Making A Difference Magazine 2018

MAKING A

Difference

T R A N S F O R M I N G C O M M U N I T I E S • N U R T U R I N G I N N OVAT I O N • F I N D I N G S U S TA I N A B L E S O L U T I O N S

COMMITTED TO BEING A

university of quality MESSAGE FROM THE VICE-CHANCELLOR

t is my privilege to lead the University of the Western Cape (UWC) alongside a strong and talented executive team. As one of the leading higher education institutions in South Africa and the continent, we are very pleased with our growth over the past five decades of our existence.

As a research-led university, we are committed to being a vibrant intellectual space where we engage with matters of real significance, constantly seeking new ways of improving what we offer our students. We do this while being mindful of the society in which we are located and the communities around us.

UWC, as an institution and a campus community, is strongly defined by the ethos that one’s origins do not define one’s destiny.

We see this in the resilience of our students, many of whom are the first in their families to gain a university education. It is also evident in the institution’s growth and development from a historically disadvantaged institution originally intended to educate only coloured students to a truly national university of high repute.

We are confident about our identity as an institution rooted in South Africa and the African continent and we believe we have much to offer to a vast array of local, continental and international partners – be they other educational institutions, the private sector, government or civil society.

I

We are proud of the fact that our doors of learning have long been open to academically deserving students, irrespective of race or socio-economic circumstances. Moreover, we are proud of the strides that we have made in providing young people with an education that places excellence in teaching, learning, research and innovation at its centre.

At UWC, we are enthusiastic about forging mutually beneficial partnerships that will assist us to realise our vision of being a place of quality, and a place to grow from hope to action through knowledge.

PROFESSOR TYRONE PRETORIUS RECTOR AND VICE-CHANCELLOR

01

THE

plan UWC’S INSTITUTIONAL OPERATING PLAN (IOP) 2016-2020

WC’s IOP is framed as a broad and integrated strategic operational framework for 2016-2020. It represents a strategic interpretation of UWC’s role as a public South African university. The IOP has five cross-cutting themes

U

that intersect with eight goal areas concerned with, among others, issues of national transformation and social justice, inclusiveness and diversity, sustainability and innovation, and the need for mutually beneficial local and global partnerships.

THEMES

THE UNIVERSITY IN THE DIGITAL AGE

1

2

INNOVATION

3

RESEARCHINTENSIVENESS

TEACHING AND LEARNING

3

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

INTERNATIONALISATION

4

5

THE 21ST CENTURY GRADUATE

GOAL AREAS

1

6

02

THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE

ENHANCING UWC’S STANDING AND PROFILE

2

7

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CAMPUS AND SURROUNDING AREAS

8

LEADERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE

4

EXCELLENT TALENT

5

FINANCIAL VIABILITY

“UWC has set itself the ambitious vision of being a vibrant intellectual space.”

ACADEMIC

milestones

UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE 2017-2018

1

PROF BRIAN O’CONNELL,

is the 1st UWC Vice-Chancellor to receive an NRF Lifetime Achievement Award, for his leadership role at UWC and his dedication to education in South Africa.

2 3 10

IN 2017, A GROUP OF UWC STUDENTS conducted the 2nd

major African-led experiment at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland.

UWC ACADEMICS

received HELTASA National Excellence in Teaching and Learning awards in 2017 for their innovative and effective educational techniques.

UWC ALUMNI have gone on to become Rectors or ViceChancellors of South African universities, helping to shape the direction of higher education.

10

THE CENTRE FOR STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES (CSSS)

has provided broad studentcentered development and professional services, programmes, training opportunities and resources for the past decade.

15 62

UWC ACADEMICS

have been honoured with membership in the Academy of Science of South Africa.

STATE-OF-THE-ART SCHOOL SCIENCE LABS

have been built by UWC’s Science Learning Centre for Africa in the Eastern and Western Cape. A further nine are planned for 2018.

52%

OF SOUTH AFRICA’S DENTISTS

are annually produced by UWC’s Faculty of Dentistry - Africa’s leading dental school and a WHO Centre of Competence.

5000 GRADUATES

were capped in 2017 – a record for the University.

117

UWC’S RANKING

out of 378 universities in the Times Higher Education BRICS & Emerging Economies University Rankings 2018.

220

SPECIES OF INDIGENOUS PLANTS

are protected in UWC’s Cape Flats Nature Reserve (along with dozens of mammal species and over 100 bird species).

12 000

THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS from South Africa and other African countries who have participated in the UWC School of Public Health’s Summer and Winter Schools since they began.

03

UWC

in numbers

OUR STATS AT A GLANCE

TOTAL STUDENTS

ACHIEVEMENTS

FACULTIES

UWC IS RANKED NUMBER 1 IN PHYSICAL SCIENCE - not just in

South Africa, but for Africa as a whole - in the 2016 Nature Index.

ARTS

COMMUNITY AND HEALTH SCIENCES

UWC IS RATED IN THE

22 443

TOP 3% of

researchintensive universities worldwide, according to the Times Higher Education 2018 World University Rankings.

3%

DENTISTRY

ECONOMIC AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

BREAKDOWN Undergraduates

17 238

120

PHDs were conferred by

UWC in 2017, from astro-physics to politics to zoology.

Postgraduates

5 205 First-time Entering Undergraduates

4 575

04

UWC HAS THRICE BEEN

EDUCATION

LAW

DECLARED AFRICA’S GREENEST CAMPUS – a shining example of how sustainable thinking and environmentalism can be promoted at universities.

NATURAL SCIENCES

GROWING OUR

research capacity

H

2500

200

NUMBER OF STAFF

istorically disadvantaged universities have struggled to claim a place among South Africa’s recognised research-led institutions. Through dedicated efforts and with the support of various partners, UWC has managed to improve its research output and standing. The University continues to expand the range of its postgraduate offerings.

Our graduation and throughput rates are in line with national benchmarks. While challenges remain, the University has made significant gains in the production and transfer of cutting-edge knowledge in key fields nationally, regionally and internationally.

1500

1000

500

0

2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017*

PUBLICATION UNITS

152

222

242

267

365

406

483

485

507

550*

RESEARCH MASTERS

134

137

116

221

254

267

255

275

215

215

23

28

42

60

75

111

104

100

91

91

355

443

484

667

844 1 006 1 050 1 060

995

1 201

DOCTORAL WEIGHTED TOTAL

*2017 FIGURES ARE UNAUDITED

RESEARCH OUTPUT Total weighted research output is an important indicator of progress for any university. As seen in the table above, UWC has shown significant growth in this area. Publication units have continued to grow over the years and we are confident that we will be able to maintain our position as a research-led institution among the top eight universities in South Africa.

05

RESEARCH FACTS

1

ST

3

UWC became the first university in South Africa to be awarded a FLAGSHIP ON CRITICAL THOUGHT IN AFRICAN HUMANITIES, located in the Centre for Humanities Research. Launched jointly by the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation, the Flagship hosts scholars and students to forge the next generation of humanities scholars, committed to the demands of building a post-apartheid South Africa.

UWC HOSTS THREE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION COLLABORATING CENTRES, in Oral Health, Health

Systems Complexity and Change, and Bioinformatics and Human Health.

2000

RATINGS UWC’s RESEARCH REPOSITORY holds

over 2 000 papers by researchers, freely accessible via the internet.

RISING STAR

2

06

A report by the National Research Foundation (NRF) shows that UWC leads South African universities in research in the fields of physics, molecular biology and genetics, and biology and biochemistry. It is rated second in COMPUTER SCIENCE RESEARCH.

144

3 1 17

NRF-RATED RESEARCHERS

are based at UWC.

UWC RESEARCHERS

have achieved National Research Foundation A-ratings, recognising them as leading international researchers.

DST/NRF NATIONAL CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN FOOD SECURITY

is jointly hosted by UWC and the University of Pretoria.

SOUTH AFRICAN RESEARCH CHAIRS INITIATIVE (SARCHI) CHAIRS

are hosted by UWC. Established by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF), the Chairs are designed to attract and retain excellence in research and innovation at South African public universities.

LEADING THE WAY UWC continues to prove itself as a world-class hub of science, technology and community engagement.

The Zenzeleni project at UWC received the 2017 Best Innovation with Social Impact award at the DST Innovation Bridge for being a model for community-based cooperatives to own and run their own ISP (internet service provider) in rural areas using solar power and wireless mesh technologies.

UWC has a strong presence in the development of the groundbreaking Square Kilometre Array (SKA) international project that is building a radio telescope tens of times more sensitive and hundreds of times faster at mapping the sky than today’s best radio astronomy facilities. This will enable astronomers to probe the universe in unprecedented detail.

The SA National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI) at UWC conducts cutting-edge bioinformatics and computational biology research relevant to South African, African and global populations. In 2016, a team of UWC scientists in Bioinformatics came second at the Innovation Prize for Africa for their software programme, Exatype, that provides healthcare workers with an accurate analysis of HIV drug resistance in patients.

07

HISTORIC

milestones

1960: The University College of the Western Cape opens its doors.

1975: Prof Richard van der Ross is appointed as UWC’s first black Rector.

1978: UWC’s Cape Flats Nature Reserve is declared a National Monument (now known as a provincial heritage site).

1983: The University of the Western Cape Act grants UWC autonomy on the same terms as the established ‘white’ institutions – UWC is free to determine its own destiny.

1987: New Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Jakes Gerwel, declares UWC as the ‘university of the left’. The University deracialises and opens its doors to African students.

UWC inaugurates its longest-serving Chancellor, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who would serve for more than 25 years.

1990: UWC becomes the first university to award the late President Mandela an honorary doctorate upon his release from prison.

1991:

UWC launches South Africa’s first School of Public Health outside a medical school, with Prof David Sanders as founding director.

1993: UWC’s anti-apartheid media project Bush Radio goes on air as a pirate radio station and shortly thereafter becomes South Africa’s first licensed community radio station.

1994: Many academics from UWC join President Mandela’s government and are appointed to ministerial and

08

advisory positions, including its Rector, Prof Gerwel, who became the Director-General in the Presidency.

UWC’s leadership takes part in writing the higher education policy for the incoming government. The South African interim Constitution and final Constitution are drafted at UWC. 1995: UWC launches its first website – joining the internet age before other universities in the Mother City.

UWC launches the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) to engage in research, training, policy development and advocacy in relation to land reform, rural governance and natural resource management.

2002: Under the leadership of Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Brian O’Connell, UWC successfully resists being merged. Instead, its Dentistry Faculty is merged with that of the University of Stellenbosch, making UWC the only dentistry faculty in the Western Cape.

2003: UWC acquires the first protein X-ray crystallography facility in South Africa (thanks to funding from the Carnegie Foundation), a major boost to research capacity development in biotechnology.

2008: The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship is introduced to UWC, promoting an international postgraduate education experience. The first cohort of Fellows is accepted in 2009.

2009: South African writer Meg Vandermerwe initiates UWC Creates, the only creative writing programme in South Africa operating across three languages (English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa).

2010: 10 SARChI chairs awarded to UWC, the highest number awarded to any university in SA that year (as of 2018, UWC hosts 17 SARChI Chairs).

2012: UWC launches its Technology Transfer Office to help promote the development and protection of the intellectual property of the University’s research community, staff and students.

UWC is declared Africa’s Greenest Campus in the inaugural African Green Campus Initiative Challenge.

2013: UWC signs the Berlin Declaration on Open Access in the Sciences and Humanities, joining hundreds of institutions around the world dedicated to supporting the principles of open access and working to achieve openness in publicly funded projects.

2014: The DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security is established at UWC, the first Centre of Excellence to be housed at an historically disadvantaged institution.

For the first time, UWC awards over 100 PhDs and over 4,000 degrees in one year.

UWC is recognised as a top-tier university by the Department of Higher Education and Training.

At UWC’s first Chancellor’s Dinner for Outstanding Alumni, eight UWC alumni who went on to become

Rectors or Principals of South African universities are honoured (Prof Tyrone Pretorius, the ninth, was appointed later).

UWC graduates its first master’s students as a hub of the National Nanosciences and Technologies Platform.

2016: UWC’s Centre for Humanities Research is awarded the Flagship on Critical Thought in African Humanities by the NRF. UWC is awarded a UK-SA bilateral chair in food security.

UWC’s Hydrogen Systems South Africa (HySA), in partnership with Implats and DST, unveil South Africa’s first prototype hydrogen fuel cell forklift and refuelling station.

UWC is ranked number 1 in Physical Science - not just in South Africa, but for Africa as a whole - in the 2016 Nature Index.

2017: A group of UWC students, led by Prof Nico Orce, conduct the second major African-led experiment at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland.

UWC’s former Vice-Chancellor, Prof Brian O’Connell, receives the National Research Foundation’s highest honour, the NRF Lifetime Achievement Award.

2018: UWC’s Faculty of Dentistry - Africa’s leading and largest dental school - launches a new state-of-the-art video conferencing system that will allow students to watch live surgeries in class or at home - a first for South Africa.

09

INNOVATION FOR

improving lives

WC produces cutting-edge technological innovations that could help change the world. This drive is supported by UWC’s Technology Transfer Office (TTO), which helps promote the development and protection of intellectual property produced by the University’s research community, staff and students.

U

FUELLING THE FUTURE A growing economy requires an enormous amount of cheap, renewable energy. To meet that ever-increasing demand, UWC is leading the way on many fronts.

• Clean hydrogen energy solutions: Hydrogen is one of the best alternate fuels available: when hydrogen fuel cells are used, the only waste product is water. At UWC, HySA Systems Centre of Competence and several national and international partners have been introducing many hydrogen fuel cell technology innovations, including South Africa’s first hydrogen-powered tricycle and scooter, its first fuel cell component manufacturing line, first 2.5kW fuel cell backup power system for telecommunication markets, and a hydrogen-powered golf cart. HySA is also testing a generator system at UWC’s Nature Reserve.

• UWC’s South African Institute for Advanced Materials Chemistry (SAIAMC) holds two large research and innovation grants from the DST. One is for a lithium-ion battery and super-capacitor key programme extension, while the other is

10

for the development of a plasma spray-coating system. The PetroSA Synthetic Fuels Innovation Centre (PSFIC) in SAIAMC is leading research and development efforts to enhance the conversion of olefins to distillate (COD) technology – a key process in the synthesis of synthetic fuel.

BANG: PROVIDING ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY The Bridging Application and Network Gaps (BANG) group works with industry partners and NGOs in multi-disciplinary teams to engage communities through innovative information and communication technology. BANG operates at the intersection of mobile computing, telecommunications, user interfaces and software engineering, innovating communication alternatives for marginalised South African communities.

• The Zenzeleni mesh network, a joint project between BANG and the community in rural Mankosi in the Eastern Cape, enables connectivity through low-cost internet and voice calls in rural areas. The network covers 30km2 and is made up of a dozen routers located in ‘safe’ homes in the community (there has been no theft). The routers run open-source firmware and software. The entire system is powered by solar panels installed on the roofs of the host homes. The Zenzeleni project was named South Africa’s Best Innovation with Social Impact at the DST Innovation Bridge Technology Showcase and Matchmaking Event in 2017. In 2018, the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services committed itself to working with UWC to take the Zenzeleni project across rural Eastern Cape.

• SignSupport is a mobile assistive app designed with, and for, deaf people. It helps them understand, through sign language videos, instructions from a pharmacist who can hear but cannot sign. Pre-recorded videos in South African Sign Language (SASL), which cater for a range of medical needs, are loaded onto phones and can be accessed via the app. The app suite includes an authoring tool to create additional scenarios, and a mobile video relay.

INNOVATION QUICK HITS Other UWC innovations include: • Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD): CADD has speeded up research into discovering effective drugs to treat malaria, tuberculosis and cancer, thanks to advances in computing power and new methods of handling big data sets. UWC explores both a structure-based method (at the South African National Bioinformatics Institute) and a ligand-based approach to simulate drug-receptor interactions (at the School of Pharmacy).

• Acid Mine Drainage: Water quality is a serious issue in South Africa, where acid mine drainage can be a significant pollutant.

But UWC’s Environmental and NanoSciences group has devised a fly ash acid mine drainage technology that involves the treatment of mine water with coal fly ash (ash produced from burning fuel coal), reducing the contaminants to acceptable levels and thereby remediating contaminated water which can then be used for agricultural and industrial purposes.

• Sensing Smartly: The SensorLab hosts the SARChI Chair in Nanoelectrochemistry and is the top national laboratory for smart sensing devices.

JONATHAN KIANGANI DISPLAYS A GEOPOLYMER PAVING BRICK PRODUCED USING FLY ASH ACID MINE DRAINAGE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES.

11

2

600

UWC COMPUTER SCIENCE-

YOUNG SCIENTISTS from

UWC STUDENTS have

THE 32-YEAR

LED TEAMS have

UWC have been selected for the USA Techwoman programme, which aims to empower, connect and support the next generation of female leaders in science.

been selected in as many years to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting to share their ideas on science and medicine.

PARTNERSHIP between

represented South Africa in the International Undergraduate SuperComputing Competition in Germany.

12

2

6

UWC and the University of Missouri has seen over 600 academic exchanges between students and staff, strengthening international collaboration and research.

UWC IN THE

global landscape BROADENING OUR HORIZONS

e live in a connected world in which UWC has long enjoyed fruitful and collaborative ties with international institutions. For example, it recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of Dynamics of Building a Better Society (DBBS), an inter-university collaboration with Flemish universities in Belgium.

W

UWC is strengthening its existing links with Nordic countries through the Southern African-Nordic Centre (SANORD), a project that now boasts 43 member institutions, and its collaboration with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).

It also has a 32-year ongoing collaboration with the University of Missouri, with which it has launched a new project to boost research in nanoscience, herbal medicine, nanopharmaceuticals and cancer. UWC is one of the leading South African institutions for the EU’s Erasmus Mundus exchanges, promoting cultural and social exchanges across nationalities, ultimately directed at enhancing the quality of higher education and promoting socio-economic development.

LOCAL CONCERNS WITH GLOBAL IMPACT • UWC co-hosts, with the University of Pretoria, South Africa’s Centre of Excellence in Food Security, an initiative jointly

•

• •

• • •

•

funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF). Working with over 100 South African and international researchers, the Centre seeks to address one of the world’s most pressing problems.

UWC has established a Centre for Multilingualism and Diversities Research (CMDR) which looks at transmigrational and global economies of the South.

UWC hosts the UNESCO Chair in Science and Mathematics Education.

The UNESCO Centre for Groundwater Studies researches and advises on sustainable groundwater use and management in Africa.

UWC’s Centre for Humanities Research is recognised as a flagship DST-NRF project.

UWC is recognised as a world leader in Constitutional Law and Child Rights Law. UWC researchers are playing a leading role in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Project, joining international researchers in constructing and using the largest radio telescope ever built to investigate the secrets of the cosmos.

The Brian O’Connell Visiting Fellowship for Scholars from the African Diaspora was inaugurated in 2016 through grants from the Kresge and Carnegie Foundations. The fellowship is reserved for distinguished scholars from the African diaspora.

13

ENGAGEMENT:

UWC for the community THE STUDENT-IN-COMMUNITY UWC takes the student-in-community as its academic point of departure for community engagement – the University pursues ongoing engagement with its communities while preparing students to take a place in the global community. The UWC Community Engagement Unit plays an advisory and coordinating role and also runs its own projects, including a UWC Community Engagement Database that tracks the University’s community work.

DENTISTRY: COMMUNITY SERVICE WITH A SMILE

52% OF SOUTH AFRICA’S DENTISTS ARE ANNUALLY PRODUCED BY THE FACULTY OF DENTISTRY

14

UWC’s Faculty of Dentistry is the largest in South Africa, providing cutting-edge research and teaching. The faculty’s staff and students see to more than 120 000 patients annually at its two primary sites at Tygerberg Hospital and in Mitchells Plain on the Cape Flats. It also services the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, the largest referral hospital for children in South Africa. As a World Health Organisation Collaboration Centre, it provides expertise and specialised training to the WHO and other African countries.

UWC’S SCIENCE LEARNING CENTRE FOR AFRICA WORKS WITH

350 80 000

TEACHERS

STUDENTS

SCIENCE LEARNING CENTRE FOR AFRICA: BUILDING A CULTURE OF LEARNING In response to South Africa’s weak maths and science performance at school level, the UWC Science Learning Centre for Africa (SLCA) has actively intervened in promoting the culture of maths and science. SLCA is working with over 350 teachers and 80 000 learners to build a culture of maths and science learning through: • Tutorial programmes for Grade 12 learners • Science competitions and clubs in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape • A Women in Mathematics programme • An aviation programme • A robotics initiative.

THE TOOLS FOR THE TRADE The SLCA has constructed state-of-the-art science learning centres (laboratories) at 57 schools in the Western Cape and 5 in the Eastern Cape in collaboration with government and private partners.

NURTURING THE NEXT

generation of leaders he University of the Western Cape is fortunate to have attracted many talented young academics who are just beginning to make their mark in their fields as teachers and researchers.

T

SIYAMBONGA MATSHAWULE: MAPPING THE UNIVERSE UWC astrophysics PhD candidate Siyambonga Matshawule was one of five top young physicists from South Africa to attend the 66th Nobel Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, Germany, in 2016.

He was a co-author of the first research paper to emerge from the first phase of the SKA project and is a UWC NGAP lecturer.

was adapted for performance at Woordfees 2018. It was awarded the NIHSS Award for Best Fiction in 2018 and her collection of Afrikaans poems, Radbraak, won the UJ Prize for Best Debut in 2017.

CORNEL HART: DEVELOPING UWC POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS Academic Manager and Monitoring & Evaluation Coordinator at the School of Postgraduate Studies, Cornel Hart, won the 2017 inaugural International Community Development Practice Award of the Community Development Society for her consistent record of engagement and empowerment. Hart designs and administers training sessions and advises postgraduate students.

MMAKI JANTJIES: PROMOTING TECH CAREERS FOR GIRLS Head of Information Systems at UWC, Dr Mmaki Jantjies, has a passion for promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects. She’s been named one of the News24 Young Nelson Mandelas and was one of the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans for 2017, as well as one of the Inspiring 50 SA Women in Tech. She coordinates the Mozilla Foundation and UN Women’s Mozilla Clubs which teach high school girls ICT and leadership skills.

JOLYN PHILLIPS: EXPLORING ART AND AFRIKAANS Jolyn Phillips is a multi-talented musician, writer, PhD student and junior lecturer in the Afrikaans Department at UWC. Her debut collection of short stories, Tjieng Tjang Tjerries and Other Stories,

15

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND THE

empowered student

CREATING JOB MAKERS Entrepreneurship creates jobs by stimulating innovation, production and economic growth. UWC’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation specialises in entrepreneurial training and coordinates entrepreneurship and innovation activities at the University while helping to develop an academic programme in entrepreneurship.

TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY EDUCATION UWC is offering Africa’s very first Postgraduate Diploma in Data Analytics and Business Intelligence, has established a master’s programme in Data Science and launched its first Online Management Development Programme.

THE CO-CURRICULAR RECORD RECOGNISES ALL ACHIEVEMENTS The Co-Curricular Record enables a holistic take on a student’s development and experience at UWC,

16

recognising and recording students’ experiences and achievements outside the lecture room, whether in academic support, entrepreneurship, leadership, sports leadership achievement or community engagement.

PREPARING FOR TOMORROW’S WORKING WORLD, TODAY UWC Careers Service hosts career development opportunities for students, including: • Company presentations, showcases and promotions; • Careers Xpo to network annually with leading South African recruiters and UWC alumni; • Job search skills workshops, personal branding assistance and mock interviews; • Advertisement of graduate trainee posts, internships and part-time work.

UWC Careers Service recently launched Career Xplora, an online management tool that provides students with job search resources.

CELEBRATING UWC SPORT:

a healthy diversity UWC offers exciting sports programmes at competitive and recreational levels and produces athletes who compete nationally and internationally in a variety of sporting codes.

VARSITY SHIELD RUGBY CHAMPIONS UWC Rugby was promoted to the Varsity Cup – South Africa’s premier university rugby competition – after winning the Varsity Shield in 2017 under the able guidance of the coach, 1995 Rugby World Cup winner Chester Williams, assisted by fellow Springbok Bolla Conradie.

FANTASTIC FEMALE FOOTBALLERS UWC Women’s Football has produced many members of the South African Banyana Banyana team. The team has won and defended all the major titles in recent years (as has the men’s team) including the University Sports South Africa (USSA) Western Cape Football title.

FAST AND FLAT: A ROAD RACE LIKE NO OTHER Every year, thousands of runners from across the country take on the challenge of UWC’s Fast and Flat race (actually three events; a 10km run, a League walk and a 5km fun run). Run since 1995, the annual race has become one of the of the most popular events on the Western Cape’s athletics calendar, with over 3 000 participants joining in 2018.

SPORTING DIVERSITY AT UWC UWC’s boxers and chess players are among the best in the country and UWC athletes are competitive at national and international level in athletics, volleyball, hockey, netball, swimming, cricket and more. UWC Sport also promotes smaller codes such as dance sport, hiking, basketball and even bodybuilding.

17

LONG-TERM

sustainability

A C A L L T O PA R T N E R S H I P I N S U P P O R T

he University of the Western Cape (UWC) faces a challenge born out of its own success – the need to sustain the long-term viability of the Institution while developing the infrastructure to keep up with the growing numbers and needs of its students and researchers.

UWC is expanding the existing campus into a more vibrant space that is urban in design, scale and density. We are calling on new and existing partners, alumni and donors to join hands with the University so that we will be able to continue implementing vital campus improvement projects that will enrich our students’ experiences and contribute to academic excellence. With support from our donors, UWC will remain an academic leader and university of choice, not only in South Africa but on the African continent.

T

UWC FACULTY OF COMMUNITY AND HEALTH SCIENCES The University’s newly renovated Faculty of Community Health and Sciences (CHS) in Bellville’s business district signals a major expansion in our provision of healthcare education and training in South Africa. Four CHS departments – Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Natural Medicine – will be housed in the new building and this offers potential partners several exciting opportunities to contribute to healthcare education, including through funding simulation laboratories, teaching and learning laboratories and research facilities.

NEW EDUCATION FACULTY PRECINCT UWC’s Faculty of Education produces many of the teachers working in the basic education sector in schools and early learning

18

centres in the Western Cape and nationally. The Faculty is keenly aware of society’s urgent need not only for knowledgeable and technically competent educators, but educators with the vision, insight and commitment to contribute to turning around the dire state of South African public education. The Faculty is committed to maximising the University’s ability to efficiently produce educators of such calibre and to facilitate this, the University is embarking on a bold project that will consolidate the education facilities and resources in one precinct through the repurposing, customisation and modernising of space vacated by a number of departments in the Faculty of Natural Sciences.

GREATMORE STREET PROJECT The Greatmore Street Project is an exciting new arts education initiative near the former District Six area of Cape Town.

The Project will house the UWC Centre for Humanities Research (CHR), the much-respected flagship collaborative initiative that brings together scholars and students from South African universities, public institutions, and national and international research bodies in initiatives and collaborations that respond to the demands of building the post-apartheid South Africa. The Greatmore facility is seen as part of the return of people and culture to the city after decades of myopic urban planning and social engineering had rendered it a sterile place virtually devoid of art-making and cultural celebration. The University has commissioned and received a substantial part of the feasibility, technical preparation and design work required to determine and cost the scope of work of transforming the historic Greatmore Street site and is ready to engage with prospective funders about funding partnerships.

UWC SPORTS PRECINCT UWC has a long history of contributing to development initiatives around sport in the historically disadvantaged communities of Cape Town.

Thanks to our co-curricular approach, the training we provide our students and the experiences they gain as competitors and administrators, along with our academic offerings in physical education and sports science, have ensured that our inuence and intervention in sports development have also had a national impact.

Our engagement with provincial sports bodies, administrators and local community organisations has made it clear not only that sports infrastructure has not kept pace with rapid urban expansion, but that there is a real need for a high-standard sports precinct that will not only serve the University and its sports codes but also, as a locus of development in sports science and training, will stimulate the provision of adequately serviced sports facilities in the wider surrounding communities.

UWC has developed a plan to upgrade and expand its existing sports facilities into a multi-purpose sports precinct and seeks funding partners that share our vision for upliftment through sport.

ACCESS FOR SUCCESS: THE JAKES GERWEL EDUCATION, ENDOWMENT AND DEVELOPMENT FUND The primary aim of the Jakes Gerwel Education, Endowment and Development Fund is to provide comprehensive bursaries to academically deserving students from disadvantaged backgrounds to enable them to study at UWC. The Fund was established in 2012 in memory of the late Professor Jakes Gerwel who, during his term as Rector of the University of the Western Cape, consistently championed access to higher education for disadvantaged students by broadening access to UWC. The Fund regularly receives donations directly from friends and alumni of the University and also hosts annual UWC Golf Days in Johannesburg and Cape Town with the speciďŹ c aim of raising contributions in support of the Fund.

THE NEWLY RENOVATED UWC COMMUNITY AND HEALTH SCIENCES BUILDING

19

MAKE A

donation

TO THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE

The University recognises and appreciates the generosity of individuals, businesses and organisations that invest in our students, programmes and services to help the University fulfil its ethos and mission.

Many innovative sponsorship options are available to donors, including public-private partnerships in the development of University infrastructure and sustainability, research collaboration, training and development, capacity building and skills development.

Prospective donors wishing to find out more about the above projects are invited to contact the University of the Western Cape’s Donor Relations Office at: Tel: +27 21 959 3904 +27 21 959 2627 or Ms Ingrid Fourie, Manager: Donor Relations Tel: +27 21 959 9517 E-mail: ifourie@uwc.ac.za All donations to UWC are tax deductible in accordance with Section 18A of the Income Tax Act, Act 58 of 1962.

CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS: If you’d like to support UWC by making an online donation, please visit our website: http://uwc.devman.co.za/Devman/web/giving

DONATION VIA EFT: Account Name: University of the Western Cape Name of Bank: ABSA Bank Branch Code: 560810 Account No: 4050893930 Reference: Name of Donor Branch: Epping Swift Code: ABSAZAJJ Please email proof of payment to esadien@uwc.ac.za. Should you have any questions or queries regarding donation options, please contact Mr Essa Sadien at Tel: +27 21 959 3141 or email esadien@uwc.ac.za.

20

MAKING A

Difference

T R A N S F O R M I N G C O M M U N I T I E S • N U R T U R I N G I N N OVAT I O N • F I N D I N G S U S TA I N A B L E S O L U T I O N S

From

Hopeto action through Knowledge!

UWC www.uwc.ac.za