Building Capability for Impact: The Master's in Development Practice at the University of Pretoria

Abstract

Abstract To effectively address the grand challenges facing humanity, as highlighted in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), society needs to harness talents, realise human potential and build capabilities in people and systems to navigate the associated complexities. In contributing to SDG 4, universities play a critical role in building impactful capabilities at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as well as through their core functions of teaching, learning, research and public engagement. ‘Impact’ in this context refers to meeting the needs of diverse students and those of local, regional and global communities. In a changing world with changing societal expectations, the pursuit of relevance is also likely to them more competitive and attractive to students. The Global Association of Master’s in Development Practice (MDP) provides an important avenue for illustrating how universities can contribute to achieving SDG 4. This is hinged primarily on building young professionals’ capacity to address the challenges articulated in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this chapter, the development of an MDP degree programme at the University of Pretoria (UP) – within the ambit of its membership to the Global Association of MDP – is used as a case study to illustrate how this explicitly multidisciplinary programme can support the development of leadership capabilities that are needed to achieve the SDGs. The chapter includes theoretical perspectives as well reflections from a student and a supervisor who participated in the programme.