The Division Community Development was established in 1995. The need for such a division arose from the University’s continual activities in developing the historically disadvantaged areas. The vision and mission of the previous Rand Afrikaans University emphasized the importance of knowledge and research in and on less developed areas in order to promote the opportunities and possibilities of the entire community. The Division continued with this mission in hand after the merging of the Rand Afrikaans University and the Technikon Witwatersrand to form the University of Johannesburg in 2005, after which the division was renamed to the Division: Community Engagement.
The promotion of possibilities in society is implemented by members of the University in a professional manner and with empathy, taking into account the circumstances of the less privileged members of our society. The Division: Community Engagement has in the past 11 years striven to implement its vision with dedicated, purposeful actions, and has undertaken various projects with great success and has even successfully concluded some others. It is the objective of the University to embed community engagement within the University’s core business of teaching, learning and research, adding to the value of the learning experience of the student and thus contribute to the notion of Public Scholarship.
Our Mission:
The Division Community Services strives to serve as a source of solutions to social issues, to assist in poverty alleviation and to enhance the quality of life in communities through the application of knowledge, research and the facilitation of University resources.
Our Vision:
To take national and international action in human development and to act as a source of solutions to development problems through being an integral part of the University’s core business of teaching/learning, research and community engagement.
We strive to achieve these goals through:
- Strategic Partnerships
- Inter-University Collaborations
- Inter-Faculty Collaborations
- Sound Community Relations
- Government and City partnerships
- and any other resources available to the University