Oncampus 9th edition by University of the Western Cape

on Campus Issue 9 • October 2013 • For daily updates visit www.uwc.ac.za

Inside Old Mutual boosts students page 11

UWC caps 44 PhDs page 12

UWC launches Institute for Post-School Studies page 19

UWC football champs page 23

Your Source for University News

Annan enthralls at Tutu Peace Lecture

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niversities have an enormous role to play in building peaceful societies and promoting dialogues and debates on current issues, through research, and by providing policies and advice regarding the 21st century challenges we face,” said former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, when he delivered the 3rd Annual Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture at UWC on 7 October. While always a highlight on the UWC calendar, this year’s event was even more special as it was held in celebration of the Archbishop’s 82nd birthday. Attended this year by Premier Helen Zille and Mayor Patricia De Lille, and including state officials from the United Kingdom, Madagascar, the Netherlands and Canada, the Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture is aimed at driving peace efforts around the world through dialogue and debate. Before introducing Annan, Archbishop Emeritus Tutu, who was Chancellor at UWC for more than 25 years, bewailed the seemingly never-ending wars that claim thousands of lives worldwide. “Imagine, we are sitting here enjoying good laughter and good music while children are dying around the world,” said Tutu. “It must be difficult to be God, as He has to look down and see His children dying like this in Syria.” Annan, whose lecture was titled Strong and Cohesive Societies: The foundations for sustainable peace, told a crowd of academics, students, international ambassadors and the general public that universities must work hand in hand with government, civil society and the private sector to promote peace and progress. He also advocated the empowerment of

Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu joines Dr Kofi Annan, who delivered the Tutu Peace Lecture. women. “The evidence is overwhelming that the healthiest societies are those which promote gender equality and invest in the education of girls,” said Annan. He further lamented traditions such as child marriage and female genital circumcision that are defended in some African countries as acceptable traditional practices. “I am also deeply concerned that in too many countries remains a high level of violence, including sexual violence against women,” he said. Annan criticised the state of electoral systems, particularly in Africa, saying that elections provide citizens with an opportunity to debate priorities, to choose their leaders and to hold them accountable. Sadly, however, as in many other parts of the world, elections in Africa can become a trigger for conflict rather than a peaceful

means of regulating competition for political power. “Electoral integrity must be restored”, he said. In closing, Annan spoke directly to the students. “You are the first generation of true global citizens,” he said. “We need you to step up and take responsibility, and above all we need your leadership. With courage and vision, Africa can develop institutions and qualities of leadership that will ensure a stable, prosperous and equitable society.” Previous speakers in the series of Tutu lectures include the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, whose conversation with Tutu was streamed live from his residence in India in 2011, while former first lady, Graça Machel, delivered the lecture in 2012.

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Looking back I truly regret missing the 60s/70s UWC reunion in October, for many reasons; most especially because UWC has a special place in my heart. It is the place where I and others found our voices. Aligning itself openly with the mass democratic movement, many of us were wittingly or unwittingly drawn into politics. Since many of us came to UWC under protest, we turned it into an institution of protest. That political activism took its toll on academia with constant protests, boycotts and interruptions, but somehow we believed that these were necessary and sufficient conditions to achieve our freedom. Debates about liberation before education ensued. I was one of those who declared the university a space for political and ideological contestation and that alignment with the ANC negated other political tendencies. The country’s great intellectuals converged to debate the idea – Neville Alexander versus Jakes Gerwel; David Bunn versus Jack Lewis; Andrew Nash versus Jakes Gerwel. The student, women and trade union movements were flourishing, but common to all of these were subterranean conflicts around gender politics, the rights of gays and lesbians, and reproductive rights. The common mantra that “women’s liberation was divisive of the national liberation movement” gave rise to a radical feminist movement around the country. Thus started the beginnings of the Women’s Movement on Campus. My activism was inspired by my development & women’s studies at the Institute for Social Studies in the Netherlands. When I returned to UWC in 1987, it gave shape and intellectual substance to my activism and provided me with new tools to comprehend the antiapartheid context. We were not prepared to accept that the abolition of apartheid meant male domination in general and black male domination in particular. We furiously spearheaded awareness campaigns in all directions: reproductive

UWC alumna, Rhoda Kadalie, reflects on the history of UWC’s Gender Equity Unit. rights, gay rights, equality campaigns, and rights against domestic and sexual violence abuse. Thus started the navigation between the personal and the political in ways that often – but not always – pit us against our male comrades. It was in this context that the Women’s Commission, the Women’s Studies initiatives, and anti-sexual harassment and anti-sexual violence campaigns started on UWC’s campus. The unity on the multi-constituent Women’s Commission – across class, race and occupation – led to radical achievements for women on maternity and paternity leave; an anti-sexual harassment policy; housing subsidy for women; a crèche to support the child-care needs of staff; and even a nonsexist language policy unanimously adopted by Senate. This was pioneering stuff and regrettably not included in the recent book published about UWC’s history, an oversight that again demonstrates how easily the struggles of women are made invisible. In 1993 these initiatives were formalised into the Gender Equity Unit, of which I became the Gender Equity Coordinator. My job was to promote the advancement of women academics through research and publications; to set up an ad hoc committee to report directly to the ViceChancellor and Senate; to explore a Women’s

By Dr Rhoda Kadalie Studies Programme; and to address policy requirements to ensure the safety of women on campus. The Gender Equity Unit transformed its new on-campus residence into a cutting-edge Women’s Centre, a women’s studies library, a transformed disciplinary tribunal, and a student women centre. This was made possible by our many relationships with US universities, especially the University of Missouri (through Ron Turner) and the University of Utrecht Holland (Rector Hans Van Ginkel). Together we tackled awareness raising and educational campaigns, enlisted male students and academics to join our campaigns, and mounted many campaigns to get the student leadership on board. The Gender Equity Unit got involved in Orientation Week, and transformed the Student Tribunal into a gender-sensitive institution that took the complaints of women students and staff seriously. We won many cases and so entrenched a new-found respect for women. One of our most notable mass university debates, moderated by Prof Kader Asmal, was on sexual and domestic violence, this after Lorena Bobbit cut off her husband’s penis. Needless to say, this debate provided us with much to talk and laugh about. In conclusion, a reunion has many benefits. Through it we can strengthen our alumnae networks, provide support for UWC, and generate additional income. But this will only succeed if we know our history, celebrate every aspect of it, promote a pride in where we have come from and what we have achieved, and refuse to be selective about what is remembered and what is excluded from our memory. This is an edited version of a letter by UWC graduate and former academic, Dr Rhoda Kadalie, founder of UWC’s Gender Equity Unit. Kadalie served on the country’s first Human Rights Commission, and holds honorary doctorates from Sweden’s University of Uppsala, Stellenbosch University and UWC. Kadalie is currently executive director of the Impumelelo Innovations Award Trust.

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Dedication and patience repaid at DLL Awards

he Division for Life-long Learning (DLL) has honoured UWC staff members who have made a difference in their own lives and in their communities, presenting them with the eponymously named Life-Long Learning Awards at the September graduations. Soraya Beukes received the Senior Lifelong Learner Award. She had enrolled at UWC at the age of 47, becoming the first member of her family to attend university. Beukes, now 55, has since completed her LLB and master’s degrees, and is currently doing her doctorate in law. The Part-Time Lifelong Learning Award was made to 46-yearold Bronwyn Arries, whose determination drove her on during even the most testing of times. A professional nurse and a mother, Arries was working two jobs to take care of her children and pay for her five-year LLB studies. “It was extremely difficult to do two jobs, study and be a parent,” she said. The Alternative Access Lifelong Learning Award went to Bernice Thomas. The 44-year old is an inspiration to many women and is an example of what dedication and resilience can do. Standing tall against odds that included a divorce, taking care of a son with a disability and having to deal with her own disability, Thomas is excelling in all her modules, and will soon complete her degree in social work. Thomas already holds a degree in theology and an array of other qualifications, including those as a beautician and nail therapist. “It was challenging to have to deal with my son’s disability and my own. But the most difficult part of my life was that I felt that I had to work harder than everybody else to prove myself.” The Lifelong Learning Group Award was made to the UWC HIV & AIDS Programme, recognised for its laudable work. The Programme runs continuing-education projects in the Kuilsriver, Mfuleni and Khayelitsha communities, where hundreds of people attend their regular classes.

Alternative Access Lifelong Learning recipient, Bernice Thomas, did not let her disability discourage her from obtaining higher education. She is seen here accepting the award.

UWC Chancellor, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, poses with a group of proud 2013 doctoral graduates.

UWC celebrates 51 years of graduations

ome 833 students – including 44 who received their doctoral degrees – celebrated a significant milestone when they were capped at UWC’s spring graduation ceremonies, which ran from 18 to 20 September. Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Ramesh Bharuthram and Chancellor Thabo Makgoba conferred degrees and diplomas on the students, including those 44 who had completed their PhDs (see pages 12-15), as well as 109 master’s graduates. Added to the 3,136 students who had graduated in March, UWC has presented qualifications to a total of 3,969 graduates this year, including 347 master’s and 81 doctoral graduates. 24 PhDs were conferred by the Faculty of Natural Sciences on its graduation night, a University record for any one graduation ceremony. And the year’s tally of 81 doctorates also surpassed the previous high of 77, set in 2012. Four special Life-long Learning Awards were also presented during spring graduation. (See story, left) Two UWC staff members were also honoured at the ceremonies: Professor Leslie Petrik and Professor Vivienne Bozalek received the Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Researcher Awards for outstanding contributions in their respective fields. Petrik has developed the Environmental Nanosciences Group into a formidable force that has graduated six Doctoral and 20 master’s students. She has also conducted ground-breaking research on acid mine drainage, with many patents & papers to her name. As a member of the Department of Physiotherapy, and also as UWC’s director of Teaching and Learning, Bozalek has published over 50 journal articles over the past five years, while also supervising 11 master’s students and serving on the editorial boards of five journals.

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Shoeless students walk the walk

n a rainy 19 September it was easy to pick out the nursing students at UWC – they were the ones wandering around campus without any shoes on. No, it wasn’t that they couldn’t decide what to wear. It’s just that it was Barefoot Day, a chance for the students to raise awareness and solicit donations for those less-fortunate who don’t have any shoes at all. Undertaken as part of their fourth-year community outreach module, 46 nursing students from Class 1B collected shoes at various points outside the student centre. And because they believe in leading by example, they did so barefoot, having given some of their own shoes to the cause. All donations were intended for The Haven Night Shelter Welfare Organisation, which runs 15 shelters across the Western Cape to assist homeless persons. “The shoes will be a small step toward restoring their dignity and self-worth, and encouraging participation in society and community activities,” said nursing student Marcel Rwasabisi, the spokesperson for the students. “By going barefoot, we demonstrated the cause – and hopefully helped generate more donations from the campus community.” Donated shoes came in all shapes, sizes and styles. There were faded sneakers, well-used running shoes, brand-new wingtips, platforms, pumps, sandals, even cowboy boots. In the end, over 284 pairs of shoes were collected (though only 244 pairs were in a decent enough shape to be given to The Haven). Most of those were women’s’ shoes, of course – draw your own conclusions.

UWC nursing students go barefoot while collecting shoes for The Haven Night Shelter.

Speakers and participants at the School of Government’s 20th Anniversary Colloquium.

School of Government celebrates 20 years of discourse

o mark its 20th anniversary, the School of Government at the University of the Western Cape hosted a celebratory colloquium, and chose a topic in keeping with its scholarly concerns – Re-Imagining the State: Perspectives from the global South. The objective of the colloquium – attended by scholars from 10 countries and 12 institutions – was to stimulate critique and debate the current and future trajectories of states in the global South. Topics included policies that promote universalism and democracy, the impact of the public sector in the global South, decentralisation, participatory development, and public-private partnerships. The invited speakers had to tackle some tough themes – such as why countries in the global South had historically been pressured to emulate Northern models of government and economic management. But recent upheavals in the financial order of the global North have led to both theoretical confusion and policy uncertainty. In addition, the upsurge in South-South cooperation and the shift in the economic balance of the world to the South have prompted questions around what forms states in the South might take, what roles they may play, and what new configurations of inter-state cooperation might emerge. These are critical questions for countries that, between them, are home to two-thirds of the world population, noted Professor Chris Tapscott, director of the School of Government. “The recent events of the past five years, like the global financial crisis, for example, is a concern to this changing world,” said Tapscott. “And the role the state needs to play in this needs to be critically looked at.” There are pressing concerns for the South, added UWC Rector and ViceChancellor, Professor Brian O’Connell. “The global South has the poorest countries, highest rates of diseases, unemployment and other issues,” he said. “Due to the many challenges such as global warming and agriculture productivity as a result of growing population, the global South is in great danger. What should we be doing? Instead of waiting for the state to provide solutions, universities should have discussions on how to alleviate the challenges the global South faces.”

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Speaker explores new possibilities of open scholarship

n 1989, a project proposal crossed desks at CERN, aka the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, in which British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee put forward the idea of a global hypertext system. It was an exciting proposal, but nobody could have guessed where it would lead – the birth of the World Wide Web (with Berners-Lee as its creator), and whole new ways of working, playing and relating as human beings. What seems at first to be a small development may lead to amazing new possibilities, so where open access can take humanity has yet to be determined. That was the message delivered by Associate Professor Laura Czerniewicz, director of the University of Cape Town’s OpenUCT Initiative, at a lunchtime talk on New Possibilities Through Open Scholarship, presented at UWC’s School of Government in September. “Open has a lot of meanings,” Czerniewicz said. “There’s open to participate; open to download; open to share; open to create; openness as a public good; openness for efficiency. All of these are different, and it’s important to be sure what is meant when you’re discussing open scholarship.” Her talk explored the effect that open scholarship – where scholarly research articles are made available to all online, free of charge, allowing scholars across the world to read and critique and collaborate freely – can have in a changing scholarship terrain, and how digital technologies can bring about new forms of scholarly behaviour. With hyperlinking of digital content, replacement of simple texts with multimedia products (incorporating audio, graphics, images and more), and the mashing up of different works or repurposing of chunks of digital content, communication and scholarship can be more dynamic and interactive than ever before. “Open scholarship means more than just the move to make journal articles available to all,” said Czerniewicz. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Systems are being put in place that allow big changes in every stage of the academic process, from conceptualisation to data collection to dissemination. It’s not business as usual for scholarship.” Literature reviews and biographies can be more than just private slogs through published research. They can be shared tasks, with emergent collaborative input on social bookmarking sites like CiteULike, Mendeley and Zotero. Datasets, interviews and images, which are not traditionally used because they are difficult to curate and share, are now easily discovered and utilised. Repositories such as Figshare and Dryad store and make data accessible, and researchers can upload a variety of files associated with their research, enabling more informed commentary and analysis. New kinds of articles, new kinds of journals, and even new kinds of peer review (before and after publication) are possible. There are new ways of measuring impact, beyond the old citation model. Altmetrics – an alternative measurement of scholarly impact – of all sorts are available. Scholars can look at links, bookmarks, comments, conversations, and downloads. “We are starting to see increasingly that the value of scholarship is in its use,” said Czerniewicz. “And there is a move away from journals as a package to consider papers and researchers on an individual basis.” And perhaps most important of all, especially for developing

Prof Laura Czerniewicz, director of the OpenUCT Initiative, explored the many interpretations of open access. countries – the influence of free access on citations is twice as large in the developing world as in richer countries – open scholarship allows everybody to engage with knowledge in a variety of ways, finding open content, creating it, getting the most out of it. There is a rise in open education resources, open textbooks, open lectures and the like, expanding access to learning, and transforming society. “Openness is like sunshine,” Czerniewicz concluded. “It exposes content and communication online to enable growth. And we don’t know what’s going to happen with all this exposure, and that’s a little scary – but it’s also very exciting. There are so many places we can go from here.”

Want to read more of Assoc Prof Laura Czerniewicz’s thoughts on technology literacy, e-learning, higher education, and online and open content? Just check out her website at http://lauraczerniewicz.co.za or follow her on Twitter on @Czernie.

Why does open access matter? Well, just ask Jill Claassen of the UWC Library’s Repository and Digital Scholarship Unit. “Open Access is a very important issue in our time,” she explains. “Scientists around the world, in all fields, are tackling global problems that threaten the survival of our species. Research findings also have the power to improve the quality of life of millions of people. Knowledge sharing through open access to research papers enables rapid progress of science. It also assists in levelling the playing field so that researchers in poorer institutions are not prevented from participation in the search for solutions.”

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Women have cause to celebrate, and step up action

This flag – known as the gay pride flag, the LGBTI flag or Rainbow flag, and long embraced by the LGBTI community as an emblem of gay pride – was recognised by the Department of Arts and Culture as a symbol of diversity and inclusiveness. UWC became the first university in the world to hoist the Rainbow flag on a campus.

LGBTI Week aims to educate and challenge

ducation was the recurring motif when the UWC’s Gender Equity Unit (GEU), together with the LoudEnuf and Gayla-UWC organisations, hosted the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Intersexual, Asexual and Queer (LGBTIAQ) Awareness Week in October. Angelo Fortuin, project manager at the GEU, explained that the week was dedicated to exploring LGBTIAQ issues with the campus community. “This week is about training, making people aware, and providing a platform for people to be educated,” he said. “By doing so, we challenge prejudice, ignorance and people who are narrow minded about LGBTIAQ.” Glenton Mattyse, a volunteer at the GEU and this year named Miss Humanitarian at the Miss Gay Western Cape pageant, echoed Fortuin’s sentiments, and added that the awareness week has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2006. “Since then, many students have jumped on board and the Awareness Week has become very successful,” he said. In addition to Awareness Week, open discussions and open engagements were held across campus this year, Fortuin explained. In a significant ceremony, the University’s LGBTIAQ community hoisted the Rainbow flag for the week. “This flag was recognised by the Department of Arts and Culture, and thus made UWC the first in the world to hoist the Rainbow flag on a campus,” Fortuin said. Mattyse added that the week’s theme – From the Same Soil – aimed to challenge the oft-repeated criticism that being homosexual is unAfrican. “We want to claim our own safe space,” he said. “With the recent increase of homosexual killings in the country, the only way to make the country safer is to educate and to provide awareness and make people understand.

ometimes 13 is not an unlucky number – such as when women at UWC recently gathered, once again, to take part in Celebrating Women. The event was first launched 13 years ago by Professor Shirley Walters, founder and director of the Division of Life-long Learning, and Ms Mary Hames, director of the Gender Equity Unit (GEU). Noticing that there were few women in executive positions at the time, they saw Celebrating Women as an opportunity to draw attention to just what women are capable of. “We decided that women should come and celebrate when they have any achievements in their life, be it personal or academic,” recalled Hames. “This was a way for women to celebrate themselves.” In that vein, this year’s event was hosted in honour of Walters, a household name around campus. “(As women), we come to university not only with our intellect and our minds or brain,” said Hames. “We come here with our bodies and our lives. We don’t just leave it at the gate of the university and walk in. We do not come here to shed all the other intersects in our lives. We come with all of the things that are in our lives, and that is what we are celebrating.” Thirteen years on – and 20 since the founding of the GEU – there is reason to celebrate. Women now make up 60% of the University’s student numbers, including 59% in the Faculty of Natural Sciences. Speaking at the celebration, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian O’Connell, argued that the University has created a space that is unique. “I think that UWC has been acknowledged with incredible initiatives with respect to understanding what it is like to be a woman. Three of the seven deans are women. Our registrar is a woman, and there are women in three out of the seven senior positions at UWC.” This is a far cry from when he began at the University as the Rector Designate in 2001, added O’Connell. At that time, women on campus were very despondent, but with the determined initiatives of the likes Guest of honour Prof Shirley Walters at of Walters, much has the Celebrating Women breakfast. changed.

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Youth tell their stories at Ashley Kriel memorial lecture “

he Ashley Kriel generation struggled and overcame; now this generation’s struggle is to live life fully and realise the potential that is embedded within them.” These were the words shared by Stan Henkeman, head of the Building an Inclusive Society Programme at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR), at the 10th Annual Ashley Kriel Youth Memorial Lecture, which was held at UWC on 3 October. Themed My Voice, Our Story, the lecture was a celebration of young political activist and youth leader, the late Ashley Kriel, the 20-year old who was killed by security police in Cape Town on 9 July 1987. The lecture series is designed as a means to empower young people and help them understand their full potential and their individual roles and responsibilities in achieving their personal goals, while contributing to the development of our society. Kurt Orderson, the 29-year-old filmmaker from Cape Town who delivered the keynote address, shared his journey and experiences through words and film. Orderson discussed overarching principles relating to individuality and what he calls “radical subjectivity”, the politics of identity within the diaspora, and ways of defining a vast objectivity. He faulted South Africans for denying their African roots in favour of Western ones as a result of people accepting “pre-determined stories” as their own history. “Who is telling your story?” Orderson asked the audience full of young people. “You all need to find your individual voices and use those voices to share your story, because you know how much a personal story of power can change the world.” Rapper-poet Adrian van Dyk, aka Adrian Different, of the Stellenbosch Literary Project (SLiP) and its InZync Poetry Sessions, delivered a crowd-gripping performance

Youth from the Ashley Kriel Youth Development Project in picture with their leader, Eleanor Swartz.

The Life Science Auditorium is filled with interested young people at the Ashley Kriel Lecture. with his poem, sharing his sentiments on the Department of Education’s failure to deliver books to rural schools. The evening included a performance by the iNKcredibles, a group of seven local young

poets. They took to the stage to perform a number of pieces employing a range of languages, voices, experiences and cultures to capture the struggles faced by most young South Africans today.

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UWC hosts the Steve Biko FrankTalk

ords shouldn’t be minced at a meeting titled FrankTalk. And they weren’t when the Office of Leadership and Social Responsibility (part of the Centre for Student Support Services) at UWC and the Steve Biko Foundation – which started the programme to educate the public about the country’s Bill of Rights by engaging young professionals – hosted the FrankTalk in October. Professor Lullu Tshiwula, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Student Development & Support, opened the meeting with her address, titled The Relevance of Steve Biko’s Life, Legacy and Ideals for Our Contemporary Political and Leadership Landscape. Tshiwula spoke on how people should take responsibility for certain services, instead of waiting for the state to do everything for them. “We must depend on ourselves and our own resources,” she said. “We still have a long way to achieve equality for all in South Africa, and we need to work for it.” Tshiwula added that the country’s rich cannot distance themselves from the poor. “No matter if we like it or not, we are all connected. The rich need to realise this and need to give back.” Universities also have an important role to play in servicing the poor, Tshiwula noted. “We should create spaces where people can enable themselves and develop,” she said. “I believe that the youth is still marginalised. I believe the generation of Steve Biko has made sure that we think for ourselves and they made us think that we, too, should use our own resources. This is where the universities play an important role – to encourage this.” Mr Nkosinathi Biko, chief executive officer of the Steve Biko Foundation and son of the late Steve Biko, started his address by

Nkosinathi Biko, CEO of the Steve Biko Foundation and son of Steve Biko, was one of the speakers at the FrankTalk. saying that scholars like him and others present should remember the contributions made by great individuals such as his father. Biko said that the one incident that defined Steve Biko’s political career was when he was expelled from high school for his involvement in a student movement when he was only 16 years old. “It was this event that made Steve Biko become the man he is. Everything that my father has done in his political career stems from this moment when he was only 16 years old.” Through his life, his father had left a lasting legacy, Biko added. “Steve Biko’s movement challenged the status quo, oppression and the racism the country faced during that time. More importantly, he challenged us to become thinkers and to conduct critique of one’s self. Black consciousness was about finding a new sense of yourself.”

Great artists honoured at UWC

Dr Willem Anker, recipient of the 2012 Jan Rabie & Marjorie Wallace bursary, interrogates the legend of Billy the Kid and Coenraad de Buys during the Jan Rabie & Marjorie Wallace Memorial Lecture at UWC.

WC hosted the Jan Rabie and Marjorie Wallace Memorial Lecture in October, honouring the contributions made by this couple to Afrikaans literature. The lecture, delivered by Dr Willem Anker, recipient of the 2012 Jan Rabie and Marjorie Wallace bursary, commemorated the lives and talents of Afrikaans writer Jan Sebastian Rabie and artist Marjorie Wallace, the latter the recipient of the national Order of Ikhamanga in Bronze, for outstanding contributions to the visual arts, in 2005. Rabie was born in George in 1920, and penned 21 short-story collections, novels and other literary works over his career. He was a leading member of the famed ‘Sestigers’, a group of radical and influential Afrikaans writers of the 1960s. Wallace was born in Edinburgh in 1925, and trained at the Edinburgh College of Art, making such an impression with her early work that she became the youngest person to be elected to the Royal Scottish Academy of Art. In 1953, after an extensive European tour, she was working in Paris when she met and married Rabie. A year later they settled in Onrus, near Hermanus, where for the next several decades they would host writers, artists, poets, film and theatre producers and commentators, including Ingrid Jonker and Jakes Gerwel. (Rabie died in 2002, Wallace in 2005.) Anker’s lecture, titled ‘n Bosluis, Billy the Kid en Coenraad de Buys: Die spore van legendes in die veld, sought to trace and untangle the web of mystery that surrounds the legends of American gunman Billy the Kid and Coenraad de Buys, an elusive and rebellious frontiersman of the Cape Colony. (Today’s Buysdorp, a small town in Limpopo, is named after Coenraad de Buys.)

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UWC launches lifeskills kit for schools

he TB and HIV epidemics pose major health and developmental challenges to South Africa. To help address these, especially at school level, UWC has launched its How to be a Health Activist Lifeskills Resources Kit. The resource kit – funded for five years by a joint grant from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) projects in the US – is targeted at grades 7-9 learners. It includes lesson plans with individual and group activities and illustrations, and an interactive DVD that complements the lesson plans with digital storytelling and games. The purpose of the kit is to engage and educate teenagers about TB, within the context of HIV, and help them to make informed decisions about their lives. The project content was developed in close cooperation with schools in Ceres, Elsies River, George, Khayelitsha, Mossel Bay, Ravensmead and Riversdale. Teachers, learners, experts and stakeholders at provincial and national level provided valuable input. The kit covers important matters such as the history of TB, the stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS, how to manage depression and stress, health and fitness, social and environmental responsibility, and careers in the fields of TB research and treatment. Problem-solving and considered decision-making are encouraged through learning. “How to be a Health Activist is a resource that provides information that can change the lives of the youth of South Africa,” says Professor Trish Struthers of UWC’s School of Public Health (SoPH), and one of the principal investigators on the project. “It develops skills to make healthy decisions, to be empowered, to build healthy relationships, and to build healthy communities.” Co-principal investigator, Professor Alan Christoffels of UWC’s South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI), adds that informed decisions are made on the basis of a holistic education. “We opted to focus on lifeskills and equip learners with everyday skills that will help them lead healthy lifestyles. Each of us – and in particular the learners – can be champions of promoting healthy living.” Dr Edna Rooth, a director at Life Skills Africa and co-producer of the resource kit, notes that there’s more to life skills than just factual information. “The facts start with the heart, so we looked at dealing with the core lifeskills necessary to equip learners to counter health risks and promote their resilience and their strength,” she says. A total of 4,000 copies of both the workbook and DVD have been distributed to learners in some of the pilot schools. This was followed by the implementation of an external monitoring and evaluation process. The project also features a web portal that allows learners and teachers to access the material via the internet at http://skill4life.org. Teachers and learners from the pilot schools were present at the launch on 7 September to provide feedback on their experiences. Jaylynne Ramson, a grade-10 learner at Ravensmead High, thought the kit was an eye-opener. “It’s not only a good source of information, but encourages learners to set goals in life and enables them to achieve their dreams,” she said. All attendees were handed a copy of the workbook and DVD, which was also demonstrated to stakeholders from provincial and national departments of Education and Health.

High school health activists discuss what makes the SANBI/SOPH Lifeskills Resource Kit so special.

UWC instructional designer Norina Braaf shows learners how to make the most of the How to be a Health Activist kit.

SANBI director, Prof Alan Christoffels, explains that educating health activists requires a more holistic approach.

News

Annual David Sanders Lecture provides historical perspective

T Third-year pharmacy students celebrate community service in their Service Learning in Pharmacy presentations.

Students reach out to the community

WC’s School of Pharmacy (SoP) is considered a national leader in prioritising service learning, and is renowned for its pioneering collaborations on healthcare service delivery. Its Service Learning in Pharmacy (SliP) programme, which aims to connect the theoretical aspects of pharmacology, pharmaceutics and pharmacy practice, and the real-world service environment, shows why. On the morning of 29 October, third-year pharmacy students gave impassioned presentations about their SliP activities in local communities, and the lessons they had learnt along the way. The talked of the visits they paid to clinics and informal settlements, of their different community projects, the research they undertook and how they lent a hand. Service learning links academic study with service to the community, and allows students to engage in structured and organised activities that address community needs. The primary goal of SliP is to ensure that pharmacy graduates from UWC have the knowledge and skills necessary to be socially responsible, patient-centred pharmacists, and are committed to addressing South Africa’s pressing primary healthcare needs. In their presentations, the students cheerfully described how they had visited children’s homes, old age homes and hospitals, and conducted home visits. They explained how they had first identified a facility or community need, then addressed it through direct engagement with a partner facility. Most of them shared heart-warming tales of getting as much in return as they’d given, and of building bridges between academic institutions, the services and the communities. “These presentations today have been interesting and instructive,” said Professor Angenie Bheekie, primary facilitator for the SliP programme. “They summarise essentially what we at the SoP think, and why we believe in community pharmacy.”

he UWC School of Public Health hosted its second Annual David Sanders Lecture in Public Health and Social Justice in September. The lecture series, named in honour of UWC’s Professor Emeritus David Sanders, provides a platform to promote public health and social justice by inviting eminent speakers to engage with contemporary challenges and opportunities for public health research, teaching and practice to contribute to this transformative vision and process. This year’s lecture was delivered by Shula Marks, emeritus professor and honorary fellow at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She spoke about Contesting Health Care: South Africa’s experience of social medicine in international perspective. Marks was born in Cape Town, finished her undergraduate studies at the University of Cape Town, and then emigrated to the UK in 1960, where she received her doctorate from the University of London. She has lectured widely on late-nineteenth and twentieth century South African history, including the history of health care in South Africa. Modern medicine has never been more effective and even miraculous – and yet the number of people dying of preventable diseases have also probably never been higher, Marks outlined. Inequalities in health are not marked simply between societies but also within them, and while the private and public expenditure on health care climbs ever higher, this is not always a good guide to the health of the national population as a whole, she added. By looking at South Africa’s experience of contestations from an international perspective, the country can devise an appropriate and affordable health care system, she said. “Historians rejoice in details that can sometimes lead to glazed eyes,” Marks noted, “but I hope to persuade you that a historical perspective, based on a reasoned approach to the evidence, opens up ways of understanding not only the past, but also what we do in the present.”

Prof Shula Marks at the 2013 David Sanders Lecture on Public Health.

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Old Mutual to fund studies of five UWC students

he Imfundo Trust, a scholarship initiative of the Old Mutual Investment Group South Africa (OMIGSA), has agreed to fund five students from UWC under the new Professor Jakes Gerwel Bursary Fund. It is estimated that this will total a contribution of R300,000 a year. The aim of the trust is to grow the pool of black professionals within asset management. The bursaries are awarded to needy black students with a preference for African black women. This includes coloured and Indian students. The bursary covers fees, tuition and books for a period of three years. The bursary will, however, be terminated should the student fail. Students will not be allowed to have joint bursaries. The students will also be required to perform community service over the three years that they receive the bursaries. Only UWC students studying in the fields of finance, law and agriculture will be eligible for these bursaries. Speaking at the launch of the Professor Jakes Gerwel Bursary Fund, Rojie Kisten, chairperson of OMIGSA Trust, noted that the bursaries and the trust aimed to address major issues in the country. “It is important for us to have more black professionals in this industry – not only at Old Mutual, but also nationally,” she said. Community service is an important element of the funding, Kisten added. “One of the key requirements to qualify for this bursary is that the students need to contribute to society by being involved in community projects. This will help them understand the challenges our country faces.”

Delegates at the launch of the Prof Jakes Gerwel Bursary Fund.

The launch of the bursary allowed speakers to hail Gerwel’s life and achievements. “Jakes, as we knew him, was a man amongst men, and a giant of his time – even though he was much shorter than I am,” said Fred Robertson, executive chairperson of the Brimstone Investment Corporation, an Old Mutual ‘empowerment partner’. “He opened the doors for many black students and played a part in many of the successes they enjoy today,” added Professor Lullu Tshiwula, Vice-Rector for Student Development and Support at UWC. She added that, as a result of Gerwel’s work, UWC’s student population has doubled since 2003. “It is important for students to work hard for success, and bursaries such as this make it possible for them to get there,” she said.

UWC’s Buddy Day aims to inspire

group of 320 tense but enthusiastic learners from around Cape Town, all with provisional acceptances from UWC, got an early taste of student life when they gathered at the campus for Buddy Day on 26 September. The annual event, held during the September school holidays, is coordinated by the Student Enrolment Management Unit (SEMU) in close association with the Marketing Recruitment and Support Forum (MRSF). It gives the seven faculties an opportunity to interact with a limited number of provisionally selected applicants. It also helps the applicants make some final decisions about their studies. The learners attended a typical lecture and laboratory and clinical sessions, and enjoyed a guided tour of the campus. They visited teaching- and learning-support facilities, as well as some sport, recreation and social-activity facilities. In addition, applicants got to interact with the different faculties on issues related to their applications, and to pose questions on their

UWC Buddy Day volunteers (aka “Buddies”) and students in a jovial mood at the student centre. studies and career options. Glen Arendse, Student Enrolment Manager and coordinator of Buddy Day, explained that the event aims to create a rapport between the learners and the University. “It is the aim of Buddy Day to build relationships with our potential clients – the learners – and to give these prospective students a good first experience at UWC,” he said. “The programme content balances raising awareness of the critical nature of sustained academic performance for success, and the need for learning to be fun.”

With that in mind, learners were entertained by Good Hope FM personalities during the lunch-hour slot at the student centre, where some great prizes were up for grabs in a lucky draw competition – including a notebook, iPods and registration bursaries for next year. Arendse said the most important part of Buddy Day is the engagement between the learners and their future faculties. It also gives learners that extra incentive ahead of their final school exams. “As Buddy Day takes place during the September school holidays, it helps the matriculants to be motivated to work even harder during their last few months at school,” he said. “We inspire them to either sustain excellent results or to up their performance for the last stretch of their school career, and so boost their chances of final selection to UWC.”

For more information, contact Glen Arendse on 021 959 9493 or on email at garendse@uwc.ac.za.

News

September 2013 UWC congratulates its 44 PhD recipients LAW

Name: Conrad Mugoya Bosire Faculty: Law (CLC) Topic: Devolution for development, conflict resolution and limiting central power: an analysis of the constitution of Kenya 2010

Name: Lucyline Nkatha Murungi Faculty: Law Topic: The significance of Article 24(2) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for the right to primary education of children with disabilities: a comparative study of Kenya and South Africa

Name: Mani Rossouw Faculty: Law Topic: The harmonisation of rules on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements in the Southern African Customs Union

Name: Nicolas Wasonga Orago Faculty: Law Topic: Poverty, inequality and socio-economic rights: a theoretical framework for the realisation of socio-economic rights in the Kenya Constitution 2010

ARTS

Name: Jane-Francis Afungmeyu Abongdia Faculty: Arts Topic: Language ideologies in Africa: comparative perspectives from Cameroon and South Africa

Name: Alannah Birch Faculty: Arts Topic: A study of Roy Campbell as a South African modernist poet

Name: William Ellis Faculty: Arts Topic: Genealogies and narratives of San authenticities: the Khomani San land claim in the southern Kalahari

Name: Thokozani Eunice Kunkeyani Faculty: Arts Topic: Modes and resemiotisation of HIV and AIDS messages in the Eastern Region of Malawi

Name: Xolani Sherlock-Lee Sakuba

Name: Stephen Ouma Akoth Faculty: Arts Topic: Human rights modernities: practices of Luo Councils of Elders in contemporary Western Kenya

Faculty: Arts Topic: A critical assessment of the concept of culture in the first wave of African Christian theology

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EDUCATION

Name: Eghsaan Behardien Faculty: Education Topic: The role and impact of Sheikh Shakier Gamieldien in the establishment of modern Rational Islam in the Western Cape, with specific reference to his educational endeavours, 1950–1996

Name: Domingos Carlos Buque Faculty: Education Topic: Literacy programmes in Mozambique: adults, motivation, needs and expectations – the case of Boane and Pemba

Name: Siseho Simasiku Charles Faculty: Education Topic: The effect of an argumentation instructional model on pre-service teachers’ ability to implement a science-IK curriculum

Name: Beatrice Karekezi Mironko Faculty: Education Topic: Factors influencing students’ success in mastering English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in Rwanda higher education

Name: Nagla Babelkheir Ibrahim Taha Faculty: Education Topic: Educational aspirations and gender equality: pathways to the empowerment of girls in disadvantaged communities in North and South Sudan

COMMUNITY AND HEALTH SCIENCES

Name: Estelle Lawrence Faculty: Community and Health Sciences Topic: School-based HIV counselling and testing: providing a youth-friendly service

Name: Nondwe Mlenzana Faculty: Community and Health Sciences Topic: The evaluation of processes of care at selected rehabilitation centres in the Western Cape

Name: Selamawit Woldesenbet Faculty: Community and Health Sciences Topic: Coverage, quality and uptake of PMTCT services in South Africa: results of a National Cross-Sectional PMTCT Survey (SAPMTCTE, 2010)

Name: Adedapo Wasiu Awotidebe Faculty: Community and Health Sciences Topic: The effect of a sports-based HIV-prevention programme on HIVrisk related behaviours among high school learners

ECONOMIC AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

Name: Pradeep Brijlal Faculty: Economic and Management Studies Topic: Financial capital and business growth among entrepreneurs in a developing nation, with specific reference to South Africa

Science

NATURAL SCIENCES

Name: Joash Nyakondo Ongori Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: In-situ measurements and calculation of radon gas concentration and exhalation from a tailings mine dump

Name: Pamela Welz Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Manipulating biotic factors to enhance removal of organics from agriindustrial wastewater in pilot-scale constructed wetlands

Name: Chinyerum S Opuwari Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Effect of tea and herbal infusion on mammalian reproduction and fertility

Name: Daniel Cunnama Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Galaxy evolution and cosmology studies using supercomputer simulations

Name: Gbemisola Morounke Saibu Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Biochemical investigation of anti-cancer activity of Tulbaghia violacea

Name: Euhodia Halouise Hess Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Polyamic acid composites for multiple sensing applications in complex sample matrices

Name: Ntevheleni Thivhogi Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Development of nanotechnology-based drug delivery and imaging systems to the white adipose tissue vasculature using a Wistar rat model

Name: Martin G Hendricks Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Studies on the ecology and taxonomy of nematodes of Saldanha Bay, South Africa

Name: Abebaw Adgo Tsegaye Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Electropolymerization and electrochromism of poly(4,7-dithien2yl-2,1,3-benzothidiazole) and its copolymer with 3-methoxythiophene in ionic liquids

Name: Kwazikwakhe Gabuza Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Identification of differently expressed proteins in obese rats fed different high-fat diets using proteomics and bioinformatics approaches

Name: Stonard Kanyanda Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Development and characterisation of pro-apoptotic drug candidates for anticancer drug discovery

Name: Cornelius Taute Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic:Tumour specific targeted in vivo theranostics applications of fabricated nanostructures in a multi-drug resistant ovarian carcinoma cell line

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Science

Name: Ruben Earl Ashley Cloete Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: The prioritised selection, homology and docking studies of potential drug targets in Mycobacterium tuberculosis located within the first-line drug resistance pathways

Name: Siaka Lougue Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Methodological approach of the spatial distribution of maternal mortality in Burkina Faso

Name: Paulus Lukisi Masiteng Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Gamma spectroscopy and lifetime measurements in Thallium 194 revealing possible chiral symmetry

Name: Kwena Desmond Modibane Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Metal Hydride Materials for Hydrogen Separation and Purification

Name: Stephen Nzioki Mailu Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Electrochemical responses of novel preferentially oriented platinum (100) nanoalloys for ammonia and hydrazine catalysis

Name: Lyndon Barry Mungur Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Characterisation of the Arabidopsis thaliana Guanylyl Cyclase 1

Name: Lynwill Gareth Martin Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Synthesis and characterisation of Pt-Sn/C nanoparticles as possible methanol tolerant cathode catalysts direct methanol fuel cells

Name: Grace Nyambura Muriithi Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Re-use of South African fly ash for CO2 capture and brine remediation

Name: Milua Masikini Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Development of impedimetric immunosensor for fumonisin on polyanilino-carbon nanotubes doped with palladium telluride nanocrystals

Name: Paul Mushonga Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Fabrication of type-I indiumbased near infrared emoting quantum dots for biological imaging applications

Name: William Mavengere Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Biochemical characterisation of actinobacterial tyrosinases

Name: Khanyisa Lillian Nohako Faculty: Natural Sciences Topic: Immunosensors developed no clathrate compound platforms

Community Health Sciences

Thinking hard about health

econd time’s the charm, the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences (CHS) found when it hosted its second Annual Research Day in September. For its inaugural event last year, the Faculty managed a respectable 15 presentations. This year presentations went up almost fivefold, the Research Day attracting a total of 72 presentations – 41 oral and 31 as posters. With that packed programme, the day provided a perfect opportunity to celebrate research, as well as teaching and learning, in the Faculty. The guest speaker for the event was the multi-tasking Professor Juanita Bezuidenhout, a medical doctor and member of the Medical and Dental Board, as well as a pathology teacher at Stellenbosch University, where she is also deputy director of research in the Centre for Health Professions Education. Bezuidenhout spoke about inter-professional education (IPE) at higher education institutions and beyond, examining the theory underpinning it, IPE practice, and the way forward. IPE occurs when two or more professions learn from, with and about each other to improve collaboration and outcomes, Bezuidenhout explained. As such, the discipline relates to inter-professional learning (it’s similar, but more informal, and can happen spontaneously). Both of these, she added, are related to inter-professional collaboration, the process of developing and maintaining inter-professional working relationships. “Collaboration is actually the point,” said Bezuidenhout. “It’s about the learning and working relationships we have with learners, practitioners, patients, clients, families and communities. Sometimes we lose focus of that, but that is actually the point. And even here at UWC, where IPE and collaboration are celebrated, it’s good to have a Research Day to remind us about how important they really are. We work with other professionals, with different backgrounds and different knowledge, and we need to be able to share our knowledge, to educate each other, to better serve the community.” The presenters themselves were in line for a selection of awards. Making up the adjudicating panel were the deputy deans of the Faculties of Education, Natural Sciences, Dentistry and Economics, as well as Professor Vivienne Bozalek of the Directorate of Teaching and Learning and

Stellenbosch University’s Prof Juanita Bezuidenhout reflects on inter-professional education.

a number of experts from the CHS. According to Professor Michelle Esau of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, the panel had found the Research Day to be an excellent initiative and a fantastic way of bringing together people within the faculty, perhaps leading to new collaborations and partnerships. “It’s an excellent opportunity for emerging researchers to come together and gain insight into what they are doing, and whether they are on the right track,” added Professor Juliana Smith of the Faculty of Education. The joint winners of the Best Student Poster prizes were SZ Mabweazara of the Department of Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science, who explained the effects of precompetitive state anxiety on the swimming performance of high school swimmers; and R Kalavina, for her poster exploring the challenges experienced by stroke patients and spouses during the rehabilitation process at Kachere Rehabilitation Centre in Blantyre, Malawi. The award for the Best Oral Presentation

for a Young Researcher went to Dr A Padmanabhannuni of the Department of Psychology for her presentation, titled Can Participation in Activism to End Sexual Violence Promote Healing for Survivors of Rape: A qualitative investigation looking at the silent protest. The Best Oral Presentation for an Established Researcher went to Professor Anthea Rhoda, who kept audiences spellbound with her talk on Stroke: The process and outcome of in-patient rehabilitation: A comparative study of three East African countries. In her welcome at the start of proceedings, Professor José Frantz, dean of the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, highlighted the value of the growing participation in the Research Day. “As you will see, we are definitely growing from strength to strength,” said Frantz, “not only in terms of research, but also in terms of teaching. In five years, who knows where we will be?”

This year’s CHS Research Day was accredited with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) for a total of 6 CPD points (Accreditation-provider Association for Dietetics in South Africa). In order to be awarded the CPD points, attendees had to sign the register in each venue, and provide their HPCSA registration number. CPD certificates were forwarded at the end of September.

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Community Health Sciences

Market day explores health and wellness, the natural way

UWC students try their hands at Tai Chi.

ealth, wellness and fun were the Najwa Kisten, coordinator of the SoNM Unaniwatchwords when UWC hosted its Tibb Programme. “Even with a full lecture load, second annual Health and Wellness they volunteered their free time to prepare and Market Day, organised by the School ensure the smooth running of the Market Day, of Natural Medicine (SoNM) in October. and it was truly inspiring to see our students The event aimed to create a platform that assisting so many by providing healthy nutrition allowed students and staff to create awareness and effective body manipulation therapies.” about complementary and alternative The day was more than just a learning medicine, and promote holistic and natural opportunity, as students were given the chance lifestyle practices that increase vitality and to compete in a variety of challenges. Sprint DVC: Academic, Prof Ramesh Bharuthram; reduce the risk of disease. races rewarded the speedier students, while Prof Farouk Ameer, head of the Department of “Our aim was to promote various zumba and dance competitions tested fitness, Chemistry; and Dr Najwa Kisten of the School of natural therapeutic options for our campus stamina and the quality of their moves, with Natural Medicine enjoy some healthy snacks at community,” said Dr Mujeeb Hoosen, who fitting soundtracks provided by the Market Day’s the SoNM’s Health and Wellness Market Day. teaches on the traditional medicine known master of ceremonies and Good Hope FM DJ, as Unani-Tibb at the SoNM. “After all, our greatest asset in life is our Kevin Baker. There was also a competition for domino enthusiasts, where health, which is each individual’s responsibility – and taking care of that teams of UWC students applied themselves to one of their favourite asset requires knowledge. As natural medicine practitioners we empower pastimes. patients with healthy living programmes focusing on preventative as well The success of the event was largely due to the collaborative effort as curative means to well-being.” and welcoming relationship between the SoNM and Makro Cape Gate, Hundreds of students and staff attended, visiting the dozens of stalls which generously sponsored the activities for the event. A selection of offering a variety of healthy foods, health products and natural therapies. amazing prizes were provided by Verbatim, Lexmark, Virgin Active and Staff from SoNM ran stalls, providing information and demonstrations Cell C. from four disciplines of natural medicine, namely Chinese medicine and “The Market Day was a great success,” summarised Hoosen. “In acupuncture, Naturopathy, Phytotherapy and Unani-Tibb. SoNM students future we intend to showcase more treatment plans and highlight the also participated in the occasion, hosting stalls that provided food, importance of individualised healthcare. With the support of our campus drinks, herbal medicine and cosmetics – most of these hand-made. community, we will continue to provide more effective and natural “We are so proud of our students’ hard work and dedication,” said Dr therapeutic options to assist the healthcare system of our country.”

Economic Management Sciences

Venete Klein, of the Institute of Directors in Southern Africa, and other speakers agree that a culture of entrepreneurship has to be encouraged and cultivated in South Africa.

Entrepreneurship is key, say speakers at colloquium

peakers at the 2nd UWC Entrepreneurship Colloquium in September were unanimous – entrepreneurship is going to be critical for South Africa’s future. The purpose of the Colloquium was to develop a culture of entrepreneurial development and support at university level, and to give students the tools to confidently explore entrepreneurship and to contribute to the economy as job creators rather than job seekers. The event was well attended by students, academics, corporates and government representatives. Professor Chris Friedrich, extraordinary professor in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences and a lecturer at the Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences in Giessen, Germany, explained that it is important that children are encouraged in school, starting in primary school, to think about entrepreneurship. “We need to change the mindset of our learners at an early age,” Friedrich said. He added that many university graduates struggle to find employment, and it is important that they be willing to create their own jobs and businesses. In opening the Colloquium, UWC Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Student Development & Support, Professor Lullu Tshiwula, said that the level of entrepreneurship in the country was very low, and that efforts must be made to change this. She urged small business owners not to be discouraged if their businesses failed, and to learn from their mistakes. “Successful

entrepreneurs are able to identify gaps and are not afraid to take calculated risks,” she said. Dr Mike Herrington, of the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town and executive director of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, (GEM) which is part of the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association, discussed how South Africa compares with other sub-Saharan African countries. He added that the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is crucial for the country’s long-term development. “SMEs are important because through creating jobs it helps alleviate poverty, and reduce high unemployment, particularly among the youth in sub-Saharan Africa.” Herrington pointed out that SMEs contribute about 45% of SA’s gross domestic product, and provide over 50% of jobs in the country. “SMEs and entrepreneurship have never been more important than they are now.” Venete Klein, deputy chairperson of the Institute of Directors in Southern Africa and non-executive director at Old Mutual Wealth and the PG Group, spoke on impactful entrepreneurship in South Africa. She also commented on the responsibility of corporate organisations towards entrepreneurship. “Corporates apply a social approach rather than a commercial one to enterprise development. Countries like China venture into a creative way of thinking, and this is what South Africa needs to strive for,” she said.

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Education

Institute for Post-School Studies tackles adult education at UWC

WC is doing its bit with regard to South Africa’s unemployment problems and skills shortages, launching its new Institute for Post-School Studies (IPSS) in September. Located within the Faculty of Education, the IPSS integrates studies in adult education (formerly within the Centre for Adult and Continuing Education), higher education studies, and vocational studies (through the Further Education and Training Institute, which will be fully transitioned by 2015). Recent policies in the university and other education sectors emphasise the need for thinking about these domains in a more integrated and holistic way. Speaking at the launch, IPSS director, Professor Joy Papier, outlined the social and economic backdrop against which the Institute was established. “Despite significant achievements in recent years, the post-school sector is confronted with challenges that have affected the potential of the sector to contribute optimally to addressing the training and skills needs of the country,” she said. “Against this context, the primary focus of the IPSS will be to generate knowledge, training, research and developmental activities that will lead to a better understanding of the sector and the challenges facing it.” Papier will be ably assisted in her task by expert teams in the fields of adult education, higher education and vocational education. Relevant research, teaching and development across these three domains of the IPSS will contribute towards growing the knowledge base on post-schooling in South Africa. By focusing on the challenges in the post-school education sector, the institute will help to address the country’s developmental needs, said Papier. Some of those challenges, she added, include weak linkages between the various post-school components (vocational education, higher education and adult education); continued exclusion of the poor from post-school opportunities; and high levels of internal inefficiency in the post-school sector, characterised by high attrition and failure rates. The research focus of the institute will mainly be geared at the local post-school education sector, but researchers will also examine global trends, attempting to glean lessons pertinent to the local context. A second important focus of IPSS will be undergraduate and postgraduate education, particularly professional development or capacity-building for educators in post-school settings. Consistent with the institute’s integrated approach to the study of post-school education, the IPSS will address overarching research themes such as differentiation, access and mobility in the postschool educational sector. The aim is to build a research base that bolsters local knowledge of post-schooling and its constituent fields, and can be used to make a significant contribution to education and social transformation.

“The IPSS brings together some of the grand thoughts and research we have about education, and makes sense of it for our country,” added UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian O’Connell. “We need public engagements and an understanding of alternatives. State, school, learners and community must act as one. That’s the only way to generate the vision and the impulse that will help our species understand what we, as humans, are meant to do.”

Prof Joy Papier, director of UWC’s newly-launched Institute for PostSchool Studies, explains the importance of adult education and training.

South Africa is a country with a high degree of unemployment, but also suffers from a shortage of the skills necessary to address the challenges faced by the nation. Around three million South Africans between the ages of 18 and 24 are not in education, employment or training.

Education

(From left) Westridge High School Principal Wendy Vergotine, Garden Cities Archway Foundation Managing Director Myrtle February, and Professor Brian O’Connell, Rector of UWC, at the opening of a new fully-stocked science centre at Westridge High School.

Science Learning Centres address challenges in Western Cape education

here was plenty of fanfare to greet the four new science centres opened by the UWC’s Science Learning Centre for Africa (SLCA) and the Garden Cities Archway Foundation in September. The partners aim, through these science centres, to develop a culture of science learning at schools, and a culture of science teaching among science teachers. They do so by building and stocking science centres for schools that otherwise might not have access to such facilities or essential scientific equipment. The four new centres – numbers 13 to 16 – were set up at Westridge High, Lentegeur High, Zisukhanyo Secondary and Princeton High School, all in Mitchell’s Plain. Speaking at the opening, hosted at Westridge High, Principal Wendy Vergotine expressed the school’s gratitude. “It is said that education is the key to success, but we also need provision of good facilities,” she said. “By providing this, you have changed our world, paving the way for infinite options in the physical sciences.” Professor Shaheed Hartley, director of the SLCA, explained that the science labs were created to address the educational challenges faced in South Africa. Results from national and international benchmark tests (together with the results achieved by teachers in similar tests) paint a very bleak picture, he pointed out. To help develop, train and support educators, Garden Cities Archway Foundation provides the infrastructure, and the SLCA puts the expertise together, he noted. “I have this vision of developing the culture of science teaching and nurturing the culture of science learning, and more importantly

of how these fit together,” he said. “Many a time we do nice things for learners, but forget the teachers as well. Creating an ethos of collaboration is essential to the development of science.” Hartley illustrated this through a demonstration of BridgIT, a Skypelike communications system that links the science labs. “What happens is I can stand in my lab and talk and teach and they can see me, hear me and interact with me,” he explained, while learners from the three other schools joined in via BridgIT. “It’s a matter of ensuring connectivity – of allowing learners and teachers to support and learn from each other.” Myrtle February, managing director of the Garden Cities Archway Foundation, noted that the labs were built with passion, and that she hoped they would be used in the same way. “When I was at school, we learned from listening to teachers. When I trained to be a teacher, I learned that children learned by doing. So remember, this lab is not a monument – it’s a weapon in the fight of education against poverty, crime and other problems. I hope it will be the heart of great developments in physics, maths and so on.” UWC’s Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian O’Connell, talked of how previous generations had fought a struggle against Apartheid for the sake of education. That education is now needed to power finance, agriculture, tourism and the like, as well as to combat global warming. “South Africa depends on you,” he told learners and teachers. “Work hard, learn fast, and spread this example so the country can flourish.”

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Sport 21

Sport

UWC alumnus in the hot seat

DVC: Student Affairs, Prof Lullu Tshiwula, presents the UWC Sportswoman of the Year trophy to star footballer Vuyo Mkhabela.

UWC’s sports stars honoured for their excellence

xcellence was the buzzword at UWC’s Annual Sports Awards ceremony on 10 October, where the exceptional performances of rugby sensation Freddie Muller and star footballer Vuyo Mkhabela were rewarded with the evening’s top honours. At the gala event, Muller was named as the University’s Sportsman of the Year, while Mkhabela received the Sportswoman of the Year award. Her team, the UWC Ladies soccer squad, also took home the award for Top Team of the Year. Mkhabela, a second-year BA Sport Recreation and Management student, has been an outstanding performer this season, displaying strong leadership skills and admirable conduct that earned her the captain’s armband. Her performance didn’t go unnoticed elsewhere, either. She was called on to represent the senior national women’s football team, Banyana Banyana, which took part in the 12-Nations Cyprus Cup, and was instrumental in the national University Sports South Africa (USSA) women’s football team reaching the semi-finals of the World Student Games in Russia in July. Muller, who trained with the Western Province Currie Cup squad, played a big part in helping UWC reach the final of this year’s FNB Varsity Shield Cup. He was the competition’s top try scorer, and was also awarded the Player that Rocks title. He was selected for the South African Student 15 side that played Namibia in May 2013, and represented Team SA, as part of the Rugby Sevens side, at the World Student Games in Russia. Several other outstanding athletes, personalities and clubs were recognised at the awards ceremony, including the Netball Club, which received the Top Club of the Year award. Paul Treu, the former head coach for the South African Rugby Sevens team, and Remondo Solomons, who this year was manager and coach of the national side that took part in the African Junior Championships, received special recognition awards from the UWC rugby and chess clubs, respectively. Hassan Sobekwa and Faloe Sunda took home the Merit Awards for Administrative Services. Professor Lullu Tshiwula, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Student Affairs, said that the sports awards is an important event for athletes and students as it speaks to the University’s goal of enabling the holistic development of students. Treu was also the guest speaker at the event, and he encouraged athletes, coaches and administrators to raise their standards, be persistent and display the character necessary to reach greatness. “Without character, players always fall short of excellence,” he said. “As a coach, when the going gets tough you look at players with character to do it for you.”

WC alumnus and world-renowned sports administrator Dr Danny Jordaan has been elected as the president of the embattled South African Football Association (SAFA). Jordaan, who obtained a BA degree and a teacher’s diploma from the University in the 1970s, replaced Kirsten Nematandani after overwhelmingly beating Mandla Mazibuko to the top seat, winning 162 votes to 88 at SAFA’s elective congress in late September. The election was conducted by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), and was monitored by members from world football body FIFA, the Confederation of African Football, and the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee. The 62-year old’s ascendancy to one of the country’s most demanding jobs was greeted with song and dance in the congress venue. Jordaan sought the mandate to lead SAFA on the promise to improve Bafana Bafana’s overall performance, boost youth development, and strengthen women’s football and the Association’s financial standing. He has all the necessary attributes to achieve the goals. A former lecturer, politician and anti-apartheid activist, Jordaan led South Africa’s successful 2010 FIFA World Cup bid, the first for Africa. He had also led the country’s unsuccessful bid four years earlier for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was appointed as chief executive officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Jordaan has served FIFA in numerous capacities, including as a general coordinator for the Youth World Cup (now the FIFA U-20 World Cup), the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, and the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan. He was also a match commissioner for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and a member of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee. In addition to his involvement in football, Jordaan is a member of the International Marketing Council. In 1993 he was appointed as a director of the Cape Town Olympic Bid Company, and in 1997 he was elected as the chief executive officer of SAFA.

Dr Danny Jordaan will serve as the president of the South African Football Association. Picture Credit: Cheryl Roberts.

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Sport

The women’s side puts in another strong performance.

UWC football champions – again, times two

he results speak for themselves. UWC soccer players are the kings and queens of Western Cape football. Both the men’s and women’s squads have successfully defended their University Sport South Africa (USSA) Western Cape Football titles, winning their respective competitions for a fourth consecutive year. In the process, UWC Ladies FC and Bushie Boys dominated their opponents: the prolific women’s team scored 65 goals and conceded just 2 in 10 games, while the men were unbeaten for the season. The two clubs played their last USSA games on 9 October, when Bushie Boys convincingly beat Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) by 3-0. The UWC Ladies suffered their first loss for the season on the day, going down 1-0 to the CPUT women; although the title was in the bag by this season-closing game. Now the UWC teams will again test their abilities against the best university teams in the other provinces when they take part in the USSA national championships later in this year. Jerry Laka, UWC football administrator, attributes UWC’s consistently good performance to the high quality of its technical staff, as well as the commitment and dedication of the players. “We have beefed up our coaching staff, and our players have always shown a desire to win,” Laka comments. Additional motivation, he adds, was provided by the opportunity to participate in the university

championships as well as in the Varsity Football competition, in which the top eight teams in the university championships compete. UWC Ladies coach, Nathan Peskin, says the arrival over the last few years of top players who also play for the senior national team, Banyana Banyana, has boosted his team and given them the edge over their rivals. “And the girls seem to always perform well,” says Peskin. Women’s captain Vuyo Mkhabela believes that the USSA league has been a “walk in the park” compared to the Sasol League and the CocaCola Cup (they also won the latter). Bushie Boys coach, Scara Matiwane, says that the USSA league has helped to prepare his team tactically, physically and emotionally for the up-coming club championships. “Going without a loss in the USSA league has brought back a winning mentality amongst players, and the spirit is high in the team,” Matiwane says. “That is a good atmosphere, as the club championships will be tougher this year because everyone wants to play in the Varsity Football tournament next year. But I can assure you that we are a better team than the side that took part in this year’s Varsity Football.” Matiwane’s captain, Basikelele Mdletye, promises fans that they will maintain their winning ways in the next competition, and says that the whole team is looking forward to it.

Sport

Ladies football scoop big title

The UWC Ladies football club has been crowned the South African Football Association (SAFA) Cape Town Coca-Cola champions after beating Cape Town Roses 4-3 in the final in October.

ifting the South African Football Association (SAFA) Cape Town Coca-Cola Cup was one of the big items on the wish list which the UWC Ladies football club drew up at the start of this season, so it was all the more special when they actually achieved their goal in October, beating archrivals Cape Town Roses 4-3 in the final at the Phillipi Stadium. The final got off to a fierce start, with both teams – clearly showing why they had earned the coveted spots in the final – eager to score first and stamp their authority on the game. It was Roses who opened the score sheet with the help of striker Nandipha Booi. Their lead was short-lived, however, as UWC left wing and Banyana Banyana player, Leandra Smeda, equalised, displaying superior dribbling skills to beat three players in the box and score. The score remained tied 1-1 up to the 40th minute, when UWC was awarded a penalty after a Roses defender handled in the box, and Mantombi Jingqi scored from the spot, making it 2-1 to UWC. UWC pressed home the advantage, scoring twice more before half time: Smeda scored her second goal of the match, this time with her left boot, and number 16, Rachel Sebati, tapped in after a shot

from Smeda was deflected, putting UWC comfortably ahead 4-1 at half time. Roses were not ready to throw in the towel, though, and they did well to exploit UWC’s defensive weaknesses, scoring two goals in the second half. A three-goal deficit was a bridge too far, however, and the score remained 4-3 to UWC. UWC Ladies head coach, Jerry Laka, said that the win was a special achievement for the club. “Winning this match was a great moment for us. “We lost to Roses last week in a league match and this was payback time. The girls wanted to take revenge.” Laka praised the team for the way they kept possession, and how they used their passing combinations to their advantage. He singled out Smeda’s performance, saying it was evident to all why she is a striker in the national squad. “The team’s season is not quite done yet”, reported Laka. The club has qualified for the University Championships in December, so they will have to prepare for that competition. “We will also focus on the league for next year, as it is our aim to win this as well,” the coach said.

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Do you have any important UWC stories to share? Do you know of an event on campus that you’d like to see featured? Have you heard of UWC alumni who’ve done amazing things, which you think the world should know about? Or maybe you have a few suggestions, comments or questions about something in this newsletter? Whatever the case may be, the UWC Media Office would really like to hear from you. Just email us on ia@uwc.ac.za , call us on 021 959 9566, or drop by our offices. UWC CONTRIBUTORS

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