and hosted at school and department levels. Top performing students are usually acknowledged at special awards functions. Schools and departments will be requested to engage in more enrichment activities for UJenius members, which may be done in collaboration with PsyCaD. TOWARDS TEACHING AND LEARNING FUTURE AGILITY The last two years proved to be quite challenging for academic staff members. The heightened uncertainty and economic hardship attributable to the pandemic and other destabilising events in the country, imposed much strain on academic institutions in their endeavour to ensure a credible and sustainable teaching and learning environment. The unwavering commitment of individual staff members, both academic and support, ensured that the CBE as a collective hold its own amidst the storm. Core academic and administrative functions were efficiently executed through appropriate working arrangements. If anything, the CBE grew in resilience and in its ability to respond to changing conditions. Moreover, an innovative mindset emerged strongly, as staff members explored and implemented alternative approaches to teaching, learning and assessment, with more effective and efficient use of academic technologies. The temporary transition to online teaching and learning provided an opportunity for staff members to develop the modules to be offered in future through a blended learning mode, that consist of an appropriate combination of inperson and online teaching and learning activities. This provides the kind of flexibility in teaching and learning that allows not only for greater adaptability to external factors but also for g reater scope to explore and implement a lternative strategies that foster more meaningful student engagement. This shift to a more flexible approach to eaching and learning implies the need for more critical reflection on teaching pedagogies, assessment strategies and the kind of academic support that would be suitable in a blended learning environment. Prof Sivan Chetty Vice-Dean: Teaching and Learning College of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg
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