UJ, 4IR, and the CloudebateTM concept



UJ is the
University of Johannesburg. 4IR is the Fourth Industrial Revolution. CloudebateTM?
Well – it’s a place where really interesting questions are asked, such as: is
the academic thesis a thing of the past? Have books outlived their physical
form? Are we witnessing the demise of childhood? Will eye-tracking, sip and
puff, or exoskeletons lead to true equality of opportunity? Will society change
Africa? Will Africa help change society? Will education teach our children what
they really need to know? And if so, how?



As 4IR
sweeps the world, sending many preconceptions, predilections, and presuppositions
tumbling as it goes, UJ sees the asking of questions like these as a
fundamental response. And it’s responding because, since 2013, when it first embarked
on its strategy of global excellence and stature, the university saw a clear
need to take the lead in exploring the applications, implications and potential
of 4IR. What’s more, it saw a need to do this not just as part of its
positioning as a thought-leader on the continent, but as part of making a
proactive and positive contribution towards African society, education and
enablement.



A vision
of width, a platform of depth



It’s a
significant vision, and as part realising it, UJ has been investigating new and
challenging ways, not just of identifying the issues at stake, but of
presenting them in depth. It sought a way that would bring medium and content,
idea and action, debate and initiative, together on one unique platform.



And that
unique platform, one that UJ has not only created, but given a unique name to
as well, is the CloudebateTM.&nbsp;




The
CloudebateTM



The
CloudebateTM has essentially taken the traditional debate/panel
discussion and reimagined it, placing it firmly within the realm of its own 4IR
scope, and using the latest live-streaming technology. It is the place where 4IR
ideas that have been identified as relevant, meaningful, challenging and
thought-provoking are placed before an expert panel as well as an online
audience who are invited to participate in real time, online, in a very 4IR way,
in the discussion, analysis and dissection. &nbsp;



There have
been seven Cloudebates held so far, and their names provide an insight into
their capacity to provoke thought: The Way Tomorrow Works; Digitally Equal; Is
4IR the Demise of Childhood? Questioning the Answers; Obsolete or Absolute?
Should Books be Shelved? Adding Muscle to Open Doors. 



When
thought is action



It’s all
about the kind of world we are creating for our children to inhabit. What will
the elimination of jobs do to society? Are children growing directly into the immediacy
of adulthood? Are academic theses outdated? Are libraries passé? Can technology
enable opportunity equally for all? 



The digital
reach has been immense, not just in South Africa but globally, where it has
found a worldwide audience. Moreover, UJ’s CloudebateTM initiative
is set to continue into 2020 with further challenges to our received wisdom,
our perceived way of doing things. So, if you have any stimulating 4IR topics
that you would like to see discussed, send them to marketingbrand@uj.ac.za – UJ
would love to hear from you. And if you’d like to see the discussions that have
already taken place, then just go to uj.ac.za/4IR, where you can watch, and
take a view of your own.



Creating
tomorrow



With its innovative CloudebateTM concept, UJ’s pursuit of global excellence has been a most rewarding journey that will continue to develop and expand along with 4IR, and along with UJ’s ongoing commitment to creating tomorrow.



Content provided by the University of Johannesburg

Cloudebate image for Forbes 3 Feb 2020_1910x600px

Where The Medium’s The Topic And The Topic is Topical

It had been peaceful as thousands of students from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) marched down the streets of Johannesburg to shut down UJ. Peaceful, at least, until a rock smashed into someone’s face.
This was the eighth day of the nationwide campaign to scrap university fees. It was gathering pace, as students ran in the spring sunshine you could feel the simmering anger.
Upon their arrival, most of the Wits students retreated and headed to a larger gathering at the African National Congress (ANC) headquarters, Luthuli House, after being refused entrance to UJ. The rest made for the gate – undaunted.
About 20 gigantic security guards, with the bodies of bouncers, stood behind concrete fencing and chained gates.
First words flew; then rocks, then bricks. The students tried to break the chains on the gate. A rock smashed into the face of one of the guards drawing a torrent of blood. The battle raged for 20 minutes, until the chains broke.
The students moved in hesitantly with their hands in the air; the rattled guards, bloodied with bricks in hand, stood by. Their last hope of stopping the students: the small road, over the freeway, that leads to the university.
The guards dashed for the bridge. They blocked hundreds of charging students. Two students fainted in the stampede but the guards stood firm. There was no backing down. Not even pepper spray deterred the determined students.
“They’re throwing stones, they’re hitting us, they’re spraying things on our face. What must we do? Must we look at them and smile?” asks one of the students with tears running down her cheeks.
Eventually, university staff allowed students through; UJ was shut down.
A few kilometers away in downtown Johannesburg, students lay siege to Luthuli House, the offices of the ANC. The ruling party was prepared. It set up a stage and microphone for the protesters; not too surprising for a liberation movement born of protest. But the 103-year-old party, the oldest in Africa, wasn’t prepared for the young fury of 2015.
On this day, even one of the most powerful men in the land couldn’t hold sway. ANC Secretary General, Gwede Mantashe, and the President of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), Sidumo Dlamini, were told to come down from the stage and talk to the students on the streets. Students then told them to sit down on the road, they refused. Mantashe was also refused an opportunity to address the crowd.
“ANC must fall,” were the chants that met the sunset from the mouths of the children and grandchildren of the struggle that put the party in power.

Tag: University of Johannesburg

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Where The Medium’s The Topic And The Topic is Topical

Must We Look At Them And Smile?