Head: Academic
Qualifications
Research interests
Biography
Carmen Gunkel is committed to creating inclusive and innovative learning experiences that respond to the needs of diverse learners. She holds an Honours degree in Information Design from the University of Pretoria, a certificate in Client Relationship Management from UNISA, a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education from The Independent Institute of Education, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Instructional Design from Emeris (Vega). These qualifications inform her approach to curriculum development and learning experience design.
Her research focuses on knowledge construction for South African diverse learners, with an emphasis on equity, authenticity, and accessibility in education. Carmen views education as a dynamic system where content, context, and human experience intersect. She strives to design learning environments that are empathetic, inclusive, and transformative, ensuring that teaching transcends socio-economic barriers and fosters growth. Her work is grounded in understanding the complexity of students’ social, cultural, and contextual realities, aiming to make learning relevant and meaningful.
Carmen has contributed to the academic and design community as a judge for national design awards and as a conference chair for the Design Education Forum of South Africa. She values collaboration and continuous learning as essential to framing education as a human-centered endeavour.
Head: Academic
Qualifications
Research interests
Biography
Carmen Gunkel is committed to creating inclusive and innovative learning experiences that respond to the needs of diverse learners. She holds an Honours degree in Information Design from the University of Pretoria, a certificate in Client Relationship Management from UNISA, a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education from The Independent Institute of Education, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Instructional Design from Emeris (Vega). These qualifications inform her approach to curriculum development and learning experience design.
Her research focuses on knowledge construction for South African diverse learners, with an emphasis on equity, authenticity, and accessibility in education. Carmen views education as a dynamic system where content, context, and human experience intersect. She strives to design learning environments that are empathetic, inclusive, and transformative, ensuring that teaching transcends socio-economic barriers and fosters growth. Her work is grounded in understanding the complexity of students’ social, cultural, and contextual realities, aiming to make learning relevant and meaningful.
Carmen has contributed to the academic and design community as a judge for national design awards and as a conference chair for the Design Education Forum of South Africa. She values collaboration and continuous learning as essential to framing education as a human-centered endeavour.
An educational brand of The Independent Institute of Education
Formed by the strategic evolution of The IIE's Varsity College, IIE MSA, Vega and
the School of Hospitality and Service Management, uniting under the Emeris name.
Emeris is an educational brand of The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd which is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training as a private higher education institution under the Higher Education Act, 1997 (reg. no. 2007/HE07/002). Company registration number: 1987/004754/07. View certificate here.
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