It's not every day that a medical student wins a major science competition above senior academics. But that is precisely what happened recently when MB,ChB VI student, Sean Anderson, won the Young Scientist Competition, clinical category, at the Conference of Biomedical and Natural Sciences and Therapeutics.

Anderson won the award for his work on a paper titled The Neurological Phenotype of Patients with HIV associated Neurocognitive Disorder (HAND) on Antiretroviral Therapy, in which he examined the neurological data of HIV-positive patients.

Dr Eric Decloedt, Clinical Pharmacologist in the Division of Clinical Pharmacology, said he was so impressed with Anderson's work that he explored the possibility of Anderson submitting his work as an independent degree.

“He is a very bright student and the quality of the work he has done exceeds that of most colleagues who train to become specialists," said Decloedt, who chaired the scientific organizing committee of the conference.

Explaining Anderson's work, Decloedt said: “In a nutshell, when a patient is infected with HIV, the neurological system gets infected within days. Despite ARV therapy, these patients continue to present with cognitive impairment. The ARV therapy treat severe forms of cognitive impairment… but the milder forms are still very prevalent despite ARVs. Sean Anderson examined a group of patients and did neurological analyses on them. He looked for whether there were specific neurological signs, such as increased or decreased reflexes and whether that could help diagnose patients with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders in the clinic. He tried to associate the neurological assessment with the degree of cognitive impairment."

The conference, which took place in October and which was hosted by SU's division of Clinical Pharmacology, was the first of its kind in South Africa. Entitled “Interdisciplinary Scientific Excellence", it served as a platform for a number of independent learned societies with shared interests in basic, translational and clinical biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences in SA, including the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences (APSSA), the Physiology Society of Southern Africa (PSSA), the South African Association for Laboratory Animal Science (SAALAS), the South African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (SASBCP), the Southern African Neurosciences Society (SANS) and the Toxicology Society of South Africa (TOXSA).

According to Decloedt, there were many highlights to the inter-disciplinary conference, including that SU Rector, Prof Wim De Villiers, opened the conference, and that Prof Jimmy Volmink, dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, were among the many distinguished speakers. Another key speaker was Dr Patrice Matchaba, Novartis Global Head of Corporate Responsibility.

Decloedt said the feedback received was that the conference was an overwhelming success. “The idea was to do this every third year, but we've decided to do it more frequently."

Other winners in the competition were Kim Adams who got second place for the paper, Pharmacokinetic study of anti-TB drug PAS and Metabolites and its possible relationship with the development of Toxicity and Jana Winckler from the Desmond Tutu TB Centre who came third for her work, The Pharmacokinetics of High Dose Isoniazid for the Prevention of Treatment of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in HIV-infected and –uninfected Children.

On Anderson's achievement, Decloedt said: “It is a big deal that an undergraduate medical student won the Young Scientist Competition as he was competing against MMed, masters and PhD students.

“We can definitely expect big things from Sean. What impressed me the most was how he managed to engage with the topic in such a short period of time and master the basic aspects of the issue and, using his own initiative, to research this further.

Anderson's cash prize was handed over by Novartis's Matchaba.

Caption: Winners of the Young Scientist Competition, Sean Anderson (far left), Jana Winckler (third from right) and Kim Adams (far right) are seen at the Conference of Biomedical and Natural Sciences and Therapeutics with (from left to right) Dr Eric Decloedt, Profs Helmuth Reuter and Jimmy Volmink, and Dr Patrice Matchaba.​

Professor Julia Blitz has recently been awarded honorary fellowship to the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). This is the 'highest College award' offered by the RCGP, the professional body for general practitioners, family physicians and primary care physicians in the United Kingdom.

Blitz is the Vice Dean: Learning and Teaching at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS).

“Julia [Blitz] has made a major contribution internationally to both undergraduate education and postgraduate training in the context of family medicine," Dr Steve Mowle, RCGP's Honorary Treasurer, who read the citation at the award ceremony held in London, late last year.

“She has also been a massive influence in the pioneering joint work of the RCGP with Stellenbosch University to develop vocational training and the licensing of Family Physicians in sub-Saharan Africa," he continued.

Blitz has a background in both Family Medicine and Health Professions Education, and Mowle credited her career success to excellence in both patient-centred clinical practice and academics.

“Julia [Blitz] is a motivated and committed leader and a powerful champion for primary care … Her contribution to the RCGP International work has been invaluable," said Mowle.

Blitz has collaborated on several RCGP-related projects, including the licensing examination of the College of Family Physicians (CFP) of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA), and 'Training the Family Medicine Trainers in South Africa', which is now being extended across 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Locally she has held key roles within the CFP, and at an international level she has connections with the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) Institute in Philadelphia and held a position on the executive committee of the Southern Africa FAIMER Regional Institute.

According to Mowle, these credentials have “contributed significantly to her credibility as a very skilled and knowledgeable leader in undergraduate and postgraduate education".

Nominations for Honorary Fellowship to the RCGP are made for outstanding work towards the objectives of the college, with a candidate's international standing measured by:

• The receipt of prizes/awards granted by other national or international organisations;

• Writing which has had national or international impact;

• Whether the person has made a significant contribution to general practice or its development;

• Having demonstrably furthered the aims of general practice, primary care and the college. 
  

Dr Pierre Viviers and colleagues from the Institute of Sport and Exercise Medicine (ISEM) won the prestigious David Sisk Award for Best International Paper for the official journal of the American Orthopaedic Association.

Their paper, entitled: “The Diagnostic Utility of Computer-Assisted Auscultation for the Early Detection of Cardiac Murmurs of Structural Origin in the Periodic Health Evaluation" relates to a home-grown computer-driven clinical auscultation device. An auscultation device is a device which listens to the internal sounds of the body to examine the circulatory, respiratory and gastrointestinal systems.

The T. David Sisk Research Awards were established in 2010 to honour the best papers submitted to Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach in clinical, laboratory, and international research.  The winners receive a $2,500 cash prize and a plaque.
 
Sisk, who died in 2009, was a staunch advocate of a multidisciplinary approach to sports health and left a strong legacy of teaching and collaboration. He served as the chairman of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) Medical Publishing Board of Trustees at the time when the creation of the new journal was proposed.  

In an interview, Viviers, who is the head of Campus Health Services at Stellenbosch University as well as being associated with ISEM, said the paper provides sports physicians with a tool to assist in decision-making when cardiac murmurs are present in athletes.

“It is challenging to identify the nature of cardiac murmurs during the periodic health evaluations of athletes because of the difficulty in distinguishing between murmurs of physiological or structural origin. Computer-assisted auscultation (CAA) has, previously, shown promise in supporting appropriate referrals in the non-athlete paediatric population. Our hypothesis was that CAA could have the ability to accurately detect cardiac murmurs of a structural origin doing a periodic health examination in university athletes."

The study, which used a total of 131 university athletes, concluded that CAA could potentially improve the identification of structural murmurs in athletes. However, more research is needed.

“Our award came as a surprise. I did not imagine we would win," he said. “The competition is quite extensive to get in. We put a lot of heads together to develop the study protocol for this – so I can put our success down to teamwork. We are very happy that our project ended in a significant way."

Viviers won the award wearing his ISEM hat and collaborated with fellow ISEM colleagues, Professor Wayne Derman, director of ISEM; Dr Joann Kirby, a sports physician in campus health service and Jeandre Viljoen, a physiotherapist and MA student in physiological sciences.

“The project started when we read in the Innovus monthly newsletter about a technology company working in the biomedical engineering sphere that was working on developing an electronic stethoscope for use in rural areas. The idea was that nurses and doctors in those areas could use it to diagnose structural heart pathologies, valve lesions and other cases, so that they can refer the patients further.

“We contacted the project manager and decided to work on the project.

“What interested me was the fact that in athletes you often hear murmurs because of the physiological changes that occur in the heart during exercise, but obviously underlying conditions can also produce murmurs. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between a normal non-structural lesion in athletes and a real problem.

“So, I thought there might be some interest to look into this. We then wrote a research proposal and got ethical approval and started our research using university athletes.

“We pitched our pilot study when it was the time of year when we do health screenings with high-performance athletes. We did a pilot study and then published our data."

Asked what the award means to him, Viviers said: “It means there is definitely a place for pre-participating screening in athletes. We have recommended that further studies take place with more numbers. We believe this tool will assist physicians in the evaluation and decision making in the presence of murmurs in athletes."

Caption: Dr Pierre Viviers (middle) receiving the David Sisk Award for Best International Paper from members of the American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine.

A book edited and co-authored by Prof Ursula van Beek, the founder and Director of Transformation Research Unit (TRU) at the Political Science Department at Stellenbosch University, will now be made available to nine public universities in South Africa thanks to the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS). 

“By their generous donation KAS helps us to convey to a wider body of students and staff the necessity to combine theoretical and empirical approaches when dealing with complex political, social and economic issues. The book reports on a project based on comparative methodology, where in-depth cases studies refer to empirical findings thus illustrating the vital importance of building theory in reference to data, and vice versa," said Van Beek.

Democracy under Threat: A Crisis of Legitimacy? is the latest addition to a series of four books on democracy produced by TRU. TRU focuses on examining South African democracy comparatively in the regional southern African and global contexts from a political, economic and social perspective. 

According to Ms Christina Teichmann, Project Manager at KAS' office in Cape Town, the aim of this donation is to continue KAS' work to “promote democracy, good governance and the rule of law through political education and training not only in Germany but worldwide".   

“This book makes an important contribution in this regard by providing valuable insights into the current state and quality of democracy in various countries around the globe. By donating this book to universities in South Africa, KAS hopes to assist in making the important research findings of Prof van Beek and the other contributing authors better accessible to students and university staff."

KAS was established after the Second World War and the end of Nazi rule in Germany to provide the country's population with a better understanding of democracy, their role as active citizens as well as their rights and responsibilities.

“It was decided that this kind of education should be done by political foundations, each of them affiliated to a different political party thus providing a broad spectrum of political views," explains Teichmann.

“Our Foundation was named after Konrad Adenauer, who was the first democratically elected Chancellor of post-war Germany. Besides providing political education and training in Germany, KAS started its international work in the 1960s and today has over 100 offices and runs more than 200 programmes worldwide. We have worked in South Africa since the 1980s and provide a platform for informed debate on topical political as well as socio-economic issues by hosting seminars, workshops, conferences and roundtables for selected target groups while working with local partners, such as political parties, universities, think tanks, business, the media and civil society. "

As before the Second World War, democracy across the world is again under threat today.

In South Africa, the latest Afrobarometer Survey indicates that while the “majority of South Africans still prefer democracy to any other form of governance" a growing number of individuals are willing to “trade off democracy for an authoritarian regime if the latter can provide jobs, housing and better education".

“Many South Africans feel that democracy has not delivered because their lives have not significantly changed for the better since the end of Apartheid. Additionally, state capture and corruption on the highest political level have eroded peoples' trust in government institutions and democratic processes. This has led to a widespread receptiveness to radical and non-democratic messages, often voiced with strong racial undertones," said Teichmann.

However, it is not only South Africa experiencing a decline in support for democracy as a governing system.

According to Van Beek “many of the problems – whether connected to globalisation or not – that South Africa faces today are not unique to our country but also affect other younger democracies around the world, and even those that are well established". The United States under President Donald Trump's rule is just one such example.

“In other words, we are not alone grappling with problems but as members of a global community we can – and should - learn from each other's failures and successes.  Our book serves as a warning by throwing  light on how unscrupulous charismatic leaders exploit their own people with promises of a better life for all, when in fact all they seek is to gain power and hold on to it. The method is invariably based on creating or deepening divisions between “us" and “them", where the others are differentiated from “us" by race, ethnicity, religion, or a class status and are portrayed as being responsible for all our troubles," said Van Beek.    

Teichmann hopes that by sharing the book with staff and students at South Africa's public higher education institutions, academic readers will gain a “better understanding of the multiple threats democracies, whether young or old, are experiencing at present."

“We are witnessing a rise of charismatic leaders and populist right wing parties that promise to provide easy answers to complex questions and focus solely on national interests. The book bears clear testimony to the fact that irrespective of its level of maturity democracy cannot be taken for granted but that citizens have to actively protect and safeguard it against elements that aim to undermine it," added Teichmann.

​​This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the full article here.

People in sub-Saharan Africa are now living longer than ever before. A child born in the region today is expected to live up to 64 years on average. This is a remarkable increase of 11 years since the year 2000, when life expectancy at birth was only 53 years in sub-Saharan Africa.

Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years that a newborn is expected to live, if current mortality rates hold steady. Changes in life expectancy can be used to track the impact of population-wide health threats, such as the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. The monitoring of life expectancy can also provide crucial information that's needed to deploy resources and effective interventions on the ground.

The life expectancy improvements in sub-Saharan Africa vary between men and women, within sub-regions and between countries.

We know all of this, and much more, because of an extensive study we recently published in The Lancet. We drew from the Global Burden of Disease study, which is a systematic effort to gather and analyse a huge amount of data on health loss due to diseases, injuries and risk factors by age, sex and geography over time. This allowed us to look at trends in mortality and life expectancy in the region from 1950 to 2017. It's the most comprehensive look at these issues that's ever been published.

Our research shows that the average life expectancy for men in sub-Saharan Africa is 62 years. For women it's 66 years.

There are regional variations too. For example, men in central Africa will live to 60; those in eastern Africa to 63. Women in central Africa will reach 64 years; in southern Africa the figure is 68 years. The lowest life expectancy among men in sub-Saharan Africa is 49 years in the Central African Republic. The highest – 73 – is in Cape Verde. The corresponding life expectancy for women in those countries is 55 and 79 years.

There has been a huge decrease in mortality among children younger than five in sub-Saharan Africa. As a portion of total deaths, the number of deaths before the age of five has decreased from 45% in 1950 to 10% in 2017.

This is likely linked to a number of interventions such as the scale-up of vaccination programmes, improved water and sanitation, and mass distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets. Mothers' increased education levels and rising individual incomes have also contributed to the decrease in child deaths.

But caution is necessary. It's not inevitable that death rates will keep falling. Rising epidemics of high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and obesity in some African countries could lead to shifts over time in the opposite direction.

Falling death rates

Overall, death rates have been dropping in sub-Saharan Africa since the beginning of the 21st century. There were 702 deaths per 100 000 people in 2017, down from 1366 deaths per 100 000 in 2000.

For all ages, it's estimated that one-third of life expectancy improvements are because of rising income per capita, one-third can be attributed to improvements in educational attainment, and one-third are a result of changes that have happened over time. These include technological improvement such as new vaccines. We have also learned more about diseases and how to control them.

There may be additional reasons for the reductions in mortality over time. These would include social factors like availability of job opportunities and good working conditions, existence of social support networks, and safe housing.

Causes of death

The five leading causes of death in sub-Saharan Africa for adults between the ages of 15 and 49 years in 2017 were AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal disorders, and road injuries.

The leading causes of death differed when we looked at mortality for each of the sexes over time. There were major changes in the leading causes of death between 1990 and 2017.

Interpersonal violence was the seventh leading cause of death among men in 1990. Now it's number five. Liver cirrhosis was the eighth leading cause of death; now it's the sixth.

The main changes in causes of death among women were cervical cancer, which moved from 10th in 1990 to seventh. Breast cancer was the 17th leading cause of death among women – today it is eighth.

For people between the ages of 50 and 69, the three leading causes of death in 2017 were tuberculosis, heart attacks and stroke among men; and stroke, heart attacks and tuberculosis among women.

This shows that non-communicable diseases are already wreaking havoc in many countries across the continent.

About the author

Prof Charles Shey Wiysonge is the director of Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council

Photo: PIXABAY

​Years ago, when she was still a child – and queuing in the early hours outside a Soweto clinic for medical attention for her grandmother's hypertension – Boitumelo Theepe made a silent promise to herself that she would be a doctor one day.

“One of my earliest memories was standing with my granny in the dark, so that we could be seen by the doctor that day. I thought, even then, that there must be a way to make a difference. If only there were more doctors, people wouldn't have to wait so long! It inspired me to become a doctor."

Theepe (24) attended the Oprah Winfrey Academy for Girls and went on to graduate as a medical doctor in December last year at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

She is passionate about looking at ways to improve the structural functioning of South Africa's health system. “I am really interested in working out how we can put systems in place to release the burden on the healthcare system," she says.

She is also fascinated by science and “how the body works" and is currently working as a medical intern at Groote Schuur Hospital, practising general internal medicine. At the time of the interview, she was one week into her internship and “loving the work".

“I've been thrown right in the deep end, but it has encouraged me to learn to swim faster!

“We work with all the chronic lifestyle diseases – including TB, HIV and all infectious diseases requiring long-term management and a holistic medical approach, as well as collaboration with a range of specialists. It basically includes a little bit of everything in medicine.

“I love it, because we are the first people patients encounter when they arrive at the emergency department. For me, it is like solving a mystery. First, we have to calm them and make sure they are stable, and then make a diagnosis. We get to see a lot of the textbook conditions we studied in medical school. We see people when they are really seriously ill and try to get them back to baseline. Then we follow up, so they don't end up back here," says Theepe.

“What is also fascinating, is that a lot of the registrars and consultants are doing research, so the hospital is very up to date with a lot of information about diseases. There is just so much we can learn.

“I am so enjoying helping my patients, knowing that this is somebody's mother, somebody's father or somebody's granny who doesn't have to wait for medical attention."

Theepe was born in Soweto and raised there by her grandmother, Lydia Nonyana, because both her parents needed to go away to find work. Her father, Tahleho, is a mineworker and her mother, Arcilia, works as a merchandiser.

“My grandmother, who retired this year, raised my cousins and me on her salary working as a tea lady and running errands. She always encouraged me to work hard, never let me miss school and always helped us with homework where she could."

While she was in secondary school in Soweto, she was nominated by her teachers to apply for the Oprah Winfrey Academy. “I'd given a passionate presentation at school about the effects of HIV on society, and I think my teachers thought I should apply.

“We had to ask our neighbours to help us complete the forms, because my grandmother has a limited education. We did the best we could. Then the school called me and I went through several rounds of interviews. The final interview was with Oprah Winfrey herself. She handpicked us. In fact, we were the academy's first intake of girls – in 2007.

“I'd watched her show a few times, but I didn't know much about her. When I met her, I was struck by her beauty. She looked as if she had just jumped out of TV! She has a very warm, relaxed and funny presence."

Theepe will never forget the day she was told she'd been accepted by the academy. “Parents were crying tears of joy … We all hugged each other."

She ascribes much of her success to the academy, from which she matriculated with five distinctions. “Besides a strong focus on a good education, the school's core vision is servant leadership. We were encouraged to lead by example and give back to society. That was engrained in us. The teachers were so dedicated. We were also privileged to have access to many extracurricular activities, as well as community service opportunities. The school allowed me to find out what I am good at."

The Oprah Winfrey Foundation also assisted Theepe financially with her tertiary studies. Rebecca Miller Sykes, President of the Foundation, expressed delight about Theepe's success. “We are so proud of Boitumelo," she said.

Asked about her future goals in medicine, Theepe said: “For the moment I'll focus on my internship, which offers hands-on experience in every discipline. After that, I'll pick a specialty.

“At the moment I'm interested in psychiatry and paediatrics. Beyond that I will continue being a health advocate, as a doctor and as someone who hopes to help implement systems to make the health system function better."

Theepe's interests include singing. She conducted Stellenbosch University's gospel choir last year. “I also like public speaking, reading, spending time with friends and exploring Cape Town."

Looking back on her life, Theepe can't help believing in destiny. “My life has been a series of events far beyond my imagination. One thing I've learnt is the importance and power of kindness."

Besides her parents, her role models are her grandmother – “she epitomes a quiet strength" – and Oprah Winfrey. “She basically changed the trajectory of my life. I not only admire her from a distance, but see her as a mother figure. Her love touches so many people. I hope I can be like that through my work in medicine."

Caption: Boitumelo Theepe (right), with Rebecca Sykes, president of the Oprah Winfrey Foundation (left) and FMHS Dean, Prof Jimmy Volmink (middle) at the MB,ChB Oath Taking ceremony in December last year.

Insert 1: Recently graduated medical doctor, Boitumelo Theepe.

Insert 2: Boitumelo Theepe (middle), with her grandmother, Lydia Nonyana (left) and mother, Relebohile Theepe (right) on graduation day.

At only 36, Prof Stephan Wagner from Stellenbosch University is one of the youngest mathematicians ever to be awarded the South African Mathematical Society's (SAMS) Award for Research Distinction in 2018.

The SAMS award is only made to an individual in South Africa who has made an important research contribution to Mathematics or the application thereof. It is in the form of a silver Möbius band with a golden rim and appropriate inscription and was presented to him during the annual congress gala dinner on 4 December 2018.

Prof Wagner grew up in Austria and in 2006 he obtained a PhD in Mathematics from Graz University of Technology. In 2007 he joined SU's Department of Mathematical Sciences, where he progressed to full professor in only seven years, in 2014.

He enjoys international recognition for his research in the field of combinatorics and associated fields, with applications in physics, chemistry and computer science. He once referred to this field as “bean counting" since it involves a variety of methods to count things, and determine in how many possible ways things can be combined, and what would be the best possible combination.

His main area of expertise is enumerative and asymptotic combinatorics, where he has become a master in the derivation of explicit formulas, as well as the application of complex analytic methods for their asymptotic behavior.

According to the citation read at the event, Prof Wagner is one of the few discrete mathematicians who is remarkably skilful in handling algebraic, analytic, stochastic, and algorithmic tools: “Over the years, he solved hard conjectures, gave simpler proofs to known results, developed useful algebraic and analytic techniques, and discovered several new phenomena, many of which are surprising and unexpected."

Since 2006 he has published over a hundred articles, with more than 400 citations. He is also strongly involved in mathematical competitions, in particular the South African Mathematics Olympiad. He is an avid chess player, representing Stellenbosch Chess Club and Boland Chess Union.

Prof Ingrid Rewitzky, head of the Department of Mathematics at SU, congratulated Prof Wagner for this “well-deserved national recognition of his outstanding research contributions".

Prof Leon van Wyk, head of the Mathematics Division, also congratulated him with the award, saying that it is “quite an achievement at a very young age".

Previous awardees from SU's Department of Mathematical Sciences include Prof Helmut Prodinger (2003), Prof Barry Green (2007) and Prof Marcel Wild (2010).

Three academics from the Faculty of Science were honoured with the Stellenbosch University Chancellor's Award for excellence in research and in teaching and learning at the December 2018 graduation ceremony.

Profs Jannie Hofmeyr and Emile van Zyl were recognised for sustained excellence in their research careers, while Prof Ingrid Rewitzky received the award for excellence in teaching and learning. The aim of the award is to give recognition to staff whose careers attest to sustained excellence and is limited to the top 15 achievers in the fields of learning and teaching, research and community interaction.

Prof Hofmeyr is regarded as a world leader in the field of systems biology and biocomplexity and has received international recognition for his contributions to these fields. He studies the regulatory design of metabolism and made many fundamental contributions to computational systems biology. More recently his research interests have ventured into the field of complex systems, focussing on biocomplexity. He is the recipient of the Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship, the Beckman-Coulter Gold Medal from the South African Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and was a fellow of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. He is member of the Academy of Science of South Africa and a Fellow and President of the Royal Society of South Africa. He is currently director of the Centre for the Study of Complex Systems in Transition.

Prof Emile Van Zyl from the Department of Microbiology in the Faculty of Science is an expert in yeast biotechnology. His research on environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuels using recombinant technology has led to international recognition. He studies the microbial degradation of plant material, with the purpose of using the degradation products as raw material in biofuel production. In 2007 he was awarded the SARChI chair in biofuels and other clean alternative fuels, a position which has been renewed three times. His research group has registered 22 patents, and he has published more than 140 research articles. He is a recipient of the Silver Medal from the South African Society for Microbiology and the Havenga Award for Life Sciences.

As Vice-Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Science, Prof Ingrid Rewitzky was instrumental in facilitating and supporting a scholarly approach to teaching and learning in the Faculty. This includes the establishment of an active Teaching and Learning Hub and a differentiated tutorial support programme for undergraduate students, amongst others. The impact of these initiatives can be seen in the higher success rate of undergraduate students, and the increased engagement of academic staff in all aspects of teaching and learning. In her own discipline of Mathematics, she inspired the development of online interactive content for bridging the articulation gap between school and university, as well as ongoing programme and module renewal. She is executive head of the Departmet of Mathematical Sciences.

On the photo, from left to right, Prof Emile van Zyl, Prof Ingrid Rewitzky and Prof Jannie Hofmeyr (far right) with Prof Louise Warnich, Dean of the Faculty of Science.

The Collaborative Governance (Co-Go) initiative was developed by Dr Charon Büchner-Marais, a research associate at SUWI. The aim of the Co-Go initiative is to mobilise academia, industry, government and society to collectively take responsibility of the commons, focusing on the Eerste and Berg River catchments.

At the launch of Co-Go at Oude Libertas on 5 November 2018, representatives from provincial and local government, and industry partners such as Distell and Spier, expressed their support for the initiative.

Mr Eric Leong Son, group manager of sustainability at Distell says Distell welcomes the opportunity to partner with civil society, municipalities, academia and the private sector in a non-competitive environment: “In this environment we can form partnerships and take action, based on sound research and science. We value this multiple party partnership and we are committed to work together as engaged partners."

Ms Heidi Newton-King, director of human resources and sustainability at Spier, said their previous experience with the Stellenbosch River Collaborative offered them an opportunity to move from having only knowledge about the pollution problems in the Eerste River, to making a real connection with the river. This realisation completely changed their approach to dealing with the problem.

Dr Büchner-Marais says freshwater rivers are amongst the most threatened ecosysterms in the world: “Proverbially speaking, we all live downstream. We need to re-imagine how we deal with socio-ecological systems. Co-Go provides a new governance arrangement where different role players can learn and experiment together in order to solve these complex problems."

Before the launch, Co-Go worked with students from the Department of Visual Arts at SU to develop a visual representation of its mission, based on Prof Michael Samways' research on Cape dragonflies.

According to Prof Samways dragonflies are ancient creatures, older than plants, which have shown remarkable resilience over the past 40 to 60 million years, adapting to some of the harshest environmental changes in the Cape. Cape dragonflies are, however, highly sensitive to new threats, such as polluted rivers and invasive trees.

“Without dragonflies, we will experience an increase in flies and mosquitos and the growth of phytoplankton, leading to loss of fish. Without dragonflies to feed on, birdlife along rivers will also disappear," he warns.

Prof Samways developed the Dragonfly Biotic Index (DBI), a valuable resource for fast-tracking awareness of pollution or other problems affecting a river, giving stakeholders an opportunity to engage and take action.

In closing, Prof Nico Koopman, Vice-Rector: Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel, said Co-Go sets an example of how innovative research can partner with business, government, civil society and the arts to face the problem together.

“This is not corporate showmanship or intellectual gymnastics, but an example of how we need to use all our faculties – hearts, hands and minds – to address this crisis."

If you are interested in joining the Co-Go initiative, contact Dr Büchner-Marais at charon@su.ac.za 

On the photo above, at the back from left to right, are Prof Nico Koopman (SU), Eric Leong Son (Distell), Lwazi Mankahla (Distell), Prof Willem de Clercq (SUWI). In front, Corbin Raymond (SU), Melissa Lintnaar-Strauss (Department of Water and Sanitation), Dr Charon Büchner-Marais (SUWI), Heidi Newton-King (Spier), Nichole  Solomons (Spier) and Jacques Rossouw (Distell).

A walkabout by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences' Transformation Committee is just one way that this committee plans to foster transformation in their environment by understanding how others experience the world. 

According to the Chair of the committee, Dr Ubanesia Adams-Jack, the idea of a walkabout was raised by a colleague with a disability who wanted to illustrate how hard it still was to access various spaces on campus. 

Following the suggestion, Adams-Jack approached Facilities Management, who sent a number of key staff members to accompany the committee members, including the Dean of the faculty, Prof Anthony Leysens, and the Chair of the Ancient Studies Department, Prof AnnemaréKotze.

“I was actually shocked to discover that most of our disabled students and colleagues are not able to access the bathroom on the ground floor of the BA building due to the way the card access and the entrance to the bathroom itself was set up. It actually hinders the easy movement of persons in a wheelchair for example," said Adams-Jack. 

The committee also learnt that many of the safety doors in the faculty did not open properly to allow easy access for those in wheelchairs and that shallow gutters that facilitated the flow of rainwater to prevent it from accumulating in one space, were also a challenge to cross for those who are wheelchair bound. 

“Transformation is about people, places and spaces and looking at the accessibility of spaces, in particular for those with disabilities, is part of transforming our university space." 

The group also discovered that the tiled surfaces on the second floor of the faculty building was quite slippery and made it hard to move for those with physical disabilities. Thanks to Facilities Management, the surface was sprayed with an adhesive that prevents slippage making it more user friendly for those in wheelchairs too. 

“It was also obvious that many physically disabled individuals have to cover longer distances to get to the same places that able bodied persons needed to get to," she added. 

This is because many shortcuts on campus were not accessible to the physically disabled. 

“It was important for us to participate in this walkabout because it made us more aware of how other people experience the world and transformation is after all about understanding how others experience the world. My vision for the transformation committee is to build amicable relationships between students, staff and their students, and between different staff. At the end of the day, when are at peace with each other, it changes how we interact and treat each other too. I think the most powerful thing about transformation, is the ability to truly see each other."  

Photo: The following persons participated in the walkabout of the Transformation Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences' recently. In the front from the left are Mr Dan Prata, Mr Malan Oosthuizen and Mr Trevor Hoeben, all from Facilities Management; and Mr Bongani Mapumulo (in the wheelchair), a Stellenbosch University student and Chair of Dis-Maties. At the back from the left are Mr Phumlani Mathebula and Mr Louis Fincham, both from Facilities Management; Prof Annemaré Kotze, Chair of the Ancient Studies Department; Ms Lizelle Ferus of the Office for Students with Disabilities, Dr Ubanesia Adams-Jack, the Chair of the faculty's Transformation Committee, and the Dean of the faculty, Prof Anthony Leysens.​

​Stellenbosch University (SU) will welcome 5 300 newcomer students to the campuses  this week (21–25 January). 

The University is well aware of the fact that the new students arriving this week might feel somewhat disorientated and lost and therefore urges them to participate in the programmes and activities that are put in place to support and guide the newcomers. For more information, visit the website at http://www.sun.ac.za/english/welcome/welcome-maties.

These orientation programmes over the next week will assist new Maties to familiarise themselves with the campus, other students, residences, classes and other responsibilities. When classes commence on 4 February, the newcomers will be much more at ease with the campus community.

Before then, the newcomers and parents should double check if they are aware of the following important information:
Registration

• The first thing to do is to register for 2019. The self-registration (e-registration) option opened on 14 January and you can register on any computer with internet access. The other option is to self-register once on campus in the Neelsie Student Centre.  Students who are unable to self-register should make use of assisted  registration in NARGA on the Stellenbosch campus, or GERGA on the Tygerberg campus for students in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.  For more info on the assisted registration programme, click here.

Student fees

• SU does not have a registration fee but the first instalment of student fees is payable before or during registration. Students who receive NSFAS funding are exempt from this first instalment.  The same applies to students who receive other forms of financial aid – any student who presents proof of a bursary or loan covering outstanding debt (if applicable) and the first instalment of student fees may register without payment being required. Students who do not qualify for NSFAS funding, but have financial difficulties, may make arrangements to pay the first instalment over three months. For more info, click here.

Applications

•  *Students who have not been able to secure space to study in 2019 are advised to register on the Department of Higher Education and Training's Central Applications Clearing House (CACH) system. The system records information of students who want to enter a university or TVET college without them having to stand in long queues at each institution, and improves their chance of finding a space.​Prospective students can access the CACH by sending an SMS with their name and ID number to 49200, or by visiting https://cach.dhet.gov.za/ to register their details.    Applications to study at Stellenbosch University in 2019 closed last year, and we are unable to accept any new applications for this academic year. Applications for the 2020 academic year will open in March 2019.​ click here ​for  more info.

Welcoming Event for newcomer students and parents

• The Welcoming Event that will be held in the Danie Craven Stadium on Thursday (24 January), starting at 16:30, promises to be a fun-filled event with students getting to meet, among others, the University's mascot, Pokkel. Apart from being addressed by Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Wim de Villiers, and Student Representative Council (SRC) chair, Ms Carli van Wyk, the students will join student leaders on the field on conclusion of the programme to form a massive human “2019". This is representative of them forming part of a new community that they will be part of for the rest of their lives. For the Welcoming programme over the next week until classes commence on 4 February, click here.

Dream Launch

• New at the Welcoming Event on 24 January is a march by all newcomers from the Danie Craven stadium to Victoria Street at 18:50 on campus as part of a “Dream Launch" – a symbolic start to students realising their dreams at SU. The procession will move down Coetzenburg Street, cross Van Riebeeck Street into De Wall Street, and turn left in Hofmeyr Street, right into McDonald Street and left into Victoria Street. There will be music stations along the way.

In Victoria Street, the procession will pass under a banner displaying the words “Your Dream starts here" and will proceed to Admin B near Ryneveld Street. In Victoria Street, newcomers will pin their dreams that they have written down on cards, to the trees. These dreams will be displayed for two days with pedestrians walking past them. Students will return to their residences after they have pinned their dreams to the trees.

“Vensters"

• A further highlight of the week before classes commence, is the annual “Vensters" event taking place on Friday, 1 February. For these colourful outdoor performances, residences and private student organisations (PSOs) partner up to impress audiences with innovative and creative dance performances around a central theme. The performances take place at 15 min intervals on ten different stages across the Stellenbosch campus. It will kick off at 18:00 and will continue until 22:00.

Get the Guide for Newcomers 2019 booklet

• Newcomers should make sure that they get a copy of this guide when they register or at their first point of contact with faculties or departments. The guide contains information on subjects such as the registration schedule, transport, personal safety, the library, free writing advice and tips on saving water. 
  
  

​​​​​​In 2018 SUNCEP offered, for the 19^th consecutive year in the Stellenbosch region, an Expo for Young Scientists platform for learners to exhibit their research projects. Learners from 33 schools from the Stellenbosch region, as far and wide as Bredasdorp, Touws River, Bellville, Paarl and Kraaifontein came to Stellenbosch to showcase their projects.

A total of 370 learners were involved and they exhibited 296 projects in total. The majority worked individually and some in pairs.  60.5% of the participants were girls.

One hundred and three judges voluntarily gave their time to judge the exhibited projects. There were 186 medals awarded in total – 39 gold, 70 silver and 77 bronze. Several special prizes were awarded to deserving learners who won in their respective entered categories. The majority of these prizes were afforded by Stellenbosch University's Faculties of Sciences, AgriSciences, Engineering and Arts and Social Sciences.

Sixteen projects were chosen to represent the Stellenbosch region at the national Expo (also called the International Science Fair or ISF) held in Boksburg, Gauteng. Participants at ISF came from all 35 regions in South Africa.

The learners who represented the Stellenbosch region at the 2018 South African's International Science Fair (ISF).  

Photo: Public Domain

The Stellenbosch region's learners did us proud and came home with three special prizes, two gold medals, seven silver, 4 bronze medals, three highly commended awards, and one learner chosen for possible international participation.

In 2019 Expo in the Stellenbosch region will be 20 years young! A celebratory Expo, worthy of this achievement, are being planned! Please visit our website for more details: www.sun.ac.za/stbexpo.

The Faculty of Education in Stellenbosch was a buzz of activity on Saturday morning January 19^th, when school learners from Stellenbosch and surroundings gathered for the kick-off of this science club. SUNCEP Science Buddies club is the realization of a dream of SUNCEP, a center within the Faculty of Education that focusses on learning enhancement of school learners and the professional learning of teachers.

The aim of the science club is to bring talented learners that are interested in science, technology and innovation together in a stimulating environment where they will receive guidance, develop research skills and be supported to successfully engage in completing a scientific research project on a topic of their choice.

The ultimate aim of SUNCEP Science Buddies club is for the 108 science buddies and their 20 teachers who started this journey, to participate in the regional Expo for Young Scientists competition in August. At this event these teachers will form part of a group of judges that will assess 300 - 400 research projects to determine who will win medals and special prizes.

SUNCEP as host of the annual Expo for Young Scientists in the Stellenbosch region aims to make 2019 a special year as it commemorates the 20^th year of the region's existence.

For more information on the Science Buddies initiative, contact Erika Hoffman at 021 808 3482 or ehoff@sun.ac.za. 

​The Talent Development Programme (TDP) is a joint project between the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Stellenbosch University Centre for Pedagogy (SUNCEP). It is a prestigious residential and academic enrichment intervention that aims to bridge the gap between school leavers and universities.

​​ 

The project aims to achieve the following outcomes: 

• ​Developing Thought Leaders by exposing learners to high-order academic thinking and techniques. 
• Improving academic achievement notably in Mathematics and Physical Science, 
• Supporting top-performing learners to improve opportunities for access to higher education, 
• To encourage an attitude for lifelong learning among learners 
• To encourage learners with potential to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Innovation (STEMI).​
  

It provides top performing learners from each province with:

• ​opportunities to engage with high order academic content which is presented by subject specialists in mathematics and physical science;
• a structured academic support programme which is developed and presented by Dr. Sharon Malan from Stellenbosch University, through the Telematics platform. Learners engage with the facilitator on topics such as time management, personal development, planning, study methods, goal setting, etc.
• university access assistance is given by linking learners to all Universities in South Africa, guidance through the application processes, assistance and access with accessing funding, etc.
• access to an environment that enables learners to formulate their Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Innovation (STEMI) career goals/plan.

The programme hosted 720 top achievers in all 9 provinces during the three 2018 DST holiday schools. Each of the 9 centres consisted of 40 Grade 11 and 40 Grade 12 learners. A tutor ratio of 20: 1 was maintained at each center while ensuring that each center has an ICT hub with university platform access, academic resources and bursary portals.​

NCS 2018 RESULTS

In 2018 three of the TDP learners made the NSC national achievers list of the Departement of Basic Education:

• Quintile 1 schools: Second place: Muzomuhle William Mthembu
  

• ​Quintile 2 schools: Third place: Bongumenzi Cedric Ndlovu
  

• Quintile​ 3 schools: Third place: Felicia Makondo
  

We look forward to another successful academic year!!

​

The recent passing away of the Stellenbosch flautist Éva Tamássy on 30 November 2018 was lamented by all music lovers. A memorial service took place at the Dove's Chapel, Somerset West, during which Gabriele von Dürckheim and Liesl Stoltz, with guitarist Michael Hoole, performed music by CPE Bach and Jules Massenet.

Tamássy was a well-known personality in especially music circles of the Western Cape. As gifted instrumentalist she played a significant role in the promotion of music for the flute, and appeared as member of a variety of ensembles. She was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1936, and received her music education at the Ferenc Erkel Conservatorium and Franz Liszt Music Academy, Budapest, and studied later with French flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal. Escaping from Hungary with her parents after the 1956 uprising, she settled in Johannesburg and soon established herself as broadcaster, recitalist, chamber musician and concerto soloist. She obtained the Unisa Performers' Licentiate in Flute with distinction in 1965, and made many recordings for the SABC radio.

Since her appointment as flute lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch (1960) she was lauded for her chamber music concerts of Baroque music together with artists such as Shirley Gie (organ), Dalena Roux (cello) and Boudewijn Scholten (harpsichord). She played and broadcast regularly in concerts with ensembles such as Musica Antiqua, Serenade Ensemble, Pro Arte Wind Ensemble, Tamássy-Fortescue Duo, Concerts 4 x 2, and the Tamássy Flute Quartet. In the early 1990s she compiled and presented a 13-part series for radio called From Shepherd to Symphony. Illustrated radio programmes also focused on the French flute virtuoso and pedagogue Marcel Moyse, and on Theobald Boehm, composer and inventor of the modern flute. Besides teaching she also presented masterclasses – in Stellenbosch, Cape Town and Pecs (Hungary).

During her professional career she never backed away from the challenges of contemporary music, as is testified by her performance of Berio's Sequenza. Several local composers dedicated works to her, including Arnold van Wyk's only composition for flute, Poerpasledam (a corruption of the French Pour passer le temps) for flute and piano. At the first performance of the work in 1981 Tamássy was accompanied by the composer. Other composers include Paul Loeb van Zuilenburg, Hubert du Plessis and Roelof Temmingh.

Flute compositions Temmingh wrote for her include his Façade for flute and piano (1971, revised 1973), Nude for flute and piano (1973), a Sonatine for flute and guitar (1977), Moedverloor op A-mol for 12 flautists (premièred by 24 players in 1974), a Flute Quartet (1975), Psalm 42 for five flutes and bassoon (1976), a Quartet for flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon, Last Pieces no 2 for unaccompanied flute solo (subtitled by Tamássy as Nostalgia) (1987) and a Flute Concerto (premièred by Tamássy and the USSO in 1989).

Tamássy made regular visits to Europe to keep abreast of the latest flute teaching methods, and to pave the way for her students to study in Europe in the music schools in Germany, France, England and Hungary. In collaboration with pianist Virginia Fortescue the duo gave public recitals in Vienna, Budapest, Scotland and France between 1990 and 1996 and a recital on Radio Budapest. She was also an editor of scores, and arranged Hungarian music such as folk songs for flute and piano.

After retirement in 1998 until shortly before her death Tamássy still played regularly, and maintained the tutoring of a handful of pupils at her house. She is remembered fondly by her family and friends, and she is honoured, in particular, by the numerous flute players whom she trained and mentored during almost sixty years of teaching.

Her former students will honour her legacy in several ways. As a tribute to her, a concert dedicated to the flute, directed by Gabriele von Dürckheim, is planned for 2019 at the Music Department, Stellenbosch University. Tamássy's valuable collection of sheet music will find a permanent home in the library of the Johnman Music Centre in Herte Street. Some of her ex-students, Marietjie Pauw, Mariëtte Schumann and Linda de Villiers, have established 'The Tamássy Hour', open to all flautists, for regular sight reading sessions, and playing music from the Tamássy Collection.

​In 2018, the Stellenbosch University Centre for Pedagogy (SUNCEP) registered its first intake of students for the Advanced Diploma in Education (ADE) Mathematics teaching in the Intermediate (IP), Senior (SP) and Further Education and Training (FET) Phase. Of the 70 candidates on the course, we are currently sitting with 33 IP, 17 SP and 20 FET teachers attending each ADE course. With mathematics being considered as one of the gateway subjects for entering tertiary studies and with a constantly evolving mathematics school curriculum, it has become crucial for mathematics teachers to upskill themselves to offer learners the best opportunities for teaching and learning of mathematics from grade 4 up to grade 12. Thus, the purpose of this course is to enhance the content knowledge and pedagogical skills of currently serving mathematics teachers, to afford the learners the best opportunities for learning.

ADE students hard at work at the Cape Teaching and Learning Institute (CTLI) venue.

Utilising a practice-based professional learning approach, the ADE course is structured in such a manner as to offer student's opportunities to learn and share new knowledge, with follow up cluster mentoring support sessions, where mentors allow students to share and convert their newly acquired theoretical knowledge into practical knowledge, based on their teaching contexts. The practice-based assignments allows them to implement their newly acquired pedagogical skills and content knowledge, with self-reflection forming a crucial part of the learning process to bridge the theory-practice gap.

After the first year of course delivery, and with an attrition rate of only 6%, SUNCEP is proud to announce that 100% of all ADE FET students passed all their modules; 97% of all ADE IP students passed all their modules and 88% of all ADE SP students passed all their modules. Based on evaluations conducted with all students after each modules, most students appreciated the integrative approach in which the mathematics was facilitated. In addition, the support offered by the mentor between each contact/training session was highly valued by all students.  

With the final year approaching, and with the support of our facilitators and mentors, SUNCEP will be looking at ways of strengthening the support to teachers, to achieve a 100% certification rate in 2019.  We look forward to engaging with the students once more.

​A probiotic for broiler chickens, based on the microbiota from the guts of free-range chickens, was successfully developed and patented by a PhD student in microbiology at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Science.

Deon Neveling, who will receive his PhD at the December graduation ceremony, says one certainly needs a strong stomach for this type of research, and a thick skin to withstand the complaints about the smell emanating from your lab bench.

“My colleagues squealed so much I had to move my research into a small room in the furthest corner of the J.C. Smuts building," he laughs.

According to his supervisor, Professor Leon Dicks, this is the first time that a probiotic for broiler chickens is based on the gut microbiome of free-range, healthy chickens. “In other words, a probiotic for chickens, from chickens," he quips.

But how does one obtain the microbes from the guts of free-range chickens, we asked?

Deon explains that he collected the discarded guts of free range chickens that came up for slaughter at the University's Mariendahl experimental farm. He then mashed it into a liquid and plated it onto several hundred petri dishes.

Then, as soon as the bacteria started growing, he would obtain them in pure culture and identify the species– a very labor intensive process indeed. After eight months he succeeded in identifying six beneficial bacterial species – each from a specific section of the gut.

To ensure its probiotic character, the bacteria were then subjected to a range of tests. The next step was to test its safety as a feed additive, and then its ability to decrease the incidence of Salmonella in broiler chickens.

Fortunately not all of his PhD research was blood and guts. As part of his research, Deon participated in an Erasmus Mundus INSPIRE Scholarship program and spent nine months at Ghent University in Belgium to study the interaction of beneficial and pathogenic bacteria with epithelial cells. He also completed short courses in entrepreneurship with Innovus and TIA (Technology Innovation Agency), and participated in the SWISS-SA business development program.

“Worldwide, there is a trend to use probiotics rather than antibiotics to improve the health and survival of broiler chickens," he explains. “In the European Union, for example, the use of antibiotics as growth promoter in animal feed has been banned in an attempt to control natural selection for antibiotic-resistant pathogens and to ensure that currently available antibiotics remain effective in the treatment of animal and human infections."

However, the addition of probiotics to broiler feed is still far from being implemented on a regular basis, mainly due to a lack of in-depth knowledge about the complex dynamics of the poultry gut, and the multitude of parameters that influence the efficacy of probiotics.

Deon says the next step will be to find someone who will be willing to invest in the large-scale testing of his newly-developed probiotic. And then he hopes to establish a South African-based probiotic manufacturing company.

Caption

A probiotic for chickens from chickens: Dr Deon Neveling, a microbiology student from Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Science, developed a probiotic as a potential replacement for antibiotics in chicken feed for broiler chickens. He received his Phd-degree during the December graduation ceremonies at the university. Photo: Stefan Els

Media enquiries

Dr Deon Neveling

E-mail: dpn@sun.ac.za

Mobile: 0722 749 153

Photographer: Stefan Els

​The African Doctoral Academy (ADA) continues to lead efforts to strengthen excellence in doctoral education on the African continent. Celebrating a decade of doctoral training, the ADA welcomed more than 200 prospective, current and postdoctoral candidates to Stellenbosch University (SU) for the ADA Summer School from 3 to 18 January 2019. Delegates from 17 African countries attended the two-week programme.

The ADA, housed within the Africa Centre for Scholarship at Stellenbosch University International, serves to coordinate and strengthen excellence in doctoral education at SU and across the African continent. Since its inception in 2009, leading scholars have presented courses to doctoral candidates on topics ranging from PhD preparation, key concepts in methodology and academic writing skills to the use of qualitative and quantitative tools (SPSS and ATLAS.ti). Doctoral candidates get the opportunity to meet and network with peers at two doctoral schools hosted during the first and second semester. The Schools are open to PhD candidates, their supervisors and researchers. The main aim of the doctoral schools is to support knowledge production in Africa by increasing the number and the quality of doctoral graduates in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent.

For its 10^th doctoral school the ADA awarded a number of scholarships to participants from universities in Uganda, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Senegal, Botswana and South Africa to attend this semester. The successful candidates represent partner universities within the African Research Universities Alliance network of which SU is a member. Delegates hailed from disciplines as diverse as Urban Forestry, Chemical Engineering, and Nursing and Midwifery.

Travelling from Nigeria to attend the summer school, Deborah Oluwafunminiola Adeojo registered for the Productive PhD course presented by Prof Sebastian Kernbach from the University of St Gallen in Switzerland. In her second week, she attended the Mixed methods in research design workshop presented by Prof Tim Guetterman from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in the United States.

Deborah, who is studying for a PhD in Gender studies at Ibadan University Nigeria, said the ADA Summer School broadened her perspective on research and equipped her with the necessary skills to complete her doctoral studies.

Peji Lunyili, a linguistics lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, said all her expectations were met and that ADA courses expanded her skills set. “I gained new knowledge and skills on how to go about producing a successful dissertation and how to develop my career as a researcher."

​In addition to academic workshops, delegates also had the opportunity to attend a range of extra-curricular workshops. These included an excursion to the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and a braai at Middelvlei Wine Estate to conclude the Summer School. 

More than 5000 newcomer students descend on Stellenbosch this week to start their academic journey with Stellenbosch University (SU).

The Welcoming Event, to be held today (Thursday 24 January) at 17:30 at the Danie Craven Stadium, will mark the official start to the Welcoming Week.

The new Maties will amongst others meet the University's mascot, Pokkel, while they will also be addressed by Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, and Ms Carli van Wyk, SRC Chairperson. Students will then gather on the field to form a massive “2019". This symbolises the newcomers integration into the new community they will become part of. 

Marching through campus

A new addition to the programme is the newcomer marching from the stadium to Victoria Street on the campus as part of a “Dream Launch" that symbolises the start of their journey to realise their dreams. The students will each receive a card on which they can write their dreams for themselves. These cards will then be placed at various points on the route, especially in Victoria Street.

A further highlight of the Welcoming Programme is the annual “Vensters" event taking place on Friday 1 February. For these colourful outdoor performances, residences and private student organisation (PSOs) partner up to impress audiences with innovative and creative dance performances around a central theme.

The University's website, www.sun.ac.za, contains all the necessary information for newcomer students. The full week's welcoming programme and information on amongst others the registration schedule, transport, personal safety, the library, free writing advice and transport are available here.  

• Social media updates on welcoming are done via the hashtag #HelloMaties
• Heavy traffic is expected on all the main roads to Stellenbosch as well as in town on 24 January.

​Five Stellenbosch University academics and outstanding scholars of teaching were recently honoured for the completion of their Teaching Fellowships. Professors Elmarie Costandius 

(Department of Visual Arts, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences), Ian Nell (Department of Practical Theology and Missiology, Faculty of Theology), Dana Niehaus (Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences), Nicola Plastow (Division of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences) and Geo Quinot (Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law) who completed their fellowships between 2011 and 2017, received certificates at the annual Teaching Excellence Awards and Research Excellence Awards ceremony held in December last year at STIAS.

The SU Teaching Fellowship scheme provides the opportunity for excellent teachers and scholars of teaching and learning to spend more consistent periods of time, with various forms of support, to focus on aspects of renewal, exploration and dissemination of good practice in departments and faculties.

Prof Arnold Schoonwinkel, Vice-Rector (Learning and Teaching), who presented the certificates, emphasised the opportunities for SU lecturers to research their teaching as part of the professionalization of their teaching role. Examples of such opportunities are the annual Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) conference and the Fund for Innovation and Research into Learning and Teaching (FIRLT) grants. Prof Schoonwinkel described academics' professional teaching journey as a “progressive route" which could lead to an SU Teaching Fellowship and, ultimately, a national Teaching Advancement at University (TAU) Fellowship. He also emphasised the complementary relationship between teaching and learning and research. He referred to teaching as an integral part of SU as a research-led university, commenting that “research on how to teach well is as important as research on what you teach."

Current holders of teaching fellowships are:

• Prof Ingrid Rewitzky (Vice-Dean: Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Science)
• Dr Elize Archer (Centre for Health Professions Education, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences)
• Dr Berna Gerber (Division of Speech-Language and Hearing Therapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences)
• Ms Marianne McKay (Department of Viticulture and Oenology, Faculty of AgriSciences)
• Dr Michael Schmeisser (Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of AgriSciences)
• Dr Marianne Unger (Division of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences)

Any questions about the Teaching Fellowships can be directed to Dr Karin Cattell-Holden, kcattell@sun.ac.za or X 3074. More information about the SoTL conference and the FIRTL grants is available on the Centre of Teaching & Learning (CTL) website at http://www.sun.ac.za/ctl.  

Picture caption: Prof Arnold Schoonwinkel with ( from the left) Prof Dana Niehaus, Prof Nicola Plastow
Prof Elmarie Costandius en Prof Ian Nell.  Right under: Prof Geo Quinot (who could not attend the ceremony)