​As part of the MinwaterCSP H2020 project, the European Union allocated funding for the construction of a 24 foot diameter fan and cooling system test facility on the premises of Stellenbosch University. The MinwaterCSP project aims to reduce the water consumption of concentrated power plants by implementing high efficiency cooling processes and novel mirror cleaning techniques in these plants. The project team consists of 13 partner entities, including Stellenbosch University (https://www.minwatercsp.eu). The test facility was designed by Enexio Germany and manufactured by Kelvion Thermal Solutions at their workshops in Germiston, Johannesburg. Construction of the facility is being managed by Kelvion and got off to a start on Monday, 19 March 2018.  Commissioning of the test facility will be finalized in June 2018. 

The facility opens up new horizons for testing, verifying and demonstrating cooling system axial flow fans and a novel delugeable dry-cooled heat exchanger in full-scale. The systems being tested on the facility are typically found in direct dry-cooled condensers, such as those used in the new Medupi and Kusile coal fired power stations in South Africa, and the NOOR II and III concentrated solar power stations in Morocco.  The test facility is the only one of its kind in the world and could contribute to technologies that would significantly decrease water and energy consumption in power plants, while maintaining or possibly even improving net-power output to the client, especially in drought-stricken regions where CSP plants are customary.  With the hot climate prevailing, this is cool business indeed… 

Photo:  Dr Fancois Louw (Kelvion) and Prof Johan van der Spuy (Stellenbosch University) in front of the nearly-completed test facility.​

​Toyosi Craig, a final-year PhD student at the Department of Industrial Engineering, attended the 2018 African Young Graduate Summit at the Birchwood Hotel in Johannesburg from 12 – 16 March 2018.  During this one-week workshop, as organised by the Human Science Research Council (HSRC) and the African Institute of South Africa (AISA), Toyosi presented a paper titled: Expert Assessment of Cost Performance, RD&D budget on Adoption of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology in South Africa.

Out of the 60 participants who attended the event, Toyosi won the Best Paper, Best Presentation and Most Outstanding Participant awards.  He was rated highest by all the judges throughout the event, and was declared the overall winner at the award event held.

Toyosi Craig's PhD studies is funded by the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES), and he is an active member of the Solar Thermal Energy Research Group (STERG).  Toyosi was also named the Most Outstanding Nigerian Student in 2017, as well as the Young Researcher of the Year in SA in 2016.​

Photo (from left to right):  Dr Shingirirai Mutanga, Dr Cloudious Chikozho, Toyosi Craig, and Professor Leickness Simbayi (HSRC Deputy CEO).

Students at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) showed off their talent at the recent Molassesêr competition – and proved that they weren't just bookworms.

Residences at Stellenbosch University compete annually for the Molassesêr title.

This year the theme was “Video Killed the Radiostar" and the final round took place on 26 April at the Conservatorium Amphitheatre in Stellenbosch. Students from Tygerberg campus won both the women's and the men's trophies – the first time Tygerberg managed this double feat.

House Francie van Zijl and Hippokrates Men's Residence both ended up at the top of the adjudicators' scorecards in their respective categories.

This is the second year in a row that Hippokrates Men's Residence wins in their category. “As far as we know, we are also the first residence to win this trophy two years in a row, and next year we are going to try and make it three," says Ruhann Botha, House Committee member (culture) and cheerleader of Hippokrates Men's Residence. “We are very proud of how well we did."

For House Francie it was a two-year-long dream that became a reality. “We did not take part in 2015, and upon our return in 2016 we did not get through to the last round. Last year we came second in the competition, and, of course, we could not leave it at that. This year we tackled it again with the aim to win, and managing to do that was absolutely incredible! Many hours of work, crisis management and planning were all worth it in the end," explains Luné Smith, House Francie Committee member for culture. She was also one of the five passionate cheerleaders of House Francie.

According to Botha the winning recipe is that everyone should enjoy themselves. “We practise hard, but at the end of the day your make new friends and you thoroughly enjoy yourself." As far as their strategy went, they believed in writing the storyline first, and then to choose the music to go with it. “In that way the performance flows, and you don't try and force it to fit a specific song." He believes their funny renderings of characters such as Jacob Zuma, Nataniël and Simon Cowell, together with their popular song choices, were the key ingredients of their success. 

Smith says that it was definitely the high spirits of House Francie that made them stand out. “With each performance, we sang loudly, and danced enthusiastically. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and the audience could see this. Added to this, our colourful shirts and face paint made us very noticeable, and that contributed to the playful atmosphere of our performance."

Botha says that even though they would stay loyal to Hippokrates Women's Residence, and hope to win both titles next year, House Francie's performance was "excellent'. In turn, Smith says she was very impressed with the performances of the Hippokrates  Women, Meerhoff (who participated for the first time), the main campus's Huis Ten Bosch and Wilgenhof, and of course that of Hippokrates Men.

“Hippokrates Men have never disappointed with their performances. It was nice to see them change their khaki and white costumes for something different. I am always amazed at how willing these guys are to clown around in the name of fun! But I am extremely grateful for it! It is always nice to see that Tygermaties also do other things besides swotting."

Molassesêr in a nutshell - Luné Smith explains:

What you need: “(1) Many first-year students, (2) senior students to provide some leadership, (3) lots of enthusiasm, (4) face-paint, (5) a good drummer (6) choreography and (7) music."

How it works: “The Molassesêr competition consists of only two rounds: the heats and the final. To take part in the first round merely requires an entry, but to get through to the next round, the group has to give six performances at six different residences, where they are adjudicated each time. The challenge of getting to the final round lies in running around Stellenbosch for an entire evening with a group of 60 students, while their legs, voices and spirits must keep up so that they can give their best every single time! Perseverance is key in such a project."

What happens after the final round? “The Molassesêr performances come to an end on the final competition evening. Every year there will be a new group taking part in the Molassesêr, mainly first years, and every year new leaders are chosen."

The fact that Laura Wolvaardt is currently living out her dream by walking onto the field as an opening bowler of the South African women's cricket team doesn't mean that she has abandoned her other great dream – to qualify as a doctor. 

Laura started studying at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) at the University of Stellenbosch at the beginning of the year as a first-year student. 

The busy cricket calendar – and especially the T20 World Cup Tournament in November this year – disrupted everything, however, and she was given permission after a few months to interrupt her studies. She will resume these next year. 

Laura made her debut for the South African senior women's cricket team in 2016 in a one-day tournament against England. And she hasn't looked back since. She is very grateful that the FHMS has given her the opportunity to play professional cricket for a year without having to worry about her studies. 

The decision about where to study came easily. “I attended an Open Day at Tygerberg, and simply fell in love". 

And why medicine, in particular? “As a doctor I feel that one can truly make a difference in someone's life," says the 19-year-old, who also shines in many other areas, but realises only too well that in the long run she would not be able to do justice to both cricket and medicine at the level she would like to do. 

Last year in matric at Parklands College in Milnerton she was head girl, a member of the first hockey team, and academically in the top spot, as she has been throughout her school career. 

“When I started studying at the US, I quickly realised that the medical course was extremely demanding – just as demanding as the schedule of a professional cricketer," she says. “I will never completely stop playing; I love cricket too much to do that. But after I have resumed my medical studies, I will not be part of every single cricket tour." 

At the moment her days look very different to those of a typical medical student. “When I am home, I will go to the gym every day, and attend cricket practice. However, the biggest part of this year I will be touring, which means many team practice sessions and matches." 

Her passion for cricket she ascribes to the boys who her friends during very early childhood. “At the age of five everyone started playing cricket. I trundled along behind them as I didn't want to miss any of the fun, and to my surprise, I started loving the game." 

Laura has quite a few impressive firsts on her list of records, such as being the youngest South African cricketer (of the men ánd women) who have made a century in international cricket (at the age of 17), and she is also the youngest woman in the world who has passed the 1000-run mark in one-day cricket (at the age of 18). But the highlight of her cricketing career was when the South African women's team took part in the World Cup Tournament last year during her Matric year. “We played brave and fearless cricket and it was incredible being part of that. We reached the semi-finals and played for one another." 

She did so well that she was selected to play in the international team. 

Laura has received many accolades, such as when she was named in her matric year as  Women's Newcomer of the Year at Cricket South Africa's annual awards, and at an awards ceremony for women, athletes received the sport award for School Sports Star of the Year. 

She believes that in order to be a good opening batsman, you need to possess both a solid technique and strong mental abilities. "You must be 100% focused. There is no room for errors. I believe it is very similar to when you are a doctor."

Caption: Laura Wolvaardt in action on the cricket pitch.

Photo supplied by Cricket South Africa.

​​The Energy Research Programme (ERP)*, funded by the National Department of Science and Technology and administered by the National Research Foundation (NRF), and driven by the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES), passed its recent five-yearly review with flying colours.

The ERP is based on a Hub-and-Spokes model, with CRSES, housed in the Faculty of Engineering Stellenbosch University (SU), acting as the Hub since the Centre's inception in 2006. The three Spokes are Solar Thermal (located at SU and the University of Pretoria), Solar Photovoltaic (located at the University of Fort Hare and Nelson Mandela University) and Wind Energy (located at SU and the University of Cape Town).

The evaluation panel's three experts, Prof Henrik Lund (Aalborg University, Denmark), Dr Christos Markides (Imperial College London, UK) and Prof Cristina Trois (University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa), prepared a comprehensive report based on more than 20 interviews conducted with more than 60 stakeholders (students, staff, alumni, industry, Government officials, etc.) over four days.

Prof Sampson Mamphweli, Director of CRSES since July 2017, says: "In the review report, a few positive things came out strongly. The three aspects are:

1. The panel felt that the entire Energy Research Programme performs at an international standard;

2. The funding that the ERP receives from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) via the NRF is not necessarily sufficient. However, the programme still performed better than some well-funded programmes;

3. The panel recommended that the DST must continue to support the programme, but various parties involved in the programme must try to leverage additional funding from various sources, including international donors."

Prof Mamphweli continued: "We are quite happy with the outcome. One thing that is encouraging is the fact that, based on this report, the DST has so far informally indicated that they will continue funding the programme for the next five years. What is more, they are also considering increasing their funding."

* The main focus of the ERP is to fund research at universities aligned to nine research thematic areas, namely:

1. Cleaner fossil fuel development, including clean coal technologies;

2. Renewable energy (bioenergy including bio-fuels, solar energy, wind energy, etc.);

3. Energy impact on the environment;

4. Energy for socio-economic development;

5. Energy system planning and modelling;

6. Energy infrastructure optimisation;

7. Energy efficiency and demand side management;

8. Energy policy research; and

9. Alternative energy.

Photo:

From the left: Dr Bernard Bekker (Associate Director, CRSES) and Prof Sampson Mamphweli (Director,​ CRSES).

It is important that our students are mentally and physically ready to handle the volume of work during examinations and to approach each examination opportunity with confidence. Student Affairs' Elmien Sinclair, Educational Psychologist and Head of the Unit for Academic Counselling and Development at the Centre for Student Counselling and Development of Stellenbosch University (SU) shared some important tips on how students can become mentally and physically ready for the exams.

Listen to some inspirational and wise words from SU's honorary doctorates to the students of Stellenbosch

1.      What is the best way to start and not be overwhelmed by the mountain of work in front of you?

• Make a study timetable.
• Don't wait until you feel ready to start working. Chances are slim that it will happen. You must make a conscious decision to start working.
• Break your work down into digestible chunks. This will help you to get it more organised.
• Study the difficult parts during the times of the day when you are most productive.
• Early in the morning and later in the evening are great revision time.
• Always remember: “How to eat an elephant? One bite at a time!"

2.      What tips are there on study methods and effective use of studying time?

• Everyone is unique and different. What works for a friend will not necessarily work for you.  Rather do not copy your friend's studying methods unless you process works and learn in the same way.
• Be creative and use what you are comfortable with to memorise your work. Think of different colours, mind maps, flashcards, bullet points, keywords and more.
• It is also not a rule to study in a stereotypical way by sitting behind a desk. You can walk around in your room; have notes pasted all over; talk to yourself or sit in the garden.
• Some people study better with instrumental background music, others with scented candles burning and others with absolute silence.
•  It's important to find out what works for you because how we are taught to study at school does not necessarily works at university. 

3.      What is the best way to cope with this stress and turn it into positive energy?

• Schedule time for relaxation.
• Surround yourself with positive people.
• Set small goals for yourself and reward yourself for the hours you put in.
• Laughter is the best medicine, so try get a good dose of humour too.
• Don't forget to take care of yourself; eat regularly, because you are burning a lot of energy while studying.
• Drink lots of water and exercise.
• Don't drink too much coffee and avoid energy drinks.

4.      How often should students take breaks and what are ideal ways to spend this time off?

• Research shows that the average person can concentrate constantly for approximately 25 minutes.
• If your concentration span is 20 minutes, then take a 5 minutes break in-between and do 2 to 4 sets of 20 minutes before taking a longer break. It is important to take short breaks while studying.
• Consider using the Pomodoro Application for time-management
• Do something during your break that can take your focus away from your studies. This way you will be rejuvenated for the next session.
• Definitely avoid snacking on junk food, surfing the internet or going on to social media and excessive caffeine intake.
  
   

5.      What should you be doing just before writing an exam? Any useful tips?  

• Get a good night's rest
• Don't try to cram way into the night.
• Have a healthy breakfast.
• If hearing people chat about what they have learnt and it stresses you out, then put on your earphones and listen to your favourite music.
• Believe in yourself

If you need academic counselling or support, make contact with the Centre for Student Counselling and Development in Victoria Road 37 or visit SU's website at www.sun.ac.za/cscd. Also, follow Student Affairs and #SUexam on Facebook for regular study tips

​Dr Antoinette Smith-Tolken, director of the Division for Social Impact, spoke about the higher education (HE) landscape and the potential of SU to impact the post-school education and training sector through its scholarship and active citizenship engagements. “Higher education will be a vehicle to carry this forward through capacity building of community colleges. At Stellenbosch University we create knowledge with society and in society. What impact will your teaching, research and citizenship have with and in society?” she asked.

​Renee Hector-Kannemeyer, deputy director of the Division of Social Impact and head of Matie Community Service (MGD), introduced the vision of SU, which is to enhance the institution’s societal impact by playing a supportive, equipping, enabling and facilitative role with internal and external stakeholders to address societal challenges through collaborative learning and teaching, research and innovation, and volunteerism. “We assist with brokering relationships between the University and communities and other societal stakeholders. Students look forward to taking social impact practices forward in their jobs after they graduate,” she said.

Mawethu Nyakatya, Manager: Engaged Scholarship, spoke about ways of being in the academe, examples of scholarship and support for engaged scholarship offered by the Division. “Societal challenges cannot be addressed by one faculty or discipline; we need to collaborate with others. We also play a consulting role and help plan initiatives between the University and partners,” he said.

Michelle Pietersen, Senior Programme Manager: MGD, highlighted the importance of connecting with communities in order to build the capacity of students and staff. MGD hosts two big experiences annually: the Social Impact Morning for new students at the start of the academic year and Mandela Day in July to introduce students and staff to engaged citizenship. MGD also offers community development training courses to staff, students and community leaders. “We build long-term relationships with community partners and provide an opportunity for students to do in-service work,” she said. MGD has developed a competency certificate for students that reflects the competencies students develop through their volunteer activities. Students who complete 100 volunteer hours have this reflected on their academic transcripts.

Avril Whate, Senior Programme Manager: MGD, shared her work involving collaboration with government and different stakeholders to create and sustain an effective healthcare service. “We need a holistic approach to healthcare, so we include the allied healthcare services in our clinics and at our Sarepta Old Age Home Outreach. Students also do health promotion,” she said.

Joanne Williams, Management Information Officer of the Division of Social Impact, demonstrated the value of registering social impact initiatives on the Social Impact Platform. “The platform allows staff to document their social impact activities and align the University’s expertise and interests with the needs of and collaboration opportunities with civil society, government and business. It is a means to support and enhance the work of staff and in a meaningful way also serves as a social learning space to inspire and model good practice for social impact within Stellenbosch University,” she said.

Dr Richard Walls, senior lecturer in SU’s Department of Civil Engineering, shared his social impact work involving world-first research in improving the resilience of informal settlements to fire. This is significant research being undertaken in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh involving community surveys, full-scale burn tests, extensive fire modelling and testing and guidelines for improving safety. “There is a desperate need for technically solid, but socially suitable engineering solutions to be developed,” he said.

Participants engaged in discussions throughout the session, raising issues such as scaling student engagement for students who want to do more and getting students more involved in what they learn. Questions were also asked about how to take the tacit knowledge of students into account. Other issues raised were around community dependency versus the need for communities to function independently after engagements with SU. The ideal would also be for communities to consult among themselves in order to identify the partnership opportunities that can be presented to SU. It was felt that the University should be seen as a resource for all societal stakeholders.

The article below, entitled Local government in South Africa is in crisis. How it can be fixed by Dr Dirk Brand of the SU School of Public Leadership, was published in The Conversation on 29 May 2018. To read the original article, click here.

Most of South Africa's 257 municipalities are in a disastrous financial position. According to the country's Auditor General, only 33 (13%) are in full compliance with the relevant legal requirements, and produced quality financial statements and performance reports.

The most recent audit report from Auditor General, Kimi Makwetu, shows that nearly a third (31%) of the municipalities indicated that they are not financially viable. In business terms that means they are not going concerns anymore.

According to Makwetu this dire situation can be ascribed to a range of factors. These include a lack of appropriate financial and management skills, political interference and infighting in councils. The failure to fill key personnel positions is also a problem, as is the fact that there's clearly a lack of political will to ensure accountability.

There are serious consequences to this unacceptable state of affairs. The most important is that municipalities are unable to deliver services such as clean water, sanitation and electricity. It also means there's a lack of maintenance of infrastructure in towns and cities all over the country. The rise in protests by disgruntled citizens is a clear sign of people's frustration and the failure of local government to provide basic services.

Local governments are also responsible for providing services such as refuse and sewage removal and disposal, storm water drainage systems as well as municipal roads and street lighting in a sustainable way. The Constitution and the laws of the country make it clear that municipal officials and councillors are accountable to ensure good financial governance, and that there could be disciplinary or criminal proceedings if they fail to do so. For their part, citizens are entitled to receive good services from their respective municipalities.

How can the disastrous situation be turned around? There appears to be a complex set of problems which means that there are no quick fixes. What's required is a comprehensive approach that deals with various elements of the local government system.

What needs to be done

Firstly, it's important to understand the role that the other spheres of government have to play to help cure the problems.

Although municipalities have a specific constitutional role to play, they are not expected to do so on their own. Provincial and national governments must support municipalities to perform their functions. They can do this in various ways, such as providing training, technical support and capacity building workshops. Financial governance capacity in key issues such as debt collection, risk management, internal audit and revenue management needs to be strengthened.

The provincial and national governments must also monitor the performance, including the financial performance of municipalities. If they all do this properly, more financial management problems could be identified and dealt with during the course of a financial year.

The Auditor General is also an important part of the support structure. His office is an important constitutional institution that does more than just audit the accounts of all three spheres of government. It also has an important role to play in the accountability chain by identifying key problems and causes. It goes on to make recommendations to help municipalities solve their problems.

At the moment the Auditor General's office doesn't have the power to enforce its recommendations. But that's about to change. Amendments to the Public Audit Act, 2004, being debated in Parliament will give the office more teeth to strengthen accountability. This is a welcome and necessary legislative improvement.

But a great deal of what needs to be done rests with municipalities themselves. Local government finance specialist Deon Van der Westhuizen, states that one of the cornerstones of successful, continued service delivery is systemic discipline.

This implies effective revenue management, which includes timely debt collection, regular payment of suppliers and a well-structured and managed repairs and maintenance plan for the infrastructure of a municipality.

But to do this effectively and efficiently, appropriate financial management capacity is required. Where municipalities lack this, creative use of shared services between municipalities could be used. And private sector expertise to help improve financial management and audit outcomes should also be part of the solution.

In a worse-case scenario, a municipality can be put under administration. This means that for a limited period of time the particular provincial government takes over the running of the municipality in order to solve the critical problems that prevent it from functioning properly. It's a very drastic measure and should only be used sparingly since it interferes in the constitutional mandate of an elected municipal council. But in cases of serious systemic failure it might be the most appropriate course of action. It should, however, be only for a limited time and should be aimed at getting the municipal administration in a position where it could function on its own again.

Lastly, South Africans across the board need to work harder at ensuring that officials are held accountable. Accountability is one of the fundamental principles of the country's constitutional democracy. Any person or government institution that does not give effect to accountability contravenes the Constitution. Good quality financial statements and annual reports are necessary to ensure that accountability and transparency are achieved.

The current situation is a national crisis and requires a joint effort across political, geographical and jurisdictional boundaries to get municipalities working properly.

• Photo: The Auditor General, Kimi Makwetu

Honours Field School report

The Stellenbosch University Honours class of 2018 made the great trek (by overnight bus) up from the Cape to the exciting geology of the Kaapvaal craton. A total of twenty students from both the hard rock geology- and environmental geochemistry- streams partook in the tour, which focussed predominantly on various mines located in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West and Limpopo provinces. The tour was led by Dr Bjorn von der Heyden, with invaluable assistance provided by Masters student Stephan Dunn. First stop on the tour was the Vredefort Dome, a must-see for any geological excursion upcountry. A transect through the collar provided students with their first practical exposure to the Wits stratigraphy, including a brief stop at the auriferous Amazon Reef conglomerate. The highlights of the visit to the Vredefort dome however, were undoubtedly the various impact features that were observed (shatter-cones and pseudotachalyte breccias). Stop two was in the Johannesburg commercial district, where Matt Mullins from Tecoma Strategies (and a Stellenbosch University guest lecturer) provided the students with critical insights into the business aspects of geology and into the importance of geology to the minerals industry. The next stop was at Exxaro’s North Block Complex open cast coal mine in the Highveld coal field. For many of the students, this was their first ever exposure to a mining environment and the Exxaro team did an outstanding job of introducing students to coal mining and to the role of the geologist in the mine value chain.

The trip to Barberton comprised a necessary detour via Tjarkastad to investigate the spinifex textures and pillow lavas of the Onverwacht Group komatiites and komatiitc basalts respectively. Once in Barberton, an action-packed itinerary included tours of the Golden Quarry (courtesy of Sheba Mine), a tour of the BIOX recovery plant (Fairview Mine), and underground excursion in the Scotia Mine (Chamotte Holdings), and several hours spent evaluating the numerous exciting stops on the Mokahanje Geotrail. Students also benefitted greatly from their evening interactions and discussions with their contemporaries from UKZN- who were also staying at Digger’s retreat in Barberton whilst we were there. Saturday was spent experiencing some of the impressive geological features of the Eastern Limb (including the Dwarsrivier UG1 outcrop, a breccia pipe, and the Magnet Heights outcrop), whereas Sunday was a more touristic tour along the escarpment with stops at Pilgrim’s Rest, Pinnacle Falls, Bourke’s Luck Potholes, and the Wolfberg Group stratigraphy).

Week two kicked off with two exciting mine tours in the Phalaborwa Igneous Complex at Foskor and at Phalaborwa Mining Company. The students were thus able to experience both open cast and underground mining, and both mines provided exceptional explanations of their mine water treatment programs (thereby satisfying the intrigues of our Environmental Geochemistry students). A trip up to the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex included a tour of the Zaaiplaats Sn mineralisation in the Bobbejaankop granites, and road cut observations of the Rooiberg ignimbrites and Waterberg basal conglomerates (all courtesy of Bushveld Minerals). Our final two days comprised an impromptu visit to a Rustenberg Grey quarry, a detailed mine tour of the Vergenoeg fluorspar pipe (Minersa), and some exceptional viewing of Wits mineralisation in opencast exposures and of tailings retreatment operations (Mintails Mining).

All companies and individuals who made this tour a great success are thanked gratefully by the staff and students of Stellenbosch University. Your time, explanations, and expertise all contributed to an exciting, practical, and memorable learning experience for our students. Thank you.

The University, with its vision to be inclusive, innovative and future-directed, and its focus on developing staff and students as thought leaders in advancing positive social impact in society, will now play a key role in the development of human and infrastructure potential in Oudtshoorn. An official MOU between SU and Oudtshoorn was signed on 18 May 2018 by Prof Nico Koopman, Vice Rector: Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel, and the Executive Mayor of Oudtshoorn, Cllr Colan Sylvester. “Through the signing of the MOU, Stellenbosch University solidifies and enhances its activities and initiatives in the Oudtshoorn region,” Dr Leslie van Rooi, Senior Director: Social Impact and Transformation, said.

The strategic focus of the agreement will be on the Oudtshoorn schools education partnership project supported by director of SUNCEP, Dr Trevor van Louw, the Eden Arts Academy, as well as the schools arts festival strategically guided by the director of the SU Woordfees, Ms Saartjie Botha. The establishment of an Agri-Park that can service the needs of the entire Little Karoo with respect to the local agricultural economy forms the third strategic focus. The University will further support Oudtshoorn’s strategies of implementing sport tourism, building healthy and socially stable communities, capacitating a workforce and communities, promoting good governance, and growing the local economy through the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and Local Economic Development (LED).

As with other similar MOUs, this agreement will draw on the intellectual capital of SU and the civic infrastructure of the municipality, through capacity building and joint initiatives to address the development needs of the municipality. Initiatives form an integral part of the Oudtshoorn Municipality’s IDP.

SU staff and students are invited to establish collaborative social impact initiatives with the above municipalities through engaged scholarship and citizenship initiatives that will benefit the identified development areas, or any other potential areas. For further information, please contact the Manager: Engaged Scholarship in the Division for Social Impact, Mr Mawethu Nyakatya. Examples of existing SU Social Impact initiatives with municipalities are available on the Social Impact Platform.

​​In an opinion article published on the Businesslive website on Wednesday (30 May 2018), Proff Stan du Plessis (Operations and Finance) and Willem Boshoff  (Economics) from Stellenbosch University write that government's plans to regulate fee adjustments will undermine the independence of universities.

• Read the complete article below or click here for the piece as published.
  

It will be very hard to regulate fees properly at SA universities

Stan du Plessis and Willem Boshoff*​

The affordability of Higher Education in South Africa is a matter of great concern. Student fees have risen faster than consumer inflation at most local universities for many years and relative to average family income in South Africa. The complex and contested explanations for this rise in the cost of a university education is not our issue in this article though; at stake is the government's approach to this difficult question and the implications it will have for the country's Higher Education sector.

In December last year, former President Zuma announced a massive expansion of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) , with the effect of providing comprehensive financial aid to South African students with a combined annual family income of less than R350 000. This comprehensive aid will include student fees, accommodation costs and living expenses to allow students to graduate without the burden of a student loan. While we welcome the NSFAS expansion as a significant step towards ensuring financial inclusion, we are also concerned about a particular implication for the Higher Education sector.

The expanded NSFAS leaves government with a very large and unconditional financial obligation to students, and their total obligation can only be controlled by managing the number of eligible students and the fees universities charge. Enrolment has long been controlled by the Department of Higher Education and Training but the expanded NSFAS seems to entail sector-wide fee regulation as well.

To regulate university fees appropriately is extremely hard though. The 26 public universities currently have a widely divergent fee structure, with differences for comparable programmes exceeding R20 000 per year in some cases. Given this wide disparity in existing fees, the administratively appealing option of regulating the annual adjustment of fees would fail scrutiny against standards of economic rationality. Regulating fee adjustments, as opposed to the fees themselves, would effectively perpetuate the existing fee differences among universities. Regulating annual adjustments would sharply contrast with the approach commonly adopted by government when regulating prices in such diverse settings as electricity tariffs, telecommunications interconnection charges between networks and retail petroleum prices.

In particular, we argue that regulating fee adjustments implies a price regulation that would not apply equally to all participants in the same market(s) and does not reflect quality-based cost differences among universities. We are also of the opinion that the result of regulating annual fee adjustments would impair competition among universities and endanger their financial stability.

An economic approach to price regulation subjects all relevant competitors in a market to the same price controls and seeks to align prices with costs. If government should regulate only the annual fee adjustment, and not the level of university fees, government would implicitly place each university in a separate market. But there is no basis for defining higher-education markets by institution. Universities compete for students and certainly not only in their own immediate vicinity.

Furthermore, it is up to government to prove that the ranking of fees implied by the different fee ceilings reflects differences in quality and cost. Degrees of a similar quality should attract reasonably similar costs and the supposed purpose of a fee regulation is to better align fees with costs. The message is that the extent of the market – which university and degree competes with which other – determines the relevant cost basis for fee regulation: those universities offering similar degrees of similar quality must be subject to a single fee ceiling that reflects costs.

Apart from being market and cost-based, rational price regulation need not impede competition or adversely affect the financial stability of regulated firms. While universities are not profit-seeking entities, they nevertheless strive for excellence with high social impact in their research and teaching and learning activities, and have to do so within notably tight financial constraints in South Africa.

Price regulators usually seek to maintain competition while reducing prices and ensuring the financial stability of the regulated entities. If government should perpetuate the current fee differential between the country's universities, the financial scope to compete with better programmes, better staff, better facilities and so on will be curtailed permanently at universities with currently lower fee structures. The financial viability of universities with lower fees will also be undermined and will be left much more dependent on government funding, at a time of serious fiscal challenges. There can be no rational basis for limiting competition in this way.

These economic arguments must not be misconstrued as a case for regulating university fees in South Africa. Fee regulation will undermine both the financial independence and actual independence of our universities. The independence of universities is an intangible, but real, public good and should not be undermined lightly. But if government is going to regulate university fees, it matters a lot how the regulating will be done. The apparent short-cut of regulating annual fee adjustments fail the minimum requirements of economic rationality. Government should either regulate fees properly, that is to say for each relevant market, or not at all.

*Prof Stan du Plessis is Chief Operating Officer at Stellenbosch University. Prof Willem Boshoff is Associate Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at the same university.

The collaboration between the Municipality and University has resulted in substantial water savings in Stellenbosch, while these two institutions are also determined to reduce water consumption even further despite the recent rains.

This was the message at the Rector-Mayor Forum at its meeting last week [24 May 2018]. The joint structure facilitates collaboration between Stellenbosch University (SU) and Stellenbosch Municipality to the benefit of the entire town and community.

Stellenbosch currently consumes as little as 15 megalitres of potable water from the supply provided by the City of Cape Town, compared to the average 45 megalitres before the drought, Director of Infrastructure at the Stellenbosch Municipality Mr Deon Louw, said. According to SU Chief Executive Officer Prof Stan du Plessis, the University's potable water consumption has decreased by 45% over the past year.

They contribute this to, inter alia, municipal water restriction and boreholes, success in the battle against water leaks on the SU Campus, as well as students and staff heeding calls to use water more sparingly. The University and the Municipality have a joint drought response plan.

Level 6B water restrictions in Stellenbosch have been in force since 19 February, which means individual users are allowed no more than 50 litres of municipal drinking water per day. The Municipality now supplements this supply with water from various boreholes sunk at a total cost of R67 million, Mr Louw said.

The University has installed 200 new electronic water meters, which makes it possible to measure the consumption of specific buildings individually, instead of measuring the total consumption of a number of buildings, as in the past.

“In this way, we have recently located a major leak at one of our residences, which we could not do before. And our response time in our 'war on water leaks' has now been cut to a maximum of one hour," Prof du Plessis said.

At present, the SU uses approximately 10% of the town's drinking water, but more savings will follow once the comprehensive greywater system has been installed and can be put into operation.

“What we have accomplished here illustrates the advantages of working together. However, this can only be a real success story if the changes are permanent. Thus we continue our awareness drives," Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Wim de Villiers, said.

“I am extremely proud of the precautionary measures we have put in place, especially the processes that allow us to be less dependent on the city's resources, and of our residents' cooperation in saving water. This does not mean we can rest on our laurels, as there is still a long road ahead," Executive Mayor, Adv Gesie van Deventer, confirmed.

– Joint media release by Stellenbosch University and the Stellenbosch Municipality

Caption: In attendance at the Rector-Mayor Forum on 24 May 2018 were, from the left, Prof Stan du Plessis, Dr Leslie van Rooi, Profs Eugene Cloete and Wim de Villiers (from SU)  Adv Gesie van Deventer, Messrs Deon Louw, Tabiso Mfeya and Donovan Muller (from the Municipality), and Prof Nico Koopman (SU). 

(PICTURE: ROZANNE ENGEL)

​A staff member of Stellenbosch University (SU) received national acclaim on Thursday (31 May 2018) for her contribution to innovation management in Southern Africa.

Nolene Singh, Manager of Technology Transfer at SU's technology transfer company Innovus, won the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Southern African Research and Innovation Management (SARIMA)'s Excellence Award for Early Career Excellence in Innovation Management. These awards recognise individuals who have been in the Research and Management or Innovation management profession for less than five years.

The DST/SARIMA Awards honours individuals who have made distinguished contributions to the development of Research and Innovation Management during 2017.

Singh was rewarded for her key role in the development of a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at SU as well as creating greater awareness of technology transfer and innovation to different stakeholders. In 2017, she was responsible for management and commercialisation of the several SU projects through patenting, licensing and forming spin-out companies.  Singh has also actively marketed SU technologies and assisted to forge collaborations with key industry players such as Siemens Healthcare, BSG Pharm and Afriplex.

Commenting on her award, Singh said she was overwhelmed and excited to receive it. “It's a huge honour and I'm greatful to Anita for having nominated me."

She added that is important to work hard and to never give up in pursuit of your dreams.

As the manager one of the universities most important source of commercialisation funding, the SU TIA Seed Fund, Singh is very actively involved in SU spin-out companies SharkSafe, Katleho Biomedicals and Cargo Telematics and assisted two projects, Sporatec and Conc, to take strides forward to a level where they are now nearly ready to spin out.

She has created strong relationships with the researchers, industry and funders and established good practices within the office to maintain these relationships. She has proactively established value- creating relationships with investors, industry, entrepreneurs, students and academics.

Anita Nel, Senior Director: Innovation and Business Development at SU, congratulated Singh on her achievement and said she is an outstanding technology transfer professional.

“She truly deserves this award as recognition for the incredible contribution she is making to technology transfer and innovation at Stellenbosch University and beyond the organisation.  It is a very big honour for her and is also a strong motivation for the rest of our Innovus team."

Ten speakers from SU participated in the annual SARIMA conference, of which nine talked about Technology Transfer and Innovation.

MORE ABOUT SARIMA

Established in 2002, the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association is a stakeholder organisation that provides a platform for the promotion and facilitation of best practice in research and innovation management in Southern Africa. It strengthens the research and innovation system to ensure the social and economic development of the Southern African region. For more information, visit www.sarima.co.za.

Organisations need a robust strategic architecture to be competitive and successful in a fast-changing world.

This was one of the viewpoints of Prof Marius Ungerer of Stellenbosch University Business School in his inaugural lecture on Thursday (31 May 2018). The topic of his address was A strategic architecture perspective to stimulate strategising in organisations.

According to Ungerer, a strategic architecture can be seen as an organisation's core logic for creating sustainable value, and therefore forms the foundation of an organisation's competitive potential

He said an organisation's strategic architecture increases its chances of success and underlies the success or failure of any strategy.

“A strategic architecture view on an organisation facilitates alignment and focus on the core strategic choices the organisation makes to achieve success. The successful execution of both planned and emergent strategies relies on clarity about the future strategic aspirations and options of an organisation."

“It also influences the current competitive behaviour of the enterprise and may, therefore, explain why an organisation seems not to be competitive in current terms. The departure point is that competitive behaviour and potential can be altered and influenced when an organisation redefines its strategic architecture."

Ungerer pointed out that the elements of the strategic architecture of an organisation consist of strategic leadership; analysis and synthesis of both external and internal factors that can influence the strategic landscape and context of an organisation; strategy formulation and development practices; the use of multiple futures perspectives; the enablement of strategy execution through strategy mobilisation, strategy translation and strategy monitoring practices; the use of strategy renewal and innovation practices to bolster the competitiveness and sustainability of an organisation; and entrepreneurial leadership.

He highlighted the importance of a people-centric approach during strategising processes and practices to ensure maximum support, enthusiasm and momentum for the strategic journey.

Ungerer said a strategic architecture perspective can be developed for both profit and not-for-profit organisations if the leadership aspiration and will exist to create and deliver outputs to meet and exceed stakeholder needs and expectations.

“Even if the objective is not to make a profit, every organisation has a purpose that encapsulates its reason for being. It must plan strategically to achieve this purpose," he added.

• ​Main photo: Pixabay
  
• Photo 1: Prof Marius Ungerer (second from left) with Proff Wim de Villiers, SU Rector en Vice-Chancellor, Ingrid Woolard, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, and Piet Naudé, Director of Stellenbosch University Business School, at the inaugural lecture.
  

Palmiet wetlands provide important ecosystem services to society but are in such a critical state that if we don't act now, they may soon disappear right before our very eyes.

“It's been reported that over 65% of South Africa's wetlands and associated river systems have been damaged and 50% estimated to have been destroyed. If steps are not taken immediately to restore palmiet wetlands threatened with erosion, it is possible that these wetlands will be drained or lost by 2065," says Dr Alanna Rebelo, a wetland ecologist and postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology at Stellenbosch University (SU). Rebelo recently obtained her doctorate in Conservation Ecology at SU.

Her research focused on the Theewaterskloof and Goukou wetlands in the Western Cape as well as the Kromme wetland in the Eastern Cape. Located in the Cape Floristic Region, one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, these wetlands have a remarkably similar vegetation composition. Two of these palmiet wetlands are situated upstream of large municipal reservoirs that provide water for Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

Rebelo measured their soil and water chemistry, vegetation community structure and groundwater parameters to try to understand what they are like in terms of their biochemistry, and in particular what physical aspects drive the vegetation community structure.

She used a combination of aerial photograph analysis, remote-sensing and modelling techniques to map the current and historical distribution of wetlands and what remains of them, how their spatial distribution has changed over time and what the main drivers of this change are. She also wanted to determine how wetlands function in providing ecosystem services.

Rebelo says that of all ecosystems, wetlands are considered one of the richest in terms of services provided.

“They attenuate floods, mitigate water pollution, retain sediment, provide clean water and food for local communities, and capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide. They also have valuable peat-beds beneath them which, if degraded, will contribute to global warming."

Rebelo says that despite this, the complexity of wetland ecology has resulted in them being the least studied. She mentions that South Africa's wetlands are not well understood and many are in decline.

“The ecosystem services palmiet wetlands provide could soon come to a halt."

“The remaining wetlands are threatened by a plethora of different problems such as being removed to make place for agriculture, gully or channel erosion, pollution from agricultural runoff like lime and fertilizers, invasion by alien vegetation, increasingly extreme flooding and inappropriate fire regimes."

“Bisecting roads also have a negatively impact on palmiet wetlands because they cause knick-points in wetland systems, often resulting in erosion, which eventually drains the wetland."

“Once this erosion begins, it is impossible for the system to recover without active rehabilitation, which is costly. This wetland drainage results in a shift in vegetation communities."

Rebelo points out that the value of palmiet wetlands in terms of water purification, amongst other ecosystem services, has been overlooked in favour of their potential for fertile soil for food provision.

“As a result, many of these palmiet wetlands have been ploughed up for agriculture, either for orchards or grazing."

She says it's unfortunate that landowners often believe that palmiet chokes rivers and that it should be removed.

“It is in 'choking' rivers that palmiet is able to provide many important ecosystem services to landowners, and to others further downstream. These include slowing the force of dangerous floods thereby minimizing infrastructural damage, allowing deposition of sediment which then would not accumulate in the dam, and in dispersing the movement of water, in doing so providing a filtration service and improving water quality."

Rebelo says her findings highlight not only the uniqueness and value of palmiet wetlands, but also their decline and make a case for their conservation and restoration.

“It is hoped that the findings of my study will feed into conservation and restoration planning, and possibly policy, with real implications for the protection of ecosystems and biodiversity."

“The protection and restoration of our wetlands should be a national priority," adds Rebelo.

• Main photo: Palmiet
  
• Photo 1: Dr Alanna Rebelo: Photographer: Hennie Rudman
  

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES ONLY

Dr Alanna Rebelo

Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology

Stellenbosch University

Cell: 0812189284

E-mail: Alanna.rebelo@gmail.com

    ISSUED BY

Martin Viljoen

Manager: Media

Corporate Communication

Stellenbosch University

Tel: 021 808 4921

E-mail: viljoenm@sun.ac.za

A first-year medical student, Keaton Harris, is one of just 21 young people from around the world that were selected to take part in the Young Sustainable Impact (YSI) Innovation Program. The goal of the YSI initiative is to find viable solutions to help meet the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The 21 YSI candidates were selected from 8 560 applications from around the world. According to the YSI website, all applicants must be under the age of 25 and should be “crazy enough to think they can change the world, and bold enough to actually do it."

“I am still in a state of disbelief!" says the 23 year-old Harris. “I am the only South African chosen for the program. Being able to represent Stellenbosch University, and South Africa as whole on a global level, is definitely a highlight of my life thus far. This is a tangible chance to actually make a real difference," says Harris, who also holds a Pharmacy Honours degree from UWC that he achieved summa cum laude last year.

The candidates are grouped into international teams of three, and are guided to create their own start-up company or design prototype which will offer solutions to one of the SDGs. The project that Harris and his team mates (from Brazil and Canada respectively) are working on, will address SDG 3, which relates to 'Good Health and Wellbeing'.

“For the next few months each team member will be working remotely to develop our business solution or prototype under the guidance of YSI. In August all the candidates will gather in Norway where we will meet up with our teammates to fine tune our start-up idea and to meet with potential investors," explains Harris.

“After our visit to Norway we will have a concrete plan for the implementation of our innovate start-up, and from this point we will work hand-in-hand with investors and YSI in to create a business plan that will develop our start-ups into the modern day age and operation.

“Ultimately, we're hoping that our start-ups will provide solutions that are adopted by the masses, and that will better the lives, health and wellbeing of the rest of the world," he concludes.

Caption: Keaton Harris was selected to take part in the Young Sustainable Impact Innovation Programme which looks at ways to meet the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals.

Photo: Wilma Stassen

The space agency NASA plans to send a small helicopter to Mars in 2020 in the continued quest for life on the red planet, said Dr Japie van Zyl of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology on Monday (4 June 2018).

Van Zyl, one of the world's leading space scientists, was speaking at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Stellenbosch University (SU). He is an alumnus of SU and also a recipient of an honorary doctorate from the university. Van Zyl played a leading role in the successful Curiosity mission to Mars in 2012.

Providing some detail on how the process will work, he said the helicopter will be mounted on the belly of the Mars 2020 rover. The rover still has to be named.

“Once the rover lands on Mars it will drive to a flat spot and drop the helicopter about 100 metres away. The helicopter will carry a cell phone camera that will take pictures which will be downloaded through the rover." It will fly 90 seconds per day, added Van Zyl.

He said eventually they will be able to go down cliffs to collect data.

In addition to the helicopter, the Mars 2020 rover will also have thicker and durable wheels and a microphone.

“The Rover will also land closer to where we want to be because driving is still a bit slow – 50 to 100 metres a day. If you cut out driving, you can do save a lot of time doing science."

Van Zyl added that the rover will be able to collect samples of rock, put them in tubes and leave them on the surface of Mars so that future missions can pick them up and bring them back to Earth.

He pointed out that the aim of the Mars 2020 mission is to look for habitability and to identify past environments that are capable of microbial life.

“We are picking a place that appears to be an ancient hot spring because they are typically places where you find microbial life."

“We're going to seek science of possible past microbial life in those environments. This time our instruments are designed to look for signs of past life and to detect residue left behind by microbial life in rocks."

“We're building instruments to make oxygen out of the air by basically using the carbon-dioxide which is 97 or 98% of the Martian atmosphere. We're taking the first step to prepare for taking humans to Mars."

He also mentioned the Insight mission launched recently to find out what the inside of Mars looks like and whether it still has a liquid core.

“There's a whole lot of water on Mars," Van Zyl said.

• Main photo: The planet Mars (Credit: Pixabay)
  
• Photo: Prof Herman Steyn of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Dr Japie van Zyl (right) at the lecture. Photographer: Rozanne Engel.
  

Africa Day is an opportunity to celebrate our African identity and to rediscover what it means to be African, Dr Leslie van Rooi recently told delegates at an Africa Day symposium at Stellenbosch University's (SU) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS).

“It is a special day for our continent and its people. It is a day to remind us, not only of our history and where we come from, but to also direct us to a new African identity. I hope our deliberations here will help us think about our identity as individuals, and also our collective identity as a university and a broader South African community," said Van Rooi, SU's Senior Director: Social Impact and Transformation, at the FMHS' 5th annual Africa Day celebration on 25 May.

'Global Health: A time for Action in Africa' was the theme for the day, and Van Rooi said he hoped that the day's discussions would generate a fuller understanding of some of the challenges, and also opportunities, in healthcare.

In his Africa Day address, Prof Jimmy Volmink, FMHS Dean, said that inequity is a leading issue in global health. “The average life expectancy in Africa is nearly 30 years less than in the Americas or Europe… a child born in Angola is 65 times more likely to die in the first years of life than a child born in Norway… and a woman giving birth in sub-Saharan Africa is 100 times more likely to die in labour than a woman in a rich country," Volmink maintained his point with some sobering statistics.

These health inequities are not only seen between rich and poor countries, and dramatic health differences also occur within countries, Volmink continued. Research from the United States and the UK have shown that high-income populations on average live up to 15 years longer than the rest of the population, while the poorest people in these countries have life expectancies similar to people living in the world's least developed countries.

Ranked as the most unequal country in the world by the World Global Inequality Report and the World Bank, South Africa have some of the starkest disparities in health and longevity between the country's rich and poor populations.

While promoting the FMHS' newly-established Department of Global Health, Volmink explained that global health is an evolving discipline that seeks to examine and address health inequities. Its origins can be traced back to the 19th century with predecessors such colonial-, missionary-, and tropical medicine, which introduced Western health practices to foreign communities – regrettably, often in manners that exacerbated health inequities. After World War II, a human rights-based healthcare approach started to develop which today has manifested into global health.

“I don't know if it is possible to successfully launch a rights-based health care system focussing on social justice," said Volmink as he explained how earlier attempts were hampered by other interests, but admitted that there is cause for hope. “We need an economy that can ensure the provision of water, food, health, education, decent work, housing, et cetera. But we must ensure that economic growth does not take us beyond an ecological ceiling where we damage the environment."

In conclusion he said that another boon for global health is the development of accountability structures that would hold countries accountable for promises made and goals set with declarations.

In the second keynote address at the FMHS' Africa Day symposium, Prof Susan van Schalkwyk, director of the Centre for Health Professions Education, unpacked the educational competencies required for global health.

She explained that a global health approach would require students to engage with issues that directly and indirectly affect health. “Global health education emphasises knowledge, skills and attitude needed to identify and influence the social, political and economic determinants of health," said Van Schalkwyk.

Other speakers on the day included Prof Mark Tomlinson from SU's Department of Psychology who spoke about child and adolescent mental health in the Nurturing Care Framework for Early Child Development, and Prof Jackson Orem from Uganda Cancer Institute who explained an inter-sectoral approach for addressing cancer in Africa. There was also a panel discussion on Gender and Global Health chaired by Prof Hester Klopper, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Strategy and Internationalisation, Mr Fanele Ndebele, Prof Stella Anyangwe and Prof Nico Koopman, Vice-Rector: Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel.

​

Today (05 June) marks World Environment Day, an initiative started by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) in 1974. Over the years, it has grown to become a global platform for public outreach, widely celebrated in over 100 countries.

World Environment Day is an important day worldwide to create awareness and take action for the protection of our environment. The theme for 2018 is #BeatPlasticPollution.

John de Wet, Environmental Sustainability Manager at Stellenbosch University (SU), gave some insight on the many initiatives at SU to help reduce plastic and other pollution.

Given the theme of this year's World Environment Day, how much reduction has there been in the use of plastic on all campuses?

Plastic is one of the compounds in our recycling programme. Our aim is that only 20% of our waste is diverted into landfill sites and the rest is diverted into our recycling programme. However, that is not the case. At Tygerberg and Bellville Park campuses, we have a recycling rate of 60% and only 40% goes to landfills. About two years ago at Stellenbosch campus, we had a 60/40 recycling rate ratio, but that has since reduced. We are recycling less than 50% at the moment, so our amounts to landfill sites have increased which is a huge concern. We need to turn that around again. In terms of plastic waste on campuses, at Tygerberg, we have 20% of the waste made out of plastic, at Bellville Park 12%, and at Stellenbosch only about 10%.

What has been the response of the campus community (students and staff) in reducing plastic waste?

Around all campuses, we've rolled out the three-bin recycling system. We've also started putting the three bins inside some buildings, for recyclable, non-recyclable and food waste items. It is, however, an effort to train people how to use it. They are still using the wrong bins and putting the wrong stuff in the bins. We have actually started with an awareness program, putting up some signs and putting up some samples of plastic or food waste that you can put into the bins.

What environmental projects or initiatives are currently available on all campuses?

We have been busy over the last five years with environmental projects. At the moment, the water crisis is our biggest priority, so we do many projects on saving water. We also have projects on effective waste removals, using more green energy at campus buildings, keeping our rivers clean and creating more environmentally friendly new buildings.

How successful is SU in its efforts to create a more sustainable environment on all its campuses?

I always believe you cannot manage it if you cannot measure it. Therefore, we are busy installing a whole lot of electronic water meters and energy meters to gauge our saving efforts. In the end, it will help us see what effect all these environmental projects have on our campuses, and to see if we are actually saving. Over the last five years, I think SU has done a lot and hopefully we can increase and improve our efforts even more.

What would your message be on days like World Environment Day?

In our daily routine, we must look at the triangle of energy, water and waste and try to use less. Try to reuse something if you can and make use of renewable energy sources. Also, try to reuse grey water for toilets, use paper instead of plastic and try to have less impact on your resources. We should not use up the next generation's resources; only use your own resources that are available today. 

Photo by Rozanne Engel

​Stellenbosch University (SU) is honouring the legacy of the iconic child Aids activist, Nkosi Johnson, by naming a new student residence after him.

Nkosi Johnson House is the latest of three new student residences at SU's Medical and Health Sciences campus in Tygerberg, and holds the title of “greenest residence in Africa" due to its remarkable energy and water saving features that earned it an Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) certification.

“It is fantastic that the University is naming a building after Nkosi. He has never received any award in South Africa, and it is the first time that he is being recognised here," says Gail Johnson, who fostered Nkosi for nearly 10 years. Nkosi made a powerful impact on the public perceptions of HIV until his death in 2001 at the age of 12. At the time, he was the longest-surviving child born with HIV.

According to SU Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Wim de Villiers, an institution's culture is expressed in the names of its buildings. “By naming this residence Nkosi Johnson House, we are taking another step towards visual redress on our campuses, and we are acknowledging the important role played by the late Nkosi Johnson as a critical voice in the struggle for social justice in the fight against HIV/Aids in South Africa," says De Villiers.

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), Prof Jimmy Volmink, sees the naming of residences as an opportunity to strengthen the culture of inclusivity at SU. “The naming of residences is part of a larger, ongoing initiative to make the Tygerberg campus a place every student and staff member can call 'home.' In 2014, a participatory process in which our students actively took part, led to the first senior residence on campus being named 'Huis Ubuntu House'. We again followed this inclusive process for naming our new senior residence, and were very pleased with the submissions received from students. It is an honour to have this residence named after an icon like Nkosi Johnson," said Volmink.

“It is important that we recognise and honour African voices, especially those that contributed to the health sciences," says SU medical student, Regan Fancensie, who proposed the name for the new residence.

“I'm humbled that my suggestion has been chosen, and ecstatic that Nkosi Johnson's name will live on at Stellenbosch University. This is a small step in recognising those who have been affected by HIV. I hope Nkosi Johnson House will remind us of their struggle and motivate us to work towards a health system, and also a society, free of stigma, prejudice, and inequality," said Fancensie.

Nkosi Johnson House provides accommodation to 200 senior students and is the latest of three new residences erected on the Tygerberg campus over the last four years. These new residences are an initiative of the FMHS to address the nationwide issue of student housing. In addition, Tygerberg campus is situated adjacent to Tygerberg Hospital (a provincial teaching hospital in Cape Town's northern suburbs) which offers few options for safe, affordable accommodation within walking distance of campus.

​“Building more student residences is an important way for the FMHS to promote inclusivity. By providing accommodation on campus, the University is more accessible to students – particularly those from peri-urban and rural areas," says Volmink.

Nkosi Johnson House boast the title of “greenest residence in Africa", and is the only student residence on the continent to be awarded an EDGE certification. This “green status" was earned through the considerable energy and water savings (30% and 22% respectively) achieved in the day-to-day running of the residence, as well as the environmentally friendly method in which the building was constructed.

Solar panels are used to generate electricity for lighting and heating the building, and an extensive grey water system captures water from showers, which are then treated and used for irrigation.

Caption: Stellenbosch University Rector and Vice Chancellor, Prof Wim de Villiers and Mrs Gail Johnson (middle) along with senior students and staff members at the official opening of the Nkosi Johnson House residence at Stellenbosch University's Tygerberg campus.

Insert: Dr Alwyn Louw, Prof Jimmy Volmink, Mrs Gail Johnson, Prof Wim de Villiers, Dr Birgit Schreiber en Regan Fancensie at the opening ceremony.