Prof Jako Olivier’s passion and research focus are multimodal learning and multilingualism, and this was also the topic of his recent inaugural address.

Prof Olivier is currently a professor in multimodal learning in the School of Professional Studies in Education at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Education.

He obtained his PhD in 2011 at the NWU, in which he researched the accommodation and promotion of multilingualism in schools by means of blended and e-learning.

He also completed a BA, a BAHons (cum laude), an MA (cum laude) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education at the NWU.

Before Prof Olivier joined the university in 2010, he was involved in teaching information technology and languages in schools in the United Kingdom and in South Africa.

From 2010 to 2015 he was a lecturer in Afrikaans linguistics at the School of Languages, after which he moved to the Faculty of Education as associate professor in Afrikaans for Education. He was promoted to professor in multimodal learning this year.

Prof Olivier also leads the new UNESCO Chair on Multimodal Learning and Open Educational Resources.

The title of his inaugural address was “Multimodaling and multilanguaging: charting student (open) access and (communal) success through multiliteracies”.

 Prof Jako Olivier’s inaugural address focused on multimodal