OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development
Open-access peer-reviewed journal
https://doi.org/10.64211/oidaijsd190605
Alumni Engagement as a Catalyst for Strengthening Public Service: Reflections on Professionalization, 4IR, and Sustainability from a South African Dialogue
Lesedi Senamele Matlala 1*, Dominique Emmanuel Uwizeyimana 2, Tasneem Majam 3 Tshilidzi Sithomola 4, Ntwanano Mathebula 5
1,2,3, 4,5 School of Public Management, Governance and Public Policy (SPMGPP), University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
*Corresponding authour: lmatlala@uj.ac.za
Volume 19, Issue 06, Pg. 67-78, 2026.
Abstract: As South Africa faces urgent demands for ethical, professional, and future-oriented public service, universities are reimagining their role in shaping responsive governance ecosystems. Alumni engagement has become a strategic avenue for higher education institutions to bridge academic knowledge with real-world practice. This article explores the significance of alumni engagement for strengthening public service professionalism, innovation, and impact, drawing insights from the 2025 Alumni Dialogue Series hosted by the School of Public Management, Governance and Public Policy (SPMGPP) at the University of Johannesburg as part of its 20th Anniversary commemorations. The event brought together alumni, students, scholars, and public sector leaders to reflect on the evolving demands of governance and the university’s role in addressing them. Using qualitative methods—including embedded observation, livestream content review, and social media analysis—the study examined the deliberations across three core panels: professionalisation of the public sector; public management in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR); and sustainability and governance impact. Two additional themes, outcomes and lessons learned, and cross-cutting challenges, emerged inductively during post-event reflection and thematic analysis. Findings highlight that alumni are more than institutional ambassadors; they are active public actors who offer grounded insights and critical feedback loops for curricular reform, research relevance, and practice-informed teaching. Their experiences revealed persistent gaps in digital readiness, ethical leadership, and institutional responsiveness, while also proposing forward-thinking strategies such as systems integration, digital capacity-building, and alumni mentorship models. The article concludes that alumni engagement must move beyond symbolic gestures toward structured, reciprocal partnerships that position alumni as co-creators of public value. In doing so, institutions like SPMGPP can embed real-time learning into their academic offerings and governance interventions. The study offers a replicable engagement model for other schools of public policy and administration across Africa, contributing to the scholarship on alumni-university-government collaboration.
Keywords: Alumni engagement; Professionalism; collaboration; Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR); University of Johannesburg.
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