Conference Programme

Power-of-the-Mind
Michael Abrahamson, Mentalist
This powerful keynote showcases how powerful the mind can be. Michael will read your mind and deliver unbelievable displays of memory and maths skills that border on magic. Look  forward to an interactive and highly-engaging 'Show' that will inspire and mesmerise you with a mix of entertaining moments and unforgettable demonstrations.

Building a sustainable Higher Education sector: How ESG changes the game
Dr Thelma Louw, Head: Sustainability, Monitoring & Evaluation, UNISA
Universities have traditionally regarded financial sustainability as their core focus to ensure their continued existence. This singular view of sustainability started changing around 2013, to encompass the recognition that higher education's core business is the advancement of science and improving the employability of their students - and thereby contributing to poverty eradication and the advancement of the national development goals. This presentation will share the current Environmental, Social, and Governance landscape at universities, and what institutions are doing to improve collaboration. The session will also share specific institutions’ journeys to underline the value of sharing our experiences.

Building resilient infrastructure with Cloud Strategies & SAAS
AX Xenios: Cloud Solutions Architect, Mustek
With the constant evolution of Cloud and the creep of Digital Real Estate, companies are being forced to consider hybrid On-Premises – Cloud Network infrastructures that rely on Software as a Service vendors to quickly deploy usable solutions. This thought leadership session will provide insights into key considerations for building resilient, high availability, secure and compliant business infrastructure.

Reimagining the future of higher education through digital transformation
Ziaad Suleman, Group Chief Commercial Officer at EOH
COVID-19 and other disruptions have highlighted the need for digital transformation in the tertiary education sector. While some institutions have been quick to innovate and deliver a quality learning experience, the pace of change needs to accelerate across the sector to meet the rapidly growing and urgent demand for inclusive, affordable higher education. In his presentation, Ziaad Suleman, Group Chief Commercial Officer at EOH, makes the case for digital transformation in the tertiary education sector, takes a closer look at the challenges that need to be addressed and finally, presents a picture of what success looks like and how to get there.

Education Technology and Innovation
Prof Thea de Wet, Senior Director: University of Johannesburg
Prof de Wet discusses the latest trends and practices in education technology including eResources, hybrid learning, and learning management systems.  Actively involved in current technology renewal and implementation projects at UJ, she offers crucial insights for the key decision-makers who have to map their own institutional journeys.

Renewable Energy 101: Insights for Moving Your Campus to Clean Energy
Michael Cassidy: Renewal Energy Head, Mustek
 In a climate of uncertain power supply and escalating energy costs, on-campus solar and other renewable energy systems hold significant advantages for colleges and universities.  This session will share key insights and lessons to help you start the journey, and maximise the benefits.    

Creating world leading African digital entrepreneurs
Prof. Barry Dwolatzky: Director of Innovation Strategy, University of the Witwatersrand
Founded by Prof Dwolatzky in 2017, Tshimologong is a successful digital innovation incubation and acceleration  programme that aims to commercialise the research of Wits University students. In this session Prof Dwolatzky will share success stories, insights and practical lessons derived from 5 years of creating world leading African digital entrepreneurs.

Smart classrooms
Jakobi Yzelle: Head Enterprise and education Division, Questek AV
The ambitious Smart Classroom project at the University of the Witwatersrand has created advanced learning spaces that support the needs of lecturers and students to engage actively in learning interactions.

In this session Jakobi shares the project rationale, key design decisions, as well as implementation challenges and lessons.

ICT Infrastructure:  Rip and Replace
Ignatius Makgoka: ICT Director Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University
When an independent Infrastructure Audit highlighted severely outdated ICT infrastructure as a key obstacle and threat for the institution, Sefako Makgatho University was forced to implement a comprehensive 'rip and replace' strategy to bring the university's ICT infrastructure into the 21st Century. This case study has invaluable lessons for institutions facing similar technology challenges.

The Invigilator
Jurie Wessels. Tax lecturer at the University of Johannesburg will showcase The Invigilator, UJ's online proctoring solution; is a mobile-centric, easy-to-use, data-conscious, robust and affordable solution for digital invigilation. The  product is commercially available.

Immersive and Extended Reality Technologies - from Novelty to Practicality
Koos de Beer, Extended Reality consultant
In this session Koos will help you get to grips with immersive, extended reality technologies and how you can apply them in your tertiary and business environments. While augmented and virtual reality is often treated as a novelty, it has real, practical applications that can deliver efficiencies and cost savings if approached correctly.

Case study: Unified Communications
Nhlanhla Madide, Senior Manager ICT, University of the Witwatersrand, with John Bowen, TechnoChange Solutions
This session examines the rationale, objectives and outcomes of the recent Unified Communications project at Wits, as well as the key factors that underpinned its success. Nhlanhla and John will share challenges they had to overcome and how the University has benefited from the unified solutions.  ICT, Facilities and Procurement attendees will benefit from valuable insights into the management of this complex, cross functional project.

uLink - student portal
Hemali Joshi, Director Centre for Academic Technologies at University of Johannesburg will demonstrate uLink, the UJ-developed single sign-on student portal.

Technology Innovation Demo's in the Exhibition Hall

Keynote Address
The Nexus between Business, Technology and Transformation
Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala, Vice Chancellor, University of Johannesburg
In this keynote address Professor Marwala will invite delegates to engage with the opportunities that exist at the nexus of their business responsibilities, technology and transformation. Through his passion and deep understanding of 4IR drivers such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science, Prof Marwala will show how Higher Education professionals can connect with technology and each other to promote institutional, sectoral and economic transformation.

Technology and security trends in South Africa
Anton Bothma, Executive Commercial Division, Fidelity Group
How advances in security technology are changing the nature of the security industry's response to physical, guarding and technical needs.

• Integration of all security technology into centralised platforms.
• Visual verification in the security industry
• Maintenance / assets in the cloud

Cybersecurity Governance – it is everybody’s responsibility
Prof Basie von Solms, Research Professor in Cyber Security in the Centre for Cyber Security. University of Johannesburg
This session's ultimate objective is to help end users become cyber-risk aware in order to be cybercrime fighters (a ‘Human Firewall’) that help protect them and their enterprises on the front line of cyber crime. In simple terms Cybersecurity Governance is the oversight of all activities required to ensure an institution’s operations in Cyberspace are secure, safe, resilient and trustworthy. While ultimate responsibility resides at the top of organisations with their Board or Council, effective implementation is determined by the actions of users at all levels throughout the enterprise. The presentation will focus on these ‘lower’ levels of Cybersecurity Governance, and will include aspects such as :

• Cybercrime, Cyber risks and the attack methods and techniques of cybercriminals,
• Ransomware attacks with examples (Transnet, TransUnion etc),
• Phishing attacks, Social Engineering attacks and more.

The session will also cover legal aspects to be aware of such as the POPI and Cybercrime Acts.

Blockchain in Education
Merryl Ford, Digital Transformation Specialist, Centre for Robotics & Future Production, CSIR 
Facilitator: SA National Blockchain Alliance (SANBA)

Closing Keynote Address
The Future of Collaborative Procurement with Intelligent Technology
Prof Johan Steyn, Institute of IT Professionals South Africa
Technological advancements will have a significant impact on procurement management, with AI changing how tasks are autonomously delivered and controlled. AI is on its way to becoming more than just a tool for automating repetitive tasks. In the near future, there will be a significant increase in projects to implement AI-based platforms. The procurement community and their colleagues in cross-functional in departments like ICT, Finance and Facilities will play a vital role, but they also need to focus on their skills in this field. AI may not replace humans, but it may replace managers who are not skilled in this technology.