Foreword by Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Tawana Kupe Re-imaginingTeaching and Learning Foreword by Vice Principal: Academic Prof Norman Duncan

The COVID-19 pandemic was a shock to me and all of the University community. It tore asunder the things that hold the community together. Specifically, it struck at the heart of how we operate in face-to-face interactions in both formal and informal settings on the various campuses and across the University. The uncertainty of when a semblance of normality would return caused considerable ongoing anxiety and mental stress. It took time with counselling and multiple forms of peer support for the community to operate in the new mode through online interactions.

In particular, the University of Pretoria has wellthought-out teaching and learning strategies and plans that continually evolve in ways that enable it to offer quality teaching. This dynamic approach was, in part, why we were relatively successful in navigating emergency remote teaching and learning when the pandemic struck. The strategies are forward-looking, concerning the ways in which digital educational technologies enable more interactive forms of teaching and learning as well as blended or hybrid modes. Without this future-focused and oriented posture, our students and staff would have had their resilience tested beyond endurable limits.

Stories by lecturers and staff in the review show their creativity and determination but, above all, their concern for the students. I think what struck me in reading many of the stories was how lecturers adapted their practical work using ingenuity as well as technology. What I see in the clickUP data is that lecturers often spent more time on the LMS than their students, spending hundreds of hours to ensure student engagement and learning. These reactions are commendable and position us for interesting journeys in re-imagining teaching and learning for transformative futures.

April 2021