CHEC-ADA Programme in Higher Education Studies (Teaching & Learning): Programme Report

17 July 2026

The CHEC-ADA Programme in Higher Education Studies (Teaching & Learning) was presented as a pilot intensive Winter School in July 2026, delivered online from 6 to 10 July with a hybrid Capstone event at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study on 17 July. The programme is a collaboration between the Cape Higher Education Consortium and the African Doctoral Academy (ADA) at Stellenbosch University, pitched at NQF Level 8.

The full programme report is now available.

The five modules

Each module addressed a major dimension of higher education teaching and learning, combining conceptual engagement with practical application through case studies, collaborative activities and reflective learning.

• PG11 — Citizenship, Social Inclusion and Difference: social justice, decolonisation, diversity and belonging in higher education
• PG02 — Assessment in Higher Education: authentic assessment, constructive alignment, feedback, and evaluating learning in the age of AI
• PG03 — Research for Enhancing Teaching and Learning: the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), practitioner inquiry and evidence-informed practice
• PG10 — ICTs: Teaching and Learning: digital pedagogy, online learning, AI and technology-enhanced learning
• PG01 — Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: learning theories, curriculum design, student-centred learning and educational innovation

The cohort

The programme attracted an experienced, academically accomplished and interdisciplinary cohort. Three quarters of participants were employed within the higher education sector, three quarters held a Master's degree or higher, and seventy per cent had either completed a PhD or were actively pursuing doctoral study. Participants came from a wide spread of disciplines including education, engineering, health sciences, information technology, finance and law.

Evaluation

Participants rated the programme highly, with an overall satisfaction score of 4.46 out of 5. The strongest results related to the programme's contribution to professional development, its relevance to higher education practice and participants' willingness to recommend it to colleagues. The evaluation also identified areas for refinement — most notably the pace and density of the intensive format, and the online access and registration arrangements — all of which are set out candidly in the report.

Capstone projects

The programme culminated in a Capstone Project, From Insight to Intervention: Applying Learning in Higher Education Practice, in which each participant identified a real challenge in their own context and developed an evidence-informed response, submitted as a Portfolio of Evidence and presented at the Capstone event.

Thirteen portfolios were submitted. Across diverse disciplines and institutions, five themes emerged: reimagining assessment for authentic learning, humanising higher education, decolonisation and social justice, artificial intelligence as a learning partner, and reflective practice and scholarly teaching. Summaries of every project are included as annexures to the report.