By Siviwe Mxuma

In a recent gathering at Rhodes University, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Student and Academic Affairs, Professor 'Mabokang Monnapula-Mapesela, set the stage for an evening dedicated to celebrating community engagement. She emphasised the significance of the Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Community Engagement Award, an accolade honouring impactful collaborations between the university and its surrounding communities in education and research. “The Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Community Engagement Award is a prestigious and competitive Annual Award that recognises meaningful and committed partnerships between the members of the university and community partners in the areas of teaching, learning, and research, where human and material resources of the university have been combined with assets found in the local communities”.

The DVC highlighted, “At Rhodes University, we take great pride in our commitment to community engagement. We have become a leading engaged university with several internationally renowned engaged research programs and meaningful community-engaged learning partnerships”.

Dr Jessica Cockburn, recipient of the 2023 Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Community Engagement Award, stood at the heart of the event. The lecture is titled Engaged Research and Teaching for the Public Good: The Interconnection of Head, Heart, and Hands. With a fusion of research, teaching, and community involvement, Dr Cockburn’s work epitomises the essence of transdisciplinary collaboration and societal engagement.

During her award lecture, Dr Cockburn radiated with gratitude, acknowledging her mother, who was part of the audience. She reminisced about her early days, when she was dropped off at Atherstone House 20 years ago, and how things have changed.

Dr Cockburn’s award lecture was not merely a recitation of achievements but a profound reflection on her praxis as a ‘pracademic’—a practitioner and academic intertwined. With themes of respect, warmth, fun, mud, engagement, and togetherness, she illustrated the humanitarian imperative underlying her endeavours.

Central to her lecture was the Tsitsa Project, a six-year endeavour rooted in the Northeast Cape. The Tsitsa project began around 2014. It was a sustainable land management initiative initially designed and initiated to reduce land erosion because there were plans to build a large dam. It quickly became apparent that the project needed to look at sustainable landscape management to benefit residents of the catchment. Initially conceived as a sustainable land management initiative, the project evolved into a holistic endeavour addressing the needs of residents and other relevant stakeholders. Dr Cockburn’s and the project team’s immersion in the community, including a shift to communicating primarily in isiXhosa to facilitate effective communication, underscored their dedication to fostering genuine engagement.

Championing the integration of research, teaching, and community involvement, Dr Cockburn challenged the conventional notion of societal engagement as a supplementary pillar. She said, “I see societal engagement as the foundation for my work as a researcher and teacher, especially in our discipline of environmental science. One can’t do real good environmental science in a disengaged way.”

Drawing upon her experiences of wading through rivers choked with waste and pollution, Dr Cockburn emphasised the necessity of reflective practice in driving impactful change. She shared how valuable reflection was to help students grapple with the emotions that come up when facing the sustainability and social justice challenges of our town. She urged fellow academics and students to embrace reflective practice as a lifeblood that keeps moving and keeps things connected, particularly amidst society's multifaceted challenges. But she also noted how important it was for us to do ‘good enough’ work, to focus on ones chosen task, and not become overwhelmed by these challenges.

In conclusion, Dr Jessica Cockburn’s journey exemplifies the transformative potential of community-engaged scholarship. Through her tireless efforts and careful relationship-building, she advances environmental science and fosters resilience, hope, and collective action in the face of adversity. As we navigate the complexities of our world, her work serves as a guiding light, illuminating the path towards a more sustainable and inclusive future.