​Prof Detlev Kröger, world renowned mechanical engineer and the recipient of a honorary doctorate from Stellenbosch University, died on Sunday morning (16 March) at the age of 74 at his home in Stellenbosch.

Prof Christo Viljoen, former Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the SU and former colleague, friend and neighbour of Prof Kröger, said: "We pay tribute to a genius engineer, excellent researcher and academic, loyal friend and esteemed colleague, who ironically was more famous abroad than in his own country, mainly because of his modesty. Detlev's contribution to engineering science is impressive and enduring ."

Prof Kröger matriculated at Hermanus High School in 1957 and obtained the degrees BSc, BEng from the Stellenbosch University in 1962. At MIT he received the degrees MScEng and MEng in 1965, and the degree DScEng in 1967. His thesis focused on the thermal control of a space nuclear reactor.

After his return to South Africa he worked at Iscor, and in 1971 he was appointed Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the SU. Here he founded the Institute for Thermodynamics and Mechanics, regarded as a unique research unit in the world today. His research finds application in, among other things mine cooling plants, thermal processes in the process and steel industries, solar energy, and dry cooling power plants. In the latter field, he was responsible for the design of the power station at dry cooling plants at the Matimba and Kendal power plants, and most recently Medupi and Kusile, as well as power plants in the US, Europe, Russia, Australia, India, the Middle East and China.

Under his leadership as a supervisor 76 masters and doctoral students graduated at SU, and from his pen more than 200 scientific publications appeared. In 2004 Stellenbosch University awarded the degree DEng to him.

Prof Kröger's book "Air-cooled Heat Exchangers and Cooling towers" was honoured with the Bill Venter/Altron Literary Prize for scientific publications. He was a life fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and received honorary doctorates from both Stellenbosch University and University of Johannesburg.

In China he is honoured as "a friend of China for 10,000 years," and in 1986 he was awarded the Havenga Prize from the South African Academy of Science and Arts.

Professor Kröger is survived by his wife, Regine, the well-known painter, and three children Anja, Alfred and Gregor, as well as five grandchildren. A memorial service will be held on 25 March 2014 in the German Lutheran Church in Stellenbosch.

Photo caption: The Chancellor Johann Rupert awards and honorary doctorate to Prof Detlev Kröger in 2011. Photo: Anton Jordaan

​Members of the Convocation of Stellenbosch University (SU) have elected Prof Wannie Carstens, an academic at North West University in Potchefstroom; Dr George du Toit,  a gynaecologist and obstetrician from Stellenbosch; and mr Johan Theron, a lawyer from Cape Town, to serve in the SU Council.

Six candidates were nominated and an election was held from 6 February to 17 March to fill the three vacancies.

Prof Carstens and Dr George du Toit are current members of the SU Council.

The terms of five members of the Council come to an end on 1 April 2014 – three of these council members were elected by members of the Convocation and two were elected by donors of SU.

Mnr George Steyn and Prof PW van der Walt, who currenly serve on council and made themselves available for re-election were elected unopposed as there were only two nominations for these positions.

Mr Steyn, a businessman from Stellenbosch and former managing director of the Pep retail group currently serves as Chairman of the Council and Prof Van der Walt, emeritus professor at SU and former dean of the Faculty of Engineering, serves as vice-chair.​

Africa's ability to develop expertise and provide solutions to some of the pressing challenges on the continent received a major boost on Tuesday with the launch of the Lisa Maskell Fellowship programme in South Africa. This fellowship programme is funded by a grant of nearly R12 million (€750 000) awarded to Stellenbosch University (SU) by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung (Foundation) in Germany.

Thanks to this five-year grant, 25 African PhD students will receive three-year full-time scholarships, providing them with broad-based research and scholarship support throughout their studies in an attempt to rebuild and sustain our capacity to produce human capital of the highest order in Africa.

The Gerda Henkel Foundation promotes science at universities and research institutes, primarily by supporting specific projects in the field of the humanities that have a specific specialist scope and are limited in time. The Foundation's Lisa Maskell Fellowship Programme in Asia and Africa was established in recognition and commemoration of its foundress, Lisa Maskell, born 100 years ago this year.

"Let me thank the Gerda Henkel Foundation for its generosity. It is an honour and a privilege for us to be associated with such a respected and revered institution. The fact that this grant is linked to the Foundation's founder, Lisa Maskell, who was born 100 years ago, makes this occasion even more special. Her legacy and that of her family will now live on through the 25 scholarships for African PhD candidates under this grant," Prof Russel Botman, SU Rector and Vice-Chancellor, said in his opening address on Tuesday.

"The impact of this grant will stretch far beyond the borders of South Africa, across the rest of our continent because the grant will be implemented through our Graduate School in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences," Prof Botman added.

SU's Graduate School, described by Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Dean, Prof Johan Hattingh as the Faculty's biggest success story this past decade, will be the implementing partner of the fellowship grant. Since 2010, 109 PhD candidates from Africa have enrolled through the Graduate School for full-time studies at SU – many of them senior academic staff members who needed to finish their PhD studies. They are put through an intensive programme, and so far, 40 have graduated.

Prof Botman said Africa unfortunately still often occupies a marginal position. "The global sentiment is beginning to shift thanks to the continent's good economic growth the past decade, as well as political reforms. But if this is not accompanied by broad-based human development, our progress will not be sustainable. How do we do that? Higher education is well placed to provide solutions, but we still face huge challenges. We have approximately 800 public universities, but many of them are relatively weak, especially when it comes to research.

"Many proud institutions have seen a decline from their peak in the 70s and 80s. The result has been that Africa's output of scientific knowledge is low compared to other parts of the world. An additional problem has been the 'brain drain' from our continent. Clearly we need to do more to develop African expertise, and to share it here, and to apply its outcomes here where it is so sorely needed. That's where this initiative comes in," Prof Botman said.

Dr Michael Hanssler, Chair of the Executive Board of the Foundation, said they're proud to collaborate with Stellenbosch University as a partner. "It is a privilege to join you in your efforts to make a difference and educate the future leaders of this continent."

He added that indications are that Africa will be prosperous by 2030, while Europe will face a downturn and they will then have to look at Africa to give them a helping hand in overcoming challenges.

The German Ambassador to South Africa, Dr Horst Freitag, in turn praised Stellenbosch University as a worthy partner working towards the development of Africa. He said: "The programme launched today is based on an agreement between two non-state actors, a public university, partially funded by government, and a German foundation. It is a perfect example of what members of civil society can achieve by locking up joint interests and by promoting common endeavours. You have done exactly what governments and embassies hope to facilitate and to support – strengthening international cooperation among civil societies. Only you have done so without any support or facilitation by state actors."

He also said that the programme strengthens what can be described as a comprehensive, inclusive and mutual beneficial relationship between Germany and South Africa while also pointing out that Germany is South Africa's second biggest trade partner. "German companies are not focussing on extracting natural resources – instead over 630 German companies are producing and manufacturing in South Africa providing over 90 000 jobs, transferring and promoting skills in high-tech fields."

He added that the countries are benefitting from an increased student exchange programme and that "South Africa is the locomotive that is supposed to pull this region forward – economically and socially – and Germany will be encouraging you on this path".

Ms Julia Schulz-Dornburg, granddaughter of Lisa Maskell, said she is excited and honoured to be involved in this programme. Schulz-Dornburg, who had the opportunity to meet PhD students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, said she was impressed by the wide-ranging and in-depth projects they're working on. "This truly is a continental story and hopefully only the beginning of a wonderful long-lasting partnership."

• Photo: SU's Prof Russel Botman, Prof Johan Hattingh and Dr Taurai Imbayarwo, can be seen here with Dr Horst Freitag, Ms Julia Schulz-Dornburg and Dr Michael Hanssler. (Photographer: Hennie Rudman) ​
  

​At the previous SAAFoST meeting held in Stellenbosch, Kate Turner, a second year Food Science student received a book prize for having the highest average mark as a 1st year student. Nick Starke sponsored the prize in memory of Jan Hofmeyr, one of the first Food Science graduates at this Department. Dr Gunnar Sigge presented the prize.

The Faculty of Science's top awards in physics and mathematical sciences for 2013 was presented to Farooq Kyeyune and Janusz Meylahn during a special occasion on Friday 15 March 2014.

The John Todd Morrison Research Medal for the best MSc student (cum laude) in Physics or Mathematical Sciences was awarded to Farooq Kyeyune. Farooq, who comes from Uganda, joined the Department of Physics in 2011 as part of the African Institute for Mathematical Studies (AIMS) programme for African students. His research, with Prof Hubertus von Bergmann as supervisor and Prof Erich Rohwer as co-supervisor, focused on "Optimized discharge excitation techniques for short pulse gas lasers".

Farooq will return to Stellenbosch University later this year to pursue his doctoral studies in the same field.

Janusz Meylahn, originally from Port Elizabeth, was awarded the Meiring Naudé Medal for achieving an average of above 80% in the BScHonns programme in Physics, as well as maintaining a mark of at least 60% in each module of the programme. He did a project on differential geometry with Dr J.N. Kriel as study leader, as well as a project on how the elasticity of a polymer network changes if one introduces cross-links (with Prof Kristian Müller-Nedebock as study leader).

During the occasion Prof Erich Rohwer, head of the Department of Physics, made two more departmental awards. The first one went to Paul Williams, a BScHonns student in theoretical physics, for also managing to achieve an average of 80% and higher. The second award went to Aminat Oyiza Suleiman, an MSc student working on femtosecond electron diffraction. During a recent workshop for international students in Italy, she received the best poster and oral presentation award from SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.  

More about the John Todd Morrison Research Medal

Prof J.T Morrison (1863 – 1944) was Professor of Physics and Chemistry at Victoria College and later Stellenbosch University from 1891 until his retirement in 1934. During this time he played a significant role in the establishment of the university. He is mostly known for his work on terrestrial magnetism. In 1909 he obtained a year's leave to make observations in South West Africa, Rhodesia and as far north as Egypt. A solid silver, gold-plated medal, donated by the late Mrs JT Morrison on behalf of her husband, is presented annually to the best student who obtains the MSc degree in Physics and Applied Mathematics cum laude.

More about the Meiring Naudé Medal

Dr Stef Meiring Naudé (1904 – 1985) completed his MSc (cum laude) at Stellenbosch University. He continued his studies in Berlin where he was a student of the Nobel prize winners Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Nerpst and Max von Laue. In 1932 he gained world-wide recognition for the discovery of the isotope N15. He was professor of physics at Stellenbosch University from 1934 until 1945. In 1946 he joined the CSIR and became President of the CSIR from 1952 to 1971. Donated by the late Dr Stef Meiring Naudé, a gilded silver medal is presented annually to the best candidate who scores a mark of at least 80% in an approved BScHons programme in Physics and also maintains a mark of at least 60% in each module of the programme. 

Two new related international networks formed between universities in the global north and south have the potential to impact society in such a way that the lives of millions of people across the world are improved.

Hope@Africa, a collaboration between seven leading African universities, and Hope International, a collaboration between Stellenbosch University (SU) and four Swedish universities, will be launched in Stellenbosch, South Africa, on Thursday 20 March. The partners of the two networks have come together to jointly promote human development and tackle major societal challenges – in Africa and in the rest of the world.

• The media is invited to attend the official launch of the networks at 12:00 at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) in Marais Street in Stellenbosch (South Africa) on Thursday 20 March.  The event will also be streamed over the internet – at https://www.youtube.com/user/USTelematics  

Hope@Africa springs from a high-level summit held in Stellenbosch in October last year to discuss increasing collaboration between higher-education partners on the continent. This culminated in a Letter of Intent signed by the University of Botswana, the University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Makerere University (Uganda), the University of Nairobi (Kenya), the University of Namibia, and Stellenbosch University (South Africa). The University of Malawi is also part of the initiative.

The founding members committed themselves to making a difference to society by tackling developmental challenges. Significant among these is the fact that according to UNESCO Africa requires 2 million new teachers by 2015. There is also an urgent need to provide training for millions of current teachers who are either under or unqualified. The Hope@Africa partner universities are set to reach out to teachers using the strength of their combined telematic platforms.

"Universities can play a key role in improving the training and on-going professional development of teachers. But conventional brick-and-mortar approaches are not good enough anymore. We need to make innovative use of technology to extend the reach and richness of learning opportunities beyond the physical classroom," Prof Russel Botman, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University and Vice-President of the Association of African Universities, said.

Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Finance and Administration at Makerere University in Uganda said that Hope@Africa and Hope International "realise the need for harnessing synergies of the north and the south in addressing global development goals for the common good of humanity".

Collaborating via a network model in contrast with a hub-and-spokes model, the Hope@Africa partners intend using 21^st century Internet and Communication Technology (ICT) to build African expertise, facilitate sustainable networks and promote life-long learning.

Likewise, Hope International developed out of the notion that institutions of higher education should promote human development and tackle societal challenges through academic and research excellence.

The founding members are Stellenbosch University in South Africa, and Dalarna University, Gothenburg University, Linnaeus University and Malmö University in Sweden.

The overall objective of the Hope International network is to further collaboration within higher education towards an increase in knowledge and awareness of the major challenges facing the global community. The Hope International network will bring together higher-education institutions to collaborate on ways to contribute to the long-term achievement of global development goals.

Dalarna Vice-Chancellor Prof Marita Hilliges said the partners of both networks "are universities in different contexts, but we share the philosophy that higher education has an important role in creating the future we need. Education should not only convey facts, but also help people navigate this complex city called the world."

Botman agrees: "We are exploring synergies to see how universities can make sense together of the big challenges facing us in this day and age. Higher education is not only well-placed due to its role in the production, transfer and application of reliable knowledge, but also has a duty to focus on relevance by following a science-for-society approach. We owe it to the next generation."

Prof Stephen Hwang, Vice-Chancellor of Linnaeus University said: "This is a wonderful initiative – universities from different parts of the world working together for social change. All of us – and therefore the communities we serve – will benefit."

• Liaise with Martin Viljoen (Stellenbosch University), tel +27 (0)21 808 4921, cell +27 (0)82 775 2396 e-mail media@sun.ac.za for more information or to coordinate contact with the various universities.

Caption: Members of the Hope@Africa and Hope International networks (Photo: Justin Alberts)

​

Staff and students of Stellenbosch University (SU) again joined thousands of people around the world to walk for water and sanitation, highlighting the responsible use of water on Wednesday 19 March.

This annual World Walk for Water and Sanitation was organised by the SU Water Institute.

Councillor Dawid Botha from Stellenbosch municipality's Department of Engineering Services said the population of Stellenbosch increased tremendously over the past couple of years, which puts a lot of pressure on the water supply of the town. "Around 70-75% of a household's drinking water is used in the bathroom and a further 10% in the kitchen, while only 15-20% is actually used for drinking," he explained.

Botha encouraged students and staff to change their behaviour and save water by showering shorter, bathing shallower and flushing less (ie. put a brick in the toilet cistern).

Mr Nico Elema, Programme Manager: NEPAD Water Centres of Excellence at SU, thanked everyone for taking part in the walk. He said a total of 95 researchers at the SU are busy doing research on water.

This year, and every year until there is universal access to water, people from around the world come together on World Water Day on 22 March to demand action from leaders of government to address the water and sanitation crisis. In 2013, the event involved more than 400 000 people in more than 65 countries. It is now regarded as the largest water and sanitation mobilisation event in the world.

Globally 800 million people still don't have access to safe water, while 40% of the world doesn't have access to a toilet. In South Africa 5 million people lack access to safe drinking water.

Watch a video here.​

​​​​Stellenbosch University's (SU) top first-years of 2013 and the lecturers who contributed to their success were invited to the First-year Academy's Prestige evening at Neethlingshof on Tuesday 19 March.

At this event 33 first-year students from the ten faculties were congratulated and recognition was given to the lecturers who inspired and encouraged them. The students and lecturers exchanged cylinders with messages addressed to each other.

Four lecturers from the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Sciences were nominated (Dr Marietjie Lutz ​was nominated by two students) and four from the Department of Mathematical Sciences (Dr Marét Cloete was also nominated by twice).

"The chemistry is good in the Department of Chemistry," joked Prof Ed Jacobs, one of the nominated lecturers.

Prof Hans Strijdom of the Division of Medical Physiology in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences was nominated by three medical students –Sinead Quirke, Maxine Smit en Nita Wiegman. Besides Drs Lutz and Cloete, Prof Robert Pattman from the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology was also nominated twice.

Prof Strijdom said it was unbelievably motivating to be invited by a student to attend this function. "It shows that one is doing something right," he said.

Prof Arnold Schoonwinkel, Vice-rector: Learning and Teaching, welcomed and congratulated both students and lecturers.

To the students he said: "We know it is not easy to make the change from school to university and still come out tops.

"Thanks for showing us how it's done."

​​To the lecturers he said: "You represent a group of enthusiastic lecturers. I've read some of the quotes by the students and it is so clear what they see in you: People who notice their talent, who are interested and who invest in them."

The guest speaker, Prof Susan van Schalkwyk, Deputy Director: Teaching at the Centre for ​Health Professions Education, spoke about choices and said true learning is transformative.

"My wish for you is that you will continue to make super-wise choices. And that you will become the change agents that we so desperately need in this country."

Here are some of the messages students and lecturers wrote for each other:

• Kwazi Dlamini – Civil Engineering

"The humility and the patience you have with a student is all that I needed to be confident in what I do and made me want to do better."

• Prof Ed Jacobs – Chemistry and Polymer Sciences

"The dedicated way in which you took responsibility for your own learning and the way you shared your knowledge with the other members of your subgroup speaks of quality and character."

• Aldu Duminy – Economic and Management Sciences

"In ons wiskundeklas het ons nie net wiskundige limiete interpreteer nie – u het ons aangespoor om uit te styg en ons persoonlike sukses-limiet in die lewe te bereik."

• Dr Karin-Therese Howell – Mathematics

"Klasgee is my passie en studente soos jy, wat die vak geniet en hul samewerking gee, maak als die moeite wêrd. Dit is ook vir my 'n groot voorreg om jou as deel van ons Wiskunde 114 assistentespan te hê."

Deborah Mao – BAccounting

"Sometimes we just need someone that is willing to be there for us when we have failed, be the pillar of strength that we need as first years going through the transition between high school and university- someone like you."

Mareli Greyling – Accounting

"[T]he knowledge that I could contribute to your success, makes me realize the importance of our job as teachers. Every day presents its own challenges, but being able to make a difference in even one student's academic career encourages me to perform better every day." 

Photographer: Hennie Rudman

Hope@Africa and Hope International, two related international networks set on jointly promoting human development and tackling major societal challenges in Africa and in the rest of the world, were launched in Stellenbosch (in South Africa) today (Thursday 20 March 2014).

Through the efforts of Hope@Africa, a collaboration between seven leading African universities, and Hope International, a collaboration between Stellenbosch University (SU) and four Swedish universities, the lives of potentially millions can be improved. 

At the launch event at Stellenbosch University (SU) Prof Russel Botman, SU Rector and Vice-Chancellor, said that if there was ever an argument against the notion of "the university as ivory tower" this is it. "The partners in our networks – Hope@Africa and Hope International – share a strong conviction that universities should work together to change the world."

He added that Africa has seen good economic growth of late, but this must be translated into broad-based human development.

"Teachers are key in this process. According to UNESCO, Africa needs 2 million new teachers by 2015. There is also an urgent need to provide training for millions of current teachers who are either under or unqualified. Clearly universities should play a key role in improving the training and on-going professional development of teachers. But conventional brick-and-mortar approaches are not good enough anymore. We need to use technology to extend the reach and richness of learning and teaching beyond the physical classroom. This is exactly the kind of challenge that Hope@Africa will be tackling."

Hope@Africa springs from a high-level summit held in Stellenbosch in October last year to discuss increasing collaboration between higher-education partners on the continent. This culminated in a Letter of Intent signed by the University of Botswana, the University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Makerere University (Uganda), the University of Nairobi (Kenya), the University of Namibia, and Stellenbosch University (South Africa). The University of Malawi is also part of the initiative.

Also speaking at the event Prof Thabo Fako, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Botswana, said that humanity received the gifts of life, health and friendship (and fellowship). This brought us together, he said: "We believe we can make a difference in our own lives and in the lives of others. We believe we can make an impact in our immediate communities – we can do so if we join the gifts of friendship, collaboration and fellowship that enables us to focus on how we can work together to promote human development."

He also said that telematic platforms can be used to extend the "reach and richness of all we know. We have skills, we have competencies, we have talents, we have professions – this we can use in the community for its benefit.

"We believe we can give hope for Africa and hope for the world."

Earlier, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Finance and Administration at Makerere University in Uganda said that Hope@Africa and Hope International "realise the need for harnessing synergies of the north and the south in addressing global development goals for the common good of humanity".

Collaborating via a network model in contrast with a hub-and-spokes model, the Hope@Africa partners intend using 21^st century Internet and Communication Technology (ICT) to build African expertise, facilitate sustainable networks and promote life-long learning.

Likewise, Hope International developed out of the notion that institutions of higher education should promote human development and tackle societal challenges through academic and research excellence.

The founding members are Stellenbosch University in South Africa, and Dalarna University, Gothenburg University, Linnaeus University and Malmö University in Sweden.

At the event, Prof Marita Hilliges, Vice-Chancellor of Dalarna University, said that the deliberations between the universities confirmed "how similar our concerns are even though we have very different starting points. We all have major climate issues, problems with unemployment and we need to realise that we live in the same global village. We need to understand it and change it for the better.

"As academics we know a lot about our society. What we want to do through Hope International is to use that knowledge to actively develop our societies. Our knowledge and our learning are increasing, now we want to make it increasingly significant."

The overall objective of the Hope International network is to further collaboration within higher education towards an increase in knowledge and awareness of the major challenges facing the global community. The Hope International network will bring together higher-education institutions to collaborate on ways to contribute to the long-term achievement of global development goals.

Prof Botman also said that it is particularly pleasing that Hope@Africa and Hope International are launched together. "We took a firm decision to harness the synergies between the two to gain more traction. So, this is an historic occasion – universities in the global South and North taking hands for human development everywhere. Our mission is one of HOPE because we refuse to accept the reality at hand as the beginning and end of everything. We refuse to abandon the next generation to despair. Many of them face the bleak prospect of a future that is no different to their past or present. We can make a difference – using our work in unlocking and sharing and applying knowledge. Now that is a goal enriching our work with a deeper sense of meaning and purpose."

• Click here for a video of the event.
• Click here for an earlier media release.

Caption: Prof Russel Botman, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University, Prof Marita Hilliges, Vice-Chancellor of Dalarna University in Sweden and Prof Thabo Fako, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Botswana (Photo: Hennie Rudman).

In a paper, published in the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's journal Emerging Infectious Diseases in March this year, scientists of the SU Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) reported the emergence of a TB strain in the Eastern Cape which is resistant to all first- and most second-line TB drugs.

"These hyper-resistant bacteria can actually be called TB strains that are 'XDR-TB and beyond' and have been referred to as Totally Drug Resistant TB (TDR-TB) in the literature since they are resistant to all ten of the drugs that are currently available for the treatment of the TB," says one of the authors of the paper, Prof Tommie Victor of the SU division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics.

Thus South Africa has became the fourth country to report the emergence of this virtually untreatable strain of TB – a dis­covery that further complicates the TB crisis in this country where the disease already poses an serious threat for the large population of South Africans suffering from HIV and Aids. Although TB can infect anyone – even healthy people – it is particularly easy to contract by people whose immune systems are compromised by HIV infection.

Other countries reporting TDR-TB include India, Iran and Italy but none of them has reported TDR as prevalent as it is in South Africa.

According to TB experts, it is just a matter of time before TDR-TB is discovered in other countries where multiple drug-resistant TB (MDR) and extensively drug resistant TB (XDR-TB) is being treated. Globally, about four per cent of new TB cases and some 20 per cent of previously treated cases are resistant to the two first-line TB drugs, isoniazid and rifampicin (MDR-TB). XDR-TB, on the other hand, is defined by resistance to these two first-line drugs, as well as fluoroquinolones and the second-line injectable drugs. MDR with resistance only to fluoroquinolones or injectables is called pre-XDR. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), XDR-TB has already been identified in 84 different countries.

Drug resistant TB emerges due to inadequate treatment, poor drug quality and poor adherence and is spread through droplet infection. The authors estimate that 75.6% of XDR-TB cases in the Eastern Cape (with complete data) were the result of ongoing transmission. One of the authors of the SU paper, Prof Paul van Helden of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, warns that it is just a matter of time before TDR-TB spreads. Furthermore, he emphasises, "Where there is currently MDR and XDR, there may also be undetected TDR as drug resistance is only tested for a limited number of drugs".

A concurrent study conducted by the SU team in the Eastern Cape showed that treatment outcomes of XDR-TB were dismal: 58% of patients died after one year of treat­­ment, while culture-conversion rates were only 8.4% over a follow-up period of 143 days.

"This raises the concern that these patients had an untreatable form of TB. This situation is similar to the Tugela Ferry outbreak in KwaZulu-Natal province, which highlighted the need for improved basic control measures, including rapid diagnosis and infection control methods," Prof Tommie Victor says.

Despite this discovery of TB strains that are extremely difficult to treat in SA, and the emergence of similar TB strains in other countries, the WHO has been cautious of recognising the definition of TDR-TB. Victor agrees that the term, 'totally drug-resistant' may be inappropriate since there may still be cure for TDR among the new drugs which are currently in development, or amongst medicines no longer in use.

New drugs, new hope

Prof Andreas Diacon of Stellenbosch University has been testing new TB drug candidates for the Global Alliance for TB Drug Develop­ment and other drug developers for a number of years. In December last year, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first of these drugs, bedaquiline, for the treatment of MDR-TB in special situations. This is the first new class of TB drug to be developed in more than 40 years. There are indications that the drug will be approved in South Africa sometime this year.

"Thanks to our active partici­pation in the evaluation of these drugs, we were fortunate enough to be able to give bedaquiline to one of the first patients in
South Africa, Dr Dalene van Delft, a Tygerberg paediatrician, long before it was approved for use by the FDA (see article on page 15).

Van Delft had contracted MDR- TB from a patient in 2010 and was treated with bedaquiline for six months last year. Today she credits the drug for saving her life.

"We have several new drugs in clinical testing but only bedaquiline (TMC207) is currently available for compassionate use by certain centres in South Africa. However, tuberculosis is very quick to develop resistance against drugs that are given alone or in combination with ineffective drugs. Any drug, including new drugs, should only be used as part of a regimen of at least three effective drugs to prevent resistance developing to the new drug. Such a combination might be difficult to put together in patients that have resistance to many drugs already, such as those with TDR- TB. The policy for compassionate access to bedaquiline requires that at least two other effective drugs must be available," says Diacon.

There is not yet any evidence that the drug is effective against TDR-TB, "but since bedaquiline has a new mechanism of action and no common mechanism of resistance with other drugs, it is highly likely that it may be effective."

Experts agree that bedaquiline is a good start, but that more new drugs with new mechanisms of action to protect against new resistances should be developed quickly to prevent TB resistance to bedaquiline as well. At present, there are three drugs in phase 2 and phase 3 trials that look promising.

Meanwhile, TB experts agree that drug susceptibility testing for TB is not always accurate or comprehensive enough to determine optimal treatment regimens. South Africa is rolling out the so-called GeneXpert countrywide but this test identifies resistance to only one drug, namely rifampacin, and this needs to be confirmed by an additional assay. Second-line drug resistance is still being tested, using culture-based methods, thereby delaying the initiation of appropriate treatment.

According to Victor, the mutations and resistance mechanisms against many TB drugs are unknown and large investments in research are needed to understand these mutations to enable scientists to develop assays that will detect a complete spectrum of mutations to all the currently used drugs. Scientists at Stellenbosch University, like others across the world, are concentrating research efforts on rapidly identifying TB strains that cause MDR-, XDR- and TDR-TB.

The Emergence and Spread of Extensively and Totally Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis, South Africa, by Marissa Klopper et al, of the SU Molecular Biology and Human Genetics division – www.cdc.gov/eid, Vol. 19, No. 3, March 2013.

Members of the research team from the Molecular Biology and Human Genetics are from the left: Drs Lizma Streicher, Frik Sirgel, Profs Rob Warren, Nico Gey van Pittius and Paul van Helden. Seated in front are Prof Tommie Victor and Ms Marissa Klopper.

A promising new drug for the treatment of multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB was recently conditionally approved by the European Medicines Agency and a research unit closely affiliated with Stellenbosch University played a central role in this process.

The drug, called Delamanid, was developed by the Japanese pharmaceutical company Otsuka, and was tested by TASK Applied Science, a clinical trials unit founded and run by Andreas Diacon, professor of Medical Physiology at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

"We were the first worldwide to give Delamanid to a TB patient, and we also published the first report on the use of Delamanid in TB patients," said TASK director, Dr Florian von Groote-Bidlingmaier, a specialist physician in Internal Medicine and Pulmonology who is responsible for the MDR-TB trials at Brooklyn Chest Hospital.

Delamanid is a newly synthesised drug (a so called nitro-dihydroimidazo-oxazole) with similarities to existing antibiotics, but new for tuberculosis treatment. It is one of several drugs currently in clinical development, and is only the second anti-tuberculosis drug after bedaquiline to receive a positive opinion from an international medicines authority in decades.

A two-month trial in patients with MDR-TB showed treatment to be significantly more effective when Delamanid was added to the standard drug regimen, compared to the standard treatment alone. It also seems to have a favourable side effect profile. 

"With the growing rate of drug-resistant TB we urgently need new drugs to treat our patients," said von Groote-Bidlingmaier. "Although Delamanid alone will not be the solution – TB treatment is always a combination therapy – Delamanid could be part of a future combination regimen together with other new drugs."

Although Delamanid is currently not approved in South Africa, Von Groote-Bidlingmaier said he is confident that it will become available to TB patients here in the near future.

Recently patient recruitment for a large phase III trial testing the efficacy and safety of Delamanid over a period of 6 months was completed with TASK being the highest contributer among approximately 20 international sites.

Photo: Prof Andreas Diacon (left) and Dr Florian von Groote-Bidlingmaier

​She is an equestrian, Toastmaster and a flutist. The work and lifestyle of Ina Smith, Manager: SUN Scholar en SUNJournals of the Library and Information Service at Stellenbosch Unive​rsity were recently featured in the electronic journal UKSG.

This journal aims to facilitate communication between the many stakeholders in the global knowledge community.

"I guess this particular insert is to prove to the world that librarians are not dusty and boring people who spend their lives hunkering down in dark corners," Smith laughs. 

The article can be read by clicking here.

There are several teachers who will now able to "spot" potential engineering students amongst the learners in their class. They required this skill during a recent session where the Faculty of Engineering equipped a group of 65 teachers with essential background information regarding the engineering profession and the Faculty's degree programmes.

The Faculty has been hosting an annual Teachers' Evening for Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Career Guidance teachers of the Boland and Cape Peninsula for the past decade. During this event teachers are informed about the dire need for engineers in the country, what their work entails, the Faculty's admission requirements and degree programmes, as well as the profile of a typical engineering student.

The Faculty is aware of the cardinal role teachers play in the lives of learners, especially with regard to choosing a career. That is why the Faculty would like to forge partnerships with teachers. The background they receive at the Teachers' Evening enables them to identify potential engineering students in their class and assist them in making an informed decision regarding their future career. Over and above a presentation by the Dean, Prof Hansie Knoetze, Prof Stephan Wagner (coordinator, first-year Engineering Mathematics modules) explained how teachers could assist learners in their preparation for engineering studies.

Photocollage from the left: Some teachers who attended the Faculty of Engineering's Teachers' Evening; the profile of a typical engineering student; and the Dean of Engineering, Prof Hansie Knoetze, addressing the teachers.

​​Mr Ian Smuts, an MSc student at Department of Soil Science, SU, has been selected as one of four South African postgraduate students to represent Team South Africa in the first ever International Soil Judging Contest to be held in South Korea later this year. The contest, which forms part of the 20th World Congress of Soil Science will be held on Jeju Island (one of seven the New Wonders of Nature), South Korea, from 8-13 June 2014. The rest of the team will comprise of soil science postgraduate students from Free State and North West Universities.  The contest will give students from around the world an opportunity to mingle with fellow soil science students, experience volcanic soils and test their soil description and interpretation skills on the world stage.  

​​​He's had some great business flops, and he's had some relative success. And he was extremely hurt when he had to leave his position as CEO of Mxit in 2012 – about a year after he took over. He packed up his family and went to America to “clear his head”. 

The shareholders had apparently become impatient after a R100 million loan and too slow profit growth.

“I fell out with my partners at Mxit. Running a business is like a marriage. And when the divorce happened, the partners kept the house and kids,” communications entrepreneur Alan Knott-Craig (jr) told his audience at a Discourse Café organised by Stellenbosch University’s Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert Institute for Student Leadership Development on Wednesday (19 March 2014). 

He admitted that he was extremely successful at a very young age having founded World of Avatar (through which he bought Mxit) and having done a stint as MD of iBurst.

“I got married at 25 and my wife and I travelled the word. I made the mistake of thinking this business thing was easy.”

After his Mxit shock and travels through America, he came back to South Africa and “realised that this is the land of opportunity. The technology wave is happening here. And you have to catch the wave while it is still strong”.

He said that when he first moved to Stellenbosch about four years ago as mobile entrepreneur, he was initially quite disappointed with the little “dorpie”. But then he was blown away by everything that was happening here in the technology field. 

On his return to South Africa, Knott-Craig pursued another opportunity. He founded Project Isizwe, an NGO which aims to bring free internet to Africa. The first leg of the project was launched in Tshwane in 2013. He was full of praise for the government officials he works with.

“They made things happen. There are still pockets in South Africa where things work extremely well.”

About giving advice, he joked: “I can give you many tips on how to fail. I can also tell you that I learned many lessons about business and about myself. I learnt about what I am not good at, I learnt what I look for in people I want to work with, and I learnt that I have to run things myself.

“I love what I do. I have not worked for 12 years, because I am doing what I love. I am living my dream.”

He added: “No matter what I tell you, (if you want to start your own business) you have to ignore my advice. You have to find your own path. And you have to take responsibility for everything you do including all failures.”

Scientists are calling for the immediate revision of the treatment regimen for multi- and extensively (MDR and XDR) drug-resistant TB in South Africa after a recent study showed that the current treatment regimen is ineffective and contributes to the development of XDR-TB instead of preventing it.

This study debunks the common belief that the widespread occurrence of XDR-TB in the country is a result of MDR-patients defaulting on their treatment, and shifts the blame to the standard treatment regimen being ineffective and potentially promoting the amplification of resistance.

"This study, for the first time, clearly reveals the flaws of drug regimens in use in South Africa and suggests that poor treatment rather than patient non-adherence represents the major driver of the emergence of XDR-TB," reads a statement by one of the lead researchers, Dr Borna Muller, an epidemiologist at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (SU FMHS).

MDR-TB is resistant to the most effective anti-TB drugs, while XDR-TB shows additional resistance to alternative drugs leaving few effective treatment options and resulting in very poor patient outcomes.

Ten percent of all TB cases in South Africa are believed to be MDR-TB, and 10 percent of that are XDR-TB. The highest rates of MDR and XDR-TB were recorded in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, with treatment success rates below 50% for MDR-TB and considerably poorer outcomes for XDR-TB.

The study, led by researchers from SU FMHS and published in the journal PLOS One, analysed the specific genetic strains of MDR-TB responsible for the majority of XDR-TB cases in South Africa. The most prominent strain showed particular high resistance to two first line drugs (ethambutol and pyrazinamide) and one second line drug (ethionamide) suggesting that the current drug regimen for MDR-TB is ineffective to kill and prevent transmission of these strains.

"These regimens were ineffective as they did not take into account that a significant proportion of MDR-TB strains are resistant to two or three of the drugs included in the five drug standardised MDR-TB treatment regimen," says Rob Warren, professor in molecular biology and human genetics at the FMHS.

"These strains have been 'bred' inadvertently over the last decades through the use of only limitedly effective standardised treatment regimens and the absence of regular drug resistance testing," reads Muller's statement.

For example, they found that the most prominent XDR-TB strain detected in the Eastern Cape affected more than 40% of all MDR-TB cases and was simultaneously resistant to at least nine anti-TB drugs.

"These strains are readily transmitted, quickly acquire additional resistance and may eventually become untreatable. There is a considerable risk that subsequently such untreatable strains also spread in the community."

The research team from Stellenbosch University, the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and the University of Basel in Switzerland, the Aurum Institute, the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the National Health Laboratory Services, analysed 4 667 TB, MDR and XDR sputum samples collected from the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal to determine the most predominant strains.

"XDR-TB in KwaZulu-Natal was primarily driven by strains belonging to the KZN/LAM4/F15 lineage while in the Eastern Cape the XDR-TB epidemic was restricted to the Atypical Beijing lineage," says Warren. "This clearly demonstrates that these XDR-TB strains have emerged independently in the two different provinces. A similar situation was observed in the Western Cape where XDR-TB was associated with the Typical Beijing lineage. However, in that province XDR-TB strains from the Atypical Beijing lineage were also highly prevalent suggesting migration of XDR-TB cases between provinces".

Based on these findings, the researchers call for an immediate strengthening of the standard treatment for MDR-TB in South Africa.

The 17-year-old Stellenbosch pianist Roelof Temmingh was chosen as the 2014 winner of the Hennie Joubert National Piano Competition on Wednesday (26 March) at the Conservatoire of Stellenbosch University (SU).

Roelof also won five of the six category prizes.

This year, the Hennie Joubert National Piano Competition, which was started in 1982 and is named after the well-known South African musician, was presented for a second time as part of SU's Stellenbosch International Piano Symposium. The symposium brings together local and international pianists to present master classes and lectures to South African learners, as well as to perform in concerts.

The competition kicked off on Saturday 22 March and was held over four rounds, in which contestants had to perform works from different eras in each round.

During the final round on Wednesday evening, five young pianists competed in a concert in which they performed works for piano and orchestra. They were accompanied by the SU Symphony Orchestra (USSO) under the baton of Corvin Matei.

The finalists were Landi Schaap (16) from Pretoria, Lezanti van Sittert (18) from Pretoria, Ewan Slabber (17) from Durban, Bronwyn van Wieringen (18) from Cape Town, and Roelof.

Lezanti won the other category prize, the André Serfontein Prize (of R1 000) for the most promising competitor.

Roelof won the category prizes for best performance of a Bach prelude and fugue (R1 000), best performance of a virtuoso etude (R1 000), best performance of a South African work (R1 000), best performance in the third round (R1 000), as well as the Joan de Villiers Prize for the best Classical sonata (R3 000).

In the final round on Wednesday, Roelof impressed the audience and judges with his performance of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto no.1 in D flat Major, op.10.

He was chosen as the overall winner and received the Hennie Joubert trophy and gold medal, as well as prize-money of R22 000.

"I was quite surprised to win the overall prize, as well as so many category prizes. But it feels great! The best part of the competition was to perform with the orchestra in the final round," said Roelof.

This Grade 12 learner of Paul Roos Gymnasium plans to compete in other national music competitions this year, and after matric he would like to further his piano studies in America.

His mother, well-known organist Zorada Temmingh, is his piano teacher.

The other results are: In second position (prize-money of R15 000 and a silver medal) is Lezanti van Sittert; in third position (prize-money of R10 000 and a bronze medal) is Bronwyn van Wieringen; in fourth position (prize-money of R6 000) is Landi Schaap; and in fifth position (prize-money of R4 000) is Ewan Slabber.

The judges of the competition were the Italian pianist Roberto Plano; Israeli pianist and director of the Arthur Rubenstein International Music Society, Idith Zvi; Catherine Foxcroft of Rhodes University; François du Toit of the University of Cape Town; and Bennie van Eeden of SU.

• The Piano Symposium continues until Saturday, with a concert each evening in the Conservatoire's Endler Hall. The Ukraine-American pianist Marina Lumazov performs on Saturday at 20:00. Phone 021 808 2358 or email leonvanzyl@sun.ac.za for more information.

CAPTION: Roelof Temmingh with Prof Nina Schumann, Head of Piano Studies at SU. Photo: ANDREW GORMAN

​​"Stellenbosch University (SU) realised a while ago that ICT in teaching and learning is something that we absolutely have to do - not because it's a threat, but because it's the future. It gives us the opportunity to make our teaching far more contemporary, to make it more open, more responsive and enables us to do flexible learning."

These were the words of Prof Arnold Schoonwinkel, Vice-Rector: Learning & Teaching, on the second day of the global conference themed Transforming Education through Technological Innovation that was held at STIAS on 25 and 26 March 2014. The conference springs from four universities on four continents building a global platform for collaboration and interchange on web-based learning.

Prof Schoonwinkel said that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) will definitely play an important role in the learning experience of students and will also give the University the opportunity to reach out to new student markets, specifically the learn-and-earn markets, thereby broadening access and giving opportunity to the learn-and-earn students to work while getting a qualification. He said SU is working towards creating an environment through ICT to make teaching more effective and to extend the reach and the richness of its offering. "I must underline - it's definitely not just about technology per se, but about a new way of doing the pedagogy," he added.

He also acknowledged that there are many lecturers at SU who have already adopted ICT as an integral part of their work and that SU is ready to work with these enthusiasts to make the whole process of applying ICT a success. 

Prof Schoonwinkel was one of several speakers on day 2 who focused on examples of innovation and transformation of various industries through the utilisation of ICTs as well as the integration of ICTs and the potential for innovation and transformation of particular universities. Case studies focusing on best practice examples of the pedagogical applications of ICTs in teaching and learning that have led to innovation and transformation of the curriculum, were also presented.

Prof Karin Jacobs of SU's Department of Microbiology presented a case study and related how she threw her preconceived ideas about teaching out of the window and changed her approach and teaching methods with the help of teaching assistant Kathryn Wirth. They decided to use fun and innovative exercises to help students deal with the tempo and workload of the course. Apart from assignments that required students to design their own viruses and bacteria and identifying organism on a kitchen sponge, they were also allowed to compile their own test questions. According to Prof Jacobs, her students learned generic skills, which are important for their future careers as scientists. 

In his presentation titled "Technology transforms in 30 minutes, 7 laws, 3 results and 3 questions", Mr Bertie du Plessis, Chief Learning Officer at Naspers, said digital technology will force universities to think diffferently about knowledge generation and transfer. "Digital technology drives prices down, but it has not reached higher education yet. The democratising effect of digital technology is one of its most powerful features," Du Plessis said. Everything will go mobile, what is unique will be copied, what is manual will become automatic and the privilege of the few will become the opportunity of the many, Du Plessis said. He also gave conference-goers food for thought asking:, "Can you in 10 years time double student numbers and drive cost to students down by 50%?" 

​The conference continues in Guelph in Canada in May, at Malmö in Sweden in September and lastly at Flinders University in Adelaide in Australia, in November.

​Government did not succeed in turning beneficiaries of land reform into fully-fledged farmers.

This was the view of Dr Theo de Jager, Vice-President of AgriSA, on Wednesday (26 March 2014). He was one of the speakers at a two-day (25-26 March) conference on land reform held at the Faculty of Theology at Stellenbosch University (SU).

De Jager said "beneficiaries can farm, but have failed because government has not managed organised agriculture and land reform as two sides of the same coin.

"Beneficiaries get farms without the capacity to farm," he added.

"Land is not a farm. Farming is about a business plan, investment, management, expertise and technology. Government must create an enabling environment for farmers."

De Jager criticised government for not investing enough in the agricultural sector.

He said government's handling of the land reform process brought our banana, tea and coffee industries to their knees.

"The process of land reform led to a loss of capacity, human capital and production as far as farming is concerned."

De Jager called for closer cooperation between government and farming structures in different areas of the country.

Earlier Prof Nico Koopman, Dean of the Faculty of Theology at SU, emphasised the link between land and dignity.

He referred to discriminatory land policies of the past and said "consequently land needs to restituted and redistributed in the light of severe violations of dignity, injustices and oppression of people."

Koopman argued that it is important for those who lost their land to be reconciled with it so that their dignity could be restored.

"The reconciliation with the land would then imply the actualization of dignity through the implementation and fulfilment of especially socio-economic and ecological rights as well as rights to development".

Koopman added that land reform processes should take into account the deeper dignifying meanings that land has for many people.

He added that these processes should also seek the most effective and fruitful ways to address people's needs to be reconciled with the original land or an equivalent piece of land.

• Photo: Dr Theo de Jager of AgriSA speaking at the conference on land reform.

• Photographer: Adrian Simmers

​ 

A global conference themed Transforming Education through Technological Innovation will be held at Stellenbosch University on 25 & 26 March 2014.

The conference springs from four universities on four continents building a global platform for collaboration and interchange on web-based learning.

Apart from the conference in Stellenbosch (where it will take the form of a Seboka) further conferences will be held in Guelph in Canada in May, at Malmö in Sweden in September and ending at Flinders University in Adelaide in Australia, in November.

The four conferences serve as the backbone of the project, sharing overall strategic trends and best practice examples of pedagogical experimentation and innovation. 

• The conference will be held at the Wallenberg Research Centre at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) in Marais Street in Stellenbosch (see programme for times). The conference will be streamed live at http://bit.ly/comdevsu

Keynote speakers include representatives from Microsoft, Google, Remgro and Naspers while remote speakers, taking part via the "Google Hangout on Air" technology platform and then streaming onto YouTube Live, will include ICT and educational specialists from Botswana, Sweden, Canada and Australia.

Topics include The connected glocal classroom, Social Media in Learning and Teaching, Mobile technology in the glocal classroom, Connectivity into Africa, and Networks for innovation and Transforming institutions.

Dr Antoinette van der Merwe, Senior Director: Learning and Teaching Enhancement at SU says: "The Seboka with its focus on both innovation and transformation through the utilization of ICTs in education is unique in that it will include both local and remote participation and presentations in real time. In this sense, the glocal classroom will manifest in that the 'global' will be made to feel 'local'. It will also be the first time this advanced internet technology platform is used in higher education to enable real time collaboration."

Keynote speakers include Brett St Clair, Enterprise Country Manager, Google; Mark Chaban, Area Education Director, Microsoft Middle East and Africa ; Pieter Uys, REMGRO (former Managing Director of Vodacom South Africa) and Bertie du Plessis, Chief Learning Officer, Naspers.

The various heads of the participating universities will also be speaking at the event.

Says Prof Russel Botman, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University: "The world is changing fast, and with it the field of education as new internet and communication technologies impact on learning and teaching.  Going online sweeps away barriers of space and time, allowing people all across the globe instantaneous contact with each other in pursuit of the knowledge they need to thrive in the Information Age of the 21st century. This potentially unlocks local insights, making it available to a much broader community. At the same time, humanity's humanity's diverse understandings of the world impacts on specific contexts like never before. That is the "glocal" experience. Our challenge in higher education is to innovatively deepen and broaden our understanding of the implications of these developments – for our students and staff members, for us as institutions, and for society at large. This will empower us to be thought leaders for the future."

The conference follows close on the launch of two related international networks – Hope@Africa and Hope International. SU and Malmö University form part of the Glocal Classroom initiative and Hope International, while representatives from Dalarna University in Sweden and the University of Botswana (also forming part of Hope@Africa and Hope International) will also be speaking at the Seboka.

The Day 1 pre-conference workshop on 25 March on Stellenbosch campus will include:

• Panel discussions and presentations of the application of various technologies in teaching and learning.

• Critical reflection on the application of these technologies in teaching and learning.

• Remote participation and presentation from partner universities.

Day 2 on 26 March will focus on the themes of Innovation and Transformation with three different foci on the main themes:

• Keynote speakers focusing on examples of innovation and transformation of various industries through the utilization of Information and Communication Technologies.

• Panels consisting of university senior management members as respondents focusing on how the integration of ICTs has potential for innovation and transformation of their particular universities.

• Case studies focusing on best practice examples of the pedagogical applications of ICTs in teaching and learning that have led to innovation and transformation of the curriculum.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• More information on the conference available here.

• Click here for a short video of Prof H. Russel Botman, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, introducing the conference.