The need to develop the next generation of academics to replace the aging professorate in South Africa has been on the agenda of the departments of higher education and training for some time, gaining momentum in recent years. The Higher Education South Africa (HESA)'s Publication on the National Programme to Develop the Next Generation of Academics for South African Higher Education (2011) paints a dire situation for the higher education industry with regards to the attraction and retention of academic staff. Key challenges identified in the report include the aging profile of academics, poor remuneration of academics, the current postgraduate pipeline and expansion of the higher education sector. Using the Communities of Practice (CoPs) theoretical framework, this paper unpacks an initiative by a professor at a South African university to develop research capacity among emerging academics through a collaborative mentorship programme with five emerging academics. The major findings of the study include, among other things, development of the mentees identity as both academics and researchers, a boost in the mentees research profiles and the development of a community of practice. The study recommends that supervisors and promoters should be supported financially by historically disadvantaged institutions or the National Research Foundation to mentor and nurture emerging academics from historically disadvantaged backgrounds and that such mentorship initiatives be formalised and incentivised as a token of appreciation for both mentors and mentees.
Youth Resilience to Drought: Learning from a Group of South African Adolescents