Prof Graham who is from Scottish descent, wore his traditional Scottish kilt to the event held in the Rembrandt Hall at the Sport Grounds of the University of Pretoria.

The PGCHE qualification requires the completion of nine modules, two of which are electives. This requires individual and group work and a great deal of time and commitment. The programme is practically based and requires reflection on your own teaching and learning practice and “definitely not for those who just want to read books and complete assignments”, Prof Duncan said.

Because Prof Duncan is a teacher by profession, he wanted to be appropriately qualified for the work he does. “University teaching is a profession. We are given training in research but no one prepares us for teaching. It is assumed that an academic is also a good communicator. Ask our students if they agree”, Prof Duncan commented.

For Prof Duncan the PGCHE programme has a significant reflective component built in and this gave him the opportunity to assess my teaching which he did not want to become boring to his students. “Once I discerned the problem, I took measures to change the situation! It also brought me up to date with recent developments in educational thinking”, he made it clear.

Prof Graham Duncan sees himself as a bit of a hybrid, never having thought of an academic career. He was a missionary who was sent into theological education by his church. He taught at the Federal Theological Seminary for a number of years and then returned to Scotland where he was a parish minister for ten years before being recalled by the church to assist with Theological Education at the University of Fort Hare. He did his Master’s and Doctoral degrees at UNISA after which he was appointed in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria. For more photos click here