Certificate in Governance, Policy and Regulation for the Digital Era (GPRDE)

This course offers participants the opportunity for professional knowledge development necessary to engage with the full range of policy and regulation matters relevant in African contexts.?

Course overview

The LINK Centre's certificated short course in Governance, Policy and Regulation for the Digital Era (GPRDE) presents participants with the opportunity for professional knowledge development, necessary to engage with the full range of policy and regulation matters, currently relevant in African contexts. Previously called “TPRM”, the course is designed to think through the constantly evolving issues and concerns inherent in digital deployment on the African continent. Changes are driven by rapidly growing demand for digital content and services, and therefore for fast broadband access, and by the looming shift to AI-enabled life. A paradigm shift in policy and regulation is taking place to promote digitally- and AI-enabled African economies.

It is organised into three modules: 

• Module 1: Digital technologies and the evolution of African markets for digital infrastructure and services
• Module 2: Global trends in governance, policy and regulation for the digital era
• Module 3: Policy, law and regulation for the African electronic communications and the digital services ecosystem

Who should attend?

• Decision-makers, professionals and researchers from all sectors, including regulatory professionals and those working in regulated entities
• Individuals in government policy departments, national and regional regulatory authorities, and regulatory departments of telecoms sector operators
• Lawyers, consultants, journalists, union officials, and NGOs who have an interest in regulation in the digital domain

Aims of the short course

• explore the intersections between emerging technologies, policy and regulation
• understand the changes in the nature of the regulatory landscape, in the context of the transition to digital economies and smart environments
• identify the regulatory issues relevant to policy and regulatory authorities and organisations in the broad digital communications sector
• focus on specific features of telecoms, broadcast/audio-visual media, postal sector and cybersecurity regulation
• share knowledge about the nature of policy and regulation from an African and global perspective
• critically analyse ideas pertaining to digital innovation, digital transformation, competition and regulatory innovation
• prepare annotated bibliographies as the foundation for the extensive reading required for regulatory research

Certification
A certificate of competence in Governance, Policy and Regulation for the Digital Era (GPRDE) is awarded to candidates who attend and participate in all three modules of the course and who successfully complete the required individual and group assessments.

Note regarding course NQF level: According to the requirements of the South African Council on Higher Education (CHE), short courses are not accredited at National Qualifications Framework (NQF) levels, only degree programmes are assigned NQF levels. However, the LINK Centre aligns each of its courses to a particular NQF level, as a means to guide the participants’ understanding of the course level of difficulty and level of assessment, in this case NQF level 7.

Course Content

Module 1: Digital technologies and the evolution of African markets for digital infrastructure and services

• Governance in a digital/AI-age: Contours and anatomy of a digital world
• Framing the digital innovation cycle and its effects
• Evolution of mobile broadband technologies: From 1G to 5G and now 6G
• Future-oriented spectrum management: Economic goals and technological needs
• Technology transition to smart environments: high-speed Internet, Internet of Things (IoT), data-driven digital transformation, AI-enabled economies
• Digital transitions in broadcast and postal services markets, in manufacturing and services
• Mobile financial services – the foundation for fintech in developing countries
• Digital technologies and markets enabling the digital economy
• Cloud computing, platforms and cybersecurity

Module 2: Global trends in governance, policy and regulation for the digital era

• Governance implications for globalised digital socio-economic transformation
• Governance implications for digital government and transitions to digital economies in Africa
• Market structures and regulatory reform: Economic characteristics of network industries
• Global trends in regulatory reform: The dynamic interactions across competition, regulation and innovation
• Emerging areas for regulatory practice: AI-tech, cybersecurity, data protection, other
• Global and regional regulatory institutions and competition authorities
• Digitally-driven socio-economic development: Contemporary issues and initiatives
• Next generation universal access and service and the increasing digital divide
• Managing regulatory institutions: Strategy, structure, governance and performance

Module 3: Policy, law and regulation for the African electronic communications and the digital services ecosystem

• Strategies for the digital economy in Africa (African Continental Free Trade Area, AUDA-NEPAD case studies)
• Constitutional and legal frameworks for a digital economy (selected African countries)
• Policy, law and regulation for telecoms markets: Focus on competition and innovation
• Frameworks for cyber law and regulation for digital industries and digital media
• Regulating big tech platforms
• Cybercrime law, data protection law and regulation (selected African countries): EU GDPR, AU Convention on Cybersecurity and Data Protection, SADC Framework, SADC Model Law on Cybersecurity
• Ethical endgame visualisation

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Explore the intersections between emerging technologies, policy and regulation
  

Course Convenor

Associate Professor Ntsibane Ntlatlapa, LINK Centre,

ntsibane.ntlatlapa@wits.ac.za, cc: nokhanyo.yolwa@wits.ac.za 

Course Administrator

Nokhanyo Yolwa, Short Course and Degree Coordinator, LINK Centre, 

nokhanyo.yolwa@wits.ac.za,  tel: +27-71-939-8867

To apply for registration in the 2024 offering of this course, please complete and submit this online form.