The Faculty of Education at the North-West University (NWU) officially launched the Centre for Higher Education Professional Development (CHEPD) on 20 October 2023 at the Roots, Potchefstroom. The centre has been established to professionalise academics as higher education teachers and advance teaching excellence in a rapidly transforming higher education environment. 

Speaking at the launch, CHEPD director and NRF-rated researcher Prof Emmanuel Mgqwashu highlighted the centre's focus on developing responsive higher education teachers. He noted that CHEPD will oversee the development and offering of accredited formal and structured academic programmes that complement the continuous professional development (CPD) opportunities provided by the NWU Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL).

Prof Willie van Vollenhoven, Chief Director of the CTL, described CHEPD as a complementary centre that will strengthen collaboration between the CTL and the Faculty of Education. He said the centre will support NWU academics in responding to the demands of a decolonising and transforming 21st-century higher education landscape.

The launch marks an important milestone in advancing professional development, scholarship and teaching quality, reinforcing NWU's commitment to excellence in higher education.