Abstract:

Before taking the sabbatical, I realised that there were existing related projects within the division that I am heading, which were operating in silos. Therefore, my sabbatical leave and the study visit focused on how the existing projects in the Teaching and Learning division, which operate in silos, could be consolidated for synergy and efficiency purpose. For the motive of consolidating the projects in question, the following four (4) projects constitute the body of this paper, namely: Online programmes; Digital education (Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality); Digital learning technologies in the classroom for promotion of excellence and transformation in Education; and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL).

This study, which is based on my study visit during my sabbatical, examined experiences of our partner institutions on the projects that our institutions are embarking on within the Teaching and Learning division. The aim was to consolidate them at our institution for the purpose of maximising synergy and efficiency. To this end, focus group interviews were used to collect data among purposefully selected group of participants from six different international partner institutions and one national partner institution. Overarching themes related to participants' interpretations of the projects from the focus group interviews was used to analyse data. The findings from qualitative data revealed that although the four different projects are proceeding well, but there are still some reported challenges with regards to the implementation of each project. Recommendations for our institution on how to mitigate similar challenges were made. Emanating from the findings of this study, a model for consolidation of the existing interwoven projects in the Teaching and Learning division to maximise their synergy and efficiency, and to enhance technological innovation has been proposed.

Keywords:

Sabbatical, online programmes, technological innovation, digital education, virtual reality, augmented reality, digital learning technologies, Collaborative Online International Learning.