Prof. RH du Pré
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic: Vaal University of Technology & President of Southern African Society for Co-operative Education

I have great pleasure in inviting you to attend the Southern African Society for Co-operative Education Conference on Work Integrated Learning Skills Development and Quality Assurance to be held in April 2006 in Vanderbijlpark, South Africa.

The South African Conference will provide an excellent opportunity for WIL practitioners to discuss the quality assurance process and other matters crucial to the development, implementation and success of work-integrated learning. If you are an educator, a work integrated practitioner, researcher, administrator or employer with an interest in the quality assurance process as it relates to work-integrated learning, you will find this a valuable and informative conference.

This conference will focus on the issue of work integrated learning within a Higher Education degree programme and the application of the quality assurance process to WIL as part of such a programme. There will also be a chance to meet colleagues from other regions and to discuss in-depth, but very important aspects of quality assurance, assessment, mentoring, moderation, placement, and all those aspects associated with work-integrated learning within a Higher Education context.

April is just towards the end of summer and on the threshold of autumn in South Africa and is a wonderful time to visit and explore the surrounding areas in the Gauteng region, in which Johannesburg, Pretoria and Vanderbijlpark are located; but also the game parks and wildlife which can be found within a radius of 30 minutes to 4 hours from Johannesburg. There are of course also parts of South Africa, like Durban on the East Coast, Port Elizabeth in the South-East, and of course Cape Town in the South-West, which is renowned as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. We are sure that your visit to South Africa and your participation in such a conference will enrich you as well as those who are attending the conference.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

If you have an interest or work in the following areas, you will find this event of interest:

• Education
• Research
• Administration
• Are an employer or policy maker
• Quality assurance