​

With the recent anti-gender-based violence (anti-GBV) protests around the country, the hashtag #StelliesWhereAreYou trended across various social media platforms.

As a result, this year's Transformation Indaba at Stellenbosch University (SU) aimed to help 'Stellies' be more visible by giving leadership and practitioners in various portfolios the opportunity to share the work they are doing to help the University successfully achieve its transformation agenda.

The Indaba was hosted and facilitated by Dr Leslie van Rooi, Senior Director: Transformation and Social Impact, and Dr Claire Kelly, Acting Head of Transformation at SU's Transformation Office, on Thursday, 17 October 2019 at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS).

Launched in 2017, this year's annual Transformation Indaba aimed to also address the many challenges, issues and opportunities for change at higher education institutions.

In his welcoming address at the Indaba, Prof Nico Koopman, Vice-Rector: Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel, said that SU was committed to transformation by implementing an extensive transformation plan to help the institution on its journey ahead.

“It is important for us to make visible what has been placed in the transformation plan. We are committed to dignity, to the healing of wounds, to freedom and to equality. There is no visible transformation without visible justice, especially justice to the most marginalised on campus and in broader society," Koopman said.

Prof Loretta Feris, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Transformation and Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Cape Town, delivered the keynote address at the Indaba, and titled it Transformation in higher education in South Africa: Current victories, opportunities and challenges.

An alumnus of SU, Feris lauded SU for how far the institution has come in its transformation journey, but said more work still needed to be done to help give this generation and future ones a full transformative experience.

“There are still manifestations of racial hate happening in our society. However, when you look at South Africa at first glance and you compare the post-apartheid society with a pre-apartheid society, it looks like we've come a long way, and in some respects I would say we have and we need to acknowledge that.

“Even when I come to Stellenbosch, I can very profoundly see the difference between the Stellenbosch when I was a student and the Stellenbosch of the now. It is interesting that those of us who survived apartheid, whether mentally or physically, seem to have a higher tolerance level for the kind of benevolent integration of the current South African society, because we know it is so much better than what we endured in the past," said Feris.

However, Feris believes that many younger black students may still experience the same discriminatory issues of the past, because they have less tolerance for racism, inequality and discrimination than older generations who lived under an apartheid regime. She believes this is especially true when this younger generation was told that they were 'born free', but still experience inequality and racism in the country.

“There is an expectation that students coming into university now will fit in better and that they will belong. Here you are a 'born free' in a country where ostensibly we have addressed the wrongs of the past but yet you come into an institution of higher learning and you feel the real sense of being othered and of not belonging. That is a wicked problem for us as all at universities and if we don't grapple with this now, it will come up time and time again in the future," said Feris.

In preparation for the Indaba, the Transformation Office administered a campus-wide survey in the last week of September to ascertain what students and staff wanted to be discussed at the event.

The results of the survey concluded that input be given on these various responsibility areas and issues:

• Input on transformation, comprising transformation infrastructure, transformation indicators, visual redress and social impact
• Input on student affairs, including discrimination and harassment, GBV, disability, mental health, food security and residence culture
• Input on research, including the transformation and decolonisation of research and research ethics
• Input on teaching and learning, including curriculum renewal and decolonisation, and lecturer capacity development
• Input on human resources, including employment equity and staff wellness

Those who gave input from these responsibility areas had an uninterrupted opportunity to present a brief overview of their work as it pertained to the themes and questions raised by the survey. It also provided participants of the Indaba an indication of where to direct what questions during the breakaway discussions.

Out of the breakaway sessions, there was a record of the conversations, which will be collated into an Indaba report for circulation later in November of this year.

Learners who honed their research projects under the Stellenbosch University Centre for Pedagogy (SUNCEP) in the Faculty of Education walked away with a clutch of medals and prizes at a recent international competition for young scientists.

The competition, the Eskom Expo International Science Fair (ISF), took place in Boksburg, Johannesburg, from 24 to 27 September 2019. The ISF brought together young scientists from across South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Ghana, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda.

The aim of the ISF, now in its 39th year, is to create awareness among learners about the wonders of science, contribute to their knowledge and broaden their scientific horizons.

Learners from both primary and high schools entered their science projects for the competition, which covered 13 different categories, including agricultural science, chemistry, computer science, energy and environmental studies, engineering and social sciences.

The competition was initially judged in 35 regions around the country, after which the winners of each region attended the ISF.

In the Stellenbosch region, 19 projects from learners at 19 different schools were eventually chosen to represent the region at the finals. The winners were selected from 33 schools at a competition held at Bloemhof Hoër Meisieskool on 22 and 23 August.

Erika Hoffman, project coordinator at SUNCEP and the Expo regional coordinator in Stellenbosch, said their job is to prepare these learners to make use of literature studies, plan and execute their research studies and draw their own conclusions in order to deliver quality research projects for the competition.

This year's prizes at the ISF amounted to R9 million and included cash prizes; bursaries sponsored by Eskom, Wits University, the University of Pretoria, Siemens and Babcock; science kits for schools; along with laptops and tablets for pupils.

The Stellenbosch region's learners managed to secure three bronze medals, eight silver medals, one gold medal, one category winner and four special prizes at the ISF. A Grade 12 participant was also awarded bursaries from Eskom and Siemens for four years of study. In addition, four learners were nominated to participate in various international science fairs.

“Participating in the competition not only equips learners with solid science and technology skills, but also helps them to settle on a future career path, supplement their life skills and grow their confidence," said Hoffman.

Besides providing supplementary tuition to learners in mathematics and sciences, SUNCEP also provides training courses for teachers in mathematics and science.

Photo:  Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor with Erika Hoffman and Bersan Lesch from the Department of Science and Technology. ​

Also read:

• ​​SUNCEP and Expo for Young Scientists: 20 years of proudly making a difference​​  

“As a public institution that is partly funded by taxpayers' money, we belong to all the people of our country. Therefore, we want to be accessible to all – in a language spoken by most people, and that is English," Prof Wim de Villiers writes in an op-ed in Die Burger today (19 October 2019). This follows the ruling by the Constitutional Court on October 10 that the 2016 Language Policy of Stellenbosch University (SU) is “constitutionally justified". Click here for the article as published on Netwerk 24, or read a translation below.

* * *

SU and Afrikaans: the facts

By Wim de Villiers

Stellenbosch is not an Afrikaans university, neither an English university, nor an isiXhosa university. Stellenbosch University (SU) is a world-class multilingual South African higher education institution – one of only a few in this category and something that is much needed in a country with 11 official languages. That is how we ensure that language does not become a barrier to access but an aid to academic success – especially in a diverse educational context. 

This is what I said at my inauguration in 2015 and it is still the case today. SU can no longer be an Afrikaans-only university, as it had been in an early era of our history when we were still a “volksuniversiteit". As a public institution that is partly funded by taxpayers' money, we belong to all the people of our country. Therefore, we want to be accessible to all – in a language spoken by most people, and that is English.

Not only English

And yet SU is not an exclusively English university. We still use Afrikaans in teaching, administration and in the living and work environments of students and staff. And we are committed to the development of isiXhosa. Each of these languages has a fixed place at SU and enjoys the same status. The only difference is how much of each is used, and that is determined by the context.

The judgment by the Constitutional Court on 10 October 2019 reconfirmed that our current Language Policy, which was approved by Council in June 2016 with the concurrence of Senate and which came into effect in January 2017, is “constitutionally justified". It strikes the right balance in the tension between equal access (section 9 and 29.1(b) of the Constitution) and the right to education in the language of your choice (section 29.2).

What does this mean? In short, by using English as a language of tuition we ensure that we are accessible to more people and it opens doors for our students – locally and internationally. But there remains a significant need for teaching in Afrikaans, therefore we continue providing it.

Room for Afrikaans

The SU Language Policy makes provision for three modes in undergraduate learning and teaching – each with a place for Afrikaans:

• Parallel medium: separate lectures in Afrikaans and English where it is reasonably practicable and pedagogically sound to have more than one class group;
• Double medium: both Afrikaans and English are used in the same class group, while all information is conveyed at least in English and summaries or emphasis on content are also given in Afrikaans; and
• Single medium: lectures are offered in one language only, supported by simultaneous interpreting into the other language as well as facilitated learning opportunities in both languages.

In addition, all SU module frameworks and study guides must be made available in Afrikaans and English and students may answer all assessments, tests and examinations in Afrikaans or English.

Inclusive multilingualism

It sounds complicated because it is – and costly. This may explain why some other former Afrikaans universities opted to switch to English. However, SU remains committed to inclusive multilingualism, because we “take into account the diversity of our society, including its linguistic diversity, and the intellectual wealth inherent in that diversity."

We are prepared to incur significant expenses but not to divide small classes into parallel medium streams – especially when students in their senior years have very little need for this. The Language Policy also refers to the variety of learning support that is offered in Afrikaans in addition to lectures.

Our Language Policy explains that “SU uses English routinely, but not exclusively, in its academic, administrative, professional and social contexts because speakers of the various South African languages use English to communicate with each other, and English has significant academic, business and international value."

But Afrikaans is also used, as this language “has developed an academic repertoire over decades, to which SU has contributed significantly. Applying and enhancing the academic potential of Afrikaans is a means of empowering a large and diverse community in South Africa."

Admittedly, this is only the policy. What happens in practice? Let me consult two sources to find out: implementation reports and student surveys.

Implementation reports are a mechanism to ensure the proper implementation of the Language Policy. These are submitted frequently by each faculty, support service division and the SRC – for final review by SU's highest body, our Council. 

The latest report was considered in June this year. The Language Committee of the Council was “impressed by the maturity" with which our faculties implemented the Language Policy. There were some unintentional deviations, but faculties handled and resolved these themselves.

Preference

Regarding surveys, three have already been conducted since the implementation of the new Language Policy – the latest being in August this year. The majority of the participating students indicated that Afrikaans was their home language (52%), followed by English (35%). However, most indicated that they preferred English lectures (66%), tutorials (63%) and learning materials (71%). And most of the remaining students said they preferred to be taught in Afrikaans and English.

The majority felt comfortable using the language of their choice in their living, co-curricular and administrative environments (more than 80% agreed or agreed strongly) and felt included in communication in these environments.

World-class

The accusation that SU is set on becoming an English-only institution, is untrue. We do use English to make SU accessible, because our vision is to be Africa's leading research-intensive university, globally recognised as excellent, inclusive and innovative.

We strive to be an integrated academic community that celebrates critical thinking, promotes debate and is committed to democracy, human rights and social justice – an institution with an outward, international and future focus. Our multilingual policy enables SU to remain relevant to our region, our country, our continent and to the world.

National asset

We believe this how we can best serve our country – as a national asset that is accessible to all; not as an insular enclave behind a language curtain. We strive to be a world-class university with a first-class academic offering, equipping its graduates to prosper in a diverse world.

I am currently attending an international conference in China – a country with more than 2 000 universities and colleges of which many are ranked among the best in the world. It is significant that English, together with Chinese, is increasingly used as a language of research, teaching and administration.

At SU, Afrikaans remains one of our two languages of tuition – based on valid pedagogical reasons. Annually, approximately 8 000 students still indicate Afrikaans as their preferred medium to gain access to SU's knowledge sources and that is why we continue our Afrikaans offering. We do this in innovative ways that do not exclude anyone. The accusation that we are stabbing Afrikaans in the back, is therefore also unfounded.

Inclusive roots

The fact that SU also uses English and isiXhosa besides Afrikaans, does not mean that we have pulled out our roots. On the contrary, the more accessible we become, the deeper we are putting down our roots in Africa, becoming part of a global forest and bearing fruit for all “our people", inclusively defined.

* Prof Wim de Villiers is Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University. He was recently appointed for a second five-year term, commencing in April 2020. This is a translation of his op-ed published in Die Burger on 19 October 2019 (https://www.netwerk24.com/Stemme/Aktueel/us-en-afrikaans-die-feite-20191018)

​·       New Stellenbosch University Business School to be developed on a part of the Oude Libertas site that Distell donated to Stellenbosch University.

·       A thriving and innovative Stellenbosch University to create a truly collaborative learning destination.

Stellenbosch University (SU) will be bringing its world-renowned Business School back to Stellenbosch where it will find a new home within a truly unique and collaborative destination to be developed on a part of the Oude Libertas site.

SU's Council recently (25 September 2019) accepted the donation of a part of the Oude Libertas land from Distell. 

“This donation is a vote of confidence from Distell who are committed to Stellenbosch University and its ongoing success as a centre for education and innovation. The company also shares our vision of becoming Africa's leading research-intensive university, globally recognised as excellent, inclusive and innovative, where we advance knowledge in service of society," says SU Rector and Vice-Chancellor Prof Wim de Villiers.

In a statement, Distell said the company is very supportive of initiatives that have the potential to bring fundamental change and improved opportunity in Stellenbosch and they are confident to make this transformational donation to an institution that so profoundly impacts both the local and global community. 

“Stellenbosch has emerged as a leading entrepreneurial business town in South Africa where a business school such as the USB can add significant value. Relocating the USB to Stellenbosch will unlock opportunities for academic collaboration with the university's main campus, which also hosts its business incubator, the Nedbank and SU LaunchLab. The move will also allow the USB, the only business school on the continent with full triple accreditation, to unlock further value from the location and brand of the Stellenbosch campus and the town."

Prof De Villiers said recent market analysis, current competitors' trends and SU's vision for the USB made a compelling case for relocating to Stellenbosch. 

“The development of a new campus for the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) close to the town of Stellenbosch and the Western Cape region will have significant and positive economic impacts as both will benefit substantially from this investment," says Prof De Villiers.

The new site, which will accommodate the USB and the executive development company USB-ED as well as the Institute for Futures Research, is strategically located within the planned redevelopment of the Adam Tas Corridor (ATC), an area stretching along the R310 and R44 along the foot of Papegaaiberg, from the disused Cape Sawmills site in the west to Kayamandi and Cloetesville in the north. The ATC is conceived specifically to catalyse and accelerate the Municipality of Stellenbosch's vision for achieving a spatially integrated and transformed Stellenbosch. For Distell this development is the first step in the development of some of their properties which falls within the ATC. 

Says Prof de Villiers: “All top business schools in the world know that their reputation must be reflected in an appropriate location and top-class facilities. We believe that creating a landmark modern business school overlooking vineyards and reflecting the historic Stellenbosch and SU urban design features, will further differentiate Stellenbosch University from all other SA universities and enable it to take its place amongst leading global learning experiences."

“The fact that the USB and USB-ED can conceptualise a new building will allow them to incorporate the latest spatial design and technology-enabled learning spaces. The site and new buildings simultaneously facilitate face-to-face learning in a natural ambience conducive to mindfulness and executive education delivery of the highest order."

According to Prof De Villiers, SU will mainly fund the development out of fundraising activities which will be the determining factor for this move to take effect. Apart from funding, the relocation will be subject to normal approval and public participation processes, as well as consultation with affected stakeholders.   

The existing campus in Bellville will continue to function with expanded activities from other university departments. Existing and planned upgrades to the current campus are ongoing, and SU is planning to expand the academic footprint on the Bellville campus even further in the years to come. 

SU and Distell will be working together to facilitate the site's subdivision where after impact studies and rezoning will take place.

Media enquiries

Stellenbosch University: Prof Stan du Plessis, Chief Operating Officer (stan@sun.ac.za; 021 808 2600)

About the USB

The USB is a leading business school in South Africa with a proud history stretching back more than 50 years. It is the only business school in the country with full-term accreditation from three leading international accreditation associations (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS) and one of a few  international business schools to hold all three accreditations amongst the more than 16 000 schools world-wide where business degrees are offered. 

Within Stellenbosch University the USB finds its academic home in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, SU's largest faculty and home to a wide diversity of academic disciplines in the Broad Economic and Management Sciences. Almost half of the faculty's 8000 students are at various postgraduate levels, with the USB as a postgraduate business school accounting for a large share of that portfolio. 

The USB was founded in Stellenbosch and relocated to Bellville in the early 1970s to service the business community in Cape Town's Northern suburbs and as part of  SU's strategy to expand part-time education. In 1986 the USB moved to its current premises at Bellville Park Campus.  

​​​Statement, 10 October 2019:

Stellenbosch University (SU) welcomes the unanimous judgment by the Constitutional Court on 10 October 2019 regarding the University's Language Policy, approved in 2016.

The judgment clearly states that our Language Policy is constitutionally justified. It also confirms the goal of the Language Policy: To promote access to and multilingualism at the University, and to support the academic and career success of students and staff.

The Court also found that the process the University followed to accept the Language Policy had been “thorough, exhaustive, inclusive and properly deliberative".

The University takes note of the Court's reference to the protection of minority languages. Besides the use of English, SU is committed to the use of Afrikaans and isiXhosa. These are also the three official languages of the Western Cape, the province from which SU draws most of its undergraduate students.

The Court also found that the Language Policy was not trying to “eliminate" Afrikaans “by any means". According to the SU's Language Policy, the University remains committed to using Afrikaans – in conjunction with English – as language of tuition within the context of inclusivity and multilingualism.

It has also been SU's experience that the implementation of the Language Policy serves as confirmation that the demand for multilingualism is being satisfied – also as far as the special place that Afrikaans holds in teaching, the administration and the living environment at SU.

The Language Policy supports the fostering of a transformative student experience, one of the six core strategic themes of the SU's Vision 2040 and Strategic Framework 2019–2024. The use of more languages promotes access and inclusivity. Both English and Afrikaans are used as teaching languages – English so that no one is excluded, and Afrikaans because there still exists a demand for teaching in Afrikaans.

• Visit www.sun.ac.za/language for more information on SU's Language Policy.
  
• Click here for the full judgment of the Constitutional Court (Case CCT 311/17)
• Click ​​h​ere​ for an official summary of the Constitutional Court judgment
  
  MORE INFORMATION

How is the SU Language Policy implemented?

For undergraduate modules Afrikaans and English are the languages of learning and teaching. Separate lectures in Afrikaans and English will be offered for large groups where reasonably practicable and pedagogically sound, but group work, assignments, tutorials and practical sessions will involve students from both language groups.

In lectures where both Afrikaans and English are used, all information will be conveyed in at least English, with a summary or emphasis also repeated in Afrikaans. Questions are answered in at least the language in which they were formulated. For first-year modules simultaneous interpreting will be available during each lecture. During second and subsequent years interpreting will be provided upon request by a faculty.

Undergraduate lectures may be offered in one language only if the subject matter justifies doing so; if the assigned lecturer is proficient to teach in one language only; or where all the students in a class group unanimously voted for one language by secret ballot. For at least first year students, simultaneous interpreting into the 'other' language will be available.

Students will be supported in English and Afrikaans during facilitated learning opportunities, for example: consultations during office hours; routinely scheduled tutorials and practical sessions; learning facilitated by ICT (podcasts and vodcasts); and services offered by the SU Language Centre.

All compulsory reading material that lecturers generate (i.e. excluding published material) will be available in English and also in Afrikaans . SU module frameworks and study guides are available in English and Afrikaans. In undergraduate modules question papers for tests, examinations and other summative assessments are available in Afrikaans and English, and students may complete all assessments and written work in either Afrikaans or English. The multilingual model supports Afrikaans students who are yet to master English on an academic level. Our point of reference is the transfer of knowledge through the use of more than one language, while being attuned to the needs of students. By their final year, they will be able to function nationally and internationally with English as well, where that is the language of business and other interactions.

Prof Jonathan Jansen, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Education Policy Studies at Stellenbosch University (SU), published a column in Times Select on 17 October 2019 on the recent Constitutiona​l Court judgment about SU's Language Policy. Click here for the column on the publication's website.

She's a successful businesswoman who owns two companies focused on the wine production industry in South Africa and wine exports and distribution in the rest of Africa, but Natasha Boks will be the first to tell you, she did not get there on her own. 

On Thursday, 24 October, Natasha will be the guest speaker at the Careers Café hosted by the Alumni Relations division in the Arts building on the corner of Merriman and Ryneveld Street between 13:00 and 14:00. If you are an undergraduate or postgraduate student and wish to attend the event, please visit http://bit.ly/BoksCareersCafe3 to reserve your seat or contact Marvin Koopman at marvin@sun.ac.za by Wednesday, 23 October.

“I grew up in Cloetesville in Stellenbosch and my biggest role models and supporters were my mom and my dad. They were the people who would push me against all the odds. They were my cheerleaders and encouraged me to be proud of who I was and celebrate my individuality. Neither of them had finished school, but they taught me that your environment does not dictate where you go in life," says Natasha.

Further support came from her teachers at Cloetesville High School, specifically a married couple who both taught at the school, Mr and Mrs Rogers – the latter her Geography teacher.

“Mr and Mrs Rogers imparted a lot of values on me when it came to education. When I was a learner, they encouraged me to always strive for more in life and to always do my best and once I went to university, they would call to find out how I was doing and how my studies were going. They also bought all the textbooks I required for my first year at university when my parents did not have the money to do so."

Whether there was money or not, Natasha says that it was always a given for her parents that she would go to university. Academically, she excelled at school and even held leadership positions as head girl in primary and high school. While in Grade 10, she came across a programme, the South African Innovation Learning Initiative (SAILI), which was presented at Stellenbosch University, and assisted learners with improving their marks in specific subjects to gain entry into the study programmes they wished to pursue. Natasha enrolled and gave up every Saturday for the next two years to attend the programme to ensure she would get into SU.

“I realised then that no one was going to help me get to my goals, I had to commit and do the work myself."

By the time she had completed the programme, she was accepted for a BSc Molecular Biology degree and registered in 2002. Midway in her first year, her father lost his job. Natasha admits she thought of quitting because she did not want to add to the financial strain at home. But her dad and her elder brother would have none of it. Her dad started a home-based business while her brother contributed what he could from his salary.

However, a year later, Natasha realised that BSc Molecular Biology was not the right fit for her. As much as she was an introvert, she also enjoyed working with people and this specific degree would most likely confine her to a laboratory.

The question was, what to study next. “I loved geography when I was in school and I knew I wanted to pursue a career that would involve me working in nature," she says.

In 2003, she made the shift to focus on winemaking instead and choose to change her degree to Bsc (Agriculture) Oenology and Viticulture. It was the perfect combination of applying science in the winemaking process, provided her with an opportunity to be outdoors, and to interact with other people.  However, her change in programme was not met with initial enthusiasm from her parents.

“They were not happy, especially my mother. My dad's grandmother was an alcoholic and she died because of alcoholism, so anything related to alcohol was a taboo for my family in general. But eventually my mother came around."

“It was also a challenge to adapt to a new environment. I was one of six people of colour in my Agriculture class, but at least I could speak Afrikaans. Many of my fellow classmates of colour couldn't and they struggled. I had also never interacted with anyone outside my own race and while I had grown up with Stellenbosch University in my home town, it was still a foreign place to me. Even hanging out in town was something new to me. So yes, it was an adjustment, in particular the social part."

“But I am not one to shy away from a challenge. My parents raised me to speak my mind. I told myself, 'this is where you need to be, you know who you are and if you need to ask for help you do that, because the only thing people could say is no'."

She adds: “It is important to be true to who you are in situations like that. You have to understand your value and the value you add to the lives of others and in the greater scheme of things, because if you don't, you'll try to be someone else to fit in."

For the next three years, despite numerous challenges, Natasha pushed through with bursaries received from NSFAS, SAWIT and the Department of Agriculture.

On 24 October, Natasha will share her life story and career journey and reflect on how she ended up working for Distell, specifically two of South Africa's top wine brands – Nederburg and Zonnebloem – and progressed from assistant wine maker to head winemaker with the support of some of the country's best wine makers.

​The Careers Café series was launched in 2016 by the Alumni Relations Office to provide a platform for alumni to engage with the university in a different manner by offering their time and skills to help current students prepare for the careers they want.

For more information about the Careers Café, follow the Alumni Relations Facebook page at www.facebook.com/stellenboschalumni and the SU Facebook page at www.facebook.com/stellenboschuniversity. To attend, RSVP at http://bit.ly/BoksCareersCafe3 or contact  Marvin Koopman at marvin@sun.ac.za by Wednesday, 23 October.

Chartered accountants and auditors battling with changes in the business and technology landscape due to the current exponential technology evolution can now turn to the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences' School of Accountancy to upskill themselves for this new era.

Starting in early 2020, the School of Accountancy, will offer a modified Masters in Commerce (MCom) in Computer Auditing programme which will expose students to technical details in modern information technology environments that enable them to apply computer assurance principles in practice, and equip them with the conceptual skills to deal with future technologies.

According to the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), it has become more critical than ever to ensure that chartered accountants remain relevant in the roles they perform. As technology continues to improve and become more and more prevalent in the typical accounting space, it creates both challenges and opportunities for current and future members and associates of SAICA, the professional body said.

Programme leader Prof Riaan Rudman of the School of Accountancy, said the MCom (Computer Auditing) programme is aimed at bridging the skills gap caused by the fourth industrial revolution (4IR).

“In order to be ahead of the curve, accounting and auditing professions need to reposition themselves to remain relevant and upskill themselves for the 4IR within an audit context. Part of the course is to help people get a better understanding of not just the technological impact of the 4IR, but also its governance and assurance impact," he said.

Rudman said the biggest problem accountants and auditors have at the moment is understanding there place in the future and how to upskill themselves.

“Not everyone can be programmers. If you are, for example, an audit partner in an audit firm you would not necessarily have the inclination to go back to university to do a four-year programming degree. So what you do is figure out your skillset and how you can transfer and apply that skillset in a changing context to be able to operate and create value in a technology-driven business environment.

“When you understand processes and business flows, how do you bridge the IT gap so that when you sit at board level discussing IT systems with the IT guys, you are able to talk the same language without being bogged down by the technical detail? You do so by using your existing skillset to ask the right questions," said Rudman.

The part-time, two-year course consists of a lectured component in the first year of study and the writing of a short dissertation in the second year.

The programme applies a hybrid model, relying on virtual as well as face-to-face lectures. Students from Stellenbosch and surrounding areas can attend all the lectures in Stellenbosch, while students from outside of Stellenbosch can participate in the short session lectures through the year using the online platform, but must attend the block lectures at the Stellenbosch campus in person.

The minimum entrance requirements to the programme are as follows:

• The degree BAccHons or equivalent, and registration as a CA (SA); or
• A relevant BComHons degree that includes the outcomes required for this programme and relevant work experience or registration with a relevant professional body.
• Academic results are taken into account in the selection process.

Applications close on 1 November 2019.

• Contact Prof Riaan Rudman for more information at rjrudman@sun.ac.za or tel 021 808 2701.
  
  

​New Stellenbosch University Business School to be developed on a part of the Oude Libertas site that Distell donated to Stellenbosch University.

·       A thriving and innovative Stellenbosch University to create a truly collaborative learning destination.

Stellenbosch University (SU) will be bringing its world-renowned Business School back to Stellenbosch where it will find a new home within a truly unique and collaborative destination to be developed on a part of the Oude Libertas site.

SU's Council recently (25 September 2019) accepted the donation of a part of the Oude Libertas land from Distell. 

“This donation is a vote of confidence from Distell who are committed to Stellenbosch University and its ongoing success as a centre for education and innovation. The company also shares our vision of becoming Africa's leading research-intensive university, globally recognised as excellent, inclusive and innovative, where we advance knowledge in service of society," says SU Rector and Vice-Chancellor Prof Wim de Villiers.

In a statement, Distell said the company is very supportive of initiatives that have the potential to bring fundamental change and improved opportunity in Stellenbosch and they are confident to make this transformational donation to an institution that so profoundly impacts both the local and global community. 

“Stellenbosch has emerged as a leading entrepreneurial business town in South Africa where a business school such as the USB can add significant value. Relocating the USB to Stellenbosch will unlock opportunities for academic collaboration with the university's main campus, which also hosts its business incubator, the Nedbank and SU LaunchLab. The move will also allow the USB, the only business school on the continent with full triple accreditation, to unlock further value from the location and brand of the Stellenbosch campus and the town."

Prof De Villiers said recent market analysis, current competitors' trends and SU's vision for the USB made a compelling case for relocating to Stellenbosch. 

“The development of a new campus for the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) close to the town of Stellenbosch and the Western Cape region will have significant and positive economic impacts as both will benefit substantially from this investment," says Prof De Villiers.

The new site, which will accommodate the USB and the executive development company USB-ED as well as the Institute for Futures Research, is strategically located within the planned redevelopment of the Adam Tas Corridor (ATC), an area stretching along the R310 and R44 along the foot of Papegaaiberg, from the disused Cape Sawmills site in the west to Kayamandi and Cloetesville in the north. The ATC is conceived specifically to catalyse and accelerate the Municipality of Stellenbosch's vision for achieving a spatially integrated and transformed Stellenbosch. For Distell this development is the first step in the development of some of their properties which falls within the ATC. 

Says Prof de Villiers: “All top business schools in the world know that their reputation must be reflected in an appropriate location and top-class facilities. We believe that creating a landmark modern business school overlooking vineyards and reflecting the historic Stellenbosch and SU urban design features, will further differentiate Stellenbosch University from all other SA universities and enable it to take its place amongst leading global learning experiences."

“The fact that the USB and USB-ED can conceptualise a new building will allow them to incorporate the latest spatial design and technology-enabled learning spaces. The site and new buildings simultaneously facilitate face-to-face learning in a natural ambience conducive to mindfulness and executive education delivery of the highest order."

According to Prof De Villiers, the SU will mainly fund the development out of fundraising activities which will be the determining factor for this move to take effect. Apart from funding, the relocation will be subject to normal approval and public participation processes, as well as consultation with affected stakeholders.   

The existing campus in Bellville will continue to function with expanded activities from other university departments. Existing and planned upgrades to the current campus are ongoing, and the SU is planning to expand the academic footprint on the Bellville campus even further in the years to come. 

SU and Distell will be working together to facilitate the site's subdivision where after impact studies and rezoning will take place.

Media enquiries

Stellenbosch University: Prof Stan du Plessis, Chief Operating Officer (stan@sun.ac.za; 021 808 2600)

About the USB

The USB is a leading business school in South Africa with a proud history stretching back more than 50 years. It is the only business school in the country with full-term accreditation from three leading international accreditation associations (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS) and one of a few  international business schools to hold all three accreditations amongst the more than 16 000 schools world-wide where business degrees are offered. 

Within Stellenbosch University the USB finds its academic home in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, SU's largest faculty and home to a wide diversity of academic disciplines in the Broad Economic and Management Sciences. Almost half of the faculty's 8000 students are at various postgraduate levels, with the USB as a postgraduate business school accounting for a large share of that portfolio. 

The USB was founded in Stellenbosch and relocated to Bellville in the early 1970s to service the business community in Cape Town's Northern suburbs and as part of the SU's strategy to expand part-time education. In 1986 the USB moved to its current premises at Bellville Park Campus.  

​​​​The Faculty of Engineering at Stellenbosch University recently received confirmation that the new BEng degree in Data Engineering will be fully accredited by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) for registration as Professional Engineer. Through the agreements in the Washington Accord this means that the degree will also be accepted in a number of other countries as the required academic qualification for registration as professional engineer. These countries include the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. See the full list here. 

This degree will be a specialisation stream in the existing undergraduate degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, the BEng (E&E). The purpose of this new specialisation in Data Engineering is to prepare engineers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution where the world of work has fundamentally changed and there is a deluge of data that needs to be structured, modelled and analysed to enable data-led organisations to discover the underlying knowledge and make well-informed decisions. 

Data engineers are responsible for the discovery of trends in data sets and the development of algorithms to help make raw data more useful. This requires a significant set of technical skills, including a deep knowledge of database design and multiple programming languages. Data engineers are often responsible for building algorithms to give easier access to structured and unstructured data, but this requires an understanding of an organisation's objectives in using large datasets. Data engineers need excellent communication skills to interface with various stakeholders inside and outside the organisation in order to understand what business leaders want to gain from Big Data and also to present their findings in a manner that can be easily understood by the audience.

Data Engineering encompasses all tasks required to make data available for analytics, knowledge discovery and decision-making processes. The main task of the data engineer is to develop and maintain an organisation's data pipeline systems, and to implement algorithms to transform data into a useful format for analysis. The tasks of a data engineer include the collection of data, storing data, data synchronisation, data transformation, data cleansing, data governance, and the development of data models. 

There are still a limited number of places available for first-year students who want to enrol for this new degree in 2020. Prospective students interested in pursuing a career in Data Engineering are encouraged to directly contact the Chair of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Prof Herman Engelbrecht, at ee@sun.ac.za or tel 021 808 2139.  Only learners with a sustained distinction in mathematics will be considered at this late stage.

Industry partners can contact the Dean, Prof Wikus van Niekerk (wikus@sun.ac.za, 021 808 4204) for more information.

​Finding space on Prof Anton van Niekerk’s bookshelves is as difficult as securing parking in Stellenbosch. An even harder task is to find someone who stands neutral towards the ideas that this philosopher and bioethics expert expresses in his books, articles and talks. Over the years, he has tackled a range of topics – from HIV, racism and the role of universities to the dying process, euthanasia language issues and the payment of E-tolls.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution will be his topic when he presents the next Forward with Research Impact lecture, on Wednesday 23 October at 13:00 in the Old Main Building on campus. Van Niekerk will discuss the medical-ethical implications that could result from the race to improve people’s functioning, longevity and quality of life through robotics, bionic interventions and other forms of technology.

Prof van Niekerk’s impact on a national and international level as thinker and philosopher has its roots in his school years, some 50 years ago. Today, he is the last remaining academic at Stellenbosch University to have been appointed as professor back in the 1980s. Recently, his appointment as distinguished professor and founding director of the Centre for Applied Ethics was extended to 2023, when he will turn 70.

The work of the Centre focuses on the ethics behind biomedical developments, the business sector, the environment and more recently also socio-politics. It was founded in 1990, and in 1996 a masters degree and doctoral programme was also added. Along with his colleagues, Van Niekerk has since supervised the studies of 100 graduates.

“It’s the one aspect about my career that I really feel good about,” says van Niekerk.

In his office in the SU Arts and Social Science Building, he points out rows of red, blue and green dissertations: “Our test tubes stand on these shelves.”

Connections with Stellenbosch

Van Niekerk recons he has been lucky to have spent his life in “two of South Africa’s most beautiful towns”, Knysna and Stellenbosch. He was born in 1953 in Brits in the Northwest, by far the youngest of three children. When he was six years old his father (a bank manager) was transferred to Knysna because of health reasons. In turn, Van Niekerk Junior was relocated to Paul Roos Gymnasium in his thirteenth year to start high school in 1967. Thus began his five decade long relationship with Stellenbosch.

At his Grade 11 prizegiving, Van Niekerk received an Afrikaans book about influential thinkers, but did not really understand too much about its contents. The same could be said when, in matric, he heard a philosopher speak for the first time. It was Prof Hennie Rossouw of the SU Department of Philosophy, who elaborated on the essence of science to the science club of his school. (Rossouw would later become his study leader and mentor).

“Something did tickle me, though. I knew that I ought to like it,” remembers Van Niekerk, who only very late in his matric year decided not to pursue his long-held aspirations of becoming a doctor.

Van Niekerk, who was admitted as a minister to the Dutch Reformed Church, explains his change of heart as such: “Typical of what happens to a 17-year old, I had a religious experience and decided to become a minister.”

Some of his teachers, however, insisted that he take Philosophy along with subjects such as Greek as part of his BA qualifications that would lead to admission to the Theological Seminary.

“Within two classes, I was hooked. Hooked,” he adamantly recollects.

In those years, Theology students were allowed to register for two graduate programmes at the same time. Van Niekerk took up the opportunity and started with an honours degree in Philosophy along with his first year at the Theological Seminary. Much hard work and discipline later, he eventually received five qualifications within five years – all cum laude. After completing his masters degree studies in 1980, he also received the Chancellor’s Medal as the best final year student at Stellenbosch University.

In 1977 he was offered a substitute position as a lecturer in political science, a subject he was not well versed in. Van Niekerk subsequently took a break from the Theological Seminary and his masters’ degree studies to read up on the philosophy behind political science and its ideologies, and to focus on his responsibilities as head student of Eendrag hostel.

“The lecturing position made me financially independent, which I was very grateful for,” he remembers his first position at SU.

Back at the Theological Seminary in 1978, he also started to lecture part-time in Philosophy. The next year, he was accepted as a minister, and married his wife, Amy. Because of conscription, he became a chaplain at 2 Military Hospital in Wynberg. It forced him to make the best of his uneasiness around sick people. On the one hand he realised that he did not have a pastoral heart. On the other, he realised that you need to understand the essence of theology very well if you want to make a difference in the lives of the sick and dying.

“Their questions cannot simply be answered with niceties and little books filled with nothings. People grapple with fundamental theological questions. About God. About the meaning of life and that type of thing,” he underlines every word sermonically. 

At the time, academic posts in Philosophy were rare to come by. Therefore, the newlywed and soon to be father of three boys reckoned that joining a congregation would have to be the next logical step for him. If it had to be, it would be on his terms.

“I was happy to go into the ministry, but not at all cost. I was quite adamant about it,” he remembers.

Quite unexpectedly, the ideal opportunity that he had hoped for arrived in the form of a lectureship in the SU Department of Philosophy.

“It just fell from the sky. I was not expecting it. I don’t believe in metaphysical explanations, but I reckoned that if it had to be the will of some or other higher power, it was what it was. And I’m still here today,” he grins.

Philosophy and bioethics

Along with his new position, van Niekerk started with his doctoral studies in 1981 about religious-philosophical issues. This he would receive in 1983. For 25 years thereafter, he spent one semester trying to explain to his first year students that the essence of philosophy cannot be summarised into a cute bumper sticker.

Van Niekerk leans heavily on his arms behind stacks of rainbow coloured files as he explains: “The question about what philosophy is, is itself already a philosophical question. Your efforts to answer it is itself a philosophical exercise in philosophising.”

To him, a philosopher’s work isn’t research, but rather contemplations. He makes it all seem deceptively easy: “It’s thinking about thoughts and ideas. You read. You read a lot. Secondly, you think about what you have read. Thirdly, you discuss what you are doing, especially when you are still busy with your doctoral studies. Lastly, you write a meaningful argument, and you publish it.”

Van Niekerk views Philosophy as both the most theoretic subject and the most practical of disciplines that one can pursue on university level. That’s because contemplations about especially ethical concepts and ideas often lead to policy changes, and how people view their bodies, scientific innovations, the environment and business practices.

He also recons that bioethics and decisions about what is morally possible in the medical sciences are both the oldest and youngest disciplines within the Western culture. Its roots lie in ancient times and Hippocrates’ oath for physicians. Bioethics gained momentum after the Second World War and the race-based experimental atrocities that were committed in the name of medical science. By the sixties, the first kidney dialysis and heart transplants provided food for though. Human rights and better guidelines about the treatment of people who were part of studies became more pronounced.

Van Niekerk recons that he took his first tentative steps in the field of bioethics during his year as a chaplain. Later, in the 1980s, he was invited to a discussion group about biomedical issues by one of his theology professors, Prof Danie du Toit. The fruitful contemplations between law experts, doctors and phycologists would eventually lead to the establishment of the Centre for Applied Ethics at Stellenbosch University, and in the Department of Philosophy.

At the time, his mentor, Prof Rossouw, was vice-rector. He gave him “the best advice ever”: to keep things general and not focus on bioethics when naming the centre. This decision would allow for the inclusion of other subject matter, such as business ethics.

Public intellectual

“Hennie (Rossouw) taught me a lot about academia and philosophy,” he says by way of thanking one of his mentors. “From Willie Esterhuyse I learnt about life, and how to operate as a public intellectual.”

It’s a function that often elicits comments for and against him. Once he was even attacked in his own office by someone who vehemently disagreed with him.

To have something to say and to be public about it can be tough, but is important to do, he believes. As he once said in a newspaper article: “I participate in public discourse about relevant issues – not because I want to be wantonly wilful or controversial, but because I believe that frank discussions are the lifeblood of a healthy democracy.”

​​“My experience of Russel Botman in the late 1990s showed a visionary scholar and ecumenist who was very clear about the urgency of the task of unmasking injustice in every form."

These were the words of Reverend Dr Setri Nyomi, who delivered the fifth Russel Botman memorial lecture at the faculty of Theology last week (17 October 2019).

Rev Dr Nyomi is a Ghanaian theologian who has served as a General Secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. He is an ecumenical leader known for his commitment to the mission of the church and its relevance to the 21^st century.

In his talk, titled Justice for all. The time for change is now, Rev Dr Nyomi said, for the late Prof Botman, unmasking injustice was already an urgent task even in the 1990s. “The time for engaging in this enterprise was not in some distant future. It had been now for Russel. Therefore, to talk about 'now' is actually understating the urgency," said Rev Dr Nyomi.

Rev Dr Nyomi gave a continental overview of injustices that happened in Africa since colonialism.

 “As a young minister of the then Dutch Reformed Mission Church, Russel had a very strong ecumenical vision with a core component of leadership in the area of justice; I met Russel in that context," he added.

In closing, Rev Dr Nyomi spoke about how he had heard about this young South African theologian whose thinking was making waves in the Reformed family worldwide. He said their conversations were focussed around the urgency of the task of breaking the chains of injustice.

The Russel Botman Memorial Lecture is presented by the Faculty of Theology and the Beyers Naudé Centre for Public Theology at Stellenbosch University (SU) and the curatoria of the Dutch Reformed Church and the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa. The lecture honours the values and life of the late rector and vice-chancellor of SU who passed away on 28 June 2014.

Dr Beryl Botman, wife to the late Prof Botman, gave a vote of thanks towards the end of the night. She said, as the Botman family, they insisted on expressing gratitude. “We are thankful for his life, and everything he has done, long live Russel," she added.

Prof Ingrid Woolgard, Dean at the Faculty of Economic Management Sciences at Stellenbosch University, responded to the keynote address.

Prof Woolgard thanked Rev Dr Nyomi for his provocative continental talk. “We need to work toward access to health care, higher education, lack of housing and shelter. Social inequalities in South Africa signify injustices, deprivation and hardships.

“To reduce inequality means to redistribute resource; policies need to shift. There has to be a capping for executive pays, job guarantee schemes and more generous social protection."

The recipients of the Russel Botman Bursary Fund (RBBF) were introduced and an appeal for donations was made to friends, family and colleagues to contribute to the fund in lieu of gifts.

The late Prof Russel Botman's passion for creating opportunities for deserving students to gain access to higher education, led to him establishing the Russel Botman Fund on his 60^th birthday on 18 October 2013.

This year's Russel Botman Bursary Fund recipients are:

• Emma Jane Poole: BA Humanities (final year)
• Jeffrey Ngobeni: Postgraduate Diploma in Theology
• Ayanda Bless: BSc Occupational Therapy (third year)
• Hayden Damon: BA Social Work (third year)
• Headman Ntlapo: Posgraduate Diploma in Theology
• Narissa Pieters: BSc Agri (Viticulture) (final year)
• Nandipha Dlamini: BSc Agri (Animal Science) (final year)
• Nomalinge Mzaza: BSc Food Science (final year)
• Robyn Snyman: LLB (final year)

The therapeutic benefits of gardening and spending time in a green space are well-known, and now the Bishop Lavis Rehabilitation Centre, a student-driven primary care facility on the Cape Flats, is starting to reap the rewards of its own vegetable garden that was established early this year.

“A lot of our patients either garden as a leisure activity or as an occupation and we needed a garden to use in therapy with these patients," says Maatje Kloppers, senior occupational therapist and joint manager at the Bishop Lavis Rehabilitation Centre.

The rehab centre offers occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech-language and hearing therapy, as well as dietetics and primary health care in collaboration with the Bishop Lavis Community Day Centre, and the majority of these services is provided by students from Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, with supervision from staff.

According to Kloppers, the vegetable garden was started by two male volunteers, who are former patients of the Bishop Lavis Rehab Centre. “John Jackson and Adam Solomon are avid gardeners and initially tried to set up a garden on the outside of the rehab centre with grey water during the Cape drought. Their efforts were thwarted, though, when most of their produce was stolen before they could harvest. So, as soon as there was some relief from the drought, we started setting up a container garden in the quad of the rehab centre in January this year," Klopper recalls.

Jackson and Solomon use pallet wood to build planting containers in different sizes and heights (to accommodate patients in wheelchairs and patients that cannot bend down) and are very proud of their harvests.

 “Gardening has many benefits for patients with disabilities," says Jackson. “Together with Adam, I enjoy showing the patients all the skills that they can perform using their hands. I am grateful that I can live out my passion for gardening and at the same time help others at the rehab centre."

Kloppers explains that the garden is used for individual patient treatment. “The occupational therapy students teach the patients adapted ways of gardening after a disability. The engagement of our patients, once they see that it is a real garden, and their spontaneous ideas of how they can make adaptions at home is how we know we have a good thing going," she says. “What is good to see is that the students also learn from the patients, who often have a wealth of knowledge on gardening. This results in a true team effort to gain more independence for the patient."

Kloppers adds that gardening has been included in the occupational therapy (OT) curriculum as part of activity study for the first-year OT students. “We are collaborating with the Ukwanda Rural Clinical School in Worcester where their gardener presents a morning lecture to the class and they come and garden in Bishop Lavis in smaller practical groups. Half of the class has had the experience so far and their response was amazing – they are so engaged with the activity and enjoy the interaction with the gardeners with disabilities, as part of the experience."

Besides providing a green therapy space, the garden also offers fresh produce that is used to make soup for patients during winter. “Producing our own veggies saves us from having to fundraise for the ingredients," says Kloppers. "It is our dream that the garden produces enough food to feed all of our patients when they attend an appointment at the centre."

Kloppers hopes that the garden can be used for all professions at the rehab centre in the future, either as a treatment space or as an activity to improve patients' skill in gardening.

"We also envision starting a garden club with community members interested in gardening – a group led by Adam and John to exchange ideas, seeds and veggies, and to encourage community members to produce veggies themselves and strive towards food security," she adds.

Photo caption: Students, personnel and pasients work together on the garden at Bishop Lavis Rehabilitation Centre.

Photo credit: Wilma Stassen

Bringing children's needs to the forefront of the global TB response, Stellenbosch University has signed a large new grant agreement with Unitaid, an international organisation that invests in innovations to prevent, diagnose and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria more quickly, affordably and effectively. The project aims to develop child-friendly treatments and preventive therapy against multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

The grant, valued at over R280 million (US$18.9 million), will be used to develop and evaluate child-friendly treatments for MDR-TB and assess regimens to prevent the onset of the disease. The agreement was signed earlier in October and will run through 2022.

The project, titled “Better Evidence and Formulations for Improved MDR-TB Treatment for Children" (BENEFIT Kids), funded and supported by Unitaid, is expected to go a long way in reducing the burden of this dangerous but treatable form of TB.

“Children have been largely neglected to date in the global response to MDR-TB and they deserve better. We are excited that, through Unitaid's investment in this innovative project, Stellenbosch University and its partners can contribute to addressing this inequity by improving access for children to better, more child-friendly MDR-TB treatment and prevention," said the project lead, Professor Anthony Garcia-Prats at the Desmond Tutu TB Centre (DTTC), Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University. Garcia-Prats is also affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States.

“In addition to treating MDR-TB in children, effective strategies to prevent the disease will have an impact on reducing morbidity and mortality in children exposed to MDR-TB," said Professor Anneke Hesseling, Director of the DTTC and project co-lead.

More than 95% of children with MDR-TB in the world do not currently receive treatment. And among those who do, most are treated with drug regimens that are long, bad tasting, toxic, often causing severe side effects, such as irreversible hearing loss, and composed mostly of adult tablets that must be crushed.

Estimates also show that currently as many as 2 million children are infected with drug-resistant strains of TB bacteria but have not yet progressed to active disease. A lack of high-quality evidence limits access to treatments that could prevent TB disease from developing in most of these children.

“The BENEFIT Kids project holds great promise in the fight against TB superbugs and is critical if we are to protect the future of thousands of children exposed to this dangerous form of TB," said Unitaid Executive Director Lelio Marmora.

The project will increase access to quality-assured MDR-TB medicines that are child-friendly, which is a major advance given the historical neglect of children with TB in the global response to the epidemic. BENEFIT Kids project aims to achieve this by:

• Strengthening the evidence on optimal dosing, safety, efficacy, acceptability and costs of medications for treatment and prevention of MDR-TB in children, which is an important step in creating policies that can impact clinical care.

• Developing child-friendly formulations for MDR-TB treatment and preventive therapies that taste better, are of appropriate strength and can also be given to young children who cannot swallow tablets.

• Shaping the market for these better formulations for kids.

The project will not only protect thousands of children from this life-threatening disease but also save costs for health systems by preventing the massive treatment costs currently required to treat active MDR-TB disease in children.

BENEFIT Kids project will be implemented in three countries: South Africa, India and the Philippines. Stellenbosch University will work with several key partners including the TB Alliance, University of California San Francisco, Johns Hopkins University, De La Salle University Medical Centre in the Philippines, BJ Medical College in India, Uppsala University in Sweden and Chiang Mai University in Thailand.

Caption: Representatives from Unitaid and Stellenbosch University recently met to discuss the BENEFIT Kids project.

Photo credit: Wilma Stassen

​Stellenbosch University (SU) (through its Development and Rule of Law Programme), the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt)  recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). With this important cooperation agreement, signed on 10 October 2019, SU enters the realm of academic diplomacy and policy development. On behalf of SU the MoU was signed by Professor Eugene Cloete (Vice-Rector, Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies) and Professor Oliver Ruppel (Director, Development and Rule of Law Programme).

On behalf of the PAP, the MoU was signed by its President the Rt. Hon. Roger Nkodo Dang. The PAP is an organ of the African Union established to ensure the full participation of African peoples in the development and economic integration of the continent with its objectives including to promote peace, security and stability, the principles of human rights and democracy in Africa and encourage good governance. In support of this mandate, SU’s Development and Rule of Law Programme (DROP) which was founded in 2012 is now tasked to cooperate with the PAP in the context of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with regard to policy development projects. The focus here lies on reconciling the tensions between environmental sustainability, economic development, and human welfare, with a view on burning legal, political, economic and social developments in Africa. DROP is affiliated to SU’s Water Institute and the Faculty of Law. Its activities are trans-disciplinary in nature, with a strong legal and socio-political focus on climate change, justice, sustainability and transformation.

The two partners, PAP and DROP are supported by the German Environment Agency (UBA) which is Germany’s central federal authority for environmental matters under the supervision of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). Dr Harald Ginzky, a Director at UBA strongly encouraged the MoU between the three parties teaming up in SDG diplomacy and policy development for the benefit of the African continent and beyond.

The main objective of the new partnership is to implement the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 sustainability agenda effectively. As a first project the partners team up on the issue of land degradation neutrality (SDG target 15.3) and sustainable soil management on the continent. The Project is financially supported by the German Ministry for Development Cooperation (BMZ), through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). It aims at developing a Model Legislation for Sustainable Soil Management in Africa. Professor Eugene Cloete at the occasion expressed that DROP and SU at large together with UBA are breaking ground in Africa in terms of SDG diplomacy, providing policy makers with non-prescriptive but highly qualified policy advice. 

For more information on DROP, please visit: 
https://drop.sun.ac.za/

​​​​Through her work at Stellenbosch University (SU), Nondumisa Phenyane hopes to impact the lives of many young people.

Growing up in the dusty streets of Kwa Debeka in KwaZulu-Natal, Nondumisa had no idea her life would be what it is today.

Nationally recognised for her contribution to the law sector, and celebrated as one of Stellenbosch University's (SU) youngest black lecturers in the Faculty of Law, the 28-year-old says she aims to contribute towards transformation at the institution.

Expressing her passion for the youth, justice and equality, Nondumiso says: “We often expect young people in urban townships to make good decisions, but we seldom consider how much of a tall order it is to achieve this when you are mostly surrounded by brokenness. Through my work as an academic and a businessperson, I hope to affirm and uplift young people in urban townships.

“Working as an academic at SU, I want to contribute to the transformation of a predominantly white profession, and I believe young black students would like to see people who look like them in lecture rooms."

At the Faculty of Law, Nondumiso teaches the Law of Evidence and Mercantile Law and has the responsibility of being the course convener for the Law of Evidence course at the faculty. She holds a Bachelor of Social Science, postgraduate Bachelor of Law (LLB) and is currently reading for her LLM. She was also named one of 2019's Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans in the education category.

“Being on the list is an affirmation that I am doing something right and that I am on the right track," says the young lecturer.

Nondumiso shares the story of how she had to deal with losing her mother at the tender age of nine years. “Life had not always been easy for me and my sibling. We moved around quite a bit until she lost the battle to HIV/Aids.

“When my mother passed away, our maternal grandmother and aunt took both me and my sister in and ensured that we had a 'normal' childhood and upbringing. The move to my grandmother's house gave us the freedom to be children. We played, had big dreams and most importantly, we had people who believed in these dreams with us," she says.

Prior to joining SU, Nondumiso worked as a legal researcher at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein and during her time there, she worked on high-profile cases such as Gauteng vs Oscar Pistorius and Van Breda vs Media24 Limited.

Nondumiso hopes to publish extensively on the topic of access to justice and eventually obtain a professorship at Stellenbosch University.

“Access to justice is the ability to seek remedy either through formal or informal institutions of justice in conformity with human rights standards." Nondumiso says her research interest is of critical importance, as traditional means to justice are either slow or expensive, especially for South Africans living in townships.

 “I hope that my work in this field will lead to the legitimation of informal community tribunals. I would also like to graduate with my Legum Magister (LLM) and proceed to a Legum Doctor (LLD) over the next few years," she adds. 

​SU has a significant impact on the Stellenbosch Municipal area, a recent study by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) found.

The aim of the study was to provide a credible and rigorous assessment of the economic contribution of the university on the local economy. This was done by means of an economic impact assessment that used the university's operating and capital expenditure as well as spending by staff and students as an estimate of the initial impact of the university.

Importantly, because the purpose was to estimate the impact on the local economy, the study had to estimate the local proportion of student and staff as well as university spending. For staff and students, surveys were employed to determine the total expenditure and to estimate the proportion of the expenditure occurring within the Stellenbosch region for both local residents as well as staff and students residing outside of the area.

For University expenditure, the location of the supplier also had to be determined to exclude suppliers from outside the region. The spending occurring outside of the region undoubtedly has a significant positive economic impact on the Western Cape, and even South Africa as a whole, but the analysis was restricted to the local impact.

As a result of multiplier effects, the total economy-wide impact of the university community stretches far beyond its initial expenditure in the local economy. Indeed, the study found that the economic impact on output was estimated to be R5, 6 billion in 2018. Output is the broadest measure of economic activity and includes all sales and transactions that were triggered by the initial injection of demand.

*The article appears in the latest edition of the Stellenbosch University Research Publication. Click here to read more. 

In three recent papers, South African biologists and environmentalists have listed pertinent research priorities for the next decade. These could help steer the protection of the country's plant and animal wealth, and that of the Cape Floristic Region in particular. The authors believe that the priorities set out could go a long way in addressing key threats raised in the National Biodiversity Assessment, released earlier this month.

The articles were drafted through a collaborative effort between local and international scientists. Issues such as environmental change, disasters, fencing, the wildlife trade, accelerated land reform and land use changes are highlighted. The researchers involved say the issues raised are often cross-cutting and interdisciplinary. In most cases, solving them requires a joint effort between researchers in the biological and social sciences and humanities, as well as much-needed buy-in from communities, practitioners and members of the public.

“A key message emerging from all three of these papers is that the biological sciences alone cannot solve the challenges facing our biodiversity,“ says Prof Karen Esler of Stellenbosch University's Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, who contributed to all three publications. “It will also require interdiscipinarity, strategic communication, education and engagement.

Focus on the Mediterranean region

A paper setting out research priorities for the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) was published in the South African Journal of Science. The CFR is one of the key Mediterranean climate regions, and one of the world's six unique biomes.

Seven themes are listed as priorities and activities for its conservation over the next decade. These are:

• Effective conservation management.
• The adequate detection and understanding of change, through monitoring, identifying key indicators and setting thresholds.
• Improved governance and action towards effective conservation.
• Making the case that biodiversity supports critical ecosystem services.
• The need to make biodiversity a shared concern.
• Securing sustainable funding for biodiversity conservation.
• Better communication between conservationists and scientists.

The paper was co-authored by Nicky Allsopp of the Fynbos Node of the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON), Dr Jasper Slingsby of SAEON and the University of Cape Town and Prof Karen Esler of Stellenbosch University.

“The conservation community whose opinion we sought recognises implicitly that research in multiple disciplines as well as interdisciplinary approaches are required to address societal, governance and biological issues in a changing environment to secure the conservation of the Cape Floristic Region," says lead author Nicky Allsopp.

The drafting of priorities for the Cape Floristic Region flows from a much broader collaborative effort that collated the imminent research concerns for the world's Mediterranean climate regions. From government officials, researchers and environmental consultants to landowners, farmers, business people and the mining sector were surveyed.

The effort was organized jointly by members of the Society for Conservation Biology—Europe Section, a network of professionals working on biodiversity conservation, and the International Society of Mediterranean Ecologists (ISOMED). The latter promotes research, conservation, and public awareness of the biological diversity of the world's Mediterranean-climate regions that typically experience dry summers and wet winters. These regions include several biodiversity hotspots spread across five regions of the planet (Europe, Africa, North and South America, and Australia). In South Africa, the Western and part of the Eastern Cape typically experience such climates, and the region's unique fynbos biodiversity is partly a result of it

Research priorities for the world's Mediterranean climate regions were listed in a paper in the journal Conservation Science and Practice. Overarching issues such as climate change, the governance of human activity inside and outside of protected areas, the management of fire and species, as well as the need for greater public engagement are listed. Lead author of the paper, Francisco Moreira, is associated with two Portuguese universities and the Society for Conservation Biology.

Emerging priorities for South Africa

In an unrelated exercise, a paper framing biodiversity conservation priorities for South Africa appeared In Ambio, a journal about the human environment. With Colleen Seymour, principal scientist of the South African National Biodiversity Institute in Cape Town as lead author, it was collaboratively compiled by 17 South African researchers from local universities and research institutions.

According to Seymour, the emerging priorities identified stem from the first so-called “horizon scan" for biodiversity conservation in the country and on the African continent.

Horizon scans highlight emerging scientific and social priorities that are either new or may be experiencing a sharp increase in intensity in the next five to ten years, and if tackled appropriately could have the biggest impact.

The ten most important emerging threats and opportunities facing the conservation of South Africa's biodiversity are (in no particular order):

• Growing populism.
• Disaster management focused on short-term decisions that might override biodiversity conservation.
• Accelerated land reform and land-use change.
• Foreign global development goals.
• A marked increase in the extent of impermeable fencing that is often lethal to wildlife.
• Domestication and commodification of wildlife, which could change the way in which ecosystems function.
• People becoming disengaged with nature, through increased urbanisation and technology use.
• Use of “nudging" to steer people towards making biodiversity-friendly choices.
• Use of weather radar data to monitor flying insects and to generate time-series data on insect abundance and distribution, and so guide their conservation.
• Better monitoring of disease epidemics to reduce infectious diseases potentially spreading between humans, livestock and wild animals.

According to Seymour and her co-authors, none of these emerging issues is truly “unsolvable" or “chaotic". Three out of the ten issues can be resolved by improved science alone, but the remainder would require social, economic and political engagement with communities and policy makers.

“Many of the issues are relevant to other countries in the region, if not the continent, given the shared socio-economic and biodiversity characteristics of many African countries," she adds.

References (copies of the papers can be requested from kje@sun.ac.za)

Allsopp, N., Slingsby, J., Esler, K.J. (2019). Identifying research questions for the conservation of the Cape Floristic Region. South African Journal of Science 115(9/10), Art. #5889, 8 pages. https://doi. org/10.17159/sajs.2019/5889 Open Access link: https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/5889

Moreira, F., Allsopp, N., Esler, K.J., Wardell-Johnson, G., Ancillotto, L., Arianoutsou, M., Clary, J., Brotons, L., Clavero, M., Dimitrakopoulos, P.G., Fagoaga, R., Fiedler, P., Filipe, A.F., Frankenberg, E., Holmgren, M., Marquet, P.A., Martinez-Harms, M.J., Martinoli, A., Miller, B.P., Olsvig-Whittaker, L., Pliscoff, P., Rundel, P., Russo, D., Slingsby, J.A., Thompson, J., Wardell-Johnson, A., Beja, P. (2019) Priority questions for biodiversity conservation in the Mediterranean biome: heterogenous perspectives across continents and stakeholders. Conservation Science and Practice, Early Online. DOI: 10.1111/csp2.118

Seymour, C.L., Gillson, L., Child, M., Tolley, K.A., Curie, J., da Silva, J.M., Alexander, G.J., Anderson, P., Downs, C.T., Egoh, B., Ehlers Smith, D.A., Ehlers, Y. C., Esler, K.J., O'farrell, P.J., Skowno, A.L., Suleman, E., Veldtman, R. (2019). Horizon scanning for South African biodiversity: a need for social engagement as well as science. Ambio, 

With an overall increase in the number of cyber-attacks on individuals and organisations alike, we need more than just creating awareness; we also need to urgently work on creating and providing better and more secure (software) systems, as well as update our legal systems – all of which are not easy challenges.

This is the view of cybersecurity expert, Prof Bruce Watson from the Department of Information Science at Stellenbosch University. With October being Cyber Security Month, Watson says more and more people and organisations are being confronted with messages encouraging them to take steps in protecting themselves against actions of cyber criminals within cyber space.

“This is crucial given for instance the current increases in phishing attacks which are fraudulent practices of sending emails purporting to be from reputable departments/companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers, or scam them out of their money.

“If an organisation's systems are not adequately protected, they are vulnerable to attacks, whereby law-abiding citizens and business data may be exposed and exploited by cyber criminals posing as banks or even government departments, resulting in unsuspecting citizens and business owners being defrauded out of their money through no fault of their own."

Watson says it is largely the private sector that seems to be championing cybersecurity awareness initiatives, with the South African government lagging behind still.

“As such, a cyber-security savvy citizen will only help to expose the gaps within the government when it comes to dealing with issues of cybersecurity. And as technology advances, more and more citizens will demand services that require the government to protect them from cyber-attacks." 

Watson does acknowledge that cybersecurity can be tough, adding that there are various reasons for this.

“First of all, cyber space doesn't obey to the normal rules of the world. As such, it is not enough to 'live in a good neighbourhood' in order to be safe from a cyber-attack. More and more, everything is interconnected and we can get cyber-attacked by accident, and at long distance. The internet is also easily anonymous, making attribution a problem as well."

Ideally, these are criminal activities that have to be reported to the authorities and prosecuted according to a particular law. At the least, we need to be able to identify the applicable laws that are transgressed and then be aware of the processes that we have to follow to bring the criminals to book."

Watson says that at the moment, however, South Africa does not have much. He points out that the only legal document that deals with cybersecurity and cybercrime matters is the National Cybersecurity Policy Framework (NCPF), which was adopted by Cabinet in 2012.

“We also have the Cybercrimes Bill, which until late 2018 was called the Cybersecurity and Cybercrimes Bill, but until the Bill has been signed and becomes an Act, nothing much can be done to address the issues raised. Furthermore, the signing of the Bill will not automatically make us safer, as it requires a transition that will take time, whereby the case system of the police will have to be adapted, the evidence chain will have to be aligned and adapted, prosecutors will have to be trained, as well as the judges, etc."

Watson says it is therefore very important that we up our cybersecurity defences, not just where normal citizens or users are concerned, but also for builders of systems (software), as well as the security of our nation as a whole.

“In the end, we all depend on lots of technology: from electricity, to banking to airports and airplanes, to entertainment. If those things fail, the impact can range from merely causing an annoyance to inflicting major economic damage."

Watson says people can protect themselves from becoming victims of cyber-attacks by not clicking on links that are suspicious (especially in emails), not just opening attachments and making sure their devices and anti-virus software are updated.

“Do not use public or free Wi-Fi for personal or banking transactions, it is dangerous. Make use of a virtual private network (VPN) instead. And remember: If it is free, you are the product," adds Watson.

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES ONLY

Prof Bruce Watson

Department of Information Science

Stellenbosch University

Tel: 021 808 2027

Email: bwwatson@sun.ac.za

ISSUED BY

Martin Viljoen

Manager: Media

Corporate Communication

Stellenbosch University

Tel: 021 808 4921

Email: viljoenm@sun.ac.za

​​The names of the overall winners of the Faculty's 9th top lecturer competition sponsored by Die Burger, were announced at a gala event on Friday evening (18 October) at Beyerskloof Wine Estate. Lize-Marie Sahd and Sophia Brink, both chartered accountants of the School of Accountancy, won the top undergraduate and top postgraduate categories respectively.

This year the competition differed slightly from previous competitions as undergraduate and postgraduate students voted separately for their best undergraduate and postgraduate lecturers respectively.

Awarding top lecturers was the initiative of Mr Koos Bekker of Naspers, who was also backing it by means of a sponsorship. The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences seized the opportunity and organised the first top lecturer competition in 2011 in cooperation with Die Burger. The faculty is the only of the SU faculties to hold the competition.

The top departmental undergraduate lecturers are:

• Prof Edwin Theron (Business Management),
• Dr Debra Shepherd (Economics),
• Mr Marius Meyer (Industrial Psychology),
• Mr Melrick October (Logistics),
• Ms Lize-Marie Sahd (School of Accountancy),
• Dr Ruenda Loots (School of Public Leadership), and
• Mr Luca Steyn (Statistics and Actuarial Science).

The top departmental postgraduate lecturers are:

• Prof Pierre Erasmus (Business Management),
• Dr Debra Shepherd  (Economics),
• Dr Samantha Adams & Mr Marius Meyer (Industrial Psychology),
• Prof Leila Goedhals-Gerber (Logistics),
• Mrs Sophia Brink (School of Accountancy), and
• Prof Willie Conr adie (Statistics and Actuarial Science).

According to Prof Ingrid Woolard, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, Die Burger is enabling the Faculty to acknowledge excellence in teaching. “We take pride in this student-centred competition.

“From students' feedback, it is clear that the same 'old' values still hold true: lecturers have to be able to teach well and explain difficult concepts in such a way that students will understand them," she added.

The names of 10 students who participated in the voting, were drawn in a lucky draw. They received cash prizes of R1 500 each. They are: Caitlin Stanton; Phillip Falck; Sasha-Lee Gerber; Nyasha Mahurayi; Michaela Christophers; Sarah-Jane Wright; Caragh Groeneveld; Anél Swanepoel; Lené Koegelenberg and Kayla Matthews. Sasha-Lee Gerber, a BAccHons student, also won a Huawei smartphone at the prizewinning function.

• ​Photo by Anton Jordaan: The top departmental undergraduate and postgraduate lecturers​ are (f.l.t.r.) Marius Meyer (Industrial Psychology - winner of the undergraduate category as well as joint winner with Dr Samantha Adams of the postgraduate category of Industrial Psychology), Prof Leila Goedhals-Gerber (Logistics - postgraduate), Dr Ruenda Loots (School of Public Leadership - undergraduate), Dr Debra Shepherd (Economics - undergraduate and postgraduate ), Luca Steyn (Statistics and Actuarial Science - undergraduate), Lize-Marie Sahd (School of Accountancy - undergraduate), Sophia Brink (School of Accountancy - postgraduate), Prof Willie Conradie (Statistics and Actuarial Science - postgraduate), Prof Edwin Theron (Business Management - undergraduate) and Melrick October (Logistics - undergraduate). Absent: Prof Pierre Erasmus (Business Management - postgraduate) and Dr Samantha Adams (joint winner with Marius Meyer of the postgraduate category of Industrial Psychology).
  
  
• Photo on the right by Anton Jordaan: The Faculty's top undergraduate lecturer of 2019 is Mrs Lize-Marie Sahd (left) and the top postgraduate lecturer is Mrs Sophia Brink.