Meet the Team
Pillar Seven is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and functions as an integral part of the University, embedding and sharing UWC’s deep culture, values and principles of quality.Supported by the University’s operational and academic structures, the Pillar Seven team is a diverse group of individuals comprising experts in their fields with the single objective being to ensure the platform not only provides the highest-quality and most relevant courses, but also facilitates a comfortable and seamless learning experience.
The team’s priority is to ensure you have a dynamic and professional experience throughout your learning journey with Pillar Seven – from your very first search, to the day you are issued your certificate.
Professor Vivienne Lawack is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic at UWC and the driving force behind Pillar Seven. In addition to being a professor of law in the Department of Mercantile and Labour Law at UWC’s Faculty of Law, she also serves on a number of boards and councils, including as the chair of the Moravian Church Trust and a member both the South African Judicial Education Institute Council and the Kepler Institute Board and Kepler College Board (Rwanda).
These posts, amongst others, along with her qualifications in law – a BJuris (cum laude), an LLB (cum laude) and an LLM from Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, and an LLD from the University of South Africa – and her extensive publishing career has proven invaluable to both the University as well as the establishment and strategic leadership of Pillar Seven, where her expertise continues to add value to the UWC community and beyond.
Associate Professor James Njenga is the acting Director of Pillar 7, where he oversees and guides the development and implementation of the Flexible Online Learning and Teaching (FLTP) policy and the Continuing Education (CE) policy. This includes the accreditation and approval of online and short courses, designing and managing the business processes for programme and course delivery. He is also overseeing the implementation of information systems to manage these processes.
Prof James Njenga has held various positions at the University, amongst others, Head of the Department of Information Systems, Project Manager of the South African Finnish Partnership (SAFIPA-UWC), and Instructional designer with the eLearning Unit. Besides, he is a member of several institutional and faculty committees.
Prof James Njenga holds a PhD in Information Systems and a Master of Commerce in Information Systems from UWC, a Master of Business Administration from Stellenbosch, and a Bachelor of Sciences (Hons) from Nairobi.
Miss Bronwyn Richards is the departmental administrator for Continuing Education (CE) programmes who holds a BCom and BCom Honours in Management from UWC.
Richards’ duties and responsibilities in managing the transition during the student life cycle as well as her work alongside Prof Kobus Visser, previously the Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, in managing the University’s flexible online programmes have prepared her well for her role at Pillar Seven, where she will continue to oversee the management of student registration and communications.
Miss Freda Daniels is a Senior Lecturer and Continuing Education Specialist in the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic at UWC. She holds an M.Phil in Education (cum laude) and has published numerous papers and academic chapters in books on the critical analysis of continuing professional development.
Daniels’ background has and continues to be integral to the ongoing development of Pillar Seven’s offering. This includes her background in policy and quality management for CE, curriculum design and pedagogic support, as well as her time serving on the 2014-2015 SAQA Reference Group for Continuing Education, the 2015-2016 Council for Higher Education Task Team on Continuing Education, the 2016 CHE Policy Reference Group for the Development of the Good Practice Guidelines for Continuing Education and her current role as Director on the Board of House Horizon, an institution for cognitively challenged adults.
