Stellenbosch University’s (SU)
Centre for Student Leadership and Structures (CSLS) under Division
Student Affairs (DSAf) recently held the inauguration on the Students’ Representative Council (SRC).
This ceremony was to formally introduce the new 2018/2019 members into
their term in office and to also acknowledge the outgoing SRC. The concept
of such a form of formal leadership was an opportunity to acknowledge
the work of Student Governance under CSLS and was welcomed by SU
management and students. Some of the guests included the Rector and
Vice-Chancellor, Prof Wim de Villiers, Prof Arnold Schoonwinkel
(Vice-Rector: Learning and Teaching), Prof Nico Koopman (Vice-Rector of
Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel), management staff and staff
of DSAf including the Senior Director, Dr Birgit Schreiber.
Mr
Anele Mdepa, Manager at the Office of Student Governance, shared that it
was a work of collaboration and reflection on what has happened this
year and to appreciate the support and cross collaboration from and
within the university. The inauguration looked into how the university
is shaping itself in terms of innovation and moving forward, how a space
of expanding horizons and new contents to seek open-mindedness can be
created and what future leadership will look like. As part of the
programme and inauguration, the SRC members also took a pledge to keep
them accountable and transparent in the responsibility of their roles
within and beyond Stellenbosch.
Prof Arnold Schoonwinkel
officially opened the evening’s programme with a contextualisation of
the SRC and student governance, followed by Prof Wim de Villiers who
welcomed the guests and reflected on the outgoing SRC and how “they put
processes and frameworks in place so that the environment in the SRC
speaks to constructive engagement, student, transformative student
experience, and ethical leadership”.
Evenings
like these give opportunity for mutual validation and consensus on the
importance of leaders, said Mr Thulani Hlatswayo, intern at Student
Governance. The inauguration was a priority to the Rectorate and staff
of SU and they made effort to be there and to celebrate with the SRC and
in this space of trust is established between SRC members and the
Rectorate and those in management and leadership. The Rector enjoyed
working with the previous SRC and engagements with them were based on
constructivism and strategies as a matter of displaying leadership in a
sense of managing skills, mediating, negotiating and contribution to
interpersonal capabilities. The Rectorate and SRC were on a level of
mutual consensus about moving forward, protecting and supporting
students.
Senior Director of DSAf and the
keynote speaker at the inauguration, Dr Birgit Schreiber, shared four
points of advice to the new SRC members: avoid confirmation bias and
not to fall into a trap of blind spots but to rather seek to test ideas
on a diverse team creating stronger ideas, seel consensus rather than
just a majority, be aware of limited views and not to avoid making
faulty inferences by distinguishing between incident and general
practice and, finally, remember our (SU’s) past and to appreciate how
far we have come – we are working to improve SU’s and ultimately South
Africa’s success, but we should remember the progress that has been made
thus far.
Miss Carli van Wyk, newly elected chair
of the SRC, shared that the speakers of the evening shed light on the
importance of student leadership for our university, and also our
country. The evening celebrated the past year and allowed for a new
chapter to start. “The new SRC feels very honoured to be serving on this
body and are eager to start working. We know that the task at hand is
not easy, but together as a team and the support fellow students, we can
make a difference,” Carli added.