Q and A

Research for Impact is one of the core strategic themes in SU`s Vision 2020. How does your research relate to that?

It is not difficult in educational research to do impactful research given the state of schools and (some) universities. My primary contribution in this regard has been through scholarly and popular book publications. Our recent research on the politics of admissions in elite schools has very practical insights for access and transformation. Our book on decolonization of universities and another on the decolonization of knowledge has specific suggestions for the transformation of institutions. Our book called Faultlines was written as a practical contribution to the core curriculum idea mooted in the SU senate in the wake of the decolonization moment. Then there are our more popular books to encourage schools and communities in pandemic times such as Learning under lockdown, Teaching in pandemic times, and a forthcoming Parenting (parent teaching, actually) under lockdown.

Please give us your impression of the role that research and innovation can play in the betterment of society?

Even the most esoteric research can be composed in such a way that it speaks to the improvement of the human condition. It starts of course by asking the right questions---and this could take months, even years---and always having audience in mind: who am I researching and writing for? It is not only science and technology that can improve society but also philosophy, to take an obvious example. I recently edited a collection for SAJS in which a prominent philosopher drew attention to the uses of language in describing the pandemic, and how such usage could empower or disempower communities under stress.

What would you regard as the most important aspects to consider to effectively support researchers?

Enough funding for doctoral and postdoctoral students. As senior researchers, especially, we are (and should be) in the business of reproducing ourselves by which I mean training and mentoring the next generation of researchers to do better than us in advancing the frontiers of knowledge and its application towards the human good.

What do you enjoy most about your job and what are the aspects that you find challenging?

The terms of my appointment allow me to escape what I have done all my life---management meetings, faculty administration, university development—and concentrate my efforts on doing advanced research that generates new knowledge, empowers new researchers, and hopefully changes communities. That sense of both intellectual stimulation and making a difference gives me enormous satisfaction. My biggest challenge is convincing students how smart they really are and what they could deliver given support, direction, and self-propulsion. South African students are remarkably unambitious, with exceptions, of course.

What is the biggest piece of advice that you would give early-career researchers?

Keep the right company. You will only be as good as the smartest students around you and the most accomplished professors who guide you. This means travelling and if possible, spending regular time abroad in the best laboratories and seminar rooms in the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the way we work. What, from your point of view, is the most pertinent change and how will this affect your work in the future?

The biggest change in the world of research is the new demands and opportunities on offer through advanced technologies for everything from bibliographic searches to data analysis at a small scale, and of big data on a larger scale. Those novice and experienced researchers who tap into this resource with energy and enthusiasm are the ones who will always be ahead of the curve.

What do you do for fun (apart from research!)

Watch rugby, cricket, soccer, athletics. Play the piano. Talk about science and society to a precocious 3-year-old granddaughter in New Zealand. Did I mention Blue Bulls Rugby?