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Issue 2 • June 2014 • For daily updates visit www.uwc.ac.za

UWC’s new Rector to start in 2015page 3

CHS students dare to aim higherpage 7

UWC sports centre scoops architecture awardpage 21

Another Banyana star joins UWCpage 24

Your Source for University News

Studies show that in South Africa, where over 60%

of the population is urbanised, food insecurity is widespread, with Statistics South Africa reporting that approximately 45% of South Africans live below the poverty line. Chronic malnutrition affects one in five young children in both rural and urban areas, and about one in ten of households in South Africa experience hunger every month.

It is statistics such as these that inspired the new national Centre of Excellence in Food Security, launched by Derek Hanekom, Minister of Science and Technology, at UWC on 15 April. The CoE is hosted by UWC, and co-hosted by the University of Pretoria (UP). It is supported by the Department of Science & Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF).

“Food insecurity in the country should worry South Africans, but we should also be pleased that it is being reduced,” said Hanekom at the launch. “People in SA are underfed, overfed or just fed wrongly.”

The CoE will set out to undertake research, capacity building and dissemination activities that will promote a sustainable food system that brings

about food security for poor, vulnerable and marginal populations. Its work will cover four themes: food creation, food distribution, food consumption and food governance.

Researchers will be multi-disciplinary and will look at changes in the global and national food system, and how this affects the sustainability, availability, access and attributes of food. They will aim to identify and locate ‘food insecurity’ in South Africa, exploring people’s choices, strategies and opportunities. They will also study policies, technologies, interventions and products that would enable access to affordable and nutritious food in ecological, economic, social and politically sustainable ways.

Researchers at the Centre will be drawn

from UWC, UP and the Universities of Cape Town, Fort Hare, Johannesburg, Limpopo, Nelson Mandela, North West, Stellenbosch and Venda, the Tshwane University of Technology, and the Agricultural Research Council and Water Research Council. International partners will include the Australian National University, the City University of New York, the Institute of Development Studies, the International Food Policy Research Institute, Michigan State University and Missouri University.

Hanekom had high expectations for the Centre of Excellence and its scholars, he noted.

“I want to see researchers become more than just researchers. They should be activists ― an advocacy group for food security.”

It is initiatives such as this Centre that will build skills and resources, and lead to more research that will help the country to confront the issues of poverty, hunger and malnutrition, said UWC’s Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian O’Connell. UWC has been entrusted with a critical responsibility to host the Centre of Excellence, O’Connell added.

“I look forward to the coming engagement with the University of Pretoria, and I believe that we will see the two institutions come together and do amazing things.”

New Centre of Excellence at UWC to tackle food security

Celebrating the launch of the new CoE are (from left) Dr Thomas Auf der Heyde, DST; UWC’s Prof Brian O’Connell; Minister Derek Hanekom; Prof Stephanie Burton, Vice-Principal: Research and Postgraduate Studies at UP; Dr Romilla Maharaj, NRF; UP’s Prof Sheryl Hendriks, who serves as co-director of the CoE; Dr Phil Mjwara, DST; UWC’s Prof Julian May, who is the director of the CoE; and Prof Ramesh Bharuthram, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic at UWC.

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It was another record-breaking Summer Graduation at UWC this year.

UWC’s Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian O’Connell, capped

a total of 3,311 graduates over the 10 ceremonies in March. This included 2,530 students who completed their undergraduate degrees, 511 with honours degrees, and 203 were awarded master’s degrees, while no fewer than 67 received their doctoral degrees. (There’s more to come in September, of course!)

There were several highlights at the ceremonies. Visually impaired student Xolani Gxekwa received his LLB degree summa cum laude, after also picking up a few prizes at the UWC Law Pre-graduation ceremony. Several master’s and PhD graduates came through the national Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, the largest astronomical endeavour in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest scientific projects globally. The University also presented its ― and the country’s ― first Master’s in Nanoscience degrees, part of the National Nanoscience Postgraduate Teaching and Training Programme.

It’s been a long road for UWC, explained

O’Connell. “Just ten years ago, they said the University had no hope, and should be merged

with other institutions. But we welcomed the challenge of transcending the past, and today we have come a long way indeed. UWC’s success story is a metaphor for South Africa.” Amelia Jones, who was awarded an honorary doctorate in social work, reflected on how

UWC had changed since her days as a student, and how the University had changed her as

well.“When I first came to study here, at

that school with the red bricks and the four buildings, nobody thought I could learn to be a social worker here,” she said. “But from the first year I learned to be a true professional, to always set high standards and be the best that you can be.”

Jones was honoured for her work as a founding member of Community Chest South Africa. The Community Chest entered the global philanthropic space through Jones’ formal association with United Way Worldwide (UWW), which runs programmes in 45 countries. Jones is also noted for her part in the establishment of the Community Chest Capacity Building Programme, which resulted in the urgent need to build a strong skills base within organisations.

“Value your education,” Jones told students, “and never forget where you came from, and the values you have been taught: to always be yourself; to experience life; to respect others; to lead by example; and to live outwardly and be connected with people.

UWC caps more students who can change the world

UWC Rector Prof Brian O’Connell caps honorary doctorate recipient ― and Community Chest founder ― Amelia Jones, in the March Graduation Ceremony.

It’s not a stance typical among church leaders, but at an Open Panel lecture at UWC in April, Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, who is also the University

Chancellor, expressed his dismay about the rise of homophobia on the African continent.

The event, organised by the Open Society Foundation for South Africa, a civil-society organisation that aims to build vibrant and tolerant societies, gave people from all walks of life a chance to voice their opinions.

“As we were preparing to celebrate Human Rights Month,” Makgoba said, “we were saddened to learn about the decision made by the Ugandan government to pass a law that essentially makes loving another person of the same gender a criminal offence.”

He continued: “All humans are created in the image of God, and therefore must be treated with respect and accorded with human dignity.”

The legislation and growing homophobia calls for action, Makgoba said. “The same way we expected others to speak out against apartheid, we need to speak out when it is our turn to show solidarity with others who are similarly oppressed.”

Guillain Koko, a human rights lawyer from the Democratic Republic of Congo who now assists lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) refugees, spoke of his work with People Against Suffering Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP), an organisation that protects the rights of LGBT and other asylum seekers in South Africa. Many LGBT people flee to South Africa because they face discrimination in other African countries, Koko argued. “Some of these people are burned alive or run away because of police brutality, especially if you are aware of what is happening on the continent in countries like Nigeria and Uganda,” he said.

Koko added that the organisation was surprised to see that the South African government had not condemned such homophobic actions in other African countries. “We can’t expect someone coming from a progressive country to uphold homophobia in Uganda,” he said.

Archbishop Makgoba speaks out against homophobia

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba and PASSOP human rights lawyer Guillain Koko participating in a panel discussion on homophobia in Africa.

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UWC will have a new Rector in 2015.The University recently announced that Professor Tyrone

Pretorius has accepted the position of Rector and Vice-Chancellor. He will succeed Professor Brian O’Connell,

who has led UWC through turbulent times, helping to transform it from an institution on the verge of bankruptcy to one of South Africa’s most successful research and teaching institutions.

Pretorius arrives at UWC during the second semester of 2014 to allow for a smoother transition, and will officially take the helm in January 2015. The UWC Council has expressed its pleasure with Pretorius’ appointment, and its confidence that he will provide leadership that continues to set UWC on the path to greater success.

A respected academic, teacher and leader who has served as Vice-Principal of the University of Pretoria and President of Monash South Africa, Pretorius holds two doctorates and has published widely in the field of psychology.

Not only has he previously served as Dean of the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences and Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, but he’s also a proud UWC alumnus, who earned his undergraduate, honours, master’s and doctorate degrees at the University.

He has a vision for the University of the Western Cape as an

institution fully prepared to engage with the challenges facing South Africa, and to be a leading member of a transformed higher education sector.

“The grand challenges of our time revolve around creating economic and environmental sustainability, as well as social and cultural equity,” says Pretorius. “The challenges that our young nation faces, in the areas of health, education, crime, poverty and governance are well-known and well-documented. Universities that want to be recognised, that want to be seen as excellent, will reflect the realities of this context in their core mandate of research, teaching and learning, as well as engagement.”

To do this, universities need to educate and equip students to tackle these challenges, and to develop both basic and applied knowledge, says Pretorius. The strengthening of research, social innovation and the enhancement of community engagement are high on his agenda, as is strengthening professional and support services.

Pretorius believes that the future looks bright for UWC.“The University of the Western Cape has a lot to be proud of,

but it also has the potential to achieve much more. All the right and solid foundations have been laid, and the challenge is for UWC to build on these solid foundations to become one of the top universities in South Africa, recognised on the continent and beyond for its excellence and innovation.”

UWC’s new Rector to start in 2015

Professor Tyrone Pretorius has been appointed as the new Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape.

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“Societies and cultures benefit from the cross-fertilisation of ideas – and South Africa and

Mozambique are perfect examples of this, each enriched by its relationship with the other.”

So explained Professor Alan Isaacman, Regents Professor of History and Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Global Change at the University of Minnesota, USA, in a talk presented at the UWC Library in March. It’s a topic of special interest to Isaacman, an internationally renowned African studies scholar and author, as well as Extraordinary Professor at UWC, who has published widely on the history of Mozambique and South Africa.

The UWC Library is also a pet project of his. Isaacman has long been a member of the “Friends of the Library” programme. In 2011 he donated his extensive library of materials on Lusophone Africa ― probably the largest such privately-held collection worldwide ― to UWC. And in 2013 he handed over a remarkable collection of scarce and out-of-print books, ephemera, posters and serials with a primary focus on

Mozambique, painstakingly gathered over 40 years and more.

“The shared history of the people of South Africa and Mozambique goes back at least a thousand years, when Bantu-speaking people who today live in Mozambique crossed from Tanzania to Mozambique,” said Isaacman in his lecture. “You can see it in their shared pottery and languages, among other things.”

There have been other exchanges of people and cultures. Large numbers of people

defeated by Shaka Zulu in the early 19th century fled north. Mozambicans came to work

in the South African mines. And many South Africans moved to Maputo because interracial relations were prohibited in South Africa. “There is a long history of these borders being crossed,” Isaacman explained.

There is also a strong political bond as Mozambique was a strong supporter of the ANC throughout the struggle years.

“I want to emphasise that these books are here for students to learn more about Mozambican history and the relationship between South Africa and Mozambique,” Isaacman said of his donations to the UWC Library. “Look at your beautiful library; look at your great works of art; and reflect on what these works

have to say about the history of South Africa, and Africa as a whole.”

Library friend speaks of ideas and partnerships

The UWC Friends of the Library programme aims to promote a closer relationship between the UWC Library Special Collections and UWC researchers and donors, assist the Library with activities, participate in the library review of the Special Collections material, and help with fund raising.

Extraordinary UWC Professor Alan Isaacman explains how South Africa and Mozambique have been intertwined for over a thousand years.

UWC’s Dr Birgit Schreiber is quick to point out that her appointment as chair of the African

board of the International Association of Student Affairs and Services (IASAS), announced in April, is a timely opportunity.

“It’s a huge responsibility and a huge honour for UWC,” says Schreiber, director of the University’s Centre for Student Support Services (CSSS). “UWC will be able to play a key role in chairing conversations across the continent, attracting partnerships and developing best practices.

Not only can we learn from our African colleagues, but we will also be able to help shape the continent’s higher education landscape. With the engagement of our national and continental colleagues in the university executives, we will be able to make a real difference for student success.”

That’s also testimony to the influence of IASAS, a global federation that promotes the idea that universities are more than just engines for research. Composed of higher education student affairs and services professionals from around the world, the Association advocates for

students in higher education and their learning and development environment. It also promotes professional development, best practices, internships and exchanges, conferences and research across and between regions.

The position comes with prestige, but also serious responsibilities. In line with IASAS’s goals, Schreiber’s duties will include enhancing local and international understanding.

Among the challenges on the continent are the political and economic environments, notes Schreiber. It is these challenges that the organisation looks at and hopes to assist with.

“Universities are taking responsibility for aspects of living and learning which we know have an impact on student success,” she says. “Shaping the context for student successes cannot be coincidental or based on intuition, but needs to be based on research, partnerships and best practices. UWC is now in a position to contribute to and shape these matters.

Schreiber’s first major task is to set up an online platform that will allow student affairs executives and directors to have conversations across the continent. These will, in turn, facilitate the development of standards based on values and principles.

From there it’s about tackling matters that improve the living and learning of students in higher education.

UWC can shape African higher education through new appointment

Want to know more about the International Association of Student Affairs and Services? Visit their website at http://www.iasasonline.org/.

Dr Birgit Schreiber, Director of CSSS, has been appointed as chair of the African region of the board of the International Association of Student Affairs and Services.

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Former Constitutional Court Judge Albie Sachs spoke of both disillusionment and hope when he delivered UWC’s 9th Dullah Omar

Memorial Lecture, hosted by the University on 25 March.

In his lecture, titled Speaking to Oliver Tambo’s Ghost: Twenty years into democracy, Sachs looked back on his friendship with OR Tambo, and the kind of leadership Tambo provided: methodical, civil and inclusive. This at a time, said Sachs, of great adversity, when Tambo had to lead an organisation that had no state powers but had to contend with the powers of a state that was brutal in its methods.

“OR was the kind of leader who worried about ethical decisions,” said Sachs, “but who never thought he could answer them all. People think of a revolutionary as a fiery, tempestuous person, with burning eyes and powerful convictions. But Oliver Tambo proved that a true revolutionary can be someone who’s warm and embracing and civil even to enemies. You can be a revolutionary and you can be quiet. You can be profound and radical and yet civil and

moral at the same time.”Sachs explored some of the challenges

faced while drafting the ANC’s code of conduct, a code establishing a structure of legality for a liberation movement in exile. The ANC had to stay a step ahead of the South African government, while also trying to stay morally ahead of the apartheid state’s methods when the organisation’s friends and members were dying. With Tambo’s leadership, the ANC came through this period with flying colours, said Sachs.

While admiring how far South Africa had come, Sachs noted that “we have a strong press, and a strong judiciary, and people speak their minds ― it’s a very free and open society. And yet there’s a sense of disenchantment that leads me to think back on the Biblical quote, ‘What profiteth a man who gains the whole world, and loses his soul?’ Well, what profiteth a movement to attain the majority and lose its own soul?”

He urged young people not to give in to despair. He asked them to imagine how troubling this might be to a man like OR Tambo, who provided hope and encouragement in circumstances much darker than those faced by most South Africans today.

South Africans may face problems, but South Africans can also find solutions, Sachs said. The new democracy did so

in developing, in the case of HIV/AIDS, what is now the most advanced and well-organised ARV programme in the world. This would not have happened if South Africans had simply thrown up their hands in despair, said Sachs.

“When young people ask me for my advice, I tell them my advice is that they don’t listen to my advice,” he noted. “We don’t need another Dullah Omar. We need someone who, like Dullah Omar, finds their own inspirations, with different backgrounds, from different generations, finding different solutions. Just get enough young people together, give them opportunities and hope, and we can create a genuinely new spirit of social revolution in South Africa.”

Since its establishment in 2004, the Dullah Omar Memorial Lecture series, hosted by the Community Law Centre, is staged annually in honour of the late Advocate Dullah Omar, the Centre’s founding director and former minister of Justice.

Sachs speaks on the legacy of Oliver Tambo

Couldn’t make it to the lecture but want to hear Judge Sachs’ address for yourself? No problem - you can listen to it at https://soundcloud.com/user805053282/continue3.

Advocate Dullah Omar oversaw a period of great transformation at the South African Ministry of Justice. His ministry was responsible for the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and laid the groundwork for a profound transformation of the judiciary.

Judge Albie Sachs speaking about the legacy of Oliver Tambo at the 9th Dullah Omar Memorial Lecture.

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Science is going to get a lot more hands-on at Noorder-Paarl Senior Secondary.

The school, opened in 1922 and is one of the oldest high schools in the Western Cape. It was recently presented with a fully furnished Science Learning Centre (SLC), courtesy of UWC’s Science Learning Centre for Africa (UWC-SLCA) project and the Garden Cities Archway Foundation. That’s more good news for Noorder, home in 2014 to 1,300 learners from the surrounding Paarl area, who recently won a prominent science competition.

The official opening of the Science Learning Centre was led by UWC’s Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian O’Connell, on a pleasantly busy day. Earlier that morning, O’Connell and others unveiled a Science Learning Centre at Steynville Senior Secondary school in Piketberg, an hour and a half’s drive away from Noorder-Paarl.

In Paarl, the Rector described science as a way of learning and understanding new things, citing HIV/AIDS as a case in point. “It is through science that we know how to protect ourselves from the virus. It is through science

that we have HIV/AIDS treatment, and I tell you now that it will be through science when we eventually discover the cure,” he said.

O’Connell spoke on how countries like South Korea built their economic successes on science. He also encouraged learners to set high targets for themselves; too often South Africans make the mistake of thinking they are not good enough, he said.

Kim Gibson, chief financial officer at Garden Cities, the foundation that has sponsored numerous such SLCs, said the partnership with UWC has flourished over the years. “That on its own is an immeasurable achievement; we would like to thank the committed teachers for the work they are doing,” he said.

Professor Shaheed Hartley, director of the UWC-SLCA, explained that the Paarl SLC is the nineteenth sponsored by UWC and Garden Cities since 2011. “This is one of the most beautiful laboratories I have ever seen because of the space in this room,” Hartley added.

“It is a space that should benefit both the learners and the community”, he said.

Darryl Mathys, principal of Noorder-Paarl, said the school could not thank UWC enough for the Centre.

“Our learners and staff are now exposed to high-tech science resources and we hope they really make use of this facility. And as the principal of this school, I am committing myself to ensuring that this Centre is properly utilised not only for our school, but in the area.”

Paarl school receives new science lab from UWC-SLCA

Dean urges top EMS students to chase their dreamsThere was a lot of talk about dreams

when UWC’s Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) held its annual Dean’s Merit List

Awards in April. Mostly the talk was about how the 30

undergraduate and postgraduate students honoured that night by the Dean, Professor Kobus Visser, had worked to make their dreams come true. In recognition, Visser and others lauded the Faculty’s high achievers who had averaged 75% or more in 2013.

Foremost amongst these pacesetters were Wikus Botha (BAdmin), leader of the first-year group in 2013; Rhondeline Williams (BAdmin), who outscored all the other second-year students; and Arshud Musa (BCom), outshining everyone else in the third-year classes. Amongst the postgrads, Francis Chiparawasha (BCom Hons, Economics) took top place in the honours group, while Winnie Sambu (MEcon) did likewise among the master’s students.

Special guest speaker was UWC alumnus Murshid Obaray, CEO of Black Oaks Consulting. Obaray knows a thing or two

about chasing dreams. Unable to study after high school, he instead went on to build a remarkable résumé in, among other areas, business development and strategy consulting. Only at age 35 did he start his formal higher education training at UWC. He carries his student card to this day.

“I can’t tell you about setting goals and achieving them,” Obaray told the assembled students, “because you’ve already demonstrated that you can do that. But I can tell you that being here today is not about the dreams other people have for you ― it’s about figuring out what you want for yourself, while honouring the family and friends and lecturers who sacrificed to give you the opportunity to do your best.”

Staff achievements were also acknowledged at the event. Dr Derek Yu was declared Teacher of the Year, Dr Johan Breytenbach was named Emergent Lecturer of the Year, and Professor Andy Heng-Hsing Hsieh received the award for Researcher of the Year. In addition, the Academic Development Department was named the Department of

the Year.“These awards acknowledge both the

students and the lecturers and academic staff,” explained EMS tutor coordinator, Megan Bam. “The lecturers have a huge responsibility, sending out the next group of business leaders in South Africa. And the students have an immense responsibility, too: one day when we’re old, you will be the ones making sure this country stays stable.”

Top EMS students with their certificates at the Dean’s Merit Awards.

(From left to right) Myrtle February, Director of the Garden Cities Archway Foundation; UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Brian O’Connell; and Principal at Noorder-Paarl Secondary school; Darryl Mathys, at the opening of the Science Learning Centre.

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CHS students dare to aim higherThey set the bar high for those who

want to make it onto a Dean’s Merit List.

That was one of the messages to come out when UWC’s Faculty of Community and Health Sciences (CHS) recently hosted its annual Dean’s Merit Awards. Undergraduate students have to score an aggregate of 80%, while honours students need an aggregate of 75% or more. Master’s students must average at least 70%.

At this year’s event, 42 students were honoured for their academic achievements. They have come a long way, pointed out Dean, Professor José Frantz.

“Of the thousands who apply to study at CHS, we can take only perhaps 10% into our Faculty,” said Frantz. “So the pressure on the 10% increases ― and we should really salute these young people here tonight, who overcame that pressure to be the best.”

“The best” included top first-year student Wendy Lianne Knol of the Department of Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science; nursing student Kuda Majada was the

best among the second years; and Chane Volschenk took top place in the third-year class. Among the postgraduates, psychology student Tracey Wild was the top honours student, with Jill Ryan topping the leader board among the master’s students.

Finally, Nishaat Jacobs was surprised with a PPS Bursary, which is made to a deserving student and covers an entire year’s tuition.

But the occasion wasn’t just about the students. A selection of Staff Excellence awards were presented to outstanding CHS academics. Professor Julie Phillips of the Department of Physiotherapy received the Excellence in Research Award. The Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award was made to Professor Jo-Celene de Jongh of the Department of Occupational Therapy. The Outstanding Academic Support Award went to May Coetzee, also from Physiotherapy.

Keynote speaker at the ceremony was alumna Dr Tanushree Pillay, who served with the South African hockey teams at the 2012 London Olympics and is now based with the

Springbok Women’s Rugby squad. Pillay, who received her PhD at the March graduation ceremonies, reminded students of the long road to success.

“Celebrate your achievement,” she said, “but I also urge you to take with you what it is that you want to achieve in future, and to find your place in society, and to be the best that you can be ― not because somebody’s pushing you, but because you love what you do, and with that depth and passion will come excellence.”

Prof Anthea Rhoda, Chair of Physiotherapy (fouth from right) in the CHS Faculty, with the top Physiotherapy students.

Science honours its “outliers”Students in the

Faculty of Natural Sciences at UWC have a lot to live

up to: this, after all, is the faculty with the largest research output at the University.

The students honoured at the annual Dean’s Merit Awards in March are clearly up for the challenge. At the event, Professor Charlene Africa, Deputy Dean: Employment and Gender Equity in the Faculty and MC for the evening, and Dean, Professor Michael Davies-Coleman, presented certificates and awards to 28 of Natural Sciences’ finest students. These students earned an average mark of 80% or higher in 2013.

Among the group ― although she couldn’t attend on the night ― was Edyth Parker, the Faculty’s top student in 2013. The

award was nothing new to Parker, a biotechnology major; she had also been the leading student in 2012 and 2011. In 2013 she scored no less than 91.3%, and had graduated summa cum laude in March.Closely following her was Tina Volkman, a

medical bioscience student who scored 90.8% for her coursework in 2013, the second year of her studies. Volkman was followed by medical bioscience honours graduate Hartwig Visser, who had achieved an average of 90.1% in 2013.

Davies-Coleman explained that the students honoured at the event represented only a tiny fraction of those studying in the Faculty, making them ― statistically speaking ― outliers. “You are extraordinary,” he told the students. “You worked very hard, you put in the hours and you took advantage of the challenges and opportunities presented to you ― and you love science.”

The Faculty of Natural Sciences has the largest research output of any faculty in the University ― and that output is growing all the time. In 2006 it had generated 426 research units. By 2013, that number had nearly doubled to over 800 research units.

The Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Prof Michael Davies-Coleman (left), with the science students who made it onto the 2014 Science Dean’s Merit List.

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Arts faculty’s top achievers honoured with Dean’s Merit Awards

Yvuna Math, Marriam Salie and Dale Kyle May were among those who took centre stage when UWC’s Faculty of Arts hosted its annual Dean’s Merit Awards ceremony in April.

The three students were the top achievers among the cohort of about 90 students honoured on the day. Leading the ceremony was the Dean, Professor Duncan Brown, who presented the students with their hard-won certificates.

In his address, Brown noted that the event is his favourite at the institution as it is a day where the Faculty honours the top achievers, their parents and faculty staff. Parents have sacrificed so much, he added; they have invested money towards their children’s education and supported them, helping them to excel in their studies.

Brown maintained that “there are many careers with a BA degree, and the importance of a degree should be emphasised in families because one degree can open up university opportunities for other family members. A university degree is not just about getting a job; it trains you to be a thinker and an intellectual.”

He also had a few words of caution and encouragement for the students.

“Having a degree shouldn’t make you arrogant; one must

be humble and learn to learn, and that is something I believe should never end. Nothing stops you from graduating with a doctoral degree; just think about the blue gown.”

Dean of Arts Professor Duncan Brown and Yuvna Muthy (who has maintained the number one spot for two years) at the Arts Dean’s Merit Awards. She got 80.6% in her BA.

Law students urged to build “Brand You”

“What this afternoon is about is Brand You: I want to suggest to each and every one of you taking your place on the Dean’s Merit List that you are your own professional brand, and that that

brand needs to be nurtured.”So said Dean, Professor Bernard Martin, at the Faculty of Law’s

Dean’s Merit Awards in April. Here the faculty’s top students – just under a 100 of them ― were honoured for scoring 75% or more in 2013, and were presented with certificates and awards.

“This afternoon is a very important step in your development and in your career path,” Martin told the students. “This certificate is in recognition of your achievement ― and it’s something you can put on Facebook, along with the pictures.” (“You might want to cut me out if I’m too ugly,” the Dean joked.)

Several students had already received their certificates at the Law Pre-Grad Ceremony in March, but as Martin explained, the Merit Awards also gave non-graduating students the credit they were due. “I’m hoping that this will become an independent celebration in its own right,” he noted. “It’s a celebration of the achievement of those people who are on the path to graduation but aren’t there yet ― we want to celebrate your achievements along the way.”

The Dean explained the importance of branding by discussing what happened when Coca Cola ― perhaps the most recognisable brand in the world at the time ― stopped advertising for a while, costing them over a billion dollars in lost revenue. “Brands have to be built, to be promoted constantly. People need to know what

you’re all about, to know what you’re worth.”Martin encouraged students to keep on achieving. “You know

what it took to get on the Dean’s Merit List, and you know what it takes to stay there. I hope that in future you will put in the hard yards ― I want to see you come here again and again, building up that brand, getting people to recognise that you are a consistent achiever.

“And remember,” he concluded, “whenever you achieve, UWC achieves ― and through you the banner and the name of UWC is held high.”

Visually impaired summa cum laude LLB student Xolani Gxekwa, assisted by the Coordinator of the Office for Students with Disabilities, Evadne Abrahams, receives his certificate from Dean of Law, Prof Bernard Martin.

9News

Five first-year students at UWC could not have asked for a better start to their varsity life than receiving financial assistance to register for their studies. The five accounting students each received R3 500 towards their registration, thanks to a new partnership between UWC and the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of Southern Africa (ABASA). The ABASA bursary fund aims to assist students who have performed well at secondary school and now wish to pursue tertiary studies in chartered accountancy. Here students mark the occasion with UWC and ABSA representatives.

World-renowned academic showcases mixed methods research

ABSA sponsors UWC accounting students

In research, you sometimes have to mix and match.To see how to best do that, UWC’s Department of Occupational

Therapy, together with the Office of the Vice-Chancellor: Academic, hosted a Mixed Methods Workshop in April. To run

the workshop, the Department had called on mixed-methods doyen, Professor John Creswell of the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the US.

Creswell is a renowned author and researcher on qualitative

methodology, general research design and mixed method research, as well as founding co-editor of the SAGE journal, the Journal of Mixed Methods Research. He has also published over 20 books on research designs.

Assisted by Tim Guetterman, a doctoral fellow at Nebraska-Lincoln, Creswell provided an overview of mixed methods research, a research approach that seeks to marry qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Participants discussed topics such as the essentials of mixed-methods studies, its history, and when best to apply the technique. They also reflected on the conceptualisation of a qualitative research problem, on identifying the appropriate procedures for data collection, and on the validation of qualitative research findings.

For some hands-on insights, five postgraduates were given the opportunity to present studies ― involving both quantitative and qualitative data ― that they were working on. Creswell and other academics then provided much-appreciated feedback.

Anja Human-Hendricks, one of the presenters, found the workshop to be of such value that, she said, she would definitely recommend it to other students. “The input and feedback received from Professor Creswell and the broader academic panel was very useful in adapting and improving our studies. Prof Creswell is a phenomenal researcher, and his presence was an asset to our learning and growth as developing researchers.”Juliana Willemse was equally complimentary. “To be granted an

opportunity to present your own research to an author of such esteem was one of the most rewarding academic achievements for a student of the University of the Western Cape,” she said. “This was a great review session, and it provided clarity on areas that I was challenged with, as I am doing mixed methodology in my PhD research.”

(From left to right) University of Nebraska-Lincoln researcher Tim Gutterman; UWC Dean of CHS, Prof José Frantz; University of Nebraska-Lincoln lecturer Prof John Cresswell; UWC Occupational Therapy Chairperson, Prof Lisa Wegner; and senior Occupational Therapy lecturer Dr Mogammad Soeker at the Occupational Therapy Mixed Methods Workshop.

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Sense-Making Through

Leadership Development

UWC marks World TB DayUWC’s School

of Nursing believes people

need to talk about tuberculosis (TB).

That’s why the University’s nursing students commemorated World TB Day on 24 March ― themed Unmask Stigma ― by distributing masks to the campus community and answering questions about the disease. The message of the day was to create awareness about the plight of those infected with TB.

The process had been initiated at UWC by the School’s Professor Rene Phetlhu, urged on by the organisation TB Proof and physician couple Dr Arne and Darlene von Delft, who have started many projects at the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University. Phetlhu and her colleague Magesh Naidoo, as well as other staff and students at UWC’s School of Nursing, organised the activities.

TB is the biggest killer of HIV-positive patients, both in South Africa ― which has a huge amount of TB cases each year ― and around the world. Even without the contraction of HIV it is a deadly disease, and getting deadlier all the time.

Research has shown that XDR TB ― which is an extensively drug-resistant form of TB ― has been increasing in South Africa. Patients who don’t complete their courses of medication help build even greater resistant TB strains, putting both themselves and others in danger.

Phetlhu expressed the hope that TB would be taken seriously and would be discussed

in the same way as has been the case with HIV/AIDS. “We’ve had a great deal of success promoting the awareness of HIV/AIDS over the last few years,” she noted. “But if we focus on AIDS without really talking about TB, we are missing the point, and not properly managing a disease that contributes to the death of our people.”

This is especially problematic in particular communities, like the Western Cape farming community, where TB is particularly widespread. “TB rates are increasing ― despite the fact that it is curable. We need to educate people about their treatment regimes.”

One aspect of the discussion is the stigma attached to the disease. Many people associate TB with HIV, and treat sufferers as though they are doomed to die, and are in some way responsible for their own suffering. “So the problem becomes this: if I’m diagnosed with TB, I’m scared to tell people and I’m scared to go for treatment, because people will think I have HIV.”

“TB is highly infectious and as it is an airborne disease, it can affect anybody”, Phetlhu informed the audience.

“People forget that you can walk into

a bank and get TB,” she said. “People should still be aware that you can have TB without simultaneously having HIV, and that TB is curable even if you have HIV. You can still take your treatment and you will be cured.”

World TB Day helps raise awareness about the disease, and about other important TB related facts. Most importantly the day promotes TB awareness so that communities can understand and manage the disease. The message is simple, but important.

“Those people with TB need support from their communities,” said Phetlhu. “They need to be able to take their treatment and go about their lives without being stigmatised. They’re sick, but they’re still human beings, and they can be cured.”

UWC Nursing students marking World TB Day by holding a masking event on campus, distributing masks to the campus community and answering questions about the disease.

Want to know more about World TB Day, and why it’s so important? Just take a few minutes and visit the official website at http://www.who.int/campaigns/tb-day/2014/event/en/.

Prof Rene Phetlhu was recently elected as the Regional Coordinator (Africa) of the international committee of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honour Society of Nursing for 2013 to 2015. She also serves as the current Tau Lambda at-large chapter president, serving 18 universities in seven countries (with more institutions in the process of being inducted).

11News

Sequencing of tsetse fly genome a wake-up call for sleeping sicknessUWC’s South African National

Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI), as part of an interdisciplinary group of researchers

from several institutions across the globe, helped obtain and decode the 366-million base pair genome sequence of the tsetse fly, aka Glossina morsitans morsitans.

Tsetse flies have many interesting and unique physiological traits. They feed only on vertebrate blood. Females give birth to live young. They feed their larvae by lactation. And they have complex relationships with no less than three different symbiotic bacteria.

But these little insects can also be a big problem. Tsetse flies are perhaps better known as the vectors of African sleeping sickness ― technically known as Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) ― a disease that impacts over 70 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. Sleeping sickness is caused by tiny parasitic organisms known as trypanosomes, found in the saliva of the tsetse fly. There is no known vaccine, and the result is fever and human deaths.

The disease also causes losses of more than US$4 billion in agriculture, and kills three million livestock annually.

Efforts to combat HAT mainly revolves around avoiding the fly or controlling its spread. But now that the genome has been decoded ― a ten-year effort by the International Glossina Genome Initiative (IGGI), a group of 146 researchers from institutions including the Yale School

of Public Health (US), the European Bioinformatics Institute (embl-ebi), Cambridge University (UK) and the WHO

regional office for Africa ― genetic traits have been exposed that make more control options available.

Some of the 12, 308 protein-coding genes that IGGI researchers identified code for proteins that help tsetse flies to both conserve and extract water from their meals. These genes make for good treatment targets ― eliminating these would help control fly populations, perhaps by providing livestock with vaccines that create antibodies to the proteins found in tsetse guts and

salivary glands.Genes involved in the fly’s smell,

taste and vision can help devise better repellents ― or better traps. Now that the genes involved in colour sensing have been revealed, for example, new traps can be devised that capitalise on the shade of dark blue which the fly finds most attractive.

The disease can be controlled by helping the flies themselves. By examining tsetse mechanisms for eliminating parasites in the mid-gut, flies can be engineered with greater resistance, thereby solving the problem of disease transmission.

SANBI was involved in various aspects of the project, including the analysis of the olfactory genes and the iron metabolism genes (related to smell and feeding, respectively); the examination of characteristics that control the ‘on/off’ switch of the genome; the identification of DNA that repeats itself multiple times in the genome (helping scientists to figure out evolutionary relationships); and the description of the location of particular genes on the genome. The Institute also invested heavily in computer-based training for the analysis of the tsetse fly genomic data.

The IGGI’s efforts have been instrumental in building capacity in genomic and genetic research in Africa, and saw strong participation from institutes in sub-Saharan Africa.

“We have been involved in a few international consortia, but this project was the first of its kind, where African researchers were playing an active leadership role and all of the activities were directed at supporting genomics research on the African continent,” says Professor Alan Christoffels, director of SANBI. “We have developed partnerships with researchers

across the African continent.”

The availability of the tsetse fly genomic data and related information ― including knowledge of the tsetse’s vision, olfaction, and immune and reproductive physiology ― will provide a unique opportunity to transform tsetse research and associated disease control practices.

Says Christoffels: “Besides the scientific findings, this programme has demonstrated the value of genomics training in the context of a DNA sequencing project. There is no doubt that much more value is to be found in this project.”

Among the interesting IGGI discoveries: the tsetse fly doesn’t just enjoy blood, or use it to supplement other meals; it uses blood as its only nutrient source. The fly has no sugar-processing genes at all, and makes up for nutritional deficiencies with the help of symbiotic bacteria that synthesise some of the vitamins lacking in its blood-only diet.

The South African National Bioinformatics Institute is a Medical Research Council research unit for capacity developing in bioinformatics, with the mission to conduct cutting-edge bioinformatics and computational biology research relevant to South African, African and global populations. SANBI has been involved in several major national and international genomics projects. For more information about SANBI, visit their website at www.sanbi.ac.za or contact the SANBI offices at 021 959 3645 or via email at info@sanbi.ac.za.

Professor Alan Christoffels, Director of SANBI at UWC, was part of an international project to decode the genome of the tsetse fly.

The tsetse fly is a unique insect in many ways, as revealed by a genomic analysis performed by UWC’s SANBI as part of an international partnership. Photograph by Dr Geoffery Attardo, Yale School of Public Health.

12 News

Offering A

Holistic Student

Experience

UWC

takes

pride in...

Our Teaching

& Learning

Focus

Our Relevent

Research &

Innovation

Producing &

Attracting

Excellent Talent

Sustaining

Financial

Stability

Growing Our

Profile Internally

& Externally

Sense-Making Through

Leadership Development

Usang Maria Assim

Thesis: Understanding Kinship Care of Children in Africa: A family environment or an alternative option

Pedro Miguel dos Santos Abrantes

Thesis: Characterisation of Candida Species Isolated from the Oral Mucosa of HIV-positive African Patients

Ademola Olusola Adesina

Thesis: Short Message Service Normalisation for Communication with a Health Information System

Susan Carol Philpott

Thesis: Realising the Right of Children with Disabilities to Early Childhood Development in South Africa

Timothy Kyepa

Thesis: The World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Mandates: Regulating production quotas, subsidies, and corruption in oil producing countries ― an African perspective

Imran Achmed

Thesis: Independent Hand-tracking from a Single Two-dimensional View and its Application to South African Sign Language Recognition

Clement Bula Basuayi

Thesis: Cross-Border Trade and Migration in the Conflict-Ridden Great Lake Region of Africa: Perspective from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Michael Derek Powell

Thesis: Building the Peace Viaduct: State formation and peace transitions ― understanding South Africa’s national and local peace transitions in an international context

Yeukai Mupangavanhu

Thesis: The Regional Integration of African Trade Mark Laws: Challenges and possibilities

Oyelola Adegboye

Thesis: Statistical Modelling of Incomplete and Clustered Data with Applications in Population Health Studies in Developing Countries

George Buzuzi

Thesis: Fitted Numerical Methods to Solve Differential Models Describing Unsteady Magneto-Hydrodynamic Flow

Charity Wibabara

Thesis: Gacaca Courts Versus the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and National Courts ― Lessons to learn from the Rwandan justice approaches to genocide

A total of 67 candidates received their PhDs over the March 2014 graduation ceremonies. Here is a snapshot of our doctoral graduates with their thesis titles and their area of study.

Is there a doctor in the house?

LAW

NATURAL SCIENCES

13News

Tshepo Samuel Dinoko

Thesis: Search for Low Spin Collective Structures in 158Er and 159Er

Mahjoubeh Jalali Sefid Dashti

Thesis: Application of Whole-Exome Sequencing and Biomedical Knowledge Discovery in Clinical Diagnostics, Disease-Risk Prediction and Personalised Medicine

Kristian Leisegang

Thesis: The Effect of Insulin, Leptin and Inflammatory Cytokines on Reproductive Health and Hypogonadism in Males Diagnosed with the Metabolic Syndrome

Cecil Felix

Thesis: Development of Membrane Electrode Assemblies based on Electrophoretic Deposition for High-Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Applications

Zahra Jalali Sefid Dashti

Thesis: Computational Characterisation of IRE-Regulated Genes in Glossina morsitans

Raghu Ram Malladi

Thesis: Automatic Signature Verification System

Oko Unathi Gcilitshana

Thesis: Supercapacitor Electrode Materials based on Nano-Structured Conducting Polymers and Metal Oxides

Julian David Vivian Key

Thesis: Development of Aqueous Ion-Intercalation Battery Systems for High Power and Bulk Energy Storage

Innocent Muchingami

Thesis: Non-Invasive Characterisation of Unsaturated Zone Solute Transport in Dry Coal Ash Dumps at Tutuka, South Africa

NATURAL SCIENCES

Sarah Wambui Mwangi

Thesis: In Silico Investigation of Glossina morsitans Promoters

Philomene Nsengiyumva

Thesis: Female Migration and Housing in South Africa: Evidence from the 2007 Community Survey

Zebib Yenus Nuru

Thesis: Spectrally Selective Solar Absorber Coatings for High Temperature Solar-Thermal Applications

14 News

Offering A

Holistic Student

Experience

UWC

takes

pride in...

Our Teaching

& Learning

Focus

Our Relevent

Research &

Innovation

Producing &

Attracting

Excellent Talent

Sustaining

Financial

Stability

Growing Our

Profile Internally

& Externally

Sense-Making Through

Leadership Development

Gauthier Nganda Okolongo

Thesis: Advanced Oxidative Water Treatment Process Using an Electrohydraulic Discharge Reactor and TiO2 Immobilised on Nanofibres

Odutayo Raji Rufai

Thesis: Nonlinear Low Frequency Wave Phenomena in Space Plasmas

Bertrand Tumbain Sone

Thesis: Low Temperature Tungsten Trioxide Nano/Micro Systems for Applications in Gas Sensing and Electrochromism

Kolade Matthew Owolabi

Thesis: Efficient Numerical Methods to Solve Some Reaction-Diffusion Problems Arising in Biology

Thulaganyo Phillip Sechogela

Thesis: Vanadium Dioxide Nanocomposite Thin Film Embedded in Zinc Oxide Matrix as Tunable Transparent Conductive Oxide

Christopher Edozie Sunday

Thesis: The Design of Ultrasensitive Immunosensors based on a New Multi-Signal Amplification Gold Nanoparticles-D$otted 4-nitrophenylazo Functionalised Graphene Sensing Platform for the Determination of Deoxynivalenol

Pavan Kumar Rallabandi

Thesis: Processing Hidden Markov Models using Recurrent Neural Networks for Biological Publications

Aline Simo

Thesis: Physical Properties of Vanadium Dioxide Nanoparticles: Application as 1-D nanobelts for room temperature hydrogen gas sensing

Oluwakemi Tovide

Thesis: Graphenated Polyaniline Nanocomposite for the Determination of Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHS) in Water

NATURAL SCIENCES

Catharina Maria Conradie

Thesis: Aspirations and Capabilities: The design and analysis of an action research project in Khayelitsha, Cape Town

Mark Espin

Thesis: Closeness and Distance: Modes of representation and forms of narration in John Berger’s prose fiction

John Hugo Fischer

Thesis: The Relationship Between the Church and the Reign of God in the Reconstruction Theology of JNK Mugambi: A critical analysis

ARTS

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Niklaas Johannes Fredericks

Thesis: A Study of Dialectal and Inter-linguistic Variations of Khoekhoegowab: Towards the determination of the standard orthography

Kelvin Mambwe

Thesis: Identity, Mobility and Localisation of Language in Multilingual Contexts of Urban Lusaka

Jo-Mari Anne Nel

Thesis: The Challenges, Opportunities and Possibilities of the Implementation of the Western Cape Language Policy

Godfrey Harold

Thesis: An Evangelical Discourse on God’s Response to Suffering: A critical assessment of Gregory Boyd’s open theism

Marie L Minnaar-McDonald

Thesis: Work, Women & Welfare: A critical, gendered analysis of social development with special reference to income-generation projects during the transition in South Africa (1994-2001)

Ebrahim Badrudin Sheikh Rashid

Thesis: The Form of Muslim Government and its Source of Authority in Contemporary Islamic thought: A comparative study of the views of Ayatollah Ruḥollah Khomeini and Sayyid Quţb

David Solomon Jalajel

Thesis: Women and Leadership in Islam: A critical analysis of classical Islamic legal texts

Masechaba Mahloli Mokhathi-Mbhele

Thesis: Independent Clause Sesotho Personal Names as Texts in Context: A systemic functional linguistics approach

Rahel Salem

Thesis: A Critical Comparison between the Ashḥarite and Salafi Schools of Thought with Special Reference to Muḥammad Saḥīd Ramaḥān al-Būḥī and Muḥammad b. ḥāliḥ al-ḥUthaymīn.

ARTS

Shirley Euginia Ndahafa Uvatera Shivangulula

Thesis: Employment Demand, Employability and the Supply-Side Machinery: The case of the children of the liberation struggle of Namibia

16 News

Offering A

Holistic Student

Experience

UWC

takes

pride in...

Our Teaching

& Learning

Focus

Our Relevent

Research &

Innovation

Producing &

Attracting

Excellent Talent

Sustaining

Financial

Stability

Growing Our

Profile Internally

& Externally

Sense-Making Through

Leadership Development

Million Shiferaw Bimerew

Thesis: Developing a framework for a District-Based Information Management System for Mental Health Care in the Western Cape

Shanaaz Hoosain

Thesis: The Transmission of Intergenerational Trauma in Displaced Families

Wondwossen Terefe Lerebo Thesis: A Hierarchical Modelling Approach to Identify Factors Associated with the Uptake of HIV Counselling and Testing and Prevention of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Programme among Post-Partum Women in Ethiopia

Hazel Anne Bradley

Thesis: Roles and Competencies of District Pharmacists: A case study from Cape Town

Mary Kasule

Thesis: A Model for Obtaining Informed Consent for HIV Clinical Trials Research with Paediatric Patients

Penelope Martin

Thesis: Development of a Model of Emotional Support for Undergraduate Nursing Students Working in Mental Health Care Settings

Ebrahim Naushaad

Thesis: Development and Characterisation of a Transdermal Formula for an Extract of the Medical plant Harpagophytum procumbens

Rochshana Kemp

Thesis: The Development of Management Guidelines for School Social Work in the Western Cape

Tanushree Pillay

Thesis: The Development of an Injury-Prevention Protocol for Netball: Using concept mapping as a framework

COMMUNITY AND HEALTH SCIENCES

Tania Steyl

Thesis: Designing and Determining the Effectiveness of a Health Promotion Programme for Clients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus from an Urban South African Community

17News

ECONOMIC AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

EDUCATION

Robert Brian Barrie

Thesis: The Design, Implementation and Evaluation of a Management Information System for Public Dental Services

Rosalie Kingwill

Thesis: The Map is not the Territory: Law and Custom ‘African Freehold’: a South African case study.

Emil Nothnagel

Thesis: The Development Hub as an Integrated Strategy to Accelerate Local Economic Development in Small Towns

Lucia Hess-April

Thesis: Occupational Therapy (OT) Graduates’ Conceptual-isations of Occupational Justice in Community Service Prac-tice in South Africa: A UWC case study

Priscilla Brijlal

Faculty: Dentistry

Thesis: The influence of diversity and the educational climate in shaping clinical competence of oral health students.

Penelope Karen Law

Thesis: An Integrated Spiritual Leadership Model for the South African Public Service: A case of selected government departments

Karen Suzette Collett

Thesis: Teacher Perceptions of the Role of a Primary School Principal in Supporting Their Well-Being: Learning from a South African public school in challenging conditions

Robert Paul Langlais

Thesis: Characterisation of the Cadmium Telluride Photon Counting Sensor as it Applies to its Use in the QR Master-P Panoramic Machine

Meselu Alamnie Mulugeta

Thesis: Linking Fiscal Decentralisation and Local Financial Governance: A case of district level decentralisation in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Suzanne Lucille Anne Ross

Thesis: Stories as Teaching Tools in Grade R Classes

Godefroid Bantumbandi KatalayiThesis: Funda-mental Validity Issues of an Eng-lish as a Foreign Language Test: A process-orient-ed approach to examining the reading construct as measured by the DR Congo English state examination

DENTISTRY

18 News

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Experience

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pride in...

Our Teaching

& Learning

Focus

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Research &

Innovation

Producing &

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Excellent Talent

Sustaining

Financial

Stability

Growing Our

Profile Internally

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Sense-Making Through

Leadership Development

The abduction of 230 Nigerian school girls in the northern town of Chibok in Nigeria

had social networks buzzing, especially after the launch of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. UWC’s Gender Equity Unit (GEU) joined in on this global protest, staging a silent demonstration to raise awareness around the University about the kidnapping and broader issues of gender violence.

Mary Hames, head of the GEU, reports that student support has been “visible and constant” over the demonstration period, which ran for most of June. The action will stretch beyond the month, however.

“We have decided to keep the campaign as an ongoing protest, so that we are consistent in our fight against gender violence,” says Hames.

This, she explains, is because gender violence is a perennial

scourge ― the Nigerian abductees are not the only girls whose rights have been violated. There is the practice of ukuThwala in South Africa, for instance, in which young girls are abducted and forced into marriage with older men ― often with the consent of their parents. “In many cases it is not what the girls want”, points out Hames.

Implementing the Bring Back Our Girls campaign at the University is a way of building solidarity and making people conscious of what is happening locally and in the rest of Africa, she adds.

“People see us standing with our posters and they want to know what is happening. We rally support by informing them about the campaign and what we hope to achieve through it. We have staff and students originating from Nigeria, and through showing solidarity we build community.”

UWC students and staff members gather outside the University’s Great Hall to protest gender violence.

UWC condemns kidnapping of Nigerian girls

Cheesy study a testimony to new technology

You can’t cut corners when it comes to food safety.

Luckily there are a score of advances being made in this area.

This includes innovations such as that by SurePure Inc, a world leader in liquid photopurification (the company has offices in nearby Milnerton), as illustrated in a recent study conducted with UWC’s Department of Biotechnology and Stellenbosch University’s Department of Biochemistry. The study details the effectiveness of the company’s patented photopurification and HST thermal pasteurisation process.

The SurePure ultraviolet processing method involves the use of ultraviolet radiation (specifically UV-C, or subtype C) for purposes of killing microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, yeasts, moulds and algae. The cellular DNA of microorganisms absorb UV-C at the appropriate wavelengths, damaging the DNA of exposed cells and making it difficult for them to replicate. Used in isolation or combination with

other processing technologies, the UV-C is harmless to consumers, leaving no residual effect.

The study employed cheddar cheese as a model cheese system, due to its popularity and consumption in leading world markets. The results from the study indicated that the SurePure photopurification system could achieve equivalent microbial efficacy, and thus equivalent food safety standards, to traditional heat treatment of cheese milk.

In addition, quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the chemical, biochemical and sensory characteristics of raw and processed milk demonstrated no significant differences between cheese produced using the SurePure

photopurification and that using traditional thermal processes. There were no important protein changes or macronutrient degradation, and no reduction of essential vitamins.

And unlike thermal treatments, the UV treatment did not destroy milk enzymes that are essential for cheese texture and flavour, and that maintain healthy properties of natural milk.

Guy Kebble, CEO of SurePure Inc, says: “We are pleased to collaborate with Stellenbosch University and the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, in this study, which continues to demonstrate the untapped commercial potential of our patented photopurification technology in the food and beverage industry.”

Further collaboration between SurePure, UWC and Stellenbosch will continue to investigate the manufacture of cheddar cheese from milk treated with a new generation of SurePure system, focusing on the chemical and biochemical changes during cheese ripening, and on consumer acceptance.

19News

Researchers identify galaxy clusters from the early universe

A long time ago, in galaxy clusters far, far away, galaxies were a bit

different than the one we live in.

That’s one of the findings of an international team of scientists from the UK, US, Europe, Canada and South Africa, who viewed and described four previously unknown galaxy clusters about 10 billion light years from Earth ― clusters that formed when the universe was less than four billion years old.

Dr Mattia Vaccari, of the UWC Astrophysics group, was part of the team that used a new technique combining data from two satellites to view clusters nearly a billion years older than the oldest clusters previously known. The Planck satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA’s) scanned the whole sky for sources of far infrared emission, while the more sensitive receivers of the ESA’s Herschel satellite were used to examine those sources more closely at submillimetre wavelength.

Most of the 16 sources identified by researchers were single galaxies, but four multiple, fainter sources indicated previously unknown galaxy clusters.

Galaxy clusters are perhaps the largest objects in the universe, each containing hundreds or thousands of galaxies much like our own Milky Way. Clusters can be identified at such great distances because they contain galaxies in which huge amounts of gas are being formed into stars.

Many nearby galaxy clusters have been identified, but by going further back in time (and thus looking at greater distances away from the Earth) astronomers can get a better sense of how clusters are formed.

“Although we’re able to see individual galaxies that go further back in time, up to now the most distant clusters found by astronomers date back to when the universe was 4.5 billion years old. This equates to around nine billion light years away,” says study leader, Dr David Clements of the Department of Physics at Imperial College London. “Our new approach has already

found a cluster in existence much earlier than that, and we believe that this approach has the potential to reveal many more new and exciting discoveries.”

The team used additional data to estimate the distance of these clusters from Earth, and to explore which of the galaxies within these clusters were forming stars. Unlike the Milky Way, which is a spiral galaxy filled with gas being formed into stars, most clusters today are dominated by elliptical galaxies, which have many stars but little gas.

“What we believe we are seeing in these distant clusters are giant elliptical galaxies in the process of being formed,” says Clements.

Vaccari, who worked on the Herschel mission while a research assistant in London with Clements, believes these findings are just a hint of things to come. He’s confident that South Africa’s MeerKAT and SKA telescopes will set the bar even higher in future.

“MeerKAT and the SKA will boost our sensitivity to clusters of galaxies in the early stages of the life of the universe,” he explains. “Young, strongly star-forming galaxies have powerful radio emission, and this will allow us to detect them up to very large distances.”

The scan-and-zoom technique multi-satellite

approach could be used to identify thousands more galaxy clusters, looking further back in time and helping to build a more detailed timeline of how these clusters are formed.

And who knows what else they may find? The universe is a big place, and there are surely more mysteries waiting to be uncovered.

UWC Astrophysicist Dr Mattia Vaccari, who formed part of an international team who combined data from two satellites to view clusters nearly a billion years older than the oldest clusters previously known.

20 News

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Sense-Making Through

Leadership Development

Entrepreneur inspires students to get their hands dirtyBeing an entrepreneur means making the most of every

opportunity, making use of every resource at your disposal. and always being on the lookout for new challenges. That was the story coming out of UWC’s Entrepreneurship

Initiative’s talk, delivered in April by Bongani Tungamirai, owner of the popular Sticky Fingers restaurants.

“As an entrepreneur, you always have to be aware of what you’ve done, and what other opportunities there are out there,” Tungamirai said. “Inspiration is key and experience matters ― but not always the experiences you think.”

Tungamirai would know. His post-high-school career got off to a shaky start. His father sent him to college in the US, but he dropped out and took a job at a restaurant instead. He started as a dishwasher, moved to the tills, then went to the grill, worked as a busser (the person clearing the tables), and eventually started waiting. But it was never what he wanted to do with his life.

“Eventually I realised I needed a degree to get anywhere in this world. So I called up my dad, and he gave me a chance to study at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where it was cheaper than the US.”

But during his second–year at UCT his father, the breadwinner of the family, passed away. Bongani had to make a plan. Food came to his rescue.

“Students were on campus at all hours, and the library was open to 10pm ― but most of the good food places closed by 5pm. I figured

anybody selling food at night would make a killing.”He was right. His late-night sandwiches and snacks, made on a

snackwich machine plugged in close to the library, sold well. Soon Tungamirai was able to upgrade his operation, expanding to a second location. He also brought in Mazoe, a popular juice in Zimbabwe, which he distributed to other tuck shops on campus.

After graduation he got a job as a hedge fund evaluator, figuring out the value of investments. The job paid well, but sitting in meetings wasn’t for him. Tungamirai got back into the food business, selling hot dogs and sandwiches to his co-workers. Eventually he quit his job, launching Sticky Fingers in June 2010.

The award-winning Sticky Fingers ribs were a happy accident. (As Tungamirai explained, entrepreneurs have to be ready to turn luck into success.) “One of my old friends who worked at another restaurant told me how to do the preparation, and to put it in the grill for one hour. I left it in for two hours by mistake, but the customers loved it ― and so our rib style was born.”

Soon people were coming from all over to taste the ribs, and enjoying the restaurant’s relaxed atmosphere and comfy booths. Bongani kept pushing himself, aiming to differentiate his restaurant, trying out new foods like burgers and pizzas.

“That’s one of the advantages of not being franchised,” he noted. “You don’t have to stick to other people’s limits, and you can create and develop your own brand. If you’re genuine, people will see that and will want to support you.”

Sticky Fingers has grown from strength to strength, and Tungamirai has big plans for the brand. One day, he said, his business will compete with the greats of the South African fast food industry, businesses like Spur and Wimpy. All it takes is drive, vision, and hard work.

“Entrepreneurship is a state of mind,” he said. “You have to commit to your programme, to be all about it, to always think about it at every stage. Otherwise you’re not really an entrepreneur ― you’re just doing a project. You are your own barometer; every barrier can be overcome. ”

Arnold Mdepha of the Business Innovation Centre, in thanking Tungamirai for the address, talked of the key qualities needed by entrepreneurs. “Many people have no idea what to do with their businesses; education can help you with that,” he said. “But education on its own may not be enough. The market is saturated, and young people need to find another way to make their mark and find their way in the world. An entrepreneurial mindset can help add value to your life.”

The Entrepreneurship Initiative is a branch of the Leadership and Social Responsibility programme, run under the auspices of the Centre for Student Services and Support (CSSS). It aims to help students develop their entrepreneurship skills, while at the same time developing specific business ideas.

The Entrepreneurial Initiative hosted a business plan challenge in May 2014. Students were invited to submit condensed business plans for actual or imagined businesses. The challenge is intended to help students learn how to convince investors that their ideas are worthy of funding. The best plan will receive a valuable prize.

Sticky Fingers owner Bongani Tungamirai explains to UWC students what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

21Sport

UWC sports centre scoops architecture awardEven before the first brick was laid, the multi-million

upgrading of the UWC Sports Stadium project was being showered with praise and accolades.

With Noero Arhitects providing designs sensitively enough to retain the essence of the original designs, the project was recognised in the Journal of the South African Institute of Architects (Jan/Feb 2014, 65th issue) for its excellence in architectural design.

The Architecture South Africa Project Awards 2013 recognised excellence in architecture design in genuine projects commissioned by a client ― and carried out but not yet constructed ― since the end of September 2011. Nearly 40 projects were submitted and evaluated by the assessors, who included practising architect Alex Robertson, who initiated the Project Awards programme in the 1980s.

To evaluate the projects, assessors agreed on a set of criteria to be used. The drawings and explanation, they said, must give a clear and full description of the proposal, including its context. Secondly, there was a need for a strong idea in the proposal, a conceptual idea of materiality or an idea related to local context or historical continuity.

Another requirement was that the proposal should be innovative in terms of sustainability ― technical social and economic, according

to the report.“There should be a pushing of boundaries, a challenging of

established positions and, possibly, doing something completely outside of current ideas of what sustainability means,” the report prescribed.

Also, there must be evidence of contextual thinking ― be it geographic, climatic, political, social ― the report continued. “The proposal must be in dialogue with something, aiming to bring meaningfulness to architecture.”

The last criterion was that the project should convey a sense of the building’s detail, of its materiality. The assessors were impressed by the high quality of submissions and made eight awards including the award for the UWC Sports Centre.

The construction of the state-of-the-art Sports Centre started in earnest early this year and is set to be completed by the end of the year. It is big step forward for UWC’s vision to be a globally competitive university.

Among the world-class facilities to be included in the revamped facility is a health and fitness centre, a multi-purpose sports hall, additional offices, a boardroom, a upgraded, a medical facility and offices. A restaurant, special events venues and parking will also be included in the development.

UWC Sports Administration director Ilhaam Groenewald proudly demonstrates the winning UWC Sports Centre Design.

22 Sport

Offering A

Holistic Student

Experience

UWC

takes

pride in...

Our Teaching

& Learning

Focus

Our Relevent

Research &

Innovation

Producing &

Attracting

Excellent Talent

Sustaining

Financial

Stability

Growing Our

Profile Internally

& Externally

Sense-Making Through

Leadership Development

Things go swimmingly well for UWC

Making swimming one of UWC’s priority sporting codes has paid dividends over the years.

That became clear again recently when a handful of University swimmers, competing in the colours of Western Province Aquatics, took podium spots over several races at the South African National Championships in Oudtshoorn in March. More than just picking up plenty of shiny medals, the swimmers also earned berths in various South African squads to compete at major continental and global events over coming months.

Making up the UWC contingent in the Western Province team were Tezna Abrahams, Jessica Ashley-Cooper, Shannon Austin, Tashreeq Davids, Joshua Finch, Janneke Malan and Rudolf Visser.

Abrahams won the 50m breast stroke in the disabled swimming event, and took silver in the 50m backstroke, the 100m freestyle and the 50m freestyle.

Ashley-Cooper, who has qualified for this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, won the 50m backstroke, and finished second in the 100m backstroke, the 50m freestyle race, and the 50m butterfly, all in the

senior category.In the youth nationals, Finch won both

the 50m backstroke and breaststroke races, and came third in the 100m backstroke.

Davids finished second and third in the 50m and 100m breaststrokes, respectively. Malan won the 100m backstroke and was the runner-up in both the 200m individual medley and 200m backstroke events.

Glen Bentley, UWC sports administrator responsible for swimming, congratulated the UWC swimmers for flying the University flag high.

Jessica Ashley-Cooper and teammate Tashreeq Davids celebrated their medals at the recent national championships.

23Sport

UWC’s netball sensation, Shirvonne Reent, is having the time of her life, both in the classroom and on the netball court.

In March, Reent ― a former Miss Varsity Shield ― celebrated the successful end of her undergraduate studies when she graduated with a degree in education. She also caught the eye of the sports administrators, who named her as the University’s April Athlete of the Month for her sterling performances in the UWC Netball team. The accolade, designed to recognise the best-performing athletes on campus, was the second for the year, following the win of long- and triple-jumper Nicole Dirk in March.

But Reent wasn’t done celebrating just yet. Not too long afterwards she was selected for the Western Cape’s Southern Stings netball team that competed in Division 2 of the inaugural Brutal Fruit, Netball Cup. The event is the first ever semi-professional netball competition in Africa, and is hosted by Netball South Africa in association with title sponsor Brutal Fruit in a partnership that will run until at least 2019.

Reent, who plays as both goal attack and wing attack, is over the moon, yet modest about her achievements. “The award and the call-up to the Southern Stings was unexpected, but it was a good feeling,” she said at the time.

The Brutal Fruit Netball Cup adds an exciting new dimension to women’s sport in the country, and is set to become the sport’s premier domestic competition, incorporating 10 teams from all nine provinces. (Gauteng, traditionally the country’s strongest netballing province, will field two teams.) The competition started on 10 May and culminated in the final in Pretoria on 7 June, when the Free State Crinums beat the Gauteng North Jaguars 40-36.

Reent and the Southern Stings also had cause to break open the bubbly. They first won the Division 2 title by beating Kingdom Stars of KwaZulu-Natal by 39-31 in the Shield Final on 7 June.

The next day came the icing on the cake. They won promotion to next year’s Division 1 Cup event after they outplayed Eastern Aloes (from the Eastern Cape) in the promotion/relegation decider, winning handsomely by 52-40.

UWC star shines bright

Top athletes feature among graduates

As tough as it may be, mixing sport and academic work is part and parcel of UWC’s ambitions to develop its students holistically.

It’s a policy that has paid off, and a number of top athletes have graduated from the University over the years. That trend continued at the March graduation ceremonies where no fewer than five athletes collected their degrees.

Interestingly, most of the sport graduates had done programmes not related to sport.

So 100m and 200m sprinter Bernice Roman graduated with an LLB. Her Athletic Club teammate, Rodwell Ndlovu, a 200m and 400m specialist, had been a BA student. Rugby star Kenwinn Weiner finished a postgraduate degree in environmental and water science. And netball luminary Shirvonne Reent, a former Miss Varsity Shield, graduated with a degree in education.

Bucking the trend was Ryan Nel, known for his energetic exploits over the 400m and 400m hurdles, who walked away swiftly with a BA Sport Science.

A number of UWC athletes were among students who graduated in the March Graduation ceremony. They include (clockwise from top left) Rodwell Ndlovu, Ryan Nel, Bernice Roman and Kenwinn Weiner.

24 Sport

Offering A

Holistic Student

Experience

UWC

takes

pride in...

Our Teaching

& Learning

Focus

Our Relevent

Research &

Innovation

Producing &

Attracting

Excellent Talent

Sustaining

Financial

Stability

Growing Our

Profile Internally

& Externally

Sense-Making Through

Leadership Development

Nomvula Kgoale is the newest Banyana Banyana player to join UWC’s women’s soccer team, aka UWC Ladies FC.

Kgoale joins three other national teammates at UWC this season, namely Vuyo Mkabela, Rachel Sebati and

Leandra Smeda. Her arrival will no doubt strengthen an already formidable-looking University side, but Kgoale also counts herself fortunate to be here.

“It feels great, like a dream come true ― I always wanted to play for the UWC ladies’ team,” she says.

The midfielder, born and raised in Limpopo, started playing soccer in 2004. She attended TuksSport High School in Pretoria ― the school forms part of the High Performance Centre at the University of Pretoria ― where she had the opportunity to develop both her soccer skills and her academic credentials.

She was selected for the national under-17 women’s team, and impressed former Banyana Banyana coach Joseph Mkhonza with her performances at the 2010 Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Trinidad. She was soon drafted into the Banyana squad.

Asked what it feels like to form part of the country’s senior women’s soccer team, Kgoale answers: “It is just a bonus to what I have always wanted. I never imagined myself playing for the team,

but I feel that I am part of it because I was meant to be.”It’s a role that comes with many perks, she says.“Having to also be coached by the newly appointed coach from

the Netherlands, Vera Pauw, is a privilege. I love representing my country because the kit, flag and the people watching our games always remind me to not forget that I am not playing for myself ― but that I am playing for everyone who contributed to allowing this country to compete with other nations.”

The first-year BCom Law student admits that it is very difficult to balance her soccer career and her studies, but she’s giving it her all. Her goal, she says, is to be successful in her studies and to play in an overseas league one day.

UWC MEDIA OFFICEDo 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 9525, or drop by our offices.

CONTRIBUTORSNastasha CrowMyolisi Gophe

Nicklaus KrugerAsiphe Nombewu

Luthando TyhalibongoAidan Van Den Heever

INSTITUTIONAL

UWC women’s football thrivesThey may have lost some pivotal players at the end of

last season, but the UWC women’s football club did not dwell on those losses for

long.Goalkeeper Kaylin Swart and striker

Jermaine Seoposenwe left some big boots vacant when they went to pursue their football and academic careers in the US this year. But the club has worked hard to fill those boots.

In come four top-class players, not least among them Mickey Liebenberg, who previously played for rivals Spurs Ladies FC. Joining Liebenberg is the trio of Khoketso Nelly Mamabolo, Kelso Peskin and Nomvula Kgoale, who have all represented the country at both the under-17 and under-20 levels. Kgoale has also recently been called up for the national senior team, Banyana Banyana.

As a unit, things are looking up as well. The club has retained its entire technical and management staff. The number of players has more than doubled, from 14 registered players last year to 30 this year. Fifteen of them are now senior players, and at least nine have received call-ups to various junior and senior national teams.

“This promises to be both the most exciting as well as the most

successful season that UWC Ladies Football Club has ever had,” predicts head coach, Nathan Peskin.

After picking up two titles last season, expectations are high. Peskin is confident that his side will do well in the competitions they have in their sights. These include the inaugural Varsity Football Tournament, the Sasol league (the title that eluded them last year), as well as the University Sport South Africa competition and SAFA’s Cape Town-specific Coca-Cola Cup.

“The real excitement of this season lies within our player numbers,” says Peskin. “This is significant in that the club is now completely self-sustainable and no longer relies on external players to compete.”

In addition, the club will strengthen its alliance with the High Performance Centre in Pretoria, as well as with the local schools to ensure a steady influx of good players.

“All of the above is indicative of a very healthy platform for the future growth and development of women’s football at UWC,” says the coach. “A tough season lies ahead, with a possible 52 games that need to be played if we are to achieve 100% success.

“This might seem like a tall order but is well within the potential of the team.”

UWC Ladies FC have recieved a real boost with the arrival of some top players this season.

Banyana Banyana star Nomvula Kgoale joins UWC in 2014 to pursue both her academic and football aspirations.

Another Banyana star joins UWC