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Issue 1 • April 2014 • For daily updates visit www.uwc.ac.za

Construction company builds partnership with UWCpage 3

New equipment aids students with disabilitiespage 4

Massive facelift for uwc stadiumpage 12

UWC swimmers triumphpage 15

Your Source for University News

11-year-old drummer boy studies at UWC

Young — but already acclaimed — drummer Daniel Petersen made history when the 11-year old registered for and started classes

at UWC in February, becoming the youngest university student in South Africa.

Petersen made his way to the University’s classrooms for the first time recently, joining the Centre for Performing Arts.

Music means everything to him, says Petersen. So to pursue his dream of becoming a top drummer or musical director, he needs to learn as much he can, he adds.

Like most other boys his age, he enjoys chatting to his friends, and also plays water polo and squash.

“Everyone, if they work hard, can achieve anything,” he says. “You have to put in the hours. If you don’t practise you can’t be number one.”

It’s no surprise that music is in Petersen’s genes. His father played jazz drums professionally, and his grandfather was a musical director.

But he may already have surpassed them. Petersen has taken to the stage alongside the King of Pop’s drummer, met Stevie

Wonder’s daughter, played at the famed New Orleans Jazz Festival (when he was six!), and performed at Madiba’s 90th, 93rd and 95th birthday celebrations, and at a fundraiser for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital.

His schedule for this year includes touring with four international artists and going to New Orleans again, he also has gigs lined up in Russia and Las Vegas.

Petersen still has bigger dreams, though. He counts Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake and Miley Cyrus among the superstars he would like to perform with.

Daniel Petersen, 11, has become South Africa’s youngest university student.

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UWC welcomes new students for 2014

UWC opened its doors for student orientation in January, marking the beginning of both a new academic year and university studies for

some 4,000 first-timers.The new students explored the campus,

attended talks and workshops, signed up for classes and learned more about UWC’s cultural, sporting, social, political and recreational life. Peer facilitators (part of the programme managed by Winston Middleton of the Office for Student Development) helped ease the transition to university life, allowing first-years to enjoy the campus tours and make friends. This integration into the tertiary context is of paramount importance for student success.

“The shift from school to university is a complex one, and it requires a deep understanding of the University culture and its often very weighty demands,” said Professor Ramesh Bharuthram, UWC’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, addressing the new students. “The University of the Western Cape opens its doors of learning to those who come from the poorest of the poor, and to those who come from all over Africa and the world. We have achieved great things with our varied

students over the years, and you are all part of the ongoing success of UWC.”

UWC’s Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian O’Connell, had a few more words of wisdom for the fresh UWC community.

“The matric class of 2013 starts their university life 20 years after we obtained our freedom and created the democratic Republic of South Africa,” he said. “They have experienced the wonder and the challenge of our new struggle thus far, and now, as university students, they stand

ready to write the next chapter of our nation’s development.”

First-year students are welcomed to campus at the 2014

Orientation programme.

UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Brian O’Connell,

welcomes first-year students to UWC.

Beware the DONK: UWC deconfusers fight first-year funk

On 29 January 2014, in the UWC Student Centre, the DONK was finally arrested by UWC’s League of Deconfusers, with the help

of Campus Protection Services. But the fight against the DONK’s forces was just beginning.

Confused? Not to worry, that’s what the fight is all about. The struggle between the League and the DONK (Doom of Not Knowing, personified in an alien invasion) was just part of a new, fun way to get first-years to learn more about UWC — a tool that turned orientation into a virtual game.

Students and staff from UWC CoLab set up interactive and interacting multiple platforms — a website as well as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts (some fun videos can still be viewed). Peer Facilitators played the role of Deconfusers, fighting the DONK by helping new UWC students find out what’s happening on campus, pointing out

where to find things, and so on.Over Orientation, the new students

completed tasks by visiting places on campus, searching for information on UWC websites and social media accounts, and attending events on campus (particularly the 20 Years of Democracy: The Dynamics of Building a Better Society conference celebrating UWC’s international partnerships). Uploading their results in fighting the DONK earned students points that they could use to claim a selection of prizes, from hamburgers to computers.

While mostly fun and games, there was a serious side as well. “We wanted to look at subjects that are very academic, but that are also topical,” says CoLab’s Wouter Grove. “We looked at big questions: students got to venture their opinions, and to find out more about AIDS and e-learning and UWC’s history. All in all, it was very stressful, but very interesting.”

Based on the exercise, CoLab may well look into producing virtual games.

Deconfusers march proudly while the DONK (Doom Of Not Knowing) is apprehended by Campus Security.

CoLab is a joint undertaking by UWC, the national e-Skills Institute and the National Media Institute of South Africa. CoLab is focused on developing young, local talent and a local ICT ecosystem that address South Africa’s socio-economic challenges and meet local needs.

The Orientation process went even smoother this year than in previous years. As Dr Birgit Schreiber, Director of the Centre for Student Support Services, explains: “Over the past few years we had a steady increase of completed registrations on the first day of our lectures. This year, 84% of our targeted first-year students were registered on day one of our academic year. This is in part due to our excellent Orientation programme and administrative functions – and also due to our online registration facilities, which enabled our students to register efficiently.”

3News

Haw and Inglis builds up UWC

UWC has received a welcome boost of R200,000 from the construction company Haw and Inglis, money that will go towards the

University’s long-term strategy to build capacity in science and technology.

More specifically, the money will be invested in the University’s new Chemical Sciences Building.

At the cheque handover ceremony, Francis Chemaly, the financial and executive director of Haw and Inglis, said the company feels privileged to partner with UWC. “This institution is willing to do the hard yards and there is a feeling here that they can bring something better.”

UWC’s Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian O’Connell, expressed his gratitude for the donation. “What you do for us today is not only assisting us with the Chemistry Building, it is part of the ingredients with which we want to change the consciousness of this nation.”

He added that the young people protesting

poor service delivery in communities should not rely on the State to provide for them. Instead, they should be gaining knowledge at places like UWC.

“That is what these buildings are all about,” O’Connell noted. “These buildings are bringing people into a space that says, you have what it takes.

Professor Michael Davies-Coleman, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, highlighted the faculty’s many successes. The faculty has registered a record 3,200 students,

including over 900 postgraduate students. It has also grown its staff numbers to 133 academic and 88 support staff, with a further 40 extraordinary staff connected to the faculty. In addition, the faculty hosts seven research Chairs awarded under the aegis of the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI), the largest amount received by any South African University.

“What remains crucial to us is the community of the next generation of young scientists,” Davies-Coleman said. “A large number of students now, because of buildings like

these and buildings that you are so kindly sponsoring, are saying, ‘This is as good a place as anywhere else in the world. We are going to stay here and contribute and feed back directly into our communities’.”

BANKSETA injects R21 million into CA training at UWC

The training of black chartered accountants (CA) received a major boost when the Banking Sector Education and Training

Authority (BANKSETA) recently awarded R21 million to UWC towards programmes that will grow the number of African and Coloured CAs in the country.

The money will be used to develop 260 African and Coloured chartered accountants at UWC over two years (2013-2014). The main purpose of this initiative is to help Coloured students pursue careers as chartered accountants. While the number of African chartered accountants in South Africa has increased steadily over the past few years, the number of Coloured chartered accountants has remained low.

UWC is considered ideally placed to run the programme, given its incredible 92% pass rate in the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants’ Initial Test of Competence (SAICA ITC) examinations.

Partnering with BANKSETA and UWC is the South African Institute of Chartered

Accountants (SAICA), itself committed to the transformation of the CA profession. The funding forms part of SAICA’s transformation programme, its Thuthuka Education Upliftment Project.

CEO of BANKSETA, Max Makhubalo, says the partnership allows the SETA to fulfil one of its major objectives.

“One of the core missions of BANKSETA is to support and encourage transformation through partnerships. This is one such partnership where we believe that we will be advantageously placed in encouraging that transformation. UWC has a wonderful team looking after this project and the management of it has been very impressive — not to mention the students as well.”

According to the Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at UWC, Professor Kobus Visser, the money opens new opportunities for the Faculty and students.

“We are very excited to have BANKSETA on board with the Thuthuka Pilot programme at UWC as this has enabled us to reach a broader number of students

who would otherwise not have had the means to fund themselves in their pursuit of becoming CAs,” said Visser. “BANKSETA is helping us make the dreams of these students come true.”

Lwando Bantom, project director of transformation at SAICA, explained that the Institute’s agreement with BANKSETA calls for a workplace readiness programme to be set up, which will become a core component of the UWC training courses. Such programmes are designed to equip students, at an early stage in their budding careers, with some lasting skills, said Bantom.

“These are opportunities rarely made available in a university environment and this is just one of the things which will set these students apart from the rest.”

CEO of BANKSETA, Max Makhubalo, shares some inspiring words with EMS students.

Construction Company Haw and Inglis donates R200,000 towards facilities at UWC’s Chemical Science Building.

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New equipment aids students with disabilities

New wheelchairs and voice-transcription software were but some of the recent purchases made by the Centre for Student Support

Services (CSSS), which assists UWC’s growing number of students with disabilities.

The acquisitions were made possible by a grant from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). It is also the latest instalment in UWC’s proud history of ensuring that all learners have fair access to education, including those with disabilities, explains CSSS Director, Dr Birgit Schreiber.

“It is our focus to equip our living and learning context and the support and development provisions with a range of modalities, so that students with disabilities find easy entry into the UWC environment,” says Schreiber.

The University has quadrupled the number of students with disabilities over the past few years. It is now home to almost 300 students who have self-identified themselves as living and learning with a disability.

This, adds Schreiber, is an indication of the kind of welcoming learning environment that has been created at the University. Among other services, teaching venues have large screens and loop systems for hearing

aids. Student Development and Support has also been equipped to offer disability — friendly interventions by ensuring flexible provisions.

Each student is individually assessed by the CSSS and its Office for Students with Disabilities (OSwD), to ensure that each student gets support and develops in line with the student’s and UWC’s goals.

“We equip students with devices which support their academic development,” says Schreiber. “We also equip lecturers with tools to improve flexible provisions within the teaching context.”

UWC’s disability policy is informed by the social model of disability, shaping its exam policies and formal reports about matters concerning disability. This is the same model adopted by the DHET and government since 1994.

“Notions of disability within the social model, along social and political constructs, focus on the way society ― in this case, UWC ― is organised, and hence considers diversity

and disability as a constructed conclusion dependent on the society into which it is embedded,” explains Schreiber.

There is a pressing need, she adds, to explore the relationship between students’ success and their experience of universities as academic and social spaces.

“UWC is keenly aware of the enabling or hindering impact the institutional context may have on disabled students.”

Students who will use some of the equipment purchased by the CSSS, with Mrs Evadne Abrahams, Coordinator of the Office for Students with Disabilities, and Dr Birgit Schreiber, Director of the Centre for Student Support Services.

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSwD) at the CSSS is dedicated to promoting equality, opposing unfair discrimination and encouraging participation of all students in university life. The OSwD facilitates access to campus services, resources and academic materials for students with special needs or disabilities, such as students who are blind, deaf, mobility impaired, or have chronic medical conditions. Each student is individually assessed, and a programme is designed to foster the development of each student’s full potential. To find out more, contact the office on 021 959 3586, or find it in the CHS Building, second floor.

Mainstreaming indigenous knowledge for a more prosperous Africa

“One problem that colonised people have is that they do not have a sense of themselves ― we call it

colonial mentality. Colonial mentality means that you have no sense of yourself; your concept of selfhood is lost. So everything is a reflection of what you were told to do. There are many problems with that, if you have no sense of yourself.”

One of those problems, Professor Meshach Ogunniyi of UWC’s School of Science and Mathematics Education (SSME) explained

further, is the generation and retention of knowledge. “Before I went to school, I knew a lot about my environment,” said Ogunniyi, speaking at a two-day workshop for academics and students on Mainstreaming Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Science & Mathematics Education, hosted by the SSME at UWC’s School of Government.

“I grew up in a farming community and knew the names of hundreds of trees, and what they are used for. When I went to school, I was introduced to different names, and a different system of understanding my environment. As a result I forgot what I brought with me from home ― as many indigenous people may forget that they have knowledge to contribute.”

The workshop ― as well as the entire Science and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (SIKS) programme hosted by the SSME ― focused on developing research skills that would allow students to design, develop and implement curricula at school level. Science curricula, in particular, should not simply be transplants from foreign soil, noted Ogunniyi. Rather, they should be

complemented by knowledge that reflects the character of South Africa.

It’s about training a cohort of teachers, he said, able to take what they learn and cascade the knowledge and skills into a number of schools.

Ogunniyi has long been a champion of reforming curricula to take advantage of ― or at least acknowledge ― indigenous knowledge systems. For his decades of research, the Southern African Association for Research into Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (or SAARMSTE) honoured him with its Lifetime Service Award at the Association’s 2014 conference. This was only the second time in its 20-year history that SAARMSTE had made the prestigious award.

“What has always struck me about this project is that it’s like a family, and that’s very unique to see in a growing movement of this kind,” said Professor Zubeida Desai, Dean of the Faculty of Education. “And one of the reasons for that is the leadership provided by Professor Ogunniyi, who is, if not the patriarch of the movement, then perhaps the grandfather.”

Prof Meshach Ogunniyi, a world-leading expert on indigenous knowledge systems, provides an overview of the subject at the conference.

5News

The 20th anniversary of South Africa’s democracy has sparked robust debates and discussion, and UWC’s Jakes Gerwel Lecture Series,

delivered at the Suidoosterfees early this year, was no exception.

Speakers ― which included four UWC alumni ― and the audience alike dissected the good, the bad and the ugly of the Rainbow Nation since its world-acclaimed and peaceful transition from apartheid to freedom in 1994.

The series, delivered in two parts over two days at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town, saw Professor Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State, and Professor Rachel Jafta, chairperson of Media24 Limited, share the stage at the discussions titled 20 Years of Democracy: The sweet and the sour. In turn, Professor Russel Botman, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University, and Professor Ciraj Rassool of UWC’s Department of History were the main speakers at the session titled Bridging the Divide.

Part of the Suidoosterfees cultural and heritage festival for the past few years, the lecture series is designed to celebrate the life and contributions of the late Gerwel, a UWC alumnus and former Rector and Vice-Chancellor, who also served as chairperson of the board of the Suidoosterfees since the festival’s inception in 2003.

At the first discussion, broadcast live by Radio Sonder Grense, Jafta was positive about the government’s National Development Plan (NDP) in her response to

facilitator Lynette Francis. The NDP is a policy that people can work with, she said, “and if we take it seriously it will deliver results”.

Jansen was more cautious. “I have lived long enough to see how all these development plans are brought to the table,” he said, “but a plan means nothing if there are not people to make the plan work. The plan should become a reality in the lives of people. One does not need resources to do so.”

Speaking about the economy, Jafta quoted a university study that shows that the top 5% of the country’s workforce benefits more from affirmative action. This, she said, is “because they already had an education and qualifications to be appointed in management positions, while the education system and the quality of education made it difficult for the rest of the workforce, from

artisans to middle management, to get opportunities in the private sector”.

Jansen pointed to the role that household economies can play, and the difference it can make in a poor country. “The more first-generation students who go to university from school and who get appointed in the workforce, the bigger the impact on the household economy,” he said.

But what of the future? Jafta was optimistic, saying she

hopes the next 20 years will see opportunities and not challenges, and that “we will always do our best to learn and to sharpen our skills in order to build a better economy”.

Jansen argued that citizens should take more responsibility. “This country changed because of people who were fed up. We have to get back to that point. Then the question is: what can we as citizens who

have skills and experience do to make an impact in the communities where we live? In this way we can change the country and that is my encouragement ― make a difference where you can.”

Botman, who is also the chairperson of the board for the World Design Capital 2014 Implementation Company, said bridging the divide was not only about people, but also about time.

“It is about the old and new era,” he explained. “It is about how we secure the new era for everybody so that it is inclusive and in which everybody feels we are building an equal society, closer to each other and more connected than in the past.”

Botman said the current generation is the “bridge” between the past and the future. It is they who can challenge authorities to design the future in such a way that it will transform society.

UWC’s Rassool noted that bridging the past is about values, and design is no shortcut to social transformation if it does not understand the values of building a new society.

“We have good ideas and need to understand the important role that design needs to play,” Rassool said. “But left to itself without a proper values-based framework, it can have unintended consequences of repeating and reinforcing the divides of the past instead of healing the landscape.”

Phoebe Gerwel (centre), wife of the late Prof Jakes Gerwel, is flanked by UWC alumni Prof Russel Botman (left) and Prof Ciraj Rassool at this year’s Suidoosterfees.

UWC alumnus Prof Jonathan Jansen jokes with Prof Rachel Jafta, another UWC graduate, and Phoebe Gerwel, wife of the late Prof Jakes Gerwel, at this year’s Suidoosterfees.

Gerwel lectures debate South Africa’s past & future

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Education is the way to feed the world, says scholar

Dutch scientist Professor Louise Fresco holds some strong views on sustainable development and food.

She is well known for her defence of ‘Big Food’ (mass-produced food), her stand on food sovereignty, and her insightful thinking on the future of food. Fresco, based at the University of Amsterdam, wasn’t afraid to share some of her thoughts when she presented a seminar, titled Changing Patterns of Food Production and Consumption in the World and in Africa, at UWC’s Institute for Poverty Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) as a distinguished visiting scholar of the Academy of Science of South Africa.

Increased urbanisation and income levels will lead to a higher demand for animal-derived foods and greater dietary diversity, said Fresco. With that will come a greater reliance on fast foods.

But that presents the world with an interesting question. “With a continually-growing population in an increasingly urbanised world, what will be on our plates tomorrow and in the future,” she asked.

Food availability per capita is stagnating in

Africa, Fresco pointed out. There are many factors that contribute to Africa not being able to produce enough food for its people, such as political and economic barriers.

“The political difference between Africa and Asia is that Africa only irrigates 4% of its water resources, while Asia irrigates 40% of its water resources,” she continued.

By 2050, the world’s population will stand at nine billion people. Nine billion people who will have to be fed.

There are other hurdles ahead. Like climate change, which will have a big impact on food production. As temperatures rise, fungi will grow on certain crops, and pests will increase, for instance.

“The challenge in the future is to make agriculture more resilient,” Fresco said.

The first answer to solving the problem of the world’s food problems is education, she argued. “Educating people, and most importantly school, is vital to this. We need to teach people how to grow their own fruit and vegetables.”

She also had a few words of advice for South Africa in particular.

“The way forward for South Africa is for farmers to have entrepreneurship skills, and more collaborations between government and farmers should take place,” she said.

Prof Louise Fresco says education is the first step to addressing the world’s growing food problems.

Economics department urges learners to stand out

Carmen Christian Lopes took a roundabout way into the study of economics, which probably made her story that much more

fascinating for the more than 800 high school girls she recently spoke to.

Christian Lopes, a lecturer in economics at UWC, was addressing a youth development programme facilitated by the Western Cape‘s Department of Social Development at Sarepta High School in Belhar on 28 February. She was there specifically to speak as part of the Stand Out campaign, an initiative by UWC’s Department of Economics to inform learners of the benefits of studying economics.

Christian Lopes started off with a few words of inspiration. “Having a good education is key to having a good future for you and your family,” she told the learners.

She then recounted her story. About how she was born in Retreat, did a BSc

in physiotherapy at UWC, and went into practice in both the public and private health sectors. And about how, when she moved into the pharmaceutical industry, she started work on her honours degree in economics, which she completed, cum laude, in 2010.

The subject of her honours thesis, on national health insurance in South Africa, sparked her current interest in public health, she explained. It is also the subject of her master’s thesis, which she is now working on.

Christian Lopes then spoke on the subject requirements for economic studies, and of the importance of high-school maths and science.

In addition, she had advice for the girls, “Hard work always pays off. It is not an easy journey to achieving your goals. Having a

good education is good for your future.” Her words struck a chord with the likes

of 17-year-old Deidre Collins, who plans to come to UWC next year.

Deidre Collins (left) is one of many learners who were inspired by UWC lecturer Carmen Christian Lopes (right).

7ICS

Dirtector : Mervyn ChristoffelsSub units · IT Finance · ICS Office Co-ordination · Marketing Units · IT Strategy & Planning· IT Procurement & Vendor Management· IT Applications Development & Support· IT Operations & Services· IT Communications

Head of IT Strategy & Planning: Errol van Staden· Enterprise Architecture· IT Governance, Risk & Compliance· IT Information Security· Project Management Office

Manager of IT Procurement & Vendor Management: Roger Fester · IT Vendor Management· IT Procurement Management · Shared Services

Manager of IT Applications Development & Support: Ridwaan Mallum

Manager of IT Operations & Services: Anver Natha · Service Desk · Data Center· Networking

Manager of IT Communications: Graham Julies· Telephony· Student Technology Support· Audio Visual Services

Meet the ICS teamYou’re probably no stranger to ICS.

You might know them as UWC’s Information and Communication Services, those folks who run the

Helpdesk or fix your computer when it breaks down. Yes, they do that, but there’s a lot more to ICS than that.

The ICS team is not small, with five departments and 15 sub-units working together to provide IT services to the whole campus and the extended UWC community. ICS engages and links students, staff and others to enable a stronger IT environment for all the university’s activities.

ICS Director Mervyn Christoffels was

appointed in 2012, and with the help of his team has already begun to transform the campus in line with the ICS vision: “a digital campus where emerging, strategic and innovative technologies are leveraged to advance teaching, learning and research capabilities to maximise UWC’s impact at regional, national and international levels”.

“We’re doing all we can to modernise this campus, to update processes and technologies, to ensure that when students leave us they are ready to join our knowledge-based society, and that they are ready to participate in an economy strongly influenced by technology,” says Christoffels.

“That’s why we are trying to develop an environment that will help us improve access to education and quality of education at UWC ― and make it the model of a twenty-first century institution of higher learning.”

ICS Director Mervyn Christoffels is just one of the UWC staff members who took part in the 2014 Argus Cycle Tour, the annual ― and world’s largest ― individually timed cycle race over more than 100km. Team UWC consisted of: Nathan Alfred, Shameeg Allie, Barry Andrews, Christoffels, Andre Daniels, Lionel Daniels, Edgar de Koker, Aneeq Kamiedien, Daniel Leenderts, Jade Leon, Abdul-Aziz Mosoval, Douglas Petersen, Shervaan Rajie, and SANBI’s Profs Alan Christoffels and Simon Travers.

The mission of ICS is: to attract, develop and retain talented and dynamic staff; to create an environment that is inspirational, engaging and empowering for ICS staff; to deliver operational excellence, and to support UWC’s strategic initiatives for community engagement.

This is what ICS looks like:

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Natural Sciences

The UWC team that emerged victorious at the 2014 International Barrel Awards for the Africa Region.

UWC team strike oil at petroleum geology event

Representing South Africa, A UWC team has swept aside the rest of the competition to take top honours in the 2014 Africa Region leg of the

American Association of Petroleum Geologist (AAPG) Imperial Barrel Awards.

UWC, one of 23 teams from Africa taking part, was represented by four MSc students: Leilah Gharbaharan, Marvel Makhubele, Christopher Robert Mclean and Ondela Mvunyiswa. The team was funded by Sasol, the company that sponsors the structured master’s programme in petroleum geology at UWC.

“The win is a victory for UWC, South Africa and Southern Africa universities,” says Dr Mimonitu Opuwari, Lecturer of Applied Geology at UWC, who served as faculty advisor and mentor to the team.

“Winning was great,” adds Makhube. “We had fun, and learned a lot in the process.”

For the competition, each team received an exploration database from the AAPG, containing data on an area’s geology, geophysics, land, production infrastructure

and other relevant details. Over eight weeks, they then had to analyse the geological and geophysical content of the database and present their findings ― basically, explain whether or not a particular region would be viable for oil prospecting. They then presented their findings to a panel of industry experts.

“We had to act as a group from a real company, and that was interesting,” reports Gharbaran. “We created a name (SAFARI) and had to work as one would in a real working environment.”

The team attributes their win to the excellent preparation provided by a strong Master’s programme, a strong team dynamic, and members being willing to go the extra mile. It wasn’t always easy, though.

“Trying to balance our thesis work with the competition was a real challenge,” admits McLean. “We were doing both at the same time, and still had tests and exams. It was worth it, though.”

The winning UWC team will represent

Africa in Houston, US, for the final, global round of the competition in April.

“UWC is now carrying the Africa flag for the first time to the international finals,” says Opuwari. “The team is focused on bringing the trophy to Africa – and the glory to UWC.”

The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) is the world’s largest professional geological society. The organisation exists to foster research and promote technology in the field, to advance the science of geology, and to inspire high professional conduct. The AAPG has six international regions, including AAPG Africa.In the international Imperial Barrel Award (IBA) programme, university teams have the chance to use state of the art technology on a real dataset, receive feedback from an industry panel, impress potential employers in the audience, and win cash awards for their school. The judges select the winning team on the basis of the technical quality, clarity and originality of the presentations.

Science Voices: Get writing. Get published. Get famous.

Every day, science uncovers something

new, discovers that something we think we know just isn’t so, or changes the way we view the world.

Postgraduate students are a key part of that amazing process of discovery, and every day UWC postgrads are making dramatic contributions. They deserve some credit for that work.

That’s why the Mail & Guardian is giving UWC’s postgraduate science students the chance to tell the world all about their work. If you’re a master’s or PhD student at UWC, and you think your research is

something the public would like to hear about, here’s your chance.

From astrophysics to geography, from psychology to zoology, the M&G wants it all for their Science Voices 2014 project ― a chance to feature some of the most fascinating research done university students. All they need is an 800-1,000-word popular article on any topic related to your research, to be submitted anytime before midnight on Sunday 1 June 2014.

If your story’s interesting enough, it could appear on the Mail & Guardian website ― and if it’s really interesting, it could be included in an upcoming collection of South Africa’s very best postgrad science writing. Successful applicants will be informed by the end of June.

Now there’s always the chance you don’t have a popular write-up of your research

handy. But it’s no problem: M&G science writer Sarah Wild will mentor aspiring science writers.

Interested? Want to know more? Want some help getting started? Just contact the UWC Media Office, and we’ll be happy to help you craft an article that does your work justice. Send an email to ia@uwc.ac.za and let us know what you’re doing, and you could be on your way to fame. But after that, who knows?

Having a bit of trouble getting your thoughts in order? Don’t know how to begin writing about your research? Not to worry ― the Mail & Guardian website is running a series of vodcasts on the basics of science writing. Follow the link from http://sciencevoices.mg.co.za.

9Rectorate

UWC and Belgian partners cap prestigious 10-year collaborationO

ne could see that close ties and friendships had been formed between UWC academics and their Belgian counterparts when they

recently came together to drop the curtain on a productive decade-long partnership.

The scholars had gathered at UWC to celebrate the many successes of the Dynamics of Building a Better Society (DBBS) programme, a partnership with UWC initiated by Belgian’s Flemish Inter-University Council-University Development Cooperation (VLIR-UOS). The initiative ran from 2003 to 2013.

The DBBS was in part designed to strengthen research at UWC. It set out to build research capacity, develop institutional capacity, provide essential library material and set up better-equipped postgraduate computer laboratories. It also assisted in the conceptual shift from a ‘deficit model’ to a holistic approach to student development and support.

The funding allowed a number of staff members to complete their PhDs, and opened new research opportunities for postdoctoral research fellows. It also laid the groundwork for the formation of five research centres in a number of targeted areas ― citizenship and democracy; sports sciences and development; research in HIV and AIDS; sustainable water resources, and multilingualism and diversities research.

The February celebrations saw representatives from four Flemish universities ― Ghent University, KU Leuven, the University of Antwerp and the Free University of Brussels ― and university leaders from Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and local South African universities attending.

As part of the celebration programme, Minister of Science and Technology, Derek Hanekom, delivered the keynote address, titled Science and Knowledge Challenges and the Importance of Inter-university Cooperation. He also thanked the Flemish Inter-University Council and its partners for their part in the DBBS.

“We are certainly not declaring an end to the partnership,” Hanekom said. “The partnership programme has created a stronger university, new research centres, new PhD graduates, and new knowledge.”

The DBBS has been a truly productive partnership, he added.

“It is a strategy of developing research capacity ― not in the abstract, by simply building skills sets ― but rather by cultivating capacity through applied practice. By selecting a handful of real-life challenges, research capacity is developed and applied in a socially

meaningful way. The idea that knowledge-creation should be socially meaningful is very close to the heart of the Department of Science and Technology.”

The partnership began at a time when UWC “was not the robust institution it is today”, Hanekom noted. “Like other historically black institutions of higher education, it faced many challenges.”

He added that Belgium and Flanders (the Dutch-speaking northern parts of Belgium) have long played a meaningful role in the development of South Africa. In recent years, for example, the Belgian government has allocated €25 million as official development assistance to South Africa, supporting initiatives in health, education and public sector capacity-building, he pointed out.

“South Africa and Flanders enjoy a privileged science and technology partnership which dates back to 1996, with over 200 projects funded to date,” Hanekom said. “The partnership programme with UWC epitomises what can be accomplished when we put our minds to it.”

But the DBBS had, according to the VLIR, not merely been a one-way initiative,

Hanekom explained. The programme has instead promoted fruitful, mutually-beneficial interactions.

“We face global challenges, so why not face them together? We also face our own specific challenges, but they are rarely unique. Surely

there is much we can learn from one another, especially when we work collaboratively.”

The support of the VLIR has contributed to the emergence of the University of the Western Cape as one of South Africa’s finest institutions of higher learning and research, Hanekom further said.

As part of the programme, award-winning Dutch playwright and actor Tom Lanoye performed a part of his play, The Human Zoo, set against the backdrop of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The play was performed daily and was followed by a discussion.

Another highlight on the programme was the launch of the book, Dynamics of Building a Better Society. In this volume, researchers in the programme highlighted the key challenges facing South Africa and concerns about capacity development and inter-

university partnerships.Other events included a roundtable hosted

by talk radio presenter Africa Melane, and a discussion by the funding agency and university rectors from Belgium, South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania on the role of universities in development cooperation. The central message of the discussion was that universities should do more than produce knowledge ― they should also share information to the advantage of the community, and the world.

Another theme of the discussions was universities’ quest for innovative solutions to local and global challenges ― a quest felt to be not just a social responsibility, but also a moral duty.

“Here at UWC, when we know things, we give them away,” said Professor Brian O’Connell, UWC’s Rector and Vice-Chancellor. “We’re faced with dramatic challenges, and parting with knowledge is how a university can contribute to its people.”

A gala dinner and a series of consultative workshops, field trips and discussions also formed part of the programme.

(From left to right): Prof Freddy Mortier (Vice-Rector, Ghent University, Belgium), Prof Brian O’Connell (Rector & Vice-Chancellor, UWC), Kristien Verbruggen (director of the Flemish Inter-university Council, Belgium), and Prof Faustin Kamuzora (Vice-Rector, Mzumbe University, Tanzania) debate the role of universities in development at the 20 Years of Democracy conference.

10 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

“We need to problematise the language around the ‘digital native’. There is no such homogeneous

group ― we’re actually talking about an incredibly diverse student body, all different, all unique. We need to take that variety into account when designing and using learning environments.”

That view was expressed by Professor Denise Wood, headlining a seminar on More Than Just Access: Designing tech-enhanced learning environments hosted by UWC’s Directorate of Teaching and Learning in February. The seminar brought together academics from UWC and Stellenbosch University, who tackled the topic from a range of perspectives.

Wood, associate head of teaching and learning at the University of South Australia and Extraordinary Professor in the Faculty of Education at UWC, discussed the pedagogical considerations of Web 2.0, particularly as applied to a physically diverse and neurodiverse world.

Drawing on her research on 3D virtual learning environments ― especially Second

Life, an online virtual world where users interact through avatars ― Wood noted that not only do differently abled people require different approaches, but people

with similar capabilities often have different views as well. Some with muscular dystrophy or other disorders might choose to use avatars that reflect their disability, for example, while others might choose to have their avatars dancing and running and the like, she explained.

Discussant Leslie Swartz, Professor of Psychology at the University of Stellenbosch, talked about the way apartheid policies had influenced South Africans’ understanding of and social policies about disability. She also

spoke of the link between social models of human beings and medical models. “The medical model just sees the body, and the social model doesn’t see it at all,” she said. “We need to use a synthesis of both models if we are to understand and aid student learning.”

The seminar was followed by a lively question-and-answer session, in which academics explored how student diversity plays out in their own teaching. They also discussed how lecturers can cope with both engaging and channeling students. (A lecturer, it was said, is like a cross between a traffic officer and a clown, and it’s a fine line to walk).

In the end, the consensus was that further investigation was needed. “As I’ve tried to demonstrate briefly, there’s a need ― and an opportunity ― for fuller research and a more holistic view on diversity in universities,” Wood concluded.

Mellon Mays students visit campusA group of American students,

received a whirlwind introduction to the campus and South Africa when they visited UWC in January

as part of the US-based Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) Programme.

The MMUF programme is described as “the centrepiece” of the Andrew W Mellon Foundation’s initiatives to increase diversity in the faculty ranks of institutions of higher learning. It does so by supporting students from ‘underrepresented minority groups’ in the US, encouraging them to take up doctoral studies.

The visit to UWC forms part of the fellowship programme; UWC became a member institution in 2008, and the first MMUF cohort visited the campus in 2009. UWC is one

of three South African universities in the programme, alongside the University of Cape Town and Wits University.

The MMUF is named in honour of Dr Benjamin E Mays, the noted African-

American educator, statesman, minister and former president of Morehouse College. Mays was also a mentor to Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

Welcoming the fellows to UWC, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, Professor Ramesh Bharuthram, sketched a brief history of UWC and its founding and evolution. “Today UWC is spoken of as a metaphor for South Africa,” said Bharuthram.

Vice-chancellor and Rector, Professor Brian O’Connell, spoke about collaboration and helping one another. “There is no independent existence; we are connected,” he said. “We must understand why we have to support one another and be mindful of that fact.”

The fellows also paid a visit to the UWC Mayibuye Centre, which holds historical documents and images related to apartheid and the anti-apartheid struggle, social life and culture.

2014 Mellon Mays Fellows, mentors and programme coordinators come together at UWC.

Extraordinary Professor Denise Wood fields questions about 3D virtual learning and student variety.

The digital student is not so straightforward

UWC is no stranger to using technology to promote learning. For a glimpse of some of the most innovative e-teaching techniques employed by adventurous UWC lecturers, or to find out how to share your own stories of innovative educational techniques, visit http://eteaching.uwc.ac.za.

11Economic and Management Sciences

Robertson gets students to think seriously about entrepreneurship

Fred Robertson describes himself as a lifelong entrepreneur.

Robertson, executive chairperson of the black-owned investment

company Brimstone Investment Corporation Limited, had a lot to share when he recently addressed students from UWC’s Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences on the subject of entrepreneurship. To inspire and motivate students, Robertson went the extra mile, speaking to 800 students on four different occasions early in March.

Robertson began each session by telling students that true success starts at university.

“Throughout my life I have been an entrepreneur and I have always strived for success,” Robertson said. He told how,

when as young as ten, he started selling newspapers and fruit and vegetables.

After matric he went into teaching as an unqualified teacher, training while on the job. After five years, he left to become an insurance representative for Old Mutual. Robertson would stay at Old Mutual for 10 years, first as a salesman and then as a branch manager.

It was then that he became an entrepreneur again, in 1990 forming his own insurance broking house, which branched out into other financial services. In 1995 he started Brimstone with business partner, Mustaq Brey. Today the company is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and is worth R4 billion.

Former Rector and Vice-Chancellor of

UWC, Professor Jakes Gerwel, had a huge impact on his life and success, Robertson told students. “The late Professor Gerwel and the people I have worked with, such as Mustaq Brey, were influential in what I achieved.”

He concluded his presentation by giving the students advice for the future. “Be prepared to be a leader of your generation. Knocks will come in life, but use them as stepping stones and motivation to become successful.

“You have to invest in yourself; keep reading and learning from people, and always keep good company. Doing the right thing is always important; you have to contribute to society after you become successful. This is key.”

Businessman Fred Robertson inspires UWC first-year students.

12

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

Sport

Massive facelift for UWC stadium

The UWC stadium is getting a multi-million rand makeover.

Work has begun on a major upgrade to the stadium, which

is being converted into a state-of-the-art Multi-Purpose Sport Centre, a giant leap forward for UWC’s vision to be a globally competitive university. Among the world-class facilities to be included in the revamped facility will be a Health and Fitness Centre, a multi-purpose sports hall, additional offices, a boardroom, upgraded changing rooms and medical facilities.

A restaurant, special events venues and parking will also be included in the development.

The renovation, which started in February and is set to be completed later this year, marks the next step in a process that began more than five years ago, according to Ilhaam Groenewald, Director of UWC Sport Administration. It was then that the Sport Administration Department, under the auspices of Student Development & Support, placed an emphasis on the importance to maintain, re-develop and build new facilities,

Groenewald explains that the initiative is aligned to the University’s Institutional Operating Plan’s (IOP) strategic goals 1, 5,

6 and 7. These address holistic student development, the generation of third-stream income, raising the university’s profile, and the development of campus surroundings.

“This is further supported with the development of a Master Plan that includes sport facilities maintenance, the upgrading of existing facilities, and the addition of new facilities,” Groenewald explains.

The Sport Centre will have an enormous impact on student life on campus, and will advance:

• the management and coordination of sport activities;

• sport code management and the services provided to 20+ sport codes, both competitive and recreational. The University identified five priority sport codes, namely athletics, cricket,

football, rugby and swimming, with a focus on improving their performances that would make these clubs competitive at university, national and international levels. Recreation codes and activities will be advanced with a specific reference to their accommodation on the ground level;

• strategic initiatives in partnership with sport federations, government, community and corporate, with respect to the hosting of a range of events and functions, profiling the university as a positive contributor to both academic and sport performance; and

• sport development, because sport is seen as part of the general education of students, and a way of enabling them to engage productively with the wider community. The development of UWC students, most of whom come from significantly disadvantaged backgrounds, is related to the development of the communities they come from.

Groenewald adds that UWC has been particularly successful in drawing athletes and coaches from communities whose history of marginalisation still tends to hold them back. “A key objective in this approach is for the University to partner with aspiring athletes to instil in them the confidence to attain the highest levels of achievement,” she says.

“Similarly, being able to be associated with an institution of great stature has significant impact on the development of young people from outside the University who participate in partnership and outreach programmes based at UWC.”

View of the Sports Stadium once upgrades have been completed.

An aerial view of the upgrades planned for the Sport Stadium.

13Sport

Sport-based conflict transformation key to UWC’s new partnership

Sport for peace.

That’s the line of research that doctoral researchers will be able to follow thanks to a new partnership

between UWC’s Interdisciplinary Centre of Excellence for Sport Science and Development (ICESSD) and the international Generations For Peace (GFP) Institute, based in Amman, Jordan. The agreement comes with generous scholarships for PhD candidates to conduct research on sport for peace and development.

The research will focus on sport-based approaches to conflict resolution, addressing local issues of conflict and violence. Two UWC candidates will head for Jordan over the next few months.

Ben Sanders and Erick Mariga are the first UWC candidates to be selected as recipients of the partnership.

The ICESSD strives to contribute to the understanding and advancement of sport as a tool for development and peace in South Africa and Africa. It does so through high-quality research, teaching, community engagement and new technologies.

“We are excited to partner with Generations For

Peace to promote research, teaching and community engagement in the crucial area of sport for peace and development to empower our students and to foster social change, and to live up as much as we can and wherever we are to Nelson Mandela’s legacy,” says ICESSD director, Professor Marion Keim, of the partnership.

“Young people taking action to improve the life of the nation are a significant part of our history,” observes UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian O’Connell. “This makes us particularly excited to be partnered with Generations for Peace to continue the South African journey of building a better nation and world.”

The GFP was equally excited about the new partnership, says Institute chairperson, Prince Feisal Al Hussein. “Learning and education are at the heart of our organisation, and we are confident that the scholarship holders will be a great asset in our efforts to support positive change in local communities facing conflict and violence.”

The Institute’s co-Founder and president, Princess Sarah Kabbani Al-Feisal, also highlights the benefits of the new agreement. “The partnership is an important step in the Institute’s development and engagement in conflict transformation,” she says. “Significant research of this kind will reinforce the impact of our programmes in Africa

Prof Marion Keim congratulates Ben Sanders on his scholarship, which will allow him to do his PhD under the UWC/Generations for Peace Institute partnership.

Erick Mariga is one of the first two beneficiaries of the partnership between UWC and the Generations for Peace Institute.

14

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

Sport

Students strike out for USA

It was a dream come true for two talented UWC footballers when they were selected to pursue both their football and academic careers in the

United States.In February, prolific striker Jermaine

Seoposenwe began her four-year scholarship at Samford University in Alabama, where she will continue her undergraduate business studies. Seoposenwe will also play football (or soccer, as they know it in the US) for the Samford Bulldogs in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Also in the US for a long stay is goalkeeper Kaylin Swart, who in March started her own four-year scholarship at the American Institute of Business (AIB) College in Des Moines, working on a degree in sport and event management.

Both students are members of the South African national women’s team, Banyana Banyana, and were pivotal in the UWC Ladies Football Club’s successful 2013

season, when the team won two titles.Before leaving for the US, Swart told On

Campus that 2013 had been a tough year, as she had to balance football with studies. But this has prepared her well for what lies ahead.

“I’m very excited about the move to the US. It will be a new challenge and I hope everything works out for me,” she said from her Port Elizabeth home.

Seoposenwe‘s father, Jeffrey Seoposenwe, expressed his family’s excitement about their daughter’s move.

“I would like to wish her well and hope she becomes an inspiration to other players. Let me also take this opportunity to thank SAFA for giving her the chance to play in the national team, thus giving her exposure to the world.”

The two footballers join three more Banyana Banyana players in the US. Roxanne Barker, Kylie-Ann Louw and Robyn Moodaly already play for different clubs there.

UWC students Kaylin Swart and Jermaine Seoposenwe have been awarded scholarships to pursue their studies and football careers in the US.

There can be few better ways to entice first-year students to participate in sport than hosting a Sports Day ― so UWC did just that. Part of the Orientation Programme at the beginning of the year, the event at the UWC swimming pool saw hundreds of students regaled and inspired by sporting activities. This including swimming and the introduction of the UWC rugby team for the Varsity Shield, as well as talks by the UWC Sports Council, the Students’ Representative Council and the Sport Administration Department.

15Sport

Living the dreamRising UWC cricket star Aviwe

Mgijima is living his dream again. In 2012, a slump in form cost

Mgijima his place in the Western Province first-class team. Last year he was offered a lifeline when he came to study at UWC through the University’s Sport Skills for Life Skills programme, which offers full bursaries to promising cricketers. “All you need to do is to play cricket and pass your studies,” says Mgijima of the programme.

The opportunity proved to be a turning point as Mgijima’s cricket career was resurrected under the guidance of British-born Andy Moles, former New Zealand coach and head coach of the UWC Cricket team. Mgijima has blossomed, and he was recently signed by the Cape Cobras, one of six franchise teams in the country.

“Making the Cobras is a high moment for me,” comments the all-rounder, who is doing a BA degree at UWC, majoring in industrial psychology and language & communication.

Mgijima featured prominently in the Cobras side that made it to the finals of the recent Ram Slam T20 Challenge, the premier twenty20 cricket competition in South Africa. (They unfortunately lost to the Dolphins.) It was in that competition that he rubbed shoulders with several members of the senior national team who had represented the star-studded Cobras, including Graham Smith, Hashim Amla, Vernon Philander and JP Duminy.

“It was so nice being in the same change rooms with those top-class cricketers,” Mgijima remembers.

Born in the Sheshegu village in Alice near King Williams Town in the Eastern Cape, Mgijima grew up in a cricket- and rugby-loving family. His uncles ran an amateur cricket club.

Inspired by the likes of top cricketers Fanie De Villiers and the late Hansie Cronje, whom he often watched on television, cricket soon took first preference in the talented Mgijima’s sporting career.

His skills didn’t go unnoticed, and he was selected to play for the Border provincial and the South African Colts Under-19 squads before he joined Western Province in 2011, where he was named Club Cricketer of the Month in November 2012.

Now he plays for the Cobras, Western Province and UWC, with the most senior teams obviously taking priority. Add to the mix his busy academic schedule, and Mgijima has a lot to juggle.

“I’ll have to manage studies and sport the right way,” he says. “I have a tough year

ahead.”Mgijima’s ultimate dream is to make the

Proteas team. But as long as he is playing professional cricket and doing well, he is happy, he says.

Any advice to young hopefuls? “If you have a dream, work hard for

it, especially in cricket. It is a difficult sport. You often need to motivate yourself because chances are that you will not perform well all the time. The nice thing is that you can play well into your late 30s and eventually, if you stick to it, you will get a chance to make it to the higher level.”

UWC’s Sport Skills for Life Skills programme helped Aviwe Mgijima turn around his cricket career.

UWC swimmers triumph

UWC swimming club has many reasons to celebrate, now that three more athletes from the club have excelled in different

competitions around the country.Long-distance swimmer Rudolf Visser

finished second in the 10km category at the 2014 Swimming South African National Open Water Championships, hosted by KwaZulu-Natal Aquatics at Midmar Dam in early February. That swim was good enough to secure Visser a place at the World Junior Open Water Championships in Israel later this year.

At the same event, first-year sport, recreation and exercise science student Shannon Austin won bronze in the women’s 10km race. She went two positions better a few weeks later, taking gold at the Western Province Aquatics 10km Championships in Grabouw. BA psychology student Joshua

Finch won the 100-metre breaststroke event at the national champs.

Visser was “happy and excited” to qualify for the world championships, he said, and attributed his rise in swimming to the “good coaches and best facilities” provided by the University.

Finch explained how proud he was to represent UWC and encouraged more students to take up swimming. It’s not just a sport, he said, but also a life skill (it can save lives), and can offer opportunities to win bursaries and represent South Africa at international events. “Besides being competitive, the friends you make and the doors swimming opens for you

are amazing.”These successes augur well for the club,

says sports administrator Glen Bentley. “The medal-winning performances by our swimmers is a clear indication that we are on the right track with our goals.”

Swimmers Joshua Finch and Rudolf Visser have won medals at different championships over the past months.

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