Insights into community engagement at a University of Technology in South Africa

A qualitative inquiry with academics

Abstract

Community engagement (CE) has been identified as an important pillar alongside teaching and research in higher education. Despite this it has emerged slowly within the South African landscape due to a lack of understanding regarding engagement. Drawing on in-depth interviews, this study sought to explore how academics (N=14), at a University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa understood CE and the processes involved in engagement. The study found that CE was a symbiotic relationship that involved collaboration with communities in order to understand community needs, nurture community partnerships, and ensure sustainable engagement initiatives. Finally, the data reflected that in order to enable social change, the community should be honoured as a source of knowledge and the university should recognise the benefits of engagement.