The Transition To Remote Teaching And Learning For Engineering Students At A Higher Learning Institution, Kwazulu-Natal Province

After the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic globally, with its devastating social and economic impact and implications. The transition to blended learning as opposed to the only face-to-face pivot was a reality and a norm. The higher education sector was also not spurred into the adoption of blended and remote teaching and learning was an existential reality. This sudden and accelerated shift to remote online learning could now be attributed as the major feature within the higher learning community of practice in South Africa by the Department of Higher Education and Training as Remote Teaching and Learning (RTL). Using a qualitative research methodology, the study is exploring and evaluating its impact and implications within the engineering program and curriculum delivery with RTL at its core. Fifteen participants utilised unstructured, open-ended, online interviews. The key study findings illuminated both the internal and external factors that have impacted the learners' transition to the RTL and discovered that with a dedicated and bespoke digital-oriented problem solution and decision making, the challenges and constraints could be managed and contingencies implemented. Additionally, the resources and capabilities within the contingency-oriented execution could mitigate some complex socio-economic challenges for the prosperous benefit of the learners who are the future ambassadors of any society.