With dynamic and specialist instructors from UJ's Department of Philosophy and the Centre for Data Ethics (part of the Institute for Intelligent Systems (IIS)), this short learning programme will help you navigate ethical considerations in artificial intelligence with a particular focus on the use of LLMs in research, education and industry.

The SLP equips professionals with applied competencies to detect, investigate, and prevent food contamination and fraud using forensic and analytical techniques. The programme strengthens public health protection by integrating food safety science, regulatory compliance, risk assessment, and outbreak investigation. Through simulated case scenarios and real-world applications, participants develop scarce, in-demand skills essential for safeguarding food systems in South Africa and beyond.

The SLP in Political Economy: African Debt & Economic Justice is designed to equip participants with a rigorous, interdisciplinary understanding of the political economy of debt and its implications for development, inequality, and sustainability in Africa. The programme aims to strengthen participants’ analytical, interpretive, and applied capacities to engage critically with debt governance, financialisation, and economic justice from historical, institutional, and comparative perspectives. By equipping participants with conceptual frameworks and practical tools for policy analysis, advocacy, and public engagement.

The SLP is targeted at graduates with an NQF 7 qualification in fields such as Sociology, Politics, or International Relations, or an equivalent. The SLP seeks to bridge theory and practice. The programme emphasises the integration of political economy, political ecology, and feminist economic perspectives to support informed and ethical interventions in complex socio-economic contexts.

The Short Learning Programme (SLP) in Sociological Perspectives on Social Impact and Environmental Assessments is designed to provide students with advanced knowledge and critical skills in analysing legal, ethical, and policy frameworks; designing inclusive stakeholder engagement strategies; understanding data collection methods; and critiquing assessment reports and mitigation plans within the South African context. The programme targets graduates with an NQF 7 qualification or equivalent in a relevant field, as well as working professionals in government, consulting, NGOs, and industry, who seek to deepen their competence in the integrated practice of social and environmental impact assessments. Responding to the growing demand for practitioners capable of promoting social justice, equity, and sustainability in development, this SLP prepares participants for career advancement, enhanced professional practice, and further study in the fields of impact assessment, policy analysis, and sustainable development.

 The Data Science Across Disciplines Research Group from the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment is pleased to offer a short learning programme on Data Science in Practice. Tools associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution – such as Data Analysis, Machine Learning Modelling and Data Visualisation – are becoming increasingly critical in industry, making it imperative that staff upskill in the area of Data Science as a whole. The purpose of this programme is to provide professionals, from diverse backgrounds, with a solid knowledge base in the field of Data Science as required when tackling problems across social, economic and technical fields. This programme is ideal for early career professionals in need of upskilling to become Data Scientists as it offers the necessary theoretical knowledge and practical experience.

The purpose of the SLP Accounting Aspects is to introduce Accounting Aspects and the business process. In doing so the module consists of theory and practical components concentrating on the identification process to understand the theory of accounting and introduction to the financial statements within Artificial Intelligence components. This module further provides the student with understanding and insights into 4IR in accounting and its processes.