Opinion by Dr Muki Moeng, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Learning and Teaching
?width=300&height=299)
Over and above the knowledge students gain at university, they need to develop as conscious human beings who understand who they are, where they come from, what is reality, what is untruth, what is freedom, and what is important in life.
Responding to this, Nelson Mandela University’s Social Consciousness and Sustainable Futures (SCSF) module, was launched in July 2025, and is now a compulsory, credit-bearing part of the curriculum for all students in the faculties of Humanities, Education and Law.
From 2027 the same will apply to all seven faculties at the University, notably, the faculties of Science, Health Sciences, Business and Economic Sciences and Engineering, the Built Environment and Technology.
It is a weekly semester module over six months and all our students will complete the module before they graduate. The importance of SCSF is that students are empowered to respond thoughtfully to the society and world we live in as part of their development.
Our university motto is ‘change the world’ – it is all about being in the service of society. This is essential in South Africa and the world today, particularly where we find ourselves geopolitically.
Our aim is to develop students who care about their fellow human beings, the natural environment and economy, and become agents of change, hope and social justice so that we can look forward to sustainable futures and a society that offers a better life for all.
We have the highest calibre presenters, including sitting judge, Professor Avinash Govindjee; theoretical physicist and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research, Innovation and Internationalisation, Professor Azwinndini Muronga; and IT and AI specialist, Distinguished Professor Darelle van Greunen, who is the Director of the Centre for Community Technologies.
By the time our students graduate, in addition to being accomplished professionals, we need them to be responsible, proactive citizens in their communities. We want them to be critical thinkers who don’t simply accept the status quo; they interrogate it and disrupt it for the good where necessary.
The SCSF module developed out of social justice in the form of the #FeesMustFall movement in 2015 that echoed out through all the institutions across South Africa. It was rooted in making sure that all deserving students can access higher education and that we decolonise the curriculum to include African knowledge and a diversity of theories and views from all over the world.
All the themes in the SCSF module reflect this, facilitated by the SCSF project manager, is sociologist and the Director of the Centre for Women and Gender Studies at Nelson Mandela University, Professor Babalwa Magoqwana. She was key to the conceptualisation and implementation of the Social Consciousness and Sustainable Futures (SCSF) module.
The students reflect on the following eight themes and are marked and assessed on each one:
1. The meaning of Mandela. Presented by Professor Nomalanga Mkhize, historian and the Director of Director of the School of Governmental and Social Sciences. As the only university in the world permitted to carry Nelson Mandela’s name, we look at who Mandela the man was and how our institution aligns to his legacy while creating our own legacy as a university, based on our values, including diversity, equality, social justice, ubuntu excellence and stewardship are very important.
2. On the making of gender and sexuality. Presented by the holder of the National Research Foundation SARChI Chair in African Feminist imaginations, Professor Pumla Gqola. This module helps students to think about their socially and culturally embedded biases and to shift thinking about gender power, gender-based violence and women’s contributions in the world.
3. Science for Society. Presented by theoretical physicist and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research, Innovation and Internationalisation, Professor Azwinndini Muronga. He introduces students to the history and origin of science, and how it links to Africa. Students discuss how to take science to society, how to make it meaningful and relatable and how science assists us to sustain society and ensure sustainable futures.
4.Technology and its relationship to ubuntu and dignity. Presented by ICT and AI specialist, and the Director of the Centre for Community Technologies, Professor Darelle van Greunen. She presents on inclusive digitalisation to make sure everyone is included in the AI era. Students discuss local and global challenges of technology when it comes to equity and access to knowledge.
5. Constitutionalism and human rights. Presented by sitting judge Professor Avinash Govindjee, who was formerly the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law. Students explore human rights and how the South African Constitution empowers citizens to act on these rights. It also explores what freedom and justice mean according to the Constitution.
6. Health, wellness and progress. Presented by psychiatrist and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Zukiswa Zingela. Students explore the increase in depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, and the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle, and how to protect, love and respect themselves and others. HIV/Aids is resurfacing and there are concerning escalating social trends, such as blessers, which need to be discussed.
7. Economy and youth employability. Presented by the Business School’s Senior Manager of Business Development, Lee-Anne Vasi. Students discuss global issues such as trade, and what does it mean if the dollar and rand strengthens or weakens; what are the graduate employment options, how can students participate in economic development, including participating in Nelson Mandela University’s renowned entrepreneurship programmes which are open to all students and township and community members.
8. Humansising pedagogy. Presented by lecturer in the Department of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics in the Faculty of Humanities, Mukhtar Raban. This is an educational philosophy and approach that explores how to engage with your fellow human beings, colleagues, partners and collaborators. Through humanising educational practices we empower our students to value their own agency and the knowledge they bring to the institution. We empower them with the courage to express themselves and to discuss diverse ideas and to agree and disagree without this detracting from our humanness.
Overall, our goal for the SCSF module is that when our students graduate and become alumni that they stand out, so that when someone talks to a graduate of Nelson Mandela University, they should see and hear someone who thinks differently, someone with compassion, someone who cares about others and the world around them.
To learn more about the Social Consciousness and Sustainable Futures (SCSF) module watch this video