​A historic double in the Varsity Cup competition was the best gift possible from Maties Rugby to Stellenbosch University it its Centenary year.

Maties Rugby won the Varsity Cup on Monday (16 April 2018) for the first time since 2010. Last week the Young Guns won the Varsity Cup's u20 tournament for the very first time.

It was Maties' fourth Varsity Cup victory. The team also played in the 2016 and 2017 finals.

In this historic match, Maties beat the Pukke by 40-7 - the biggest winning margin ever in a final of this tournament.

Loose-forward Johann van Niekerk was named Player that Rocks for the final. Maties winger Duncan Saal was named the tournament's Back that Rocks while Marno Redelinghuys was awarded as Forward that Rocks.

Cell phone users click here.​

This Varsity Cup double had the Maties Sport Chief Director Ilhaam Groenewald smiling from ear to ear.  “What a year it has been for Maties Rugby, and indeed a year of passion, commitment and definitely hard work, that most certainly paid off.  The evidence to proof this is our double title, first our Young Guns (as a historic win) and now, eight years later, we clinched the FNB Varsity Cup title again."

She added: “Since I joined Stellenbosch University in 2014 there has been much talk about Maties Rugby not winning the Varsity Cup title, and indeed it is not because we didn't work towards achieving this goal, it just didn't happen. The focus of a high performance programme refers to the point at which a sport commences the organised identification of talent; the implementation of systematic programmes to develop talent and maximise potential.

“Just like any other team in a high performance environment, we remained focus and our vision has always been to win; to appoint and retain the right staff and coaches; elect strong leadership (club executive) and to ensure alignment and have a shared-vision with Maties Sport and ultimately Stellenbosch University. I am confident that our Rugby Club is a true example of our value proposition in that we represent an excellent value-add investment for students (to ensure both academic and sport success), staff, sponsors, communities, government and stakeholders with the aim to contribute and help sustain the SU competitiveness."

​

Teaching geology in the field is a central part of the Earth Sciences education at Stellenbosch throughout the three undergraduate years up to the post-graduate honours year. One part of this is a trip to the West Coast.

During the University's recess break, third year Field Skills students studied and mapped the Cape Granite Suite, as well as sedimentary rocks, along the West Coast. The photo shows some of these students investigate a shallow inward inclined Trekoskraal contact, between an older feldspar megacrystic S-type Hoedjiespunt granite (students stand on some of it on the right side of the photo) and an overlying volcanic ignimbrites.

Note the ignimbrite's up to 4 m-wide banded contact zone, made up of more (pale) or less (dark) crystal-rich and roughly contact-parallel bands.

For more details on the ignimbrite, see Clemens et al. (2017) paper on https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00410-017-1419-0.  

​​The Faculty of Education offers Bachelor of Education Honours programmes based on a mixed / blended learning mode.  

Students can apply for one of the following programmes:

• BEd Hons (Educational Development and Democracy) 
• BEd Hons (Educational Support) 
• BEd Hons (Foundation Phase Education) 
• BEd Hons (Language Education) 

What is the Mixed / Blended Learning mode?

These programmes consist of an appropriate mix of:

• Face-to-face contact sessions on-campus
• Telematics broadcasts to existing satellite sites
• Electronic learning by using SUNLearn (the learning management system of Stellenbosch University) which includes modern teaching techniques, online discussion groups with fellow students and lecturers, electronic assignments, etc.

How does new offering differ from previous programmes offered?

Previously students who enrolled in the BEd Hons programmes had to attend classes on campus during the evenings at least twice a week. Now, however, students only have to attend two contact sessions (spread out through the year during school holidays) which allows students from anywhere in South Africa to participate in these programmes with regular contact with their lecturers.​

Download the document with more information, programme-specific requirements and programme structure.

If you are curious about sub-atomic particles, nuclear weapons and science fiction movies like Star Trek, a career in nuclear physics may just be the thing for you.

This is what motivated BSc alumnus Milton van Rooy to study experimental nuclear physics at Stellenbosch University. Today he is a radioactivity scientist at the National Metrology Institute of South Africa.

Why did you choose this career?

I became interested in nuclear physics during high school after finding out about sub-atomic particles and nuclear weapons. Science fiction movies like Star Trek also got me curious. Working with radioactive material is exciting to me, it's like living in a science fiction movie.

What training did you undergo?

I started and completed my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in nuclear physics at Stellenbosch University. While completing my PhD in experimental nuclear physics, I was employed by the National Metrology Institute of South Africa where I received specialized training related to my career.

What does your job entail?

Metrology is the science of measurement, where we strive to perform very accurate, high precision measurements with small uncertainties. In my case, I use various particle detectors and electronics, accompanied by data analysis, to determine radioactivity levels in things like environmental samples, consumer products and nuclear medicine. The job has many responsibilities, but my primary focus is research in measurement techniques, and developing and maintaining standards of radioactivity. I also have the opportunity for other projects. We are trying to test the effect of antineutrinos, emitted by the Koeberg nuclear reactors, on the decay rates of radionuclides.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

The best thing is that you never stop learning. Every day brings a new challenge. We demonstrate our measurement capabilities by participating in international comparisons of radioactivity measurements with other metrology institutes. This can be regarded as a type of examination. Therefore, making a very accurate measurement with a small uncertainty, which compares well with the international community, is very satisfying. I also enjoy travelling abroad to present our work and research, and attend meetings.

Describe an average day?

An average day can consist of a combination of laboratory work (i.e. measuring radioactivity levels or making radioactive sources), data analysis, administrative duties, writing scientific papers, preparing a conference presentation, developing or improving measurement techniques and electronics.

Type of personality that would enjoy this kind of career?

You need a certain level of experience with detectors, electronics and data analysis when starting in this field, which you can get from training at university. My training is never finished. By attending various conferences and training courses you develop skills and learn about new electronics and techniques which you can try out in the laboratory, thereby gaining experience. There are still many things I do not know, which I have to research and try out for myself, also through this process I train myself and build up experience.

I would say the ability to perform under pressure; a positive and constructive attitude, passion and common sense, are also very important.

What challenges have you had to overcome?

There are hundreds of radionuclides each of which provide unique challenges during measurements of radioactivity, but my greatest challenge was completing and defending my PhD work.

Advice for grade 11 and 12 learners considering this career?

If you enjoy challenges, problem-solving and science – even if you're not particularly good at it right now – if it fascinates you, stick with it. Your mind will develop more at university as you start to see how things fit together and make sense. Just work hard and think logically. You don't have to be a genius. Surround yourself with positive people. You have to continuously educate yourself by attending conferences, training courses, reading scientific papers and trying out new things. A PhD is important in moving up the career ladder, but an MSc in experimental nuclear physics with all the corresponding disciplines involved, i.e. maths, chemistry, statistics and programming, are needed to succeed in this career.

​​

Fund for Innovation and Research into Learning and Teaching (FIRLT)

​​
In line with its Teaching and Learning policy ( Learning-and-teaching-policy.pdf ), Stellenbosch University established the Fund for Innovation and Research into Teaching and Learning (FIRLT) in 2005 in order to encourage a culture of innovation and reflection in teaching and learning at the University. The fund provides an opportunity for lecturers to innovate, evaluate effective practices and processes, and to investigate teaching and learning problems, solutions and trends.  It also provides a mechanism for the dissemination of results designed to improve the quality of teaching and learning.  Any lecturer, team of lecturers or Centre responsible for teaching and learning, may apply for an award.

FIRLT awards are made twice a year by a subcommittee of the Committee for Teaching and Learning. Proposals are funded up to a maximum of R45 000. All applications are considered by the FIRLT Committee:

Closing date for this year's applications: 25 May and 9 November 2018​.

For queries, send an email to finlo@sun.ac.za or call Jean Farmer at 021 808 2956 / 021 938 9832.​

SU short course on the Scholarship of Educational Leadership (SoEL)

This 12 credit short course focuses on Leadership in and scholarship of Teaching and Learning. The course draws on two bodies of knowledge namely Academic Leadership (AL) and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and aims to bring conceptual frameworks from these two bodies of knowledge into dialogue with each other.

The course content is divided into four broad themes namely Contextualising Leadership (Term 1), Researching Leadership (Term 2), Curriculum Leadership (Term 3), and Pedagogical Leadership (Term 4). The outcomes of the short course are:

• To engage academic leaders (e.g. Vice-Deans T&L, Programme leaders, Departmental Chairs, T&L-related unit heads etc.) in scholarly approaches to educational leadership practices;

• To introduce academic leaders to the scholarship of educational leadership (SoEL) literature and its implications for their own educational leadership context;

• To apply SoEL research skills to own educational leadership context (such as reviewing literature, defining SoEL research problems, designing research methods, disseminating results through a scholarly output);

• To demonstrate critically reflective practice in the form of a Teaching Portfolio.

It is envisaged that the short course will build a critical mass of Teaching and Learning (T&L) mentors at Stellenbosch University. Each year a selected cohort of staff members, who are playing a leadership role in the area of T&L, will be invited to register for the short course. Each of these cohorts, on completion of the short course, will in turn become part of a growing community of T&L mentors at the university.

For 2018, eleven participants are enrolled for the short course. The first two contact sessions took place on 2 February and 6 April.

SU Teaching Excellence Awards 2018

The annual Stellenbosch University Teaching Excellence awards will take place during the second semester of 2018.

The awards were designed in 2017 to acknowledge excellent teaching at institutional level and offer an opportunity to value reflective and contextually-aware teaching. The aims of the awards are:

• to show support at an institutional level for excellence in teaching and learning in higher education;
• to generate a cadre of academics who are able to provide inspiration and leadership in teaching and learning in their disciplines and across the institution;
• to generate debate and public awareness about what constitutes teaching excellence for the world as opposed to in the world;
• to advance the scholarship of teaching and learning;
• to stimulate the growth of professional teachers, and
• to generate appreciation of the value of lessons learnt as opposed to only valuing successes.

The awards are offered in two categories: the Developing Teacher award and the Distinguished Teacher award. All staff are eligible for these awards. 

The Developing Teacher award is open to all staff with fewer than ten years, but minimum three years, of engagement with the scholarship of teaching and learning. The minimum duration of three years can be dated from a point in time, as identified by the individual, when they chose to proactively start developing their scholarship of teaching and learning. The award as Developing Teacher may be received once only.

The Distinguished Teacher award is open to all staff with ten years or more of engagement with the scholarship of teaching and learning. The duration can be calculated from a point in time, as identified by the individual, when they chose to proactively start developing their scholarship of teaching and learning. An individual may receive the award as Distinguished Teacher once in a five-year cycle.

The candidate/s selected by each faculty are required to prepare a teaching portfolio with due attention to the criteria in the guideline document (please see link below). The portfolios should be submitted to the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at kcattell@sun.ac.za by Friday 31 August 2018. A selection committee will evaluate the portfolios. The successful candidates will be informed of their selection in Term 4 and will receive their awards at a ceremony at the end of that term. For the 2018 SU Awards the award amount is R25 000 each.

For further enquiries, please contact Dr Karin Cattell-Holden from the CTL (X 3074, kcattell@sun.ac.za).

For additional information:   http://www.sun.ac.za/english/learning-teaching/ctl/t-l-resources/teaching-portfolios/su-institutional-excellence-in-teaching-and-learning

​

The Military Academy participated in Stellenbosch University's Centenary celebrations on Saturday, March 2018. 

The day started with a commemorative march from Luckhoff, through the streets of Stellenbosch, by members of the Military Academy and residents of Stellenbosch, whilst the SA Navy band entertained the crowd.  The march was to acknowledge residents who had suffered during the forced evictions of the families living on “Die Vlakte".

Directly after the march, the Military Academy held a flag hoisting parade at Coetzenburg Stadium, where the parade was addressed by Lieutenant General Norman Yengeni (Chief Human Resources, representing the Chief of the SANDF, General Solly Shoke).  Lt Gen Yengeni highlighted that the Military Academy prides itself on being part of the university for the past 63 years - when the Military Academy moved from Pretoria to Saldanha during 1953 and when the first military students started attending classes at Stellenbosch at the beginning of 1955, when the Military Academy resorted under the trusteeship of Stellenbosch University. 

An important milestone was reached in January 1961 when the Academy became a faculty in its own right - the Faculty of Military Science of Stellenbosch University. In the same year the very first Agreement of Collaboration was signed between the Department of Defence and the Stellenbosch University. 

Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University, also addressed the parade and spectators, before it concluded.  He highlighted during his speech that the university commits itself unconditionally to the ideal of being an inclusive world class university in and for Africa. He also said that the South African National Defence Force, through the Military Academy is their valued partner in this regard and that the university is the preferred provider for accredited higher education in military science for members of the SANDF.   He emphasized that the partnership between the two entities lays the strongest possible academic foundation for a professional military education.

​Stellenbosch University (SU) researchers are part of an international consortium that developed a simple blood test that can predict the development of tuberculosis (TB) up to two years before its onset in people at high risk of developing TB.

“People in close contact with TB patients are at risk of also developing the disease, however it is not feasible to give preventative treatment to everyone that come into contact with the patient. Our research group developed a blood test that can predict which contacts are more likely to progress to active TB, and these individuals can then be singled out for preventative treatment," explains Prof Gerhard Walzl, lead author of the study and head of the Immunology Research Group at SU's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

The research was published today in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, an American Thoracic Society journal.

A blood test that predicts the development of TB without putting large numbers of lower-risk people through unnecessary preventative treatment is not currently available. “Preventative treatment is several weeks long and has potential side effects. One wants to limit the number of people who have to undergo such treatment to those most at risk for developing active TB," says Walzl.

The test measures the expression level of four genes associated with inflammatory responses. This four-gene signature, known as 'RISK4', was found to apply in populations from South Africa, The Gambia and Ethiopia.

“This study was the first step, and now the impact of this test on prevention of TB will have to be tested in multicenter clinical trials," says Walzl. “In addition, the validity of the prediction in high-risk individuals in Asia, South America and other high-priority areas needs to be assessed."

The international research consortium included researchers from Stellenbosch University (South Africa), the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (Germany), the South African TB Vaccine Initiative (SATVI) at the University of Cape Town (South Africa), the Medical Research Council Unit in The Gambia, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK), Case Reserve Western University (Netherlands), the Armauer Hansen Research Institute (Ethiopia), Makerere University (Uganda), the Ethiopian National Research Institute (Ethiopia), the Karonga Prevention Study (Malawi), Statens Serum Institute (Denmark), AERAS Global TB Vaccine Foundation (United States), Stanford University (United States) and Sanquin Research (Netherlands).​​

Caption: Prof Gerhard Walzl

​“There is an established link between human wellness and sustainable living. We're here to ensure that it remains a strong one," says Sibongumenzi Mtshali, the new Green Committee student co-ordinator at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS).

The FMHS Green Committee was established in 2009, and was the first committee of its kind at Stellenbosch University (SU). Under the leadership of Prof Bob Mash, executive head of FMHS' Department of Family Medicine, this committee has undertaken a number of initiatives aimed at improving students and staff members' relationships with their local environment.

A medical student herself, Mtshali explains that there are strong ties between nature and human health and that she is excited to be a part of this pioneering team. “It's really very simple. The less we harm the earth, the better the environment we subject ourselves to."

Echoing Mtshali's sentiment about the link between nature and health, Mash said that environmental stewardship – the responsible use and protection of the natural environment through conservation and sustainable practices – was recently adopted as a new FMHS graduate attribute.

“The links between public and planetary health are becoming clearer. Medicine and health sciences students must understand the links between the environmental determinants of health at a planetary scale, such as climate change and ocean pollution, and how this manifests in local communities and individual patients." He explains that students will need to ensure that the health system minimises its own contribution to environmental hazards and to this end, the FMHS has made environmental sustainability one of its strategic goals.

This year, the committee appointed Mtshali to ensure that students are aware of the Green Committee's many activities, including the most recent one – a reforestation festival hosted by the non-profit organisation Greenpop. Mtshali led a group of eight health science students to participate in Greenpop's festival at Platbos Forest near Gansbaai in the Western Cape's Overberg region. The students helped plant approximately 5 000 trees.

Says Mash: “Platbos is home to ancient tree specimens – many of which are over 1 000 years old – which creates a habitat for an array of biodiverse fauna and flora. This includes critically endangered leopard toads, mysterious bushbuck, twirling ferns, velvety mosses and bryophytes in every shade of green."

With reforestation, an area is cleared of alien vegetation – which poses a fire risk – and then “reforested" with endemic trees like Milkwoods and Wild Olives. This restores the indigenous forest canopy, the biodiversity that supports this and, in turn, the vital ecosystem services that this forest system provides.

The FMHS's Green Committee has been sponsoring Greenpop to plant trees in order to offset the Faculty's carbon emissions from air travel, in addition to the trees planted on SU's Tygerberg Campus every year. “We've also joined the Global Green and Health Hospital Network (GGHN), which means the FMHS has now committed itself to sustainable practice in the areas of leadership, energy, waste, water, food, buildings, travel, chemicals, biodiversity and procurement," says Mash.

To find out more about the FMHS'     Green Committee, contact Christine Groenewald (clgroenewald@sun.ac.za).

Caption: FMHS students helped plant approximately 5 000 trees at a Greenpop festival at Platbos forest.

Applications are now open for attending the second Deep Learning Indaba that will take place at Stellenbosch University from 9 to 14 September 2018. This is a unique pan-African teaching event supported by Google DeepMind.

The aim of the Indaba, only the second of its kind to take place in Africa, is to strengthen the foundations of African machine learning, and to increase the participation of African researchers in the field. To date, Africa's attendance and participation in the internationally leading machine learning conferences have been extremely low or virtually non-existent.

“It is critical for the future trajectory of machine learning and artificial intelligence, for the types of teams we build and problems we address, that this imbalance and lack of representation be addressed. Africans must be contributors, shapers and owners of the coming advances in machine learning," says Shakir Mohamed, a South African research scientist at DeepMind.

Dr Willie Brink, an applied mathematician at SU and one of the organisers, says the Indaba will take the form a summer school, with advanced lectures by world-renowned experts in the field, practicals, poster sessions and networking events. Applications are open to all students, postdoctoral fellows, researchers, and industry professionals from across Africa and the world.

“We are particularly looking for people with a passion for machine learning, and who are committed to our mission of strengthening machine learning in Africa. Last year we had nearly 300 participants, and this year we are hoping to double that figure," he adds.

The list of confirmed speakers includes the legendary Jeff Dean from Google, Moustapha Cisse from Facebook, Katja Hofmann from Microsoft, and Nando de Freitas from DeepMind.

The closing date for applications is 30 April 2018. There is no registration fee for students. Students may also apply for financial support for travel and accommodation.

Click here to apply - http://www.deeplearningindaba.com/apply.html

Enquiries:

Dr Willie Brink

Division Applied Mathematics, Stellenbosch University

T: 027 _21 808 4218

E: wbrink@sun.ac.za

​The 11^th annual Stellenbosch University (SU) conference on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is taking place on 30 and 31 October 2018. Pre-conference workshops will be offered on 29 October 2018.

The conference will again take place at the Lord Charles Hotel, Somerset West.

The purpose of the conference is to offer SU academics the opportunity to participate in conversations about teaching practices and philosophies. This year's conference should once again be an exciting and informative event.

The theme of this year's conference is Academic Leadership. More information will be available shortly.

Enquiries:  sotl@sun.ac.za

See, hear and experience what it is to be an engineer at the Stellenbosch University Faculty of Engineering's Winter Week (for Grade 11 and 12 learners) that takes place from 1 to 6 July 2018. Here all you questions regarding the engineering profession and the Faculty of Engineering's degree programmes will be answered. You will also get the opportunity to stay in a University residence for the week.

The programme is exciting! During the day you will listen to interesting talks by engineers and lecturers and you will see the Faculty's well-equipped laboratories. In the afternoon you will have educational industrial visits. Your evenings will be filled with enjoyable social outings. The engineer in you will be challenged by an engineering project done in teams.

The cost of the Winter Week is R2 700 per person and includes all meals, accommodation and transport during the Winter Week programme.

Hurry up! Space is limited.

More information:

http://www1.sun.ac.za/winterweek/index.php

E-mail: winterweek@sun.ac.za

Tel: 021 808 4203

Get your application form here.

Photo: Learners' ingenuity is tested with a challenging engineering project done in teams.

Researchers at Stellenbosch University (SU) are again among those who will be honoured this year by the South African Academy for Science and Arts (Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns) for their contributions to science and arts. They will receive their awards at two ceremonies in Pretoria and Stellenbosch respectively.

The recipients are Prof Emile van Zyl of the Department of Microbiology, Prof Barend Herbst, Professor Emeritus of Applied Mathematics, and Prof Lizette Joubert, Chief Researcher at the Infruitec-Nietvoorbij Research Institute and Extraordinary Professor in the Department of Food Science.

Prof Van Zyl is awarded the Havenga Prize for Life Sciences for his innovative research in the natural sciences, his research excellence, competitiveness, and academic expertise. For more than a decade he has been campaigning for the use of environmentally friendly fossil fuel alternatives and has contributed immensely to this area or research.

The Havenga Prize for Physical Sciences (Chemistry) is awarded to Prof Barend Herbst for an academic career stretching four decades and characterized by research outputs of the highest quality and service delivery at various levels. Herbst was involved among others in the South African Mathematics Olympiad and the South African Symposium for Numerical and Applied Mathematics.

Prof Joubert receives a medal of honour from the Academy's Faculty of Science and Technology for her innovative, sustainable and applied product-based research on rooibos and honey bush. Her research led to the development of various processes implemented by the rooibos and honey bush industry. She also received international recognition for her work.

Alumni from SU are among the other recipients.

​On 11 April 2018 the top first-year students (in 2017) and the lecturers who had inspired them were honoured by Stellenbosch University. Engineering's top four are: Matthew Baas (E&E), Zander Snel (Civil), Bianca Jordan (Industrial) and Alex Muthua (E&E).

Matthew Baas says that Dr Naina Ralaivaosaona (Engineering Maths) is the one who inspired him most: "Even with the packed and stuffy classes during the first semester you always managed to spur some life into us with your lively presentations and humorous remarks…"

Prof Thinus Booysen (Computer Programming), who is Alex Muthua's favourite lecturer, said the following about his bright student: "I am fully aware that, despite clearly having been blessed with a sharp intellect, this achievement has not merely landed in your lap, and probably required a lot of hard work from you. I want to assure you that continuation of this work ethic will serve you well."

Prof Marcel Wild (Engineering Maths) is both Zander Snel and Bianca Jordan's most inspiring lecturer, keeping them stimulated and focused with a touch of humour. To this accolade, he replied: "Thank you for that honour! I assume, but am not sure, it is because I often point out that Math can be fun. At an advanced age I still listen to Deep Purple, Moody Blues, Michael (and Millie) Jackson."

Main photo from the left: Prof Anton Basson (Vice-Dean: Teaching and Quality Control), Zander Snel, Prof Marcel Wild, Bianca Jordan, Prof Arnold Shoonwinkel (Vice-Rector: Learning and Teaching), Alex Muthua, Matthew Baas, Dr Naina Ralaivaosaona and Prof Wikus van Niekerk (Dean: Engineering).

Insert: Prof Thinus Booysen.

​This year, a DST/NRF SA Research Chair in Sugarcane Biorefining was established in the Faculty of Engineering at Stellenbosch University. It is held by Prof Johann Görgens, head of the Bioresource Engineering Group in the Department of Process Engineering.

The Chair aims to broaden the range of products manufactured from available sugarcane to maximise the economic value extracted beyond conventional products like sugar, electricity and ethanol.

The focus of the Research Chair will be on biomass fractionation, separation, conversion, value addition and new product development. One of the key elements will be to facilitate training of sugarcane biorefining scientists and engineers, especially at master's and PhD levels. Postdoctoral researchers will also facilitate postgraduate programmes through supervision and mentoring.

Although the South African sugarcane processing industry is considered highly efficient despite the high cost of cane, it has become clear that breakthrough and even disruptive technologies are required in order to remain competitive and sustainable.

Prof Görgens says: "The new research chair aims to address the core challenge that the sugar industry has faced for some time, which is the need to expand the range of valuable products obtained from sugar cane. This requires extensive assessment and development to ensure that new, sustainable business opportunities are created for the industry, which is what the chair aims to contribute to."

The challenges facing the South African sugar industry are not unique. Sugarcane industries worldwide have been exploring the concept of an integrated biorefinery approach, in which sugarcane is viewed as a source of biomass that can be processed to produce multiple, value-added chemical and energy products.

​The existing sugarcane industry is well-placed to embrace the biorefinery approach as raw sugar mills already have appropriate infrastructure in place for collecting and processing bulk biomass, which confers a major advantage over processing of other lignocellulosic feedstocks. In addition, a sugarcane biorefinery should be self-sufficient in terms of outside energy supplies, thereby reducing processing costs and minimising exposure to fluctuations in fuel costs.

The development of these new technologies is multidisciplinary and considerable collaboration is required with other engineering disciplines (mechanical and electronic), scientific disciplines (chemistry, physics and microbiology) as well as economics, in order to develop sound techno-economic justifications for the most promising products and technologies. Prof Görgens has longstanding collaboration with the Sugar Milling Institute, RCL Foods, and the Universities of KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Town and Fort Hare. Future cooperation will be extended to include local and international collaborators.

At the end of 2022, the Chair in Sugarcane Biorefining will be renewable for two further five-year periods.

Photo: Prof Johann Görgens (far back and insert) with his postgraduate students from African countries.

​​Stellenbosch University (SU) has released the first version of its new draft Statute for an internal and public consultation process. The Statute is the constitution of Stellenbosch University. It provides the institutional framework for the effective governance and administration of the University, and describes the foundational structures and processes within which the values, ideals and principles driving the University are pursued.

In a changing higher education environment, it became necessary to thoroughly revise the Statute, for which the University Council gave approval on 26 September 2016. The Council constituted a task team that compiled the first draft Statute in cooperation with legal experts, and with directional input from Council and its Executive Committee, and input gathered through a range of workshops. 

The objective of the task team was to compile a logical, accurate and legal, yet accessible document, drafted in simple language and style.​

Over the next month this document will be tabled for consideration and comment at faculty board meetings and other internal university bodies while external stakeholders and members of the public are also invited to give input. 

The closing date for comment is 28 May 2018 and input can be sent to statuut@sun.ac.za  

According to the planning timeline the final draft will be submitted to Council for approval in November 2018.

• More information here

• Click here for an electronic copy or the draft Statute
  

• A printed copy may be collected from the Registrar's office, room 2020, Administration A building, Ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch.

• Copy of the current Statute here​. 
  

Four researchers from the Desmond Tutu TB Centre (DTTC) at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), Stellenbosch University, have recently graduated with PhDs after conducting research which holds valuable lessons for the way TB and HIV is managed in South Africa.

Sue-Ann Meehan's research followed her extensive experience in setting up mobile HIV testing clinics, where encouragingly a large number of men were tested for HIV. Meehan showed that men made up more than half of the over 180,000 people who visited the DTTC's mobile testing centres. Specially made tents and caravans were set up at taxi ranks and other easily accessible public places in and around Cape Town. Waiting times were significantly shorter at the mobile units than at clinics and many people who tested HIV-positive linked to clinics to start treatment.

“Not everyone accesses clinics and so community-based HIV testing services have a vital role to play in finding and diagnosing those living with HIV," said Meehan.

In his PhD research, Peter Bock, who co-leads a global study on HIV prevention, found that providing antiretroviral treatment (ART) to people with high CD4 counts resulted in a 63% reduction in the incidence of TB. However, he also found that a high proportion of people who received ART when their CD4 counts were high, did not continue taking ART.

“I hope to continue with meaningful HIV work. If my research can contribute to both local and global efforts against HIV, I would really value that. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to work in the HIV treatment field, which can lead to positive and groundbreaking health effects for people in communities," said Bock.

Rory Dunbar developed an operational model to explain why GeneXpert - a new molecular diagnostic test for TB - led to a 157% increase in cost, yet did not lead to an increase in the number of tuberculosis cases that were diagnosed. His research recommended that improving the systems at clinics as well as reducing the test costs would ensure that the test could be more affordable and lead to more TB cases being diagnosed.

Dunbar said it had been a tough but rewarding few years.

“It's been long hours grafting away to get a PhD, but I always remember the bigger picture - that I'm working to improve people's health and living conditions. I hope that my research will help policy makers as well as the Health Department to better strategize and implement diagnostics for TB in future."

Florian Marx's mathematical modelling work focused on detecting and preventing the transmission of TB among former TB patients. His research showed that focused interventions to detect and prevent tuberculosis among former TB patients could substantially reduce the transmission of TB in the entire local population.

Mariana Kruger, executive head of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the FMHS, said the four researchers had done incredible work.

“The knowledge these four researchers have generated will tremendously benefit public health policy and programmes."

Kruger said it was very significant that four researchers from the same research centre graduated with PhD degrees at the same time. This was a real boost for the Desmond Tutu TB Centre as well as the faculty. She also credited former director of the DTTC, Nulda Beyers, who was the supervisor for all four graduates.

“Nulda put tremendous effort into this. It's a mammoth task to supervise four PhDs at the same time and to have them all finish at the same time too."

Beyers, said it had been a privilege working with each one of them.

“It is fantastic to see how they have developed as young scientists, the way they can reason through science, and also very importantly, how they have developed as people. A PhD is not a doctorate in science. It's a doctorate in philosophy. So it's really about life."

Beyers said she hoped the benefits and challenges outlined in the research would be a priority for programme implementers in the Department of Health.

“This research could help advise how to manage TB and HIV. We have very good policies in South Africa, but this research will help to show how these policies can be implemented to benefit the diagnosis and treatment of TB and HIV."

Professors Kruger and Beyers applauded Stellenbosch University for providing financial support for Dunbar, a quadriplegic, to be able to travel to national and international meetings with an assistant. The university has also made the DTTC offices wheelchair-friendly and created a garden for Dunbar's worker dog, Vaughn.

“I am profoundly proud to be associated with a university that not only talks equality, but acts equality for disabled colleagues," Beyers said at the graduation ceremony in March.

The four graduates said they were looking forward to some free nights and weekends now that they have wrapped up their PhD studies, but would continue to reflect on the past few years.

“Working at the DTTC has been a wonderfully supportive environment in which to do a PhD. The journey has been a mix of more highs than lows, a huge amount of hard work and determination…and a lot of chocolate," said Meehan.

Caption: Members of the DTTC that recently received their PhDs, with their supervisor, Prof Nulda Beyers.

The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences today welcomes its new dean, Prof Ingrid Woolard, who joined Stellenbosch University on 1 May.

Prof Woolard, an internationally recognised and respected academic, is the first woman to lead the faculty as dean since it was established 93 years ago.

“I'm looking forward to the challenge of leading SU's largest faculty. The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences is renowned for its student-centric approach and excellent results and I'm excited to be joining such a committed team," she said.

Prof Woolard has identified four core elements as key to the continued success of the faculty: broadening student access and success, enhancing research excellence, accelerating transformation of the staff body and ensuring relevance of the curriculum.

• Click here to read more about Prof Woolard's appointment.
  

​​​Stellenbosch University (SU), the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and various academic departments are saddened by passing of a former director of the CTL, Prof Brenda Leibowitz.

Prof Maureen Robinson of the SU Department of Curriculum Studies and a friend and colleague of Prof Leibowitz, writes:​

I  have known Brenda Leibowitz for over 30 years, both as a friend and colleague. She was a teacher during the turbulent school boycotts of the 1980s in Cape Town and is remembered dearly by many of her former pupils. She worked for some years in the Department of Education with the late Kader Asmal, as Director: Race and Values in Education, later moving into the fields of academic development and teaching and learning, seeing these as vehicles for the transformation of higher education.

Between 2004  and 2013  Prof Leibowitz worked at Stellenbosch University as Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning. The Centre supported the enhancement of all aspects of teaching and learning at the University. Areas of focus of the Centre included: coordination of the University's Extended Degree Programmes, support for tutor programmes, the professional development of academics, student feedback, integrating academic literacy in the curriculum, E-learning, development of teaching and learning policies and strategic documents, the First-year Academy and various research projects. She was concurrently Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum Studies, convened a module in the MPhil in Health Science Education and supervised several PhD and Masters students.

In 2014 she moved to the University of Johannesburg, where she was offered a Chair in Teaching and Learning.  This was recently accepted as a new SARCHi Chair, an expression of the high regard in which she was held in the academic community.   

From the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of South Africa (HELTASA) comes the following words: Brenda has been taken from us too soon, when there was still so much more to share and so much still to do in academic development. Rest in peace, Brenda, and be sure that your legacy to higher education in South Africa is enormous and will continue not least in the form of HELTASA

Photo: HELTASA

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