DELEGATION VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA PROSPECTIVE AFRICAN-GERMAN CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT FOOD SYSTEMS AND APPLIED AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD DATA SCIENCE UNDER THE LEAD OF THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FOOD & AGRICULTURE & THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND RESEARCH ORGANIZED BY THE GERMAN ACADEMIC EXCHANGE SERVICE (DAAD) DELEGATION VISIT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE (UWC) PROGRAMME AND PROFILES OF UWC PARTICIPANTS 7 SEPTEMBER 2022
13:35-14:30
Welcoming by Rector and Chancellor UWC Prof. Tyrone Pretorius
13:30-13:35
• Keshia Lauren Anne Hoaeane (PhD student at NRF-CoE FS) (6 minutes presentation)
12:45-13:15
Introduction of participants, overview of schedule
Short wrap-up, possible questions and transfer to the last section
Lunch 13:15-13:30
• Prof. José Frantz (DVC Research and Innovation)
• Mr Tristan Gorgens (Office of the Premier Western Cape Government) (6 minutes presentation)
• Mr. Larry Pokpas (Institutional Planner and Executive UWC, moderating)
• Ms Marcela Guerrero Casas (Western Cape Economic Development Partnership Programme) (6 minutes presentation)
• Dr Frederic Isingizwe (FSNet-Africa fellow, data-scientist) (6 minutes presentation)
15:15-16:15
14:30-15:15
• Mr Colin January (Breede Valley Municipality) (6 Minutes presentation)
Further participants in the room:
Christoph Hansert: Presentation of the concept of the prospective centre (10 minutes)
Programme
• Prof. Amiena Bayat (Food Systems Research Network for Africa (FSNet-Africa) fellow, Institute for Social Development) (10 minutes)
• Mr Ashley Uys (Founder and Director of Medical Diagnostech) (6 minutes presentation)
• Prof. Julian May (NRF-CoE in Food Security, DAAD CoE CDR) (10 minutes)
• Mr. Umesh Bawa (Director International Relations)
Optional photo shoot downstairs on the way to the bus, Farewell
Presentation of UWC in the related fields:
Transfer and Alumni Talks, participants join virtually for the 45 minutes:
Followed by a short wrap-up and transfer to the next session
16:15-16:20
*Venue: The Rector’s Board Room in the UWC Administration Building, the delegation bus will be escorted from the gate.
• Prof. Ndiko Ludidi and Prof. Ashwil Klein (Plant Science/Biotechnology, Boschendal initiative) (10 minutes)
• Prof. Burtram Fielding (Dean Science Faculty)
Discussion, exchange of ideas, Q&A session about content- and structure-related elements of the prospective African-German Centre for Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems and Applied Agricultural and Food Data Science Participants in the room only
The University of the Western Cape (UWC) was founded in 1960 and occupies a unique space in the South African higher education landscape. It is a dynamic institution committed to excellence in learning, teaching, research and innovation in a globally competitive environment whilst remaining true to the values and ethos that have shaped its identity. Among academic institutions it has been at the forefront of South Africa’s historic transformation, playing a leading and unique academic role in helping to build an equitable and dynamic nation. UWC’s key concerns with access, equity and quality in higher education arise from extensive practical engagement in helping the historically marginalised participate fully in the South African society. The University continues to enable its students, staff, and partners to advance its mission of serving the greater public good and looking for humane and long-lasting solutions to the problems of our time. The University is firmly rooted in its local and sub-regional context and inspired by its distinctive academic role in constructing a more equitable and dynamic society. High academic standards, intellectual rigor, and fruitful collaborations and networks across disciplinary and geographical barriers are used to achieve this.
Overview of the University of the Western Cape
Professor Tyrone Brian Pretorius is the 7th Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape (UWC).Hiscareer history reflects extensive leadership experience in higher education. At UWC he moved through the ranks from being an Academic Assistant, to being appointed as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, Professor, Head of Department, Senior Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences. In 2001 he was appointed as Deputy Academic, a position which he held until 2005.
Vice-Chancellor:
Re-Imagining Resilient Food Systems in the Post-COVID-19 Era in Africa. Sustainability, 13(19), 10752.
Professor Ndiko Ludidi is a Deputy Dean of Research and former head of the Department of Biotechnology at the University of the Western Cape. He is an established researcher with expertise in plant molecular biology, plant physiology and biochemistry. He serves as a member of the Management Committee of the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security, where he is Principal Investigator in the Technological Innovation programme for the ClimateSmart Regenerative Agriculture project. He has significant university-level teaching experience in biochemistry, plant biotechnology and plant physiology, and has published extensively in these fields. He is also the group leader of the Plant Biotechnology Research Group (PBRG).
Prof. Tyrone Brian Pretorius Rector Vice-Chancellorand Prof. LudidiNdiko Deputy Dean of Research
Recent publication: May, J., & Mentz-Coetzee, M. (2021).
Recent publication: Aloui, M., Mahjoub, A., Cheikh, N. B., Ludidi, N., Abdelly, C., & Badri, M. (2022). Genetic Variation in Responses to Salt Stress in Tunisian Populations of Medicago ciliaris. Agronomy 2022, 12, 1781.
Professor Ashwil Klein is Associate Professor and head of the Proteomics Unit in the Department of Biotechnology at the University of the Western Cape. His research focus is towards understanding how best to control crop diseases by investigating plant-pathogen interactions under normal and abiotic stress conditions to improve food safety and security. He is head of the National Agricultural Proteomics Research and Service Unit (NAPRSU) and a visiting Professor at the University of the Missouri with an active collaboration with Professor Walter Gassmann from the Interdisciplinary Plant Group (IPG). His primary and collaborative research projects are funded by NRF, GrainSA and HortGro.
Julian May is the Director of the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security (NRF-CoE in Food Security), director of the Institute for Social Development at UWC and holds the UNESCO Chair in African Food Systems. Previously he was steering board member of the DAAD Centre of Excellence South African-German Centre for Development Research (DAAD CoE CDR). He is an economist and has worked on options for poverty reduction including public nutrition, land reform, social grants, information technology and urban agriculture. He has served on international and national expert groups, as well as on the South African Statistics Council and the Council of the Academy of Science of South Africa. In 2022 he was appointed to the South African National Planning Commission.
Prof. Julian May Director of the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security at UWC Prof. Ashwil Klein Associate Professor and head of the Proteomics Unit in the Department of Biotechnology
Prof. Amiena Bayat Associate Professor of Economics at the Institute for FSNet-AfricaDevelopmentSocial(ISD),fellow
Mr. Larry Pokpas
Professor Amiena Bayat is an Associate Professor of Economics at the Institute for Social Development (ISD), University of the Western Cape. She has worked on many projects/research assignments that deal with the issues of local economic development, poverty alleviation, and broader socioeconomic development. She also has a keen interest in issues related to food security and food systems.
Professor Jose Frantz is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation at the University of the Western Cape. In her role as Deputy Vice-Chancellor, she is responsible for the strategic vision of research and innovation. Prior to occupying this position, she was the Dean of the Faculty of Community and Health Science at UWC (2013–2017). Her strategic interests include the promotion and advancement of research for impact through knowledge exchange and capacity-building in health professions education, as well as faculty development. She has received several prestigious scholarships and bursaries from the National Research Foundation, Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER), South African Regional FAIMER Institute (SAFRI) and the University of Western Cape. In 2017 she received the South African Association of Health Educationalists (SAAHE) Distinguished Educator Award. This annual award recognizes an individual who has either made a significant contribution in teaching or contributed to the development of scholarship in the discipline of health sciences education.
Over the past few years, she has undertaken research for the South African Presidency, United Nations Development Programme, VLIR (Flemish Interuniversity Council), National Treasury, and the European Union. She is also a Food Systems Research Network for Africa (FS NET) fellow. In addition to her qualifications in Economics, she has a postgraduate qualification in Survey Data Analysis.
Larry Pokpas holds the position as Institutional Planner and Executive Assistant to the Rector and ViceChancellor at the University of the Western Cape. In his capacity as advisor to the Vice-Chancellor he headed up a series of productive relationships and strategic partnerships with local and international partners linked to the university’s future aspiration. Mr. Pokpas is responsible for the physical planning and the coordination of the university’s anchor strategy.
Professor Burtram Fielding is Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of the Western Cape. He is a molecular biologist working mainly on human coronaviruses since 2003. He has worked as a Research Fellow in the Collaborative Antiviral Research Group at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Singapore (2003-2006) where he studied the coronavirus (SARS-CoV) responsible for the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. His decades of work on coronaviruses have cemented his status as one of the foremost experts on SARS-CoV-2 in South Africa, and the world, and he has mentored several students whose work has advanced our understanding of the COVID -19 pandemic.
Prof. José Frantz InnovationResearchVice-Chancellor:Deputyand
Recent publication: Jaiyeola, A. O., & Bayat, A. (2020).
Assessment of trends in income poverty in Nigeria from 2010–2013: An analysis based on the Nigeria General Household Survey. Journal of Poverty, 24(3), 185-202.
Vice-ChancellortoExecutivePlannerInstitutionalandAssistanttheRectorand Prof. FieldingBurtram Dean of the Science Faculty
Mr. Umesh Bawa is the Director International Relations at the University of the Western Cape. Mr. Bawa is a registered clinical psychologist and senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology at UWC. He is the former coordinator of the Masters in Psychology training programme for students in professional psychology at the University, has served as a senior team member on key community engagement research projects led by the University of South Africa’s Institute for Social and Health Sciences, and has worked in the fields of violence rehabilitation, trauma and human rights in South Africa, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Chile.
Mr. Colin January is Manager of the Department Local Economic Development of Breede Valley Municipality and manages Local Economic Development at the municipality. He also undertakes joint projects with the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security.
Mr. Tristan Gorgens is the Director: Policy, Strategy and Research, Policy and Strategy Unit, at the Department of the Premier in the Western Cape Government. His role is to lead the analysis and interpretation of provincial policies and strategies as well as manage their development and implementation. He is also undertaking joint projects with the NRF-DSI Centre of Excellence in Food Security at the University of the Western Cape.
Mr. Tristan Gorgens Director: Policy, Strategy and Research, Policy and Strategy Unit, Department of the Premier in the Western Cape Government Mr Colin January Breede MunicipalityValley
Mr. Umesh Bawa RelationsInternationalDirector Ms. GuerreroMarcelaCasas Programme lead of the Western Cape Economic PartnershipDevelopmentProgramme
Ms. Marcela Guerrero Casas is a programme lead of the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership Programme, with a focus on resilience, waste management, food security and climate change. She is a co-founder and former managing director of Open Streets Cape Town, and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Council on Mobility. She is also undertaking joint projects in the field of food security with the NRF-DSI Centre of Excellence in Food Security at the University of the Western Cape.
Dr. Frederic Isingizwe is a data-intensive research specialist with the eResearch Office, DVC Research and Innovation. He holds higher education qualifications in Physics, Mathematical Sciences and Electronic Engineering and a PhD in Electronics from Stellenbosch University. His research focuses on developing and using sensing devices and applying chemometric methods to determine the quality of fresh agri-food products, which enables efficient grading and sorting of horticultural fresh products. The aim of applying these techniques is improved food quality, nutrition, safety, and availability. His research interests extend to the use of advanced computational and data modelling techniques, including machine learning, to improve postharvest processes, reduce food losses along the agri-food chain, and achieve sustainable food systems.
Medical Diagnostech is also a founding member of the Western Cape Medical Device Clusters. Ashley, participated in the SAB Foundation Innovation Award and won the competition out of 200 companies for their innovative malaria product.
Dr. Isingizwe is a FSNet-Africa fellow and heading one of the two research projects of the FSNet-Africa that draw on big data to explore options for food systems transformation. The title of his research project is: Effective Data Technology for Quality Monitoring and Logistic Decision Support in Cold Chains of Fresh Agricultural Products.
Keshia Lauren Anne Hoaeane Alumna researcherandat the NRF-DSI in Food Security
Keshia Lauren Anne Hoaeane is alumna and researcher at the NRF-DSI in Food Security at the University of the Western Cape. She is currently embedded at the EDP Economic Development Partnership to collect data for her PhD research project.
Dr. IsingizweFrederic eResearchscientistfellowFSNet-AfricaanddataattheOffice
Ashley Uys is alumnus of the Department of Biotechnology at the University of the Western Cape and the founder and CEO of Medical Diagnostech (Pty) Ltd. The company specializes in new product development, R&D for product optimization, and production of rapid lateral flow diagnostic tests kits.
Mr. Ashley Uys Founder and CEO of (Pty)DiagnostechMedicalLtd.
