Prof Balkaran ready for his new role
RESOLUTION: The newly appointed Chairperson of the Cape Higher Education Consortium, Prof Rishi Balkaran will ensure that he delivers to the mandate of this academic consortium
Friday, 16 July 2021
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning, Prof Rishi Balkaran has been appointed as the new Chairperson of the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC).
The Board of the CHEC operates under delegated authority from the Councils of the four institutions, CPUT, Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town and the University of the Western Cape.
The vision and mission of CHEC is to establish the Western Cape as a strong higher education region in a restructured national system which, through systemic inter-institutional co-operation and academic programme collaboration, will be:
- Distinctively responsive to regional, national and international developments in the knowledge economy of the 21st century.
- Sensitive to historical realities in promoting equity across its institutions.
- Cost-effective and of high quality.
Reflecting on his appointment, Balkaran says: “I am excited about my appointment and will ensure that I deliver to the mandate of CHEC.”
“I hope to continue with the sterling job of the previous chairperson, Prof [Nico] Koopman. As a collective, we have to deliver to vision and mandate. Certainly, we will be looking at the trends affecting Higher Education as well as working together in enhancing student success.
A lot of hard work, perseverance and being a team- player has taken Balkaran to where he is today. “I am always excited about [new] ideas and find ways to do things better. Keeping students and staff [is] at the centre of what we do is critical to me. There is nothing more inspiring than seeing students succeed in their careers.”
Balkaran, who joined the CPUT in January 2019, has more than 20 years of experience in the Higher Education sector.
He says CPUT has benefitted tremendously from the CHEC initiatives and this benefit extends to its other University members. “We will continue with CHEC’s very successful staff development initiatives and other programmes from the previous years,” says Balkaran.
Written by Aphiwe Boyce
Email: boyceap@cput.ac.za
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