When the matric results are published, staff of Stellenbosch University will also be looking for the names of learners whose lives they have affected this year – through initiatives such as the Hope@Maties project, the satellite broadcasts of extra classes to learners in a number of provinces, and through career counselling on study choices.

Hope@Maties

About 230 matriculants have received extra classes over weekends or during school holidays thanks to the Hope@Maties project in centres such as Mossel Bay, Genadendal, Oudtshoorn, Malmesbury Mitchells Plain and Stellenbosch.

"Hope@Maties is a strategic partnership project with schools through which Grade 12 learners receive additional tutoring from top teachers and assigned SU personnel," says Dr Trevor van Louw, head of the Stellenbosch University Centre for Pedagogy (SUNCEP).

"Learners are invited to take part based on their Grade 11 marks, and must achieve at least 70% to qualify," explains Dr Van Louw.

Besides additional tutorials and exercises in specific subjects, the learners also receive career counselling. They are also assisted with their applications for studies and places in hostels at SU, as well as in obtaining recruitment bursaries.

Some of the Hope@Maties Grade 12s from Malmesbury, Robertson, Worcester and Caledon have in their earlier high school years also benefited from extra science and maths afternoon classes being presented thanks to the Area Health Education Centres project. This initiative, aimed at Grade 7 to 11 leaners, has been driven by the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences since 2012, in collaboration with the Faculty of Education.

"The aim is to upskill the maths and science marks of learners in rural areas, in an effort to help them qualify for tertiary education and possible studies in medicine, engineering or science," says Dr Kalay Moodley, project manager of the Area Health Education Centres project.

Extra classes thanks to satellite broadcasts

A much larger group of matriculants nationwide received additional classes until August. This they did by tuning in to interactive satellite broadcasts in specially equipped classrooms at their schools in the afternoons. The lessons were broadcast thanks to SU's telematics services. The group included Grade 12s from 146 Western Cape and 100 Northern Cape schools, as well as a few schools in other centres in South Africa. The service was also recently extended to 46 Eastern Cape schools.

These extra classes are all arranged according to the national curriculum and scheduled by die Western Cape Department of Education. They are presented by a competent teacher from a studio on the SU campus.

"We are the only university in the country with this kind of technology, and that is why we feel compelled to offer this service, especially for the benefit of schools in rural areas," says Dr Antoinette van der Merwe, Senior Director: Learning and Teaching Advancement.

"The learners who attend the broadcasts regularly testify that it has an impact on their learning experience," she adds.

Career advice

The SU Centre for Career Counselling (CCC) has for many years been a popular port of call for matriculants and Grade 11s who need clarity on which field of study or career to pursue. The career assessment and counselling service is also provided to learners who are not necessarily going to study at SU.

The service is offered by eight specialist consultants who are all registered occupational psychologists. Guidance on subject choices is also offered to Grade 9s.

"The service which the Centre for Career Counselling delivers to students is unique in the South African higher education sector," says Dr Celeste Nel, Deputy Director and Head: Career advice, Admission & Residence Placement. .

According to Dr Nel about 1700 learners are assessed annually by die SU Centre for career counselling. About 550 of these learners come to Stellenbosch for testing, while consultants also travel to schools where ten or more learners at a time want to make use of their services. In addition, career assessment is done for learners who are benefitting from various training initiatives, such as Media24's Rachel's Angels Project, the Alan Gray Orbis Foundation or the Rupert Education Foundation.

"With our Careers@Maties we also provide career counselling to the top grade 11 learners in 40 educationally disadvantaged schools in our vicinity," says Dr Nel. "We reach about 230 learners with this project."

It is not only through such assessments and counselling that high school learners receive career guidance. Faculties such as Science and Engineering have for many years presented Winter Weeks during which learners spend a week on campus. In the process they learn more about various field of study.

Queries:

Dr Trevor van Louw, Centre for Pedagogy at Stellenbosch University (SUNSEP), www.sun.ac.za/suncep vanlouw@sun.ac.za or 021 808 2496

Dr. Celeste Nel, Centre for Career Counselling, cswan@sun.ac.za or 021 808 4327 www.maties.com

Dr. Antoinette van der Merwe, Senior Director: Learning and Teaching Advancement, www.sun.ac.za/ite advdm@sun.ac.za  or 021 8083075

Dr Kalay Moodley, Project manager of the Area Health Education Centres project
moodleyk@sun.ac.za or 021 938 9941  

​

When the matric results are published, staff of Stellenbosch University will also be looking for the names of learners whose lives they have affected this year – through initiatives such as the Hope@Maties project, the satellite broadcasts of extra classes to learners in a number of provinces, and through career counselling on study choices.

Hope@Maties

About 230 matriculants have received extra classes over weekends or during school holidays thanks to the Hope@Maties project in centres such as Mossel Bay, Genadendal, Oudtshoorn, Malmesbury Mitchells Plain and Stellenbosch.

"Hope@Maties is a strategic partnership project with schools through which Grade 12 learners receive additional tutoring from top teachers and assigned SU personnel," says Dr Trevor van Louw, head of the Stellenbosch University Centre for Pedagogy (SUNCEP).

"Learners are invited to take part based on their Grade 11 marks, and must achieve at least 70% to qualify," explains Dr Van Louw.

Besides additional tutorials and exercises in specific subjects, the learners also receive career counselling. They are also assisted with their applications for studies and places in hostels at SU, as well as in obtaining recruitment bursaries.

Some of the Hope@Maties Grade 12s from Malmesbury, Robertson, Worcester and Caledon have in their earlier high school years also benefited from extra science and maths afternoon classes being presented thanks to the Area Health Education Centres project. This initiative, aimed at Grade 7 to 11 leaners, has been driven by the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences since 2012, in collaboration with the Faculty of Education.

"The aim is to upskill the maths and science marks of learners in rural areas, in an effort to help them qualify for tertiary education and possible studies in medicine, engineering or science," says Dr Kalay Moodley, project manager of the Area Health Education Centres project.

Extra classes thanks to satellite broadcasts

A much larger group of matriculants nationwide received additional classes until August. This they did by tuning in to interactive satellite broadcasts in specially equipped classrooms at their schools in the afternoons. The lessons were broadcast thanks to SU's telematics services. The group included Grade 12s from 146 Western Cape and 100 Northern Cape schools, as well as a few schools in other centres in South Africa. The service was also recently extended to 46 Eastern Cape schools.

These extra classes are all arranged according to the national curriculum and scheduled by die Western Cape Department of Education. They are presented by a competent teacher from a studio on the SU campus.

"We are the only university in the country with this kind of technology, and that is why we feel compelled to offer this service, especially for the benefit of schools in rural areas," says Dr Antoinette van der Merwe, Senior Director: Learning and Teaching Advancement.

"The learners who attend the broadcasts regularly testify that it has an impact on their learning experience," she adds.

Career advice

The SU Centre for Career Advice (CCA) has for many years been a popular port of call for matriculants and Grade 11s who need clarity on which field of study or career to pursue. The career assessment and advice service is also provided to learners who are not necessarily going to study at SU.

The service is offered by eight specialist career consultants who are all registered counselling psychologists. Guidance on subject choices is also offered to Grade 9s.

"The service which the Centre for Career Advice delivers to students is unique in the South African higher education sector," says Dr Celeste Nel, Deputy Director and Head: Career advice, Admission & Residence Placement. .

According to Dr Nel about 1700 learners are assessed annually. About 550 of these learners come to Stellenbosch for testing, while consultants also travel to schools where ten or more learners at a time want to make use of their services. In addition, career assessments are done for learners who are benefitting from various training initiatives, such as Media24's Rachel's Angels Project, the Alan Gray Orbis Foundation or the Rupert Education Foundation.

"With our Careers@Maties we also provide career counselling to the top grade 11 learners in 40 educationally disadvantaged schools in our vicinity," says Dr Nel. "We reach about 230 learners with this project."

It is not only through such assessments and counselling that high school learners receive career guidance. Faculties such as Science and Engineering have for many years presented Winter Weeks during which learners spend a week on campus. In the process they learn more about various field of study.

​Queries:

Dr Trevor van Louw, Centre for Pedagogy at Stellenbosch University (SUNSEP), www.sun.ac.za/suncep vanlouw@sun.ac.za or 021 808 2496

Dr. Celeste Nel, Centre for Career Counselling, cswan@sun.ac.za or 021 808 4327 www.maties.com

Dr. Antoinette van der Merwe, Senior Director: Learning and Teaching Advancement, www.sun.ac.za/ite advdm@sun.ac.za  or 021 8083075

Dr Kalay Moodley, Project manager of the Area Health Education Centres project
moodleyk@sun.ac.za or 021 938 9941  

​We need to drastically change the way in which earth's resources are being managed  because without a well-functioning planet we are doomed.

This was the view of Prof Carl Folke, Science Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre in Sweden and also an expert on socio-ecological systems, on Monday (3 November 2014).

He was speaking at a two-day (3‐4 November) Open Science Dialogue organised jointly by the Centre for Studies in Complexity at Stellenbosch University (SU) and the Southern African Program on Ecosystem Change and Society (SAPECS). The event took place at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS).  

The theme of the Science Dialogue was Seeds of Good Anthropocenes: A Southern African Perspective. The term anthropocene refers to a geological era where human activity has become the dominant force in shaping global ecosystems.

In his speech, Folke said we are all fundamentally dependant on a well-functioning planet.

"Our future on the planet is at stake," he added.

Folke said we need to change our mindsets, values and assumptions to maintain our planet in a favourable state for us to live in and to move to new trajectories of sustainability.

"We require socio-ecological innovations for stewardship of the planet and the overall resilience (the ability to deal with change and continue to develop) of socio-ecological systems."

He bemoaned the fact that in two to three generations, we have created the idea that we are not living on the planet.

"There has been too much of a focus on economic development."

While these and other changes can be good in the short term, we end up in a difficult situation in the long term, Folke said.

Echoing the sentiments of Folke, Dr Oonsie Biggs of SU's Centre for Studies in Complexity Studies and the Stockholm Resilience Centre, said that while social, economic and ecological changes have greatly increased the material well-being of many people there is growing evidence that trajectories for creating wealth are not sustainable.

"There is a real concern that we are eroding planetary conditions for prosperous societies."

Biggs said we need to create a vision of the future that is new and viable because we are already living on a full planet.

• Photo: Prof Carl Folke (front second from right) and Dr Oonsie Biggs (far right at the back) with some of the participants at the Open Science Dialogue.
• Photographer: Anton Jordaan​
  

​USB director Prof Piet Naudé has announced three academic promotion. 

Prof Charles Adjasi (pictured), programme head: Development Finance, has been promoted from an Associate Professor to Professor. 

Dr Marlize Terblanche-Smit, head: MBA Programme, has been promoted from Senior Lecturer to Associate Professor and Jako Volschenk has been promoted to a Senior Lecturer.​

Did you know that annually about 262 cubic meters of compost are produced on campus? Just from food waste, garden waste such as lawn cuttings and leaves, and cattle, horse and sheep manure all available on the Stellenbosch campus and at the Welgevallen experimental farm? This is nearly 8700 standard size 30-litre bags full of compost!

The compost is currently used in the university gardens and on the experimental farm, and is also supplied to organisations such as the Schools Environmental Education & Development project (SEED) in Mitchell's Plain.

This composting project has been running since 2010, chiefly in the ranks of the Faculty of AgriSciences and was launched at the insistence of Prof.Mohammad Karaan.

Martin Wilding, manager of the Programme for Sustainable Agriculture, has since 2013 been involved among other things in evaluating and adapting the existing composting attempts where necessary. He is also compiling a protocol on how to ideally build static composting windrows. A number of options and combinations are currently being tested by Welgevallen, and the contribution of manager Willem van Kerwel has been invaluable.

This static windrow composting project is based on the principles applied by Emeritus Prof. Barbara van Wechmar of the Institute for Wine Biotechnology in South Africa. It is based on the so-called Controlled Microbial Composting (CMC) methods by which composting is done easily and effectively – and with the minimum of equipment as well.

Wilding is also busy compiling guidelines to test the quality of the compost which is produced thanks to such a windrow, in a variety of ways.

"Many people make compost, but it is not always quality compost," he explains. "It can however often be improved with a few adjustments to your production method, and if you constantly test the quality of your end product."

He believes the quality of the compost which is delivered, is of the utmost importance: "Because it is about the knowledge that with quality compost you improve the health of your soil, and thus can farm better and more sustainably."

Training also forms an important part of the compost project. Thus Wilding has already taught learners of Rhenish Girls' High in Stellenbosch, among others, how to maintain the compost heaps at their school.

He wants to expand this by presenting workshops for interested people on the latest composting options, and ways in which the end product can be tested and analysed to ensure quality.

If you wish to learn how to make better quality compost, as well as simple methods by which to test the quality, contact Martin Wilding on martinw@sun.ac.za or 0725668454. 

Higher yielding cooking banana hybrids with resistance to black sigatoka and Fusarium fungal diseases and two major pests, namely weevils and nematodes, will be developed and delivered to farmers.  The project aims to develop hybrids with 30% more yield and 50% higher resistance to diseases and pests while meeting over 90% of the required quality traits found in the current cultivars.  This will lead to an increase in food security and income for the smallholder banana farmers in the region.

The project will be coordinated by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) under the leadership of Prof Rony Swennen, and co-executed by 12 partners.  The major partners are: the National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO) of Uganda and the Agriculture Research Institute (ARI) in Tanzania, with Biodiversity International.  Six Universities are also involved: University of Malaya – Malaysia, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) – Sweden, Stellenbosch University – South Africa, Cornell University – USA, KU Leuven – Belgium, and University of Queensland – Australia.  The national breeding programmes of the Brazilian Enterprise for Agricultural Research (EMBRAPA) and the Indian National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) are also involved.

The aim of this 5-year project is to speed up breeding efforts to provide smallholder banana farmers in Uganda and Tanzania with improved high-yielding and disease- and pest-resistant hybrid banana varieties.

Higher yielding cooking banana hybrids with resistance to black sigatoka and Fusarium fungal diseases and two major pests, namely weevils and nematodes, will be developed and delivered to farmers.  The project aims to develop hybrids with 30% more yield and 50% higher resistance to diseases and pests while meeting over 90% of the required quality traits found in the current cultivars.  This will lead to an increase in food security and income for the smallholder banana farmers in the region.

The project will be coordinated by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) under the leadership of Prof Rony Swennen, and co-executed by 12 partners.  The major partners are: the National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO) of Uganda and the Agriculture Research Institute (ARI) in Tanzania, with Biodiversity International.  Six Universities are also involved: University of Malaya – Malaysia, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) – Sweden, Stellenbosch University – South Africa, Cornell University – USA, KU Leuven – Belgium, and University of Queensland – Australia.  The national breeding programmes of the Brazilian Enterprise for Agricultural Research (EMBRAPA) and the Indian National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) are also involved.

South Africa is not as bad as we feared, but also not as good as we hoped. South Africans should, however, keep a clear perspective: "Put yourself in the shoes of fellow South Africans; see both sides; the glass is half full, not half empty!"

This was the message of Dr Theuns Eloff, former Rector of the North-West University in Potchefstroom, who was the speaker at the annual meeting of the Convocation of Stellenbosch University (SU) in the HB Thom Theatre on Thursday (6 November). (Watch the speech here.)

Eloff, also a theologian who played a role in the transition to democracy in South Africa, spoke about the state of the country. In his speech he highlighted South Africa's positive aspects (among others, our constitution, access to education, and democratic growth) as well as negative aspects (like blatant corruption, unemployment, and poverty).

"We should strive to pursue both truth and reconciliation; unity and diversity; criticism and solidarity – we do not have to choose between the two," said Eloff.

Higher education, he believes, is currently in a better position than basic education, because 75% of all schools are dysfunctional. Most universities, he said, produce good graduates, and SU is one of the top three, along with the University of Cape Town and Rhodes University.

"The pressure for greater access in the name of racial transformation is still there. Greater diversity is good, but quality should not be compromised. Real transformation is not only about race," Eloff said.

Prof Leopoldt van Huyssteen, acting Rector and Vice-Chancellor of SU, focused on the successes of the University in his speech.

"For the past five years we have been South Africa's top research university; we have the second most NRF-rated researchers in the country; in 2002 we conferred a record number of 240 doctoral degrees. SU is making a significant contribution towards a skilled and capable workforce."

Van Huyssteen said the language of instruction is a factor which influences access to the University and referred to a special Council meeting to be held on 22 November 2014 where SU's Language Plan will be discussed.

"I don't want to run ahead of things, but would like to share four points: Firstly, we live in a diverse society; secondly, we are committed to Afrikaans within a multilingual context; thirdly, we use English for local access and to link with the world; and lastly, we also promote isiXhosa," said Van Huyssteen.

The Convocation gave a special posthumous award to the late Prof Russel Botman, former Rector and Vice-Chancellor of SU. His widow, Ms Beryl Botman, accepted it and said she dedicates it to "the generations to come". (See video here.)

Prof Viljoen said the Convocation honours Prof Botman for his vision and leadership.

The members of the Convocation who attended the meeting also accepted a motion by Prof Davie van Velden, which reads as follow: "It is with great appreciation that the SU Convocation takes note of SU's performance as an institution of excellence. The Convocation requests that the SU Management and SU Council remain committed to promoting the Afrikaans character of the institution at all times, and that the necessary steps are taken to ensure that the future of the esteemed institution's unique character is maintained."

Agribusiness and farmers should take more care with the development and planting of new pasture species or pay later for cleaning up when these species invade the natural environment.

According to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA this week (Monday 3 November 2014), livestock production is already the largest user of land on earth. Growing demand means that production must rise more than 50% by 2050 as global human population and per capita consumption increase.

In response to this demand, agribusiness is developing new pasture plants to increase productivity, grow faster, produce more seeds and tolerate environmental extremes. But most of these pasture plants pose a substantial weed risk to the natural environment.

"In making these pasture varieties more robust, they are more prone to becoming a problem for the environment," warns Prof Don Driscoll from the Australian National University in Canberra. He is the lead author of the article, 'New pasture plants intensify invasive species risk'.

In Australia, for example, gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus) was introduced from Africa in the 1980s as it could support 40 times more cattle than native species. Today the rate of spread of gamba grass in Australia is among the highest of any invasive plant in the world. Growing up to four metres tall, this aggressive invader has increased the cost of fire management from less than AUD$2 000 for each fire to as much as AUD$43 000 per fire.

Prof Dave Richardson, Director of the Centre for Invasion Biology (CIB) at Stellenbosch University and one of the co-authors of the study, says that South Africa's legislation regulating invasive species is among the best in the world: "To a large extent we have foreseen this problem, but our laws are by no means perfect. For example, there is no legislation regulating the development or importation of new varieties of pasture species that already occur in South Africa."

In South Africa, 22 pasture species are prohibited. Legislation also provides for weed risk assessment as a cost-effective biosecurity measure.

According to Prof Richardson the research serves as a wake-up call to fine-tune existing legislation and to ensure enforcement of existing laws.

Most Africa countries, however, face a major problem as there is little or no legislation regulating the import or development of new plants for agriculture: "Aid agencies are trying to increase agricultural productivity in Africa, but with no regulations some of them are introducing well-known invaders. In East Africa, for example, an invasive tree such as Prosopis is promoted for agroforestry. But in 2004 Prosopis was listed among the world's worst 100 invasive species," says Prof Richardson.

Initially planted to provide fuel wood, Prosopis forms dense, impenetrable thickets and has invaded millions of hectares of rangeland in countries like Sudan.

The authors of the PNAS paper recommend four approaches that governments could consider to limit the risk of new invasions and to call the agricultural sector to account:

• Develop a national list of pasture species and varieties that are prohibited based on the risks they pose to the environment;
• Formal weed risk assessment for all new pasture species, including new varieties of species already present in a country;
• A program to rapidly detect and control new taxa that invade natural areas; and
• The implementation of a polluter-pays principle, so that if a newly-introduced pasture plant becomes an environmental weed, industry pays for its management.
  

Agribusiness and farmers should take more care with the development and planting of new pasture species or pay later for cleaning up when these species invade the natural environment.

According to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA this week (Monday 3 November 2014), livestock production is already the largest user of land on earth. Growing demand means that production must rise more than 50% by 2050 as global human population and per capita consumption increase.

In response to this demand, agribusiness is developing new pasture plants to increase productivity, grow faster, produce more seeds and tolerate environmental extremes. But most of these pasture plants pose a substantial weed risk to the natural environment.

"In making these pasture varieties more robust, they are more prone to becoming a problem for the environment," warns Prof Don Driscoll from the Australian National University in Canberra. He is the lead author of the article, 'New pasture plants intensify invasive species risk'.

In Australia, for example, gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus) was introduced from Africa in the 1980s as it could support 40 times more cattle than native species. Today the rate of spread of gamba grass in Australia is among the highest of any invasive plant in the world. Growing up to four metres tall, this aggressive invader has increased the cost of fire management from less than AUD$2 000 for each fire to as much as AUD$43 000 per fire.

Prof Dave Richardson, Director of the Centre for Invasion Biology (CIB) at Stellenbosch University and one of the co-authors of the study, says that South Africa's legislation regulating invasive species is among the best in the world: "To a large extent we have foreseen this problem, but our laws are by no means perfect. For example, there is no legislation regulating the development or importation of new varieties of pasture species that already occur in South Africa."

In South Africa, 22 pasture species are prohibited. Legislation also provides for weed risk assessment as a cost-effective biosecurity measure.

According to Prof Richardson the research serves as a wake-up call to fine-tune existing legislation and to ensure enforcement of existing laws.

Most Africa countries, however, face a major problem as there is little or no legislation regulating the import or development of new plants for agriculture: "Aid agencies are trying to increase agricultural productivity in Africa, but with no regulations some of them are introducing well-known invaders. In East Africa, for example, an invasive tree such as Prosopis is promoted for agroforestry. But in 2004 Prosopis was listed among the world's worst 100 invasive species," says Prof Richardson.

Initially planted to provide fuel wood, Prosopis forms dense, impenetrable thickets and has invaded millions of hectares of rangeland in countries like Sudan.

The authors of the PNAS paper recommend four approaches that governments could consider to limit the risk of new invasions and to call the agricultural sector to account:

• Develop a national list of pasture species and varieties that are prohibited based on the risks they pose to the environment;
• Formal weed risk assessment for all new pasture species, including new varieties of species already present in a country;
• A program to rapidly detect and control new taxa that invade natural areas; and
• The implementation of a polluter-pays principle, so that if a newly-introduced pasture plant becomes an environmental weed, industry pays for its management.

​If you are in the city of London during the Twickenham rugby festival, please join us for a networking event where you can interact with other Maties in the UK, hear some interesting news about the university and reaffirm your commitment to Stellenbosch University and its vision.

Hendrik du Toit, CEO of Investec Asset Management and proud Matie will share a few thoughts/ideas with the audience. 

Date: Thursday 13 November 2014
Time: 18h30 – 21h00
Venue: Grange Holborn Hotel, 50-56 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4AR. 

Send your RSVP to Wena van der Merwe at +27 21 808 4020 or wvdm@sun.ac.za​

Hope to see you there! 

Creating a culture of care and compassion among learners is a far better way to deal with school violence than traditional punishment, writes Dr Nuraan Davids and Prof Yusef Waghid of the Department of Education Policy Studies at Stellenbosch University in an opinion article published in the Mail & Guardian on Friday (7 November 2014).

The complete article as submitted follows below:

Caring, compassionate learners help curb school violence

Despite many national and provincial government initiatives to keep learners safe, school violence has gotten worse  ̶  in frequency and intensity  ̶  to the extent that children are more likely to experience violence at schools than in their homes.

The onslaught of violence has largely paralysed already vulnerable schools, especially those in historically disadvantaged communities.

And yet, the complexity of school violence - from bullying, assault, rape, murder, involving both learners and educators - tells us that policies and procedures couched in traditional punitive measures, are not only inadequate, but inadvertently serve to further fuel the anger and violence. By this we mean, that inasmuch as a number of learners unleash violence on peers and educators, educators unleash violence and humiliation on those in their care.

We have also seen that prescribing both learners and parents to detailed texts of codes and school rules isn't enough to regulate the behavior conducive to a safe and respectful school and society.

So, what is the problem with common approaches to countering violence at schools, and why are principals and educators increasingly feeling a sense of hopelessness in their attempts to do so?

Firstly, countering violence cannot be the sole responsibility of a school. Educational leaders and educators are neither equipped, nor should they be expected to know how to manage what is essentially a societal problem. When learners come to school with knives, or when they think cyber-bullying is some form of acceptable social interaction, or when educators have sexual relationships with school girls, then these are not comments on the schooling system inasmuch as they are reflections of a social malaise.

 So, the writing out of lines, detention, sandpapering desks, and suspension of learners from school will not have the desired effect of desirable behavior. That being said, in the absence of an un-fractured society, and in the absence of a socially just democracy, schools have no option but to fulfill the surrogacy roles of parenting, caring, and disciplining.

Secondly, in accepting its role of both teaching and nurturing just citizens, and if they hope to cultivate safe school environments, educational leaders and educators would have to do things.

The first is to recognise the multiplicity of communities that are forced to co-exist in a school. This requires of all schools to get to know their learners; to create the necessary spaces for dialogue; to listen to the stories of others; to engage with the learner from his/her own perspective; and to enact the language and behavior that are desired from learners.

This also means that schools cannot only deal with violence when they are confronted with it; they have to accept that the potential of violence is ever-present, because we live in a society in which violence co-exists with all of us.

In our own research at five high schools on the Cape Flats  ̶ ​ which were selected for their reputation of 'good practices' in countering violence and poor discipline – there were very specific practices, which were all based on a common feature.

These practices include the establishment of conversation groups for learners and educators; pastoral care programmes for learners at risk; conducting home visits to especially problematic learners; leadership and conflict mediation programmes, which draw on community and faith-based structures within the school community; the establishment of hiking groups, which included community members, so that learners could shift out of their physical spaces; and a willingness to listen to the stories of learners as a means of making sense of their violence.

As a more extraordinary example, one of the principals regularly takes a group of grade 12 learners – who he considers as being at risk – home with him on weekends. While time-consuming and intensive, these practices are all underscored by a common feature – and that is the recognition of humanity within all learners, no matter how abhorrent their actions. Central to what these schools have done is to orientate themselves towards a cultivation of care and compassion.

By consciously setting out to listen, and to reach out to the humanity of the learner, learners are not dehumanized in a way that could happen when they are rebuked, humiliated or pushed away. While these schools recognize that they might never lay claim to entirely violence-free environments, they have also witnessed enough changes in learner conduct and attitude to believe that engaging with who the learner is, rather than what he/she does, offers schools not only the opportunity to become safer and calmer places, but, perhaps, more importantly, affords learners better opportunities to become better people.

• Dr Nuraan Davids is a lecturer in the Department of Education Policy Studies in the Faculty of Education at Stellenbosch University. Prof Yusef Waghid is a distinguished professor in the same department. They co-authored the book "Citizenship education and violence in schools: On disrupted potentialities and becoming" (2013).​

A state-of-the-art angiogram facility recently launched at Stellenbosch University (SU) and the Tygerberg Hospital's Division of Cardiology, is set to alleviate cardiac care bottle necks in the Western Cape and advance heart health in the region.

The multi-million rand radial suite is the first on the African continent to offer radial angiography, which allows patients to have coronary angiograms and stents via accessing a small blood vessel in the arm rather than having to puncture the large blood vessels in the groin. This improvement on the standard approach of looking at the heart's blood vessels has markedly increased the safety of the procedure and the comfort to the patient, and will allow patients to be admitted and discharged on the same day.

"Not only are we looking at 'business class coronary intervention' in a state of the art facility, but radial angiography and stenting through our radial suite will also significantly reduce the need for an overnight hospital stay," says Dr Hellmuth Weich, lead interventional cardiologist at the Division of Cardiology at SU's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS).

"In South Africa more than 50 000 patients annually require advanced cardiac care such as coronary angiography. Yet, many don't have access to these procedures and are therefore denied potentially life-saving treatments including coronary stents. The first dedicated radial suite at the Division of Cardiology will see a significant increase in the number of patients we are able to treat," says Dr Alfonso Pecoraro, consultant cardiologist in the Division and chairman of SUNHEART, a newly-established initiative of SU that strives towards equal access to advanced cardiac care for all patients. 

The investment in SUNHEART has seen the building of state-of-the art infrastructure at Tygerberg Hospital, resulting in an expansion of service delivery and improved workflow. This has meant redesigning the outpatient service, introducing paperless reporting systems as well as developing echocardiography imaging- and stress test services in the outpatient clinic itself for a "one-stop" service that will enhance the efficiency of this service and the experience that patients have.

The teaching and training activities at the unit have been boosted by the renovation of the lecture room, resulting in an ultra-modern lecture facility. Funded for the next year through sponsorship attracted via the SUNHEART platform, a Training Fellowship has been created. "Giving permanency to future fellowships and sorely needed training posts to address the acute shortage of skilled cardiac professionals on the continent is of utmost importance," says Prof Anton Doubell, Head of the Division of Cardiology and director of SUNHEART.

In addition, further support for the improvement of service delivery by the unit comes in the form of an innovative outreach programme where consultants render a decentralised cardiology service at the referral hospitals in the area. This will improve the access of patients to advanced cardiac care in remote areas outside of Cape Town.  An important outcome of this program is the training of health care professionals at these referral hospitals.

"By investing in top quality personnel and through the building of strategic partnerships, this unit has firmly established itself as a cutting edge institution at the forefront of cardiology service delivery, training and research. SUNHEART is a success story that demonstrates what can be achieved through the building of public-private partnerships," says Western Cape Minister of Health Theuns Botha. "Facilitating the building of partnerships between the public health sector and private funders is an important ingredient in healthcare planning for the future of South Africa."  

"As we shift to a value-based healthcare culture, the need for innovative solutions that result in high-quality, cost-effective healthcare is more important than ever before. In an effort to improve and shape cardiac healthcare in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, we have invested in SUNHEART by providing the platform to train a significant number of cardiologists in radial techniques in these regions. This entails providing equipment, training workshops, hands-on support and our expertise in the African market and the cardiovascular business to ensure the sustainability of the unit," says Medtronic South Africa Group Director, William Stranix, an investment partner in the new facility.

SUNHEART is actively investing in research and training aimed at the eradication of diseases that are locally relevant to the South African and African context. The first SUNHEART sponsored research project, Echo in Africa (EIA), was launched this year in collaboration with the British Society of Echocardiography (BSE).  EIA involves the screening of large numbers of school children for rheumatic heart disease (RHD). "This disease affects the heart valves of children and young adults and often goes unnoticed in the early phase of the condition. Finding and treating early cases can prevent further valve damage and we hope to impact the lives of these children through early intervention," says Dr Philip Herbst, consultant cardiologist and imaging specialist at SU and Tygerberg Hospital. "This project is also an important research opportunity to learn more about RHD and how best to approach its diagnosis amongst large numbers of children. This will pave the way for future population based screening programs aimed at eradicating the condition", Herbst said. More than 1500 children have been screened in the newly built EIA training and research facility in the first year of this 5-year project.

The Division of Cardiology of the FMHS and at Tygerberg Hospital has become the premier training facility for young cardiologists in South Africa and even further afield in Africa.  "The unit is a centre of excellence for radial angiography and percutaneous intervention, valvular heart disease, pericardial disease and advanced cardiac imaging and boasts an echocardiography training and service infrastructure that is world-class and unparalleled in Africa and South Africa," says Prof Doubell.

A vision of equal access to advanced healthcare for all can only be achieved through a culture of collective responsibility. SUNHEART believes this culture already exists and through finding partners who share in its vision it will make an important contribution to the lives and health of patients.

Photo: Dr Philip Herbst (SUNHEART) explains to Western Cape Minister of Health, Mr Theuns Botha, the typical echocardiograph performed on school children in the Echo in Africa project.

More photos available on the Faculty's Facebook page. Click here.

​​The 7^th annual Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) conference took place at the Protea Hotel Stellenbosch (Techno Park) on 28 and 29 October 2014. 

The event was organised by the Division for Learning and Teaching Enhancement at Stellenbosch University (SU). 

Setting the stage for SU academics to share best practices, research findings and innovative ideas about teaching and learning, healthy debates were stirred around teaching and learning within higher education, as well as specifically at SU.

Delegates were officially welcomed by prof Arnold Schoonwinkel (Vice Rector: Learning and Teaching) who emphasised the importance of this conference  in promoting ongoing debates around teaching and learning related matters, as well as bringing academics together across various disciplines and "boundaries". He reiterated that broadening the knowledge base of the University is one of our strategic priorities. Learning and sharing at an event such as this conference, is thus of utmost importance to the University. 

Furthermore, two very well received keynote addresses were delivered respectively by prof Laura Czerniewicz, Director of the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching at the University of Cape Town and prof Chrissie Boughey, Dean of Teaching and Learning and currently seconded as the acting DVC Academic & Student Affairs at Rhodes University. These two highly respected scholars addressed the audience on the very relevant topics of how information communication technologies (ICTs) are influencing the shape of the emerging teaching and learning environment, and the importance of understanding students as social beings.

Approximately 170 delegates across all ten faculties of the University attended over the two days. With 60 presentations in total, the conference programme included an impressive range of topics such as graduate attributes, student success factors, curriculum design, the use of technology, postgraduate education and Science education. Feedback from delegates point to a very positive conference experience, for example:

"The presentations I attended were all of such a high quality. I was so impressed!"

"Cross-disciplinary networking around the topic of teaching and learning was most valuable."

"This conference remains an excellent opportunity for the University community to engage in debates around teaching and learning."

Nine papers were nominated as potential winners for best conference presentation.  A panel of four judges adjudicated these presentations. With her paper entitled "Using CBI, SFL and CEAP to integrate content and language learning in a higher education context" ms Taryn Bernard from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences walked away as the overall winner. This has won her free attendance towards an international Teaching and Learning conference of her choice in 2015.

Photo: Dr Antoinette van der Merwe (Senior Director: Division for Learning and Teaching Enhancement), Taryn Bernard (best presentation at the SoTL 2014 conference) and Melanie Petersen (Convenor: SoTL 2014).

The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences recently hosted renowned British economist Prof Sir John Vickers from Oxford University, when he presented the inaugural Thys Visser Memorial Lecture Series.

The biennial lecture series is named after the late Mr Thys Visser, former chief executive of Remgro and chairperson of the Stellenbosch Trust.

Vickers, a former Chief Economist at the Bank of England and Warden of All Souls College at Oxford, chaired the UK's Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) tasked with proposing banking reforms to ensure financial stability and competitiveness in the industry.

In his lecture series entitled The political economy of banking reform, he discussed the features of the financial sector in the run-up to the global financial crisis, and evaluated the progress that has been made in banking reform since then.

Banks play a central role in the economic health of a country, but they are particularly sensitive to certain types of economic shocks. In the lead-up to the global financial crisis, national banking sectors across the world had grown in size and become increasingly leveraged. In a number of ways they were ill prepared for the crisis, which eventually had huge and lasting effects on economic growth and public finances.

Vickers discussed many of the complex considerations that the ICB had faced in proposing reforms for the UK banking system, with particular focus on capital loss absorbency, structural reform and competition. He presented the reform package proposed by the ICB as being radical in its entirety, but not radical in terms of either of its sub-dimensions – structural reform or loss absorbency.

Although the international regulatory framework for banks, Basel III, had made some progress on capital requirements, it had been viewed by the ICB as unambitious and they proposed more stringent criteria. However, they were in practice limited by the global nature of the financial industry. If they made financial regulation in the UK comparatively unattractive, global financial institutions would simply exit the UK, damaging an industry which is important to the economy of the UK.

The ICB proposed structured universal banking. The Commission suggested that retail banking be made safer by ring-fencing the vital retail banking sector from global financial shocks, and subjecting the global wholesale and investment banking activities to international standards. Core activities were identified for the ring-fenced portion of a bank, and other activities were identified as either permitted or prohibited, allowing a degree of flexibility.

In addition, the crisis had also damaged the levels of competition in the UK banking system. The ICB argued that competition should be put at the heart of financial regulation. The Commission proposed a focus on both the supply side (encouraging strong and effective challengers in the industry) and demand side (bank switching) measures aimed at promoting effective competition.

Photo:

Economic prospects: "My blue skies numbers would differ by a factor of 2, but the skies are cloudy," said British economist John Vickers. With him is Prof Stan du Plessis, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.

The latest edition of USB’s award-winning Agenda magazine is now available online. In one of the articles, USB's Cherice Smith, head: e-Marketing and senior writer, looks at the developments and drawbacks of diversity in the workplace these past two decade.

Read the full article here: http://thoughtprint.usb.ac.za/Pages/Diversity-in-the-workplace-The-good,-the-bad,-the-necessary.aspx​​

​​Three USB MBA students have been chosen as finalists for the CEO x1 Day programme by Odgers Berndtson. They will spend a day in the life of a top CEO in South Africa. The students are Denise Botha, Mark Herman and Seema Bhikha.

According to Odgers Berndtson, the CEO x1 Day gives MBA students an opportunity to spend a day in the shoes of a senior executive. The students were chosen because of their outstanding leadership potential.

Dr Marlize Terblanche-Smit, head: MBA Programme, said earlier: “The CEO x1 Day programme is an excellent opportunity for MBA students to be evaluated by an executive of Odgers Berndtson, particularly in terms of leadership skills. It is a good learning experience going through a process of interviews and briefings regarding executive positions. Ultimately the day with a top CEO will provide a unique opportunity to learn on a personal level about career and leadership experiences.”​

​​​Three USB MBA students have been chosen as finalists for the CEO x1 Day programme by Odgers Berndtson. They will spend a day in the life of a top CEO in South Africa. The students are Denise Botha, Mark Herman and Seema Bhikha.

According to Odgers Berndtson, the CEO x1 Day gives MBA students an opportunity to spend a day in the shoes of a senior executive. The students were chosen because of their outstanding leadership potential.

Dr Marlize Terblanche-Smit, head: MBA Programme, said earlier: “The CEO x1 Day programme is an excellent opportunity for MBA students to be evaluated by an executive of Odgers Berndtson, particularly in terms of leadership skills. It is a good learning experience going through a process of interviews and briefings regarding executive positions. Ultimately the day with a top CEO will provide a unique opportunity to learn on a personal level about career and leadership experiences.”​

Just as one should not judge a book by its cover, so people should not be labelled according to their accent or dialect.

This seems to be the consensus of participants in the second Maties Diversity Week blogging competition of 2014, hosted on the website Bonfiire recently. Presented by Stellenbosch University (SU), in association with the SU Debating Society, it posed the question, "Should we speak to fit in, or stick to our 'traditional' accent?"

In her blog, "Please excuse my English," Khanyisile Tukani (pictured on right-hand side in banner photograph above), a second-year BA Humanities student, reacts strongly to people jumping to conclusions about others based on how they sound.

Once, in the Post Office, she was addressed very slowly by the person serving her. This annoyed her no end: "The fact that I am of darker skin pigmentation does not mean my brain capacity is lighter."

Another time, a classmate was impressed with Tukani's "Model C" accent because she "did not know Eastern Cape people could sound so well-spoken."

But it seems prejudice is not confined to members of a particular group. "I my own community, I am sometimes called a 'snob' or a 'coconut' for speaking English the way I do. None of this is fair, of course," Tukani said in an interview after being announced the winner of the blogging competition.

Runner-up Fritz Louw (left above), who is doing his master's degree in Economics at the MIH Media Lab at SU, agrees. "Accent is one of the most pernicious forms of social discrimination," he writes in his blog.

"I think this is particularly relevant in South Africa, where we have 11 official languages. We have come a long way towards a more equal society, but we still harbour biases."

Francois du Plessis and Majeletje Mathume received a special mention from the judges for their blogs.

Du Plessis writes: "It is virtually impossible to stop yourself from forming an opinion about someone during any brief contact, but maybe we should pay more attention to what someone is trying to communicate than to how they are saying it."

Mathume, who is doing a BA in Development and Environment, concurs.

"It is stupid to take issue with someone who struggles with a language that is not native to him or her," he says.

This makes him suspect "this accent thing is all political."

"It is not a communication issue, but your own worldview about other groups of people, and you need to deal with it."

The competition was a continuation of the Big Matie Accent Debate presented as part of Diversity Week 2014, the second annual festival of its kind at SU. Aimed at promoting inclusivity and a welcoming culture on campus, the initiative was the brainchild of the late SU Rector and Vice-Chancellor Prof Russel Botman, who passed away at the end of June.

Pictures: STEFAN ELS

• Click here to read all the entries in this competition, titled "Say what?"
• For a podcast of the Big Matie Accent Debate, click here.
• The topic of the first blogging competition of Diversity Week 2014 was "1994 + 20: Closer together or further apart?" Click here for an article on the winners of that competition, and click here to read all the entries.

The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences recently hosted renowned British economist Prof Sir John Vickers from Oxford University, when he presented the inaugural Thys Visser Memorial Lecture Series.

The biennial lecture series is named after the late Mr Thys Visser, former chief executive of Remgro and chairperson of the Stellenbosch Trust.

Vickers, a former Chief Economist at the Bank of England and Warden of All Souls College at Oxford, chaired the UK's Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) tasked with proposing banking reforms to ensure financial stability and competitiveness in the industry.

In his lecture series entitled The political economy of banking reform, he discussed the features of the financial sector in the run-up to the global financial crisis, and evaluated the progress that has been made in banking reform since then.

Banks play a central role in the economic health of a country, but they are particularly sensitive to certain types of economic shocks. In the lead-up to the global financial crisis, national banking sectors across the world had grown in size and become increasingly leveraged. In a number of ways they were ill prepared for the crisis, which eventually had huge and lasting effects on economic growth and public finances.

Vickers discussed many of the complex considerations that the ICB had faced in proposing reforms for the UK banking system, with particular focus on capital loss absorbency, structural reform and competition. He presented the reform package proposed by the ICB as being radical in its entirety, but not radical in terms of either of its sub-dimensions – structural reform or loss absorbency.

Although the international regulatory framework for banks, Basel III, had made some progress on capital requirements, it had been viewed by the ICB as unambitious and they proposed more stringent criteria. However, they were in practice limited by the global nature of the financial industry. If they made financial regulation in the UK comparatively unattractive, global financial institutions would simply exit the UK, damaging an industry which is important to the economy of the UK.

The ICB proposed structured universal banking. The Commission suggested that retail banking be made safer by ring-fencing the vital retail banking sector from global financial shocks, and subjecting the global wholesale and investment banking activities to international standards. Core activities were identified for the ring-fenced portion of a bank, and other activities were identified as either permitted or prohibited, allowing a degree of flexibility.

In addition, the crisis had also damaged the levels of competition in the UK banking system. The ICB argued that competition should be put at the heart of financial regulation. The Commission proposed a focus on both the supply side (encouraging strong and effective challengers in the industry) and demand side (bank switching) measures aimed at promoting effective competition.

Photo:

Economic prospects: "My blue skies numbers would differ by a factor of 2, but the skies are cloudy," said British economist John Vickers. With him is Prof Stan du Plessis, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.