A new podcast, funded by the Academic Staff Association of Wits University, has been launched in order to create a space for debate and discussion on issues about higher education in South Africa, and beyond.
Titled, The Academic Citizen, the podcast explores a diversity of topics and opinions relating to higher education in South Africa, today and into the future. Each episode welcomes a guest for an in-depth discussion of a particular issue relevant to university life today, and also features commentary from students on the topic at hand.
The Academic Citizen (TAC) is an independent podcast series that is funded and sponsored by the Academic Staff Association of Wits University (ASAWU), the union representing academic staff at Wits. The podcast does not seek to be a platform to represent the views of individuals belonging to the union or to present the stance of the union as a collective. Instead, it aims to be a platform for learning more about a diversity of views, and gaining deeper insight into the challenges, and possible solutions, facing higher education in South Africa.
The current host of the podcast is Mehita Iqani, an Associate Professor in Media Studies at Wits, and researched, scheduled, edited and produced by Balungile Mbenyane.
The podcast is weekly, and goes live on Wednesdays before midnight. Ten episodes have been published so far, including:
- Higher Education During Apartheid, with Leigh-Ann Naidoo
- Gender Equity in Universities, with Maria Wanyane and Charlene Beukes
- Is Fee-Free Education Possible, with Dick Forslund
- Issues of University Governance, with Shireen Hassim
The Academic Citizen wishes to continue shedding light and perspectives of all stakeholders within higher education, in order to improve the understanding of issues that relate to education and development in South Africa.
The podcast is available on numerous platforms: iTunes, the Podcast app for iOS and the Pocket Casts app for Android. It can also be accessed on Soundcloud and on www.theacademiccitizen.org.
Feedback and suggestions for future shows are welcomed at moc.liamg@neziticcimedacaeht. For more about ASAWU visit www.asawu.org.za