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SECTION F: OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS
Prof. Julia Sloth Nielsen (Research excellence)
One of the significant highlights of 2020-21 is the accomplishment of Professor Julia Sloth-Nielsen, who holds a Chair in Public Law at the University, on receiving an A-rating from the NRF., making her the first A-rated researcher at the Law Faculty and the UWC’s first A-rated woman researcher. The A-rating is granted to leading international researchers who are recognised as leaders in their field for the high quality and impact of their recent research outputs
Prof. Sloth-Nielsen arrived at the UWC in 1994, and her first role was to manage the Children’s Rights Project at the Community Law Centre, which she did until the year 2000 when she formally joined the Faculty of Law. “It was not easy in the beginning,” she admitted. “I have had to push hard to get recognition.”
“What makes her accomplishment even more noteworthy, is that the rating is in the discipline of law, thus broadening our internationally recognised expertise at the University outside of the science field in which we currently have 6 A-rated researchers”, said Professor José Frantz, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation. “It shows that we can capacitate across disciplines and that the UWC has the ability to make research count in all spheres, not only in one discipline.” Prof. Sloth-Nielsen is the UWC’s second non-science A-rated researcher.
Prof. Frantz said the UWC’s recent Times Higher Education ranking suggests that the University is gaining recognition internationally for its research capabilities across disciplines. Prof. Sloth-Nielsen’s A-rating by the NRF, which benchmarks South Africa’s researchers against the best in the world, is an “honour and an achievement for us as an institution, the Law Faculty and Prof. Sloth-Nielsen herself, who has demonstrated commitment to and resilience in pursuing research excellence”, Prof. Frantz added.
Prof. Sloth-Nielsen has supervised over 70 postgraduate students and still lectures around the world. She has published extensively on a range of subjects, including child justice, surrogacy and corporal punishment. She was a member of the South African Law Reform Commission that drafted the Child Justice Act (1996-2000) and the Children’s Act (1998-2002). She is currently working on a children’s rights clause in the new constitution of Sri Lanka, and a book on children’s constitutional rights.
The passionate protector of children’s rights attributes her significant success in the challenging world of academia to her no-nonsense approach. “Work hard. Don’t make excuses. Make your own hay. No one is going to do it for you.”
Prof. Nico Orce: GAMKA PROJECT Research Excellence)
When the UWC was awarded the single largest grant given by the National Research Foundation (NRF) in a competitive call for a new nuclear spectrometer called GAMKA, many people doubted if the project would ever see the light of day. But the UWC ensured that the project was completed with great aplomb; bolstering the country’s ability to perform cutting-edge nuclear research and attracting more world-class projects in the process.
The UWC-led consortium of four Universities (Stellenbosch, UniZulu, Wits and UWC) and iThemba LABS has been awarded R35 million by the National Research Foundation (NRF) for a new nuclear spectrometer. The bidding consortium was led by Prof. Nico Orce of the UWC’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, who says it was a hard slog to get the submission exactly right. The process started more than five years ago but their initial submission to the National Equipment Programme was unsuccessful. Changes to the Strategic Research Programme, however, opened up a call for project proposals valued up to R35 million. The input from all partners in the consortium has meant that the submission describes the potential positive impact of the proposed spectrometer on the field of nuclear physics studies.
GAMKA stands for GAMma-ray spectrometer for Knowledge in Africa, and the name stems from the Khoisan word for “Lion”. It is a name that was chosen by the SA nuclear physics community for the younger generation to identify with and take pride in. Almost 10 years into the making, and involving many people and institutions, GAMKA is a ball of detectors with high-end capabilities for gamma radiation. new detectors that are involved in the GAMKA project*. There are also new frames to house the detectors, a state-of-the-art liquifier, which provides detectors with liquid nitrogen at working temperatures of approximately -196°C -an instrumentation engineer to take care of GAMKA and lots of planning, designing, manufacturing, procurement and finances; including the necessary business plan.
Prof. Helen Schneider (Research excellence)
Professor Helen Schneider has held a SARChI Chair in Health Systems Governance since 2016. In 2020 the Chair’s term was renewed for another 5 years and simultaneously upgraded from Tier 2 to a Tier 1 status. The work of this Chair aims to explore, through a range of lenses, the micro, meso and macro dimensions of health system governance in South Africa. In the first five-year term, the Chair and associated postgraduate students studied the everyday practices of governance and accountability at the frontline of the health system, documenting in particular local pockets of health system effectiveness against a background of wider systemic failures. Structural reforms such as national health insurance are unlikely to succeed unless they also engage the routines, cultures and management systems at district and sub-district levels. This focus is being extended into the next 5-year term through an agenda of research and engaged scholarship referred to generically as bottom-up health system strengthening. A cross-cutting preoccupation of this work is the mechanisms that enable local collective action – whether this concerns coordinated action between the primary health care system and district hospitals, or between health and other sectors or between the formal health system and citizens. With a keen interest in nurturing future scholars, the Chair also convenes the PhD programme in the SOPH (~50 students), and with a small team is exploring models and discourses of doctoral education appropriate to the field of public health, student expectations and values of the School.
Prof. Cyril Julie (Research Excellence)
Prof. Cyril Julie is currently the FirstRand Foundation and NRF Chair in Mathematics Education at the University of the Western Cape. His research interests span the Continuous Professional Development of high school Mathematics teachers, the teaching of the Applications of Mathematics and Mathematical Modelling and the development of teaching school Mathematics. Prof. Julie continues to make a valuable contribution to the development of Africa females in the field of Mathematics Education. Just recently he was acknowledged for his valuable work when his NRF SARCHI chair was upgraded to a Tier 1 which is an indication of his excellent contribution to Maths Education
He is currently directing the Local Evidence-Driven Improvement of Mathematics Teaching And Learning Initiative (LEDIMTALI) project at the University of the Western Cape. The principal aim of the project is to bring together mathematics educators, mathematicians, mathematics teachers and mathematics curriculum advisors to work collectively and collaboratively to develop good teaching of mathematics. The initiative is premised on the belief that such collective and collaborative work can lead to learners achieving at their highest potential in mathematics.
Prof. John Klaasen: International Research Training Group (IRTG)
The initiative to develop an IRTG emerged from a longstanding cooperation between the Faculty of Theology at Humboldt University and their respective counterparts at the Faculty of Theology (Stellenbosch University), School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics (UKZN) and the Department of Religion and Theology (UWC). The collaboration involved annual summer school events in Berlin and at the three South African partnership institutions since 2008 as well as the development of a master’s programme in Religion and Culture. Against this backdrop Prof. Heike Becker, Dr Jung Ran Annachiara Forte (both from the discipline of Anthropology at the UWC) and Prof. Ignatius Swart were all approached to become part of the IRTG initiative during its development in 2017/2018. The rationale was to assemble a team from the UWC that would strengthen the inter- and transdisciplinary inclination of the IRTG project.
Prof. John Klaasen was invited to join the initiative at the beginning of the new (second) application process (2019/20) because of his interest in Healing and Pastoral Care, which is one of the four research areas of the project. Prof. Klaasen replaced Prof. Ernst Conradie, who was no longer available for the second application undertaking (after the first unsuccessful undertaking). Success for the 2020 application can be credited to the work that went into sharpening the focus of the second application, under the same overarching topical focus on “Transformative Religion – Religion as Situated Knowledge in Processes of Social Transformation”. This entailed that the focus areas were reduced from 6 to the current 4 areas.
Much attention was also given towards sharpening the inter- and transdisciplinary aspects of the project. This achievement was acknowledged in the final assessment results of the application, commending it for the way in which it has brought together scholars from the disciplinary fields of religious studies and theology, social and cultural anthropology, African history, and ethics. As such the IRTG was commended for having “grasped the rare opportunity to combine these different competencies in a productive manner”.
The following could be considered valid reasons for what it would mean for UWC:
The IRTG on “Transformative Religion” is only the second IRTG in the history of South African-German academic collaboration (see Press Release; also see below from the NRF website).
The UWC is an integral partner of this undertaking through the four UWC PIs and the doctoral students that will join the UWC participation. The IRTG will make a significant contribution to further establish the focus on “Religion and Theology” at the UWC as a field of excellence from an inter-and transdisciplinary perspective and approach. As such it will make a significant contribution towards enhancing the international standing of the UWC in terms of the aforementioned focus and not least of its Department of Religion and Theology and Department of Anthropology. Specifically, for Anthropology as an established discipline at the UWC the project provides a brilliant opportunity to develop the social and cultural anthropology of religion in South Africa within the framework of a transcontinental and a wider South African collaboration. The IRTG will also make a significant contribution towards drawing a selected number of high-quality doctoral students to the UWC. This will make a significant contribution towards the internationalisation of post-graduate study at the UWC and its Faculty of Arts and Humanities, within the ambit of the IRTG’s doctoral training programme.
Prof. Olaf Jacob: internationalisation
Prof. Olaf Jacob began his HNU career in 1994 at the newly founded “Neu-Ulm Department of the University of Applied Sciences Kempten/Neu-Ulm” as Professor of Business Informatics. As a founding member, he thus had the opportunity to actively shape the university since its inception and far beyond its independence in October 1998. University President Prof. Dr. Uta M. Feser appreciates Jacob as an “innovative forward thinker who brings ideas to fruition and is always there when you need him.”. From 2017, Prof. Jacob contributed to the university management as Vice President for Research and Digitisation; he was also a member of the University Council.
In February 2021, Olaf Jacob entered a new phase of his life: retirement. His review of his long time at HNU is positive: “I enjoyed projects that involved exploring new things and moving the university forward - such as founding a faculty or planning and introducing an international Master’s programme. Whenever it was a matter of showing “founding spirit” on the way from a small branch of the FH Kempten to an independent, innovative business school.”
International commitment: unforgettable experiences in Africa Prof. Olaf Jacob was instrumental in promoting the internationalisation of the HNU and made particular efforts to establish connections with Africa. His efforts earned him, among other things, the appointment as associate professor at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. He carried out numerous cooperative projects with partners, especially in Africa and South America. In this way, he developed valuable international strategic partnerships for HNU and made a decisive contribution to the university’s international profile.
“Integral personality”: Prof. Jacob as an important advisor Vice-President Prof. Dr. Julia Kormann vividly remembers her first meeting with Prof. Dr. Olaf Jacob: “I still remember my trial lecture. Olaf Jacob already struck me as a personality of integrity.” Later, Jacob always proved to be a valuable advisor for her, who had the ability to enrich problem solutions with innovative insights and perspectives. Kormann is very sorry that he is now retiring. “I wish him to keep in touch with South Africa,” she says. Vice President Bayer also dedicates words of praise to his companion: “What I appreciate most about working with Olaf is his calmness and composure, his farsightedness as well as his structured approach. I have always been able to rely on him, his helpfulness and on agreements and arrangements made.”
