TRANSFORMATION UNVEILED: Author and academic Dr Joseph Besigye Bazirake addressing guests at the launch of his new book, Higher Education Institutional Change: Perspectives from South Africa at Nelson Mandela University
In Higher Education Institutional Change: Perspectives from South Africa, launched recently at the University’s Science Centre, author Dr Joseph Besigye Bazirake argues that real institutional reform happens only when formal rules, everyday practices and the people within universities begin to move in the same direction.
Policies alone are not enough, he says — nor are protest movements. Sustainable change requires shifts in governance systems, institutional culture and the lived experiences of staff and students over time.
Change beyond slogans
Dr Bazirake, a Research Associate at the institution’s Chair for Critical Studies in Higher Education Transformation (CriSHET) and Senior Researcher at the Ubuntu Higher Education Research Centre in Uganda, describes the book as the culmination of years of research and reflection on how universities evolve.
“My academic journey has been shaped by a long-standing interest in justice, peacebuilding and how institutions change,” he explains. Initially trained in political science and international relations, and later in peace and conflict studies at Makerere University, he now focuses on higher education, while exploring reconciliation in post-apartheid South Africa.
His doctoral research at the University of the Free State examined institutional transformation and the historical evolution of the university.
The new book grew out of that doctoral work and years of observing how universities “struggle to change despite strong calls for transformation”. Moments such as the #MustFall movement and the COVID-19 pandemic, he notes, intensified debates about inequality, access and institutional culture, yet often without clear explanations of how change actually unfolds within universities.
“Universities do not change through policies alone or through protests alone,” he says. “Real institutional change happens when structures, cultures, and people shift together over time.”
Higher education institutions are shaped not only by formal systems such as governance and policy, Dr Bazirake explains, but also by informal beliefs, relationships and histories. Transformation succeeds when these layers begin to align rather than pull against one another.
ACADEMIC LEADERS: Author Dr Joseph Besigye Bazirake and outgoing Nelson Mandela University Chancellor Dr Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi.
Speaking at the launch, outgoing Nelson Mandela University chancellor Dr Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi said the book was a reminder that true transformation in the Global South wasn’t just about top-down policy or managerial templates, but was deeply contextual, layered and profoundly human.
“(The book) acknowledges that universities like ours are not merely reactive to external pressures – we are active, ideological and cultural battlegrounds where the future of the post-colonial public good is actively being forged.
“We are acutely aware of the historical burdens our institutions carry – the legacy of our colonial and apartheid past constantly interact and intersect with our post-1994 reforms.”
Practical lessons for leaders and institutions
“One of the book’s central insights is that transformation cannot be achieved through isolated interventions or short-term reforms,” Dr Bazirake says. Sustainable change requires “consistent leadership, a shared institutional vision, and attention to culture as much as policy”.
Resistance to change, he argues, is often structural rather than personal. Solutions therefore need to address institutional design, incentives and historical context — not simply individual attitudes. Universities must confront inequality as part of their social role, while recognising that students and staff experience change in lived, everyday ways.
“Meaningful transformation depends on trust, collective agency, and treating equity as a guiding institutional value rather than a compliance exercise.”
These themes speak directly to Nelson Mandela University’s Vision 2030, he says, which positions the institution as a dynamic African university committed to humanising learning and advancing socially responsive research.
By emphasising socially grounded knowledge and long-term institutional change, the book supports the University’s commitment to social justice and service to society.
A launch shaped by leadership and reflection
The event drew colleagues, students, policymakers, civil society partners and members of the public.
Dr Fraser-Moleketi’s presence at the launch, Dr Bazirake says, was particularly meaningful, as she is a leader whose distinguished work in governance, public administration and social justice aligns closely with the themes of the book.
The Chancellor is preparing to step down from her role on 1 April, following the recent appointment of Dr Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor.
During his postdoctoral fellowship at Nelson Mandela University, Dr Bazirake engaged with her work both within the institution and through her leadership as Chair of the UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration.
That collaboration resulted in scholarly contributions, including the chapter Africa Rising in a Fast-Changing World: Transcending Continental Public Administration Challenges, published by Springer Nature in 2025, and Global Approaches in Countering Societal Imbalances during the COVID Pandemic, published in Das COVID–Kaleidoskop II: Was tun nach der Krise? in 2022.
Dr Bazirake says that Dr Fraser-Moleketi’s leadership has consistently emphasised “the role of universities in shaping responsive, people-centred institutions”.
The launch follows the recent introduction of the Chancellor’s Entrepreneurship Fund, created by Dr Fraser-Moleketi under the theme “Towards Human Flourishing: Changing the World through Entrepreneurship” — further reinforcing the University’s broader transformation agenda.
Addressing guests, Dr Fraser-Moleketi praised the book for its “profoundly empowering” reframing.
“By dissecting our language policies, racial dynamics and government reforms, Dr Bazirake shows us how to navigate the complex intersection of where we come from and the just, equitable futures that we are mandated to build.”
From debate to practice
Looking ahead, Dr Bazirake hopes the book will serve as a resource for leaders, staff and students seeking to better understand how institutional change works in practice.
More importantly, he hopes the launch encouraged open dialogue about how universities can better serve society while preserving their academic mission.
Over the next three to five years, he believes the book can support deeper reflection within Nelson Mandela University and contribute to national and international conversations about how institutions become “more just, inclusive, and future-focused while remaining attentive to their historical and social contexts”.
For young researchers passionate about change, his message is measured but hopeful. “Institutional change is slow and sometimes frustrating, but scholarship matters because ideas shape how societies imagine their futures,” he says.