How we engage with our stakeholders

We adapted our response to stakeholder needs and expectations in 2020 in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Owing to the pandemic and lockdown, we could not pay physical visits to schools or host other recruitment events such as open days and sports events. This prompted us to explore and introduce new student recruitment interventions.

These interventions, which included virtual open days and interactive electronic brochures and webinars, reached an audience of approximately 7 850 300 people. Expanding our way of doing things proved to be successful, as these online interventions have generally been received positively by prospective students.

Our student portal, eFundi, is a crucial source of information for current students. It served as the primary resource for students and staff during the lockdown and played a key role towards the successful completion of the academic year.

The portal was zero-rated to enable students to fully participate in online teaching and learning. Measures were introduced to empower students who had connectivity problems to return to campuses to continue with their studies. Devices and data were distributed to students in need, facilitating access and success. Authoritative structures such as Council and Senate offered strategic responses and support to students.

Campus health centres were capacitated to continue to assist students who experienced health-related problems.

Demonstrating our adaptability to evolve and be more than we were before, we collaborated with industry players to develop solutions geared towards curbing the spread of Covid-19. For example, in collaboration with industry partners, we developed and distributed a Covid-19 screening app , “TjopTjop”, which was selected as a winner in the 2020 United Nations Innovation and Investment Forum from a total of 168 submissions.

We also partnered with various members of the business community to distribute relevant personal protective equipment (PPE) and other necessities to health and frontline workers/staff.

We continued marketing our technologies to government and industry as a crucial aspect of commercialising our intellectual property and expertise.

To ensure the health and safety of staff, we established the Covid-19 Response team to develop and manage protocols and other related interventions. The necessary policy guidelines were developed to assist in catering for the needs and preferences of our staff during lockdown.

We maintained and strengthened our partnerships with the South African Police Service and other local security service providers for the benefit of our staff, off and on campuses.

We continued engaging with staff representatives on remuneration, and reached agreements on key aspects of employees’ benefits. For example, during 2020 management and SAPTU engaged on the revision of the group life benefit. After various consultations, an agreement was reached in this regard and the revised Group Life Benefit Scheme was implemented. Apart from this, and despite all the challenges we faced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, we were able to reach an agreement on the annual cost of living adjustment negotiations with SAPTU.

We continued to implement our NWU Culture Project, which is aimed at creating shared values among staff and contributing towards a conducive work environment. We also developed and implemented relevant initiatives to address the risks and challenges facing staff. These included a gender-based violence initiative, as well as a mental health awareness campaign.

We remain committed to being an ethics-oriented organisation; thus, we conducted an ethics survey in 2020 to determine the ethics, culture and staff perceptions. The recommendations of the survey will be implemented during 2021.

Staff equity, diversity and inclusivity remain top priorities for the university. Therefore, we continued to implement our transformation and equity plans in order to reach our set targets.

We offered alumni various platforms for information-sharing and engagement, including participation in policy and strategy formulation through Convocation and Council.

Convocation members who represent the alumni community sit on various committees and structures of the university and ensure that the interests of alumni are communicated and addressed. More than 170 alumni joined the Convocation in 2020, a continued upward trend in membership.

We organised the Covid-19 Response Fund benefit concert in partnership with alumni, who also contributed to the fund. The alumni are also active donors to and sponsors of the university.

During the lockdown we worked in collaboration with alumni in the health sector to present health-related advice online to staff and students.

We updated our alumni about developments and achievements of the university and involved them in our brand campaigns.

The Board of Donors continued to make significant contribution to the university. During 2020, the total contributions amounted to R16 429 041,63. Donors also contributed towards the NWU Covid-19 Response Fund, which has been assisting students with connectivity during the lockdown.

We used the Board of Donors meetings and subcommittees to share news on developments within the university.

We reassured our donors about the prudent financial controls that are place to ensure long-term sustainability.

We complied with the National Disaster Management Act, regulations and other related protocols with regards to Covid-19.

We continued to share our performance information through prescribed progress reports, the integrated report and course-specific reports.

As in previous years, we communicated to and required our suppliers to comply with relevant legislation, including Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA).

We shared business opportunities with suppliers through open advertising of new projects.

We continued to ensure that suppliers were paid in accordance with their signed contracts and service level agreements.