The future of higher education is being shaped at the intersection of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital transformation and human leadership – and the North-West University (NWU) is making its voice heard at the centre of that conversation.

As universities grapple with unprecedented technological change, two senior NWU leaders are contributing to efforts to ensure that those leading this transformation are equipped for the challenges ahead.

Andiswa Msi, campus chief director of the NWU Vanderbijlpark Campus, and Thato Lehutso, IT Service Delivery director of the NWU, are serving as faculty members at the Higher Education Information Technology South Africa (HEITSA) Annual Leadership Institute (ALI) in Cape Town.

The intensive leadership programme brings together managers and emerging leaders from across the higher-education technology sector, challenging participants to move beyond technical expertise and develop the ability to lead people, manage change, influence strategy, make complex decisions and drive meaningful institutional transformation.

For Msi, serving as a faculty member represents a significant milestone in her leadership journey.
“It allows me not only to share my own leadership experience, but also to contribute to the development of managers who are leading in an increasingly complex higher-education technology environment,” she said.

Msi is facilitating sessions on effective teams and ethical considerations, while Lehutso is facilitating emotional intelligence and leading for performance. Their areas of contribution highlight a critical reality facing universities: technology transformation is not simply about implementing new systems. It is about people.

For Lehutso, emotional intelligence is central to this process.

“Every leadership decision is influenced by emotion before it is justified by reason. The emotionally intelligent leader is not the one who ignores emotions, but the one who understands them well enough to lead wisely,” he said.

Rapid technological change is forcing universities to rethink leadership in the digital age. Artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital learning and data are transforming how institutions operate, requiring technology leaders to become strategic thinkers, change agents, people leaders and ethical decision-makers.

For Msi, successful transformation depends on taking people along the journey through trust, sound judgement and a shared sense of purpose.

The participation of two NWU leaders also highlights the contribution of the university to shaping higher-education technology leadership while creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing, collaboration and innovation.