Lisa Ronquest, Stellenbosch trained Food Scientist, is one of South Africa's top young food scientists. After leading the R&D team for seven years with Mars Africa in Cape Town, she's now ensconced in The Netherlands in a new global food R&D role for the multinational. Keen to to share her impressions and insights with FOODStuff SA readers and her South African food industry compatriots, she's started writing about her experiences, and we're proud here to publish the first of her essays on her big move.​

​Lisa Ronquest is currently Head of Product Development – Global Food R&D at Mars International, based in The Netherlands.

See in the following article what she is up to.

​

Photo: Proff Eugene Cloete, Vice-Rector: Research and Innovation, Pieter Gouws, and Danie Brink, Acting-Dean of the Faculty of AgriSciences, at the inaugural lecture.

Photographer: Anton Jordaan

Prof Pieter Gouws (Food Science) and Maret du Toit (Viticulture & Oenology) both from the Agri Sciences Faculty delivered their inaugural lectures on 12 February at the Food Science building.​

Foodborne diseases are a widespread and a growing public health problem worldwide and it is imperative to develop new applications for the detection and control of unwanted bacteria in food.

This was one of the viewpoints of Prof Pieter Gouws of the Department of Food Science at Stellenbosch University in his inaugural lecture on Thursday (12 February 2015).

Follow this link to read more about Prof Gouws’s inaugural lecture as published on the SU website.

http://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=2215

PieterGouws.pdf

There can be no denying that social media platforms are playing an increasing role in the political mobilisation of citizens and how they participate in democracy.

This was seen during the Arab Spring uprisings, the Occupy Wall Street movement, and more recently, following the attack on the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, in Paris. The French tragedy turned the #JeSuisCharlie hashtag into one of the most popular hashtags in Twitter's history and was central to the organisation of the largest street protest in Paris – more than 1.6 million people participated.

"Digital social media, with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as leading examples, have become major global channels of communication, with ramifications for established democracies and their social bases – some positive, others disruptive," explain Barend Lutz and Pierre du Toit from Stellenbosch University (SU).

The researchers, who worked together to develop  a method to measure public expressions of support for democracy on Twitter, recently released a book focused on social media platforms and how computational linguistics can make sense of this landscape.

Defining Democracy in a Digital Age: Political Support on Social Media was published by Palgrave MacMillan and written by Lutz, a political/security risk analyst and digital media consultant, and Du Toit, a professor at the Political Science Department at SU.

"With the 'real world' influence of social media growing, it is crucial to listen to and understand what citizens globally are saying on these platforms as it provides a chance to define and look at how we measure the state of democracy in a new digital age."

According to Lutz and Du Toit, there has been concern amongst scholars across the world regarding the viability of democracy as a political governance system. This doubt is further entrenched through events such as the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 and the failure of democracy to expand to authoritarian countries globally.

"One of the ways that social media enhances democratic participation is through the connectivity of this technology. Individuals have near complete control over the content of statements published on the Internet.

"Up to now, there has been no effective way of converting the articulate mass self-expression by individuals on social media into coherent forms capable of influencing public policies," say Lutz and Du Toit.

Traditionally, survey data has been used to attempt to articulate mass sentiment on democracy, but this is a time consuming and expensive exercise. Their research attempts to create a complimentary methodology to expand on traditional survey data research.  

Lutz, who developed the methodology as part of a Masters' thesis on international relations and next-generation Internet, says he analysed more than 70 000 publically available Tweets over a three month period.  This was done via computer assisted computational analytics, sentiment analysis and natural language processing, which in this case refers to the automated collection and analysis of statements from Twitter.

"Social media has now effectively extended the public sphere into a global electronic platform, far removed from the city squares of the classic Greek democratic city-states. On social media platforms, issues are debated, questions of public import are deliberated on and people can call a spade a spade, so to speak."

Their research clearly shows how the spaces where democracy is usually played out, have changed and that this will require analysts of democracy to look at these new spaces differently.

"Democracy is something that takes place in groups. The idea of the nation was usually conveyed through newspapers – so people who read the same newspapers conceived of themselves as being part of a community. Social media is much more individualistic and the idea of a community or a sense of community from that part of the public sphere becomes nearly inconceivable. As we saw with the Arab Spring, you can draw people together for a protest through social media, but what happens afterwards when everyone returns to their individual lives?"

Lutz and Du Toit explain that the influence of social media and other forms of digital media is a double-edged sword. On the one hand these platforms could lead to people becoming more engaged when it comes to current issues and therefore stronger democratic citizens, or on the other hand people could get caught up in the entertainment of social media and thereby become less effective citizens.

"The methods of data analysis presented in this book can help the global citizenry to reimagine themselves as being part of new, more coherent units of democracy, able to pursue their ideals more effectively than has been the case to date," say the authors. 

* Du Toit and Lutz will be doing a talk on their research entitled Defining Democracy in a Digital Age: Political Support on Social Media on Wednesday, 4 March, at 18:00 in the MIH Media Lab in the Engineering Building.  For more details or to attend the event, contact bflutz@gmail.com.

Photo: Mr Barend Lutz (left, sitting) and Prof Pierre du Toit from Stellenbosch University have developed a method to measure public expressions of support for democracy on Twitter and details this in their recently released book. (Anton Jordaan, SSFD)

​​South Africas best, including Olympic Champion Chad le Clos and numerous other Olympians from among other places the Czech Republic, Denmark, Sweden and the USA participated ​​​​in the Stellenbosch Grand Prix ​from 14-15 February.

It has been nearly 25 years since International swimming, of the calibre seen over the weekend in Stellenbosch has come to the Cape.  

Sell-out crowds packed the relatively small venue to see these swimming icons in action.  

"It has been barely a year since the new Olympic size 50m pool has been taken into use at Stellenbosch University but already it has been recognized as the best pool in South Africa and is not only much favoured among swimmers as a fantastic training venue but also as a fast racing pool," says Pierre de Roubaix, Head Coach: Maties Swimming.

Le Clos was at his best winning all four events he participated in including the 100 m Butterfly, 100 m Freesyle, 200 m backstroke and 50 m butterfly where the latest 15-year-old sensation from America pushed him hard towards his victory.  The young American Michael Andrew has been touted as the new Michael Phelps while taking American age group swimming by storm breaking no less than 76 American age group records over the past couple of years. 

Local Matie swimmers like Olympian Trudi Maree and SA Senior team swimmer Caitlin Kat were also on form winning the 50 m freestyle and 400 m Freestyle respectively.

The Matie relay team of Liam Fourie, Nico Spahn, Marli Jacobs and Trudi Maree was also victorius over the much favoured team from TUKS in the mixed 4x 100m Medlay relay as they set a new South African record in this event.

The Stellenbosch University Woordfees 2015 proudly presents

Innovation: A "Fees" newspaper for the Woordfees!

In 2015, for the first time since the inception of the Woordfees, it will have its own newspaper. "This is a big and proud moment. The lack of a Woordfees newspaper has always pained us, especially if you consider the resources available to us: the Journalism Department, Die Burger, Eikestadnuus as well as the many writers, journalists and creatives in our midst," according to Saartjie Botha, the director of Woordfees 2015. “We are also privileged to have Jacolette Kloppers, lecturer in journalism at the North-West University's Vaal Triangle Campus, as first editor. I am not aware of a single person that would doubt her abilities or integrity.”

The experienced Hannelie Cronjé, will fulfil the role of publisher. She is well known in this field and has many years of experience at Die Burger. Cronjé, who currently resides in Reitz is also the publisher of the KKNK newspaper, Krit.

Botha assures that even though the festival owns the newspaper, it will not dictate editorial policy. "Fair criticism is healthy and the festival needs to grow and develop." The participation of the Department of Journalism will, according to her, also contribute to strengthen the paper's independent voice. "The office of the editor will function independently, without interference from the Woordfees organisers."

Reviews will mainly be done by the experienced journalists on the team, while the journalism-students will, generally, be responsible for Woordfees news.

Eikestadnuus will host the daily digital edition on their website.

Competition: The public is invited to suggest a name. Litnet will host an online competition in search of the ideal title. Five double tickets to any shows are on offer. (Subject to availability.)* Visit http://www.litnet.co.za/Article/wen-vyf-dubbelkaartjies-na-us-woordfees-2015.

The tablet sized, 12 page newspaper will appear seven times. A special Overview is planned Thursday the 5^th of March. Thereafter it will be published daily form Monday 9 March up to Saturday 14 March.

* The US Woordfees retains there right not to use any of the suggestions.

For more information, or an interview with any of the artists, please contact Frieda le Roux at the Woordfees office or on 082 742 4156 or at friedaleroux@sun.ac.za

For advertising, please contact Hannelie Cronje at 083 303 6117 or hanneliec@vkb.co.za.

About the Newspaper

Publisher: Hannelie Cronje

Editor: Jacolette Kloppers

Lay out: Johnn-Grant Munroe

News team: Journalism class of 2015 from the Journalism Department, Stellenbosch University

Journalists and Reviewers: To be announced

Photographers: TO be announced

Digital presence: Eikestadnuus, www.eikestadanuus.co.za

​​​​​Our program just gets bigger and better!

Big Surprise!

Information regarding these show is only available on the website and not in the Festival companion.

Laurika Rauch and Elvis Blue will share the stage at the Spier Amphitheatre during Woordfees.

Hart en See – Laurika Rauch en Elvis Blue

Director: Deon Opperman

Musical Director, adaptation and keyboard: Janine Neethling

With Laurika Rauch, Elvis Blue and a two-man band

Elvis Blue once quipped "At the end, the heart and the see is exactly the same thing: mysterious, unreadable and central to our existence." Laurika and Elvis have more in common than not, thus Hart en See will deliver an unforgettable musical experience!

15 March 20:30 | Spier Amphitheatre | 70min | R180/R150

A Exciting, groundbreaking work from the Namakwaland!

Kalahari Swaan

Script and directing: Jason Jacobs

Supporting cherography: Amy Cloete

With Deidre Jantjies, Kaylin Coetsee, Marco Titus, Dustin Beck and Courtney Smith

A dream galaxy, a neglected house and a old mining company, is where storyteller and listener dust off the dirt blanket to discovery the journey of a young miner earning for freedom. Inspired by Tchaikovsky's Swanemeer, Kalahari Swaan is a rough discovery of the true struggle for a better life.

11 March 20h30 | 14 March 10:00 | 15 March 11:00 | Breughel Theatre | 35 min | R80

An extra performance by

The following program items have changed since the publication of the Festival Companion:

RSG Gespreksreeks: Geldsake (RSG Discussions: Money Matters)

Presented by Naledi and RSG

What is the key to financial success? Is there a sure way to happiness and wealth?  Prof. Niel Krige, Dries du Toit and Hein Kruger discuss money related matters with the worldwide bestseller The richest man in Babylon as backdrop.

9 March 10:00 | Book Tent | 50min | R50

RSG Gespreksreeks: Regsake (RSG Discussions: The Law)

Presented by Naledi and RSG

Are books that try to present the law to "dummies" worth it? Which law issues should the man on street be aware of? Igna Klynsmith (Wat sê die prokureur?) and Ian Wessels discuss contracts, legal advice and self-help books.

12 March 10:00 | Book Tent | 50min | R50

RSG Gespreksreeks: Sielkunde (RSG Discussions: Psychology)

Presented by Naledi and RSG

Do self-help books help? OR do these just exploit the weaknesses of the readers? How do you choose a good self-help book? Louis Awerbuck and Lise Swart (Wie is ek?) discuss the self-help genre and the reactions of readers.  

11 March 10:00 | Book Tent | 50min | R50

​ 

Cancelled shows:

Al Lovejoy: Acid Alex

Jakkie Louw:  Die musikant se handboek

À la manière de ... TwoPianists

Playland

Woord en klank: DJ Opperman se “Gebed om die gebeente”

Praat van die duiwel

​Robbers targeted students on and off Stellenbosch campus during the past week. 

Especially visitors to the Jan Marais Park should be vigilant. Don’t walk alone and keep pepper-spray handy. 

Campus Security emergency number: 021 808 2333. 

Three people connected to incidents that took place on campus were arrested by Campus Security.​

​The Stellenbosch University (SU) Museum helps us to understand our world through its different collections – be it cultural history or visual arts.

And according to Prof Leopold van Huyssteen, acting Rector and Vice-Chancellor of SU, this is a continuous task. Because the world is constantly in a state of change. "And so are we – as individuals as well as an institution."

Van Huyssteen was the keynote speaker at the opening of the Museum's exhibition Stellenbosch University - Past Present Future on Wednesday evening (18 February 2015).

He quoted the American architecture critic, Martin Filler: "What a museum chooses to exhibit is sometimes less important than how such decisions are made and what values inform them."

He added: "The SU Museum is not a sterile place frozen in time, but a living, breathing space, where the past is brought alive and the future within reach."

Although SU officially opened on 2 April 1918 and the university consequently celebrates its centenary in 2018, the Act paving the way for the former Victoria College to became a university was passed in 1916.  Two years later SU officially came into being.  

A milestone in the university's history is the celebration of the founding of the Het Jan Marais Nationale Fonds on 30 May 1915, through which SU benefactor Jan Marais bequeathed the money to establish the institution.

"With the opening in 1918 there were 558 enrolled students. Today we have close to 30 000 students, and since 1918 the University has bestowed more than 222 000 qualifications – to the benefit of not only those who graduated but to the community," said Van Huyssteen. 

"We are Africa's No 1 research-productive university, our first-year retention rate is more that 86%, our undergraduate success rate is the best in South Africa and we excel at a range of sporting an cultural activities." 

Mr Bongani Mgijima, Director of the museum said that museums are notorious for focusing on the past "as if life suddenly came to an end".

Referring to Duncan Cameron, a director of the Brooklyn museum in America, who described the museum as either a temple for the admiration of objects, or a forum for dialogue about important issues, Mgijima said the museum as temple is a sacred space where people, wishing to escape the realities outside the museum, can flee to.

 But, if it is regarded as a forum, the museum becomes a space where ideas and "truths" can be challenged.

"The museum as forum accepts that its truths are not the only truths and that the voice of the museum is not necessary the only voice," said Mgijima. 

"It becomes a lively and noisy arena for experimentation. A safe space for meaningful conversations about the past, present and the future."

Mgijima added that the university museum of the future has to be future-focused, transformative, innovative and inclusive – the same values contained in SU's Vision 2030.  The task of a museum of the future is to honour the past with the goal of creating an acceptable future."

Prof Matilda Burden, curator of this exhibition, said the aim of this exhibition is to reflect SU's past, present and future factually – without interpretation, speculation or commentary.

"Should he wish to do so, it is up to the individual visitor to speculate," she said. 

• The University Museum is located at 52 Ryneveld St, Stellenbosch, and is open to the public six days of the week, Mon to Sat, 08:00-16:30.
• For more information on the exhibition click here.
• Photo: Visitors take a closer look at the scale model of the Old Main Building, or Ou Hoofgebou. (Photographer: Desmond Thompson)

How Die Neelsie came into being

Walking through the exhibition is indeed an interesting experience. On old photographs from the 1940s and 1950s the formal hairstyles, neat dresses of the women and the suits of the men catches the eye.  

Compare these photographs with those taken recently, and the contrast is startling:  women students dressed in short shorts, men with long hair, sloppy T-shirts and shorts, men and women wearing flip flops.

Although the students on the old photographs seem rather strict and seriously academic, it seems there was nonetheless time for some fun – as the photographs of the different dance societies show.

The Jan Pierewiet revue group has a particularly interesting history and is directly linked to Die Neelsie student centre.

According to Burden the company got its name from the old Afrikaans folk song, Jan Pierewiet. This revue company was founded in 1937 and the members soon made it clear they wanted a recreation centre. They would name it after the poet CJ Langenhoven (Sagmoedige Neelsie) who had passed away in 1931. 

They knew they would not get any money from the authorities, and started touring in order to obtain money for the centre.

When the company was dissolved in the 1950s, there was still no centre, but quite a substantial amount of money in the bank. In the 1970s the university authorities decided to build a student centre – with the money of the Jan Pierewiet company. And this is how Die Neelsie – official name CJ Langenhoven Student Centre – came into being.   

• ​Photo: The Jan Pierewiet entertainment group in 1952. This band of students raised funds for a student centre at Maties. ​
  

​​​Stellenbosch University (SU) has a certain rhythm. And a year after he took over as Dean in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS), Prof Stan du Plessis believes he has come to understand the rhythm of being Dean here.

However, Du Plessis did not simply sit back and observe what was happening around him this past year. To the contrary. He launched a number of initiatives and he admits there are a few things he is especially proud of.

Under his stewardship the Graduate School for Economic and Management Sciences (GEM) was established. He started work on making this School a reality in 2013 and in 2014 the first full-time PhD students started work on their 3-year research projects. The initiative was further expanded in 2015 with the Graduate School for Staff in Economic and Management Sciences (STEM).

"GEM offers financial and organisational aid to students and helps them with the substance of their studies in order to obtain a semi-structured PhD over three years. STEM is also a semi-structured programme which gives personnel employed in the Faculty an opportunity to work on their PhDs part time over four years," explains Du Plessis.

 "Our students at GEM include people from other African countries and the Graduate School is therefore an investment in training the next generation of academic leaders of Africa in the broader management sciences."

According to Du Plessis there have traditionally been very few opportunities for EMS personnel to study for a PhD full time. And when personnel did register for a PhD, it took quite a long time to complete their studies because of the part-time nature thereof.

In 2014, 10 students registered for GEM, and in 2015, the intake was 11 new students. 12 members of staff registered for STEM.

"I am impatient and want to employ as many PhD graduates as possible in the Faculty. My expectation is that with each new appointment, the staff member has to obtain a PhD within four years."

Du Plessis says he is proud of other achievements of his EMS colleagues. Last year the US Business School (USB) obtained triple accreditation – or the Triple Crown as it is known in the world of business schools: from the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), AMBA (Association of MBAs) as well as five-year accreditation of Equis (European Quality Improvement System). The USB is the only school for management in Africa to obtain this achievement. The University of Cape Town and the American University (Cairo) only has three-year accreditation.

 "The Triple Crown places the USB prominently on the world stage," says Du Plessis. "Stellenbosch's new Rector, Prof Wim de Villiers, who will take up his position officially in April, last year said that SU is healthy. I want to add that this university is more vibrant than ever before and that EMS makes a huge contribution to this success story."

In 2014 the Faculty delivered 17 PhD students – the largest number of PhDs yet to graduate in one year. EMS also represented about half of all magister degrees at SU, 40% of honours degrees and 30% of B degrees.

The Faculty's Bureau for Economic Research which celebrated its 70^th year in 2014, is renowned globally for its quality of independent and authoritative economic research and forecasting.

The African Centre for HIV/Aids Management annually reaches thousands of people through its community projects and the MPhil programme aimed at managing the risks of MIV/Aids.

"The Faculty has reason to be proud. When its predecessor, the Faculty of Commerce was founded by the Senate in 1925, it was a brave experiment, but one that quickly proved its worth. Today, 90 years later, it is one of the most highly acclaimed faculties of its kind in the country. One can scarcely imagine a university without such a faculty. We will celebrate this illustrious history on 18 April with a banquet in Paarl," says Du Plessis.

"As was the case with the other faculties at SU, 2014 was a difficult financial year for EMS. We have an ongoing challenge to maintain our status as a leading public university in an environment where state subsidies continue to shrink in real terms, and economic realities prevent us from making up the shortfall with excessive tuition fees​. Nonetheless, the Faculty implemented a new budget model in 2014 and with the co-operation with the University, our finances are in a very healthy state."

Another challenge is to implement parallel medium teaching successfully in the Faculty.

 "We have many modules and there are specific challenges in making the content available in two languages by, among other things, utilising interpretation services. However, there is a lot of enthusiasm from personnel who make a huge contribution to help create a multilingual Faculty."

What other challenges lie ahead?

"The tasks of a Dean include ensuring that the staff – the Faculty has over 200 academic and about 150 support staff – is managed well and that people work together efficiently. In some respects I have made mistakes regarding people management, but I have also learnt valuable lessons. It is extremely important to me that the management has to be as transparent as possible and that each staff member understands exactly what we are busy with and what their role is. This is why I continuously talk to different groups in the Faculty in order to help establish a shared vision and to acknowledge each one's contribution."

Another challenge is to promote the Faculty on the highest level.

"Deans are members of SU's management and it is quite tricky to promote your Faculty's interests on that level without creating conflict with other environments. The word and the university environment are changing rapidly.  We cannot say with certainty where we will be in ten years. However, we do know that the next decade will throw up fundamental challenges in the university sphere and that these same challenges will supply us with opportunities to be even more outstanding.

 "We also know that the composition of students and academics will be different. Our challenge is to share SU's world class infrastructure with students from all corners of our country and continent. It is not only about formal access to infrastructure in order for an individual to apply, but also about empowering them to make that choice and the desire to come to this university because the student will truly feel at home here. Besides all the initiatives already mentioned, we are also launching an ambassador programme this year through which we will encourage students to study here.  We will also do work on our physical spaces – lecture rooms and portals – to better accommodate students and to ensure that everybody can identify with our beautiful campus."  

​​​​​If ticket sales are anything to go by, this year's US Woordfees promises to be a big hit.

Upward of 45% more tickets have already been sold compared with this time last year. And forget about trying to get hold of tickets for Nataniël's show. Ditto for lunch with Pieter-Dirk Uys, who celebrates his 70th birthday this year. Because all the tickets have already been sold out.

Also sold out are the conversation on China in Africa, the talks with writer Marlene van der Westhuizen, who will be sharing secrets of a French cooking class, and with De Wet Potgieter, whose book on Al-Qaeda in South Africa is creating quite a stir, and the performance by the University choir.

And to get tickets for the dramas Dogma, Die seemeeu and Vir ewig en altyd – you'll have to jump to it! The same goes for the show Hart en See with the ever-popular Laurika Rauch and Elvis Blue and for the show Doep is nie dood nie. And there are only a few tickets left for the discussion with the architect couple Gawie and Gwen Fagan and for Willem Anker's discussion of his book, Buys; 'n grensroman, about the larger-than-life Coenraad de Buys.

As always, there will be several meet-and-eateries dotted around the heart of the festival premises. Early birds, for example, will be able to settle in at the Plataan café from six in the morning to look and listen how the team of Monitor makes radio happen. Several RSG programmes will also be broadcast live from the Plataan throughout the day, with strong emphasis on Woordfees happenings. The pop-up restaurant under the plane trees will provide something to slake your thirst and still your hunger while you linger and listen.

De Vette Mossel will have edible offerings until late into the night to accompany the various musicians strutting their stuff there; Piet Botha, Arnold Carstens, Koos Kombuis, Schalk Joubert, Jan Blohm and Gerald Clark are just a few of the artists who will be performing. De Vette Mossel will also be hosting Storievuur, storytelling accompanied by fires and food.

For information, go to the Woordfees web page by clicking here

​

​

The University of Pretoria hosted the joint biannual conference of the South African Genetics Society (SAGS) and the South African Society for Bioinformatics (SASBi) at the Kwalata Game Ranch from the 23^rd to 26^th of September 2014. This conference aims to unite scientists from the overlapping disciplines of bioinformatics and genetics in South Africa.  The theme for 2014 was "Beyond Genes and Genomes" highlighting the importance to understand the flood of diverse biological data being currently generated and to correlate that to the function and evolution of biological systems, not only on a single gene level but also on a whole-genome level.

The department was well represented by students and staff that presented both oral and poster presentations, from the various research groups, including Human Genetics, Molecular Breeding & Biodiversity (MBB) and Plant Breeding.

Ms Ellen Ovenden, an MSc candidate in Human Genetics, won the prize for best oral presentation, for her talk, entitled: "Investigating the functional significance of genome-wide variants associated with antipsychotic treatment response", and Ms Charné Rossouw (also an MSc candidate in the Molecular Breeding & Biodiversity group) won the best poster award for her contribution, entitled: "Microsatellite cross-species amplification and high throughput development of single nucleotide polymorphisms in commercially important sharks".

Two members of staff, Drs Aletta van der Merwe and Clint Rhode (both from the Molecular Breeding & Biodiversity group), was also elected to serve on the executive committee of the South African Genetics Society at the annual general meeting of the society.

It's off to Houston in the USA for PhD meat science student Terisa Needham. She will be attending the International Livestock Congress (ILC) in March after receiving one of 12 Student Travel Fellowships to attend this prestigious meeting.

It brings together livestock and meat industry experts from around the world from 4 to 5 March 2015.

Needham received her MSc in Agriculture (cum laude) in December after researching the influence of immunocastration on the carcass quality and nutrient responses of growing pigs. She is now pursuing her doctorate.

Follow-up informaton for staff and students afffected by the fire in the Van der Sterr Building is available on the website of the faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS). Please see the information on classes and modules that will not be presented this week.

Click here for the link to the EMS website.

Staff, students and the public are kindly requested to contact Stefan Els as stefane@sun.ac.za or 021 808-2731 to make photos and videos of the fire available to the University for record keeping purposes. 

Original statement (Sunday 22 Feb 2015)

On Sunday morning, 22 February 2015, a fire damaged parts of the Van der Sterr-building on the campus of Stellenbosch University (SU).

Just before 09:00 a fire alarm was activated in the control room of Campus Security and within 10 minutes Campus Security, the fire brigade and senior SU-staff were on the scene. By 09:15 it was confirmed that no staff or students were inside the building. At around 11:00 the fire was under control. On Sunday afternoon the fire brigade was still on the scene to secure the building.

The roof and third floor on the northern and eastern sections  of the building suffered the most damage.  Fire walls probably prevented the further spreading of the fire to the rest of the building. The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage are  still unknown. The University's insurers will initiate a forensic investigation. "It is with shock and regret that we have learned about the fire, but we are relieved that there were no injuries or lives lost," said Prof Leopoldt van Huyssteen, Chief Operating Officer, and acting Rector and Vice Chancellor.

"Contingency plans were activated immediately to manage the situation and to ensure that academic activities continue with as little disruption as possible. A big thank you to the emergency services and everybody who pitched in to assist ."

A contingency committee met from 12:00 until 15:00  to discuss the necessary  measures and to take action. A number of sub-committees were formed to deal with different aspects.

The building accomodates various departments and divisions of SU's Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS), among which the School of Accounting, Centre for Statistic Consultation, Postgraduate Laboratorium for Logistics, a computer user area as well as workstations for a number of PhD candidates. About 75 staff members work in the builing and up to 2 500 students per period attend classes in the building, including some from other faculties.

"Alternative arrangements are being made to reschedule tests and classes, and to accomodate staff elsewhere. Announcements  regarding this will follow as soon as possible," said Prof Stan du Plessis, Dean of the Faculty of EMS.

Parts of the building escaped the blaze, but it is still too soon to say if any activities will be able to resume there. When the forensic investigation is completed, the necessary arrangement will be made to allow staff and students with propety inside the building access.

In 2010 the RW Wilcocks-building was damaged in a fire, but was rebuilt and reopened in 2013. Lessons learnt from that fire – and other incidents on campus, among which the fire at Eendrag Mens Residence – have been implemented all over campus.  Fire prevention measures – including fire walls and alarms have been installed. A fire wall in the Van der Sterr building possibly prevented the fire from spreading further.

Everybody who have been affected by the fire will receive assistance. Counselling will be provided, and funds will be made available to replace urgent books and equipment. The building is covered by the University's insurance, but investigations must be completed before subsequent processes  can be finalised.

• Staff and students who are affected by the Van der Sterr fire, can send an email to vandersterrinfo@sun.ac.za.
• Keep an eye on the SU website – www.sun.ac.za – for further announcements. The SU Twitter account and Facebook page will also be used for distributing information.

University staff have been making alternative arrangements for lecture halls, offices and computer user areas on Sunday. Further arrangements will be announced on the website of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. All students who have attended classes in the Van der Sterr building are requested to consult the website regularly.

​​​The 2^nd only Sharks International was held in Durban from 2-6 June 2014 and was hosted by the Kwazulu-Natal Sharks board. Dr Aletta van der Merwe and four of her postgraduate students, Daphne Bitalo (PhDAgric), Simo Maduna, Charné Rossouw, Gibbs Kuguru (all MSc students) attended this surprisingly controversial conference. Nearly 300 delegates, representing 38 countries were in attendance, and although talks focused on amazing new discoveries in shark science, the conference received more than 7,000 tweets via the conference hashtag #Sharks14 regarding controversial topics such as the bather protection netting, shark cage diving and shark finning practices. Topics for conference sessions over the next four days included acoustic telemetry, physiology, genetics, fisheries and population ecology to name a few. The mid-conference tour with the biggest participation turned out to be the Aliwal Shoal Scuba Diving. On another diving excursion a diver even had a close encounter with a Blacktip shark and the scratch marks to proof it. The amount of networking and collaborations established during the conference was just incredible and taken that southern Africa is one of the shark biodiversity hotspots in the world, there is no doubt that this is one of the most fascinating and to a large extent unexplored faunas of our coast. Following the conference, two of the students Simo Maduna and Charné Rossouw also joined Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) on one of their offshore voyages to amongst other things physically tag sharks. The shark genetics group focus their research on assessing genetic connectivity and population structure of commercially important shark species such as common smoothhound (Mustelus mustelus), soupfin shark (Galeorhinus galeus), copper sharks (Carcharhinus brachyurus) and smooth hammerheads (Sphyrna zygaena).

​​The Department of Genetics and Institute of Plant Biotechnology held their joint annual year end function on Thursday 27 November at Groenvlei farm just outside Stellenbosch. Staff and students were treated to a delicious three course meal and live music by Francois Haasbroek. Everyone celebrated in style as they dressed up for the "Great Gatsby" theme. The effort was not in vain as prizes were awarded to the "Best dressed individual" and "Best dressed couple".  The department was also honoured to have two special guests: Prof Louise Warnich (dean of the Science faculty) and Prof Danie Brink (acting dean of the AgriScience faculty). Both of them are well known within the department and were even finalists in the dress up competition!

Scientists from the Faculty of Science at Stellenbosch University (SU) are responsible for a brand new addition to the Woordfees programme this year, namely Science Café Stellenbosch.

The aim of a Science Café is to bridge the gap between science and the general public by entering into a conversation in a non-academic environment, like a restaurant or café. There are already hundreds of Science Cafés all over the world.

Prof Louise Warnich, dean of the Faculty of Science at SU, says a Science Café is the ideal opportunity to involve the public in conversations about science: "Scientists have a responsibility to communicate the findings of their research, but we have an even greater responsibility to engage with the general public, and that in a language that everyone can understand."

During Woordfees 2015 two of South Africa's foremost specialists on climate change and sustainable development, Guy Midgley and Reinette Biggs, will untangle 'doom and gloom' stories about climate change and environmental collapse to get you thinking and talking about the global economy and alternative development paths for our region and the Planet.

In a second Science Café, scientists from the Department of Botany and Zoology will not only talk about the birds and the bees, but also about ants and insects in general. Mike Cherry will explore why and how song has evolved in birds, Theresa Wossler will explain why the Western Cape honey bee may be under threat, while Natasha Mothapo reckons ants are such coordinated super organisms that you will never get rid of them. Michael Samways will join the conversation with a perspective on why insects should be conserved (and not instantly sprayed with a can of Doom).

Science Café Stellenbosch will be mediated by well-known radio and television personality Dave Pepler and the palaeontologist, Jurie van den Heever.

After the Woordfees, Science Café Stellenbosch will become a regular event. Prof Pieter Swart, Vice-dean: Research in the Faculty of Science, invites the public to participate and suggest topics and speakers: "We want to talk about science and Science Café Stellenbosch creates the ideal opportunity to do so."

Science Café Stellenbosch will take place on Tuesday 10 March and Wednesday 11 March from 19:30-20:30 at Die Khaya. Entrance is free.

For more information, contact sciencecafe@sun.ac.za or view the Woordfees programme at

http://www.sun.ac.za/english/woordfees/

On the photo, scientists from the Faculty of Science at Stellenbosch University will tackle issues such as climate change, and the birds and the bees, at the first Science Café Stellenbosch to be held during the Woordfees. They are, from the left, Reinette Biggs, Natasha Mothapo, Mike Cherry, Theresa Wossler and Guy Midgley. Photo: Anton Jordaan

Issued by Wiida Fourie-Basson, media: Faculty of Science, Stellenbosch University

021 808 2684   science@sun.ac.za

​Prof Wim de Villiers, the rector designate of Stellenbosch University (SU), delivered the welcoming address at a conference of the Forum of University Nursing Deans in South Africa (FUNDISA) hosted at SU's Division of Nursing Science on 19 February 2015.

At this conference, attended by all the heads of nursing programmes at higher education institutions in South Africa, issues of national importance around nursing and midwifery came under the spotlight.

It was De Villiers' first official speaking engagement as SU rector designate. He was appointed in December, and takes up his position in April.  Currently, he is Dean of the University of Cape Town's Faculty of Health Sciences.

In his opening remarks at the FUNDISA meeting he said that nursing and midwifery are vital components of health care. He stressed that he holds academic scholarship in high regard.

De Villiers is a Matie alumnus and medical doctor who also studied and worked in England and America for 24 years. He obtained an MB,ChB from Stellenbosch University and a DPhil in Immunology from Oxford University. In America he practised as a gastroenterologist and also established himself as a respected researcher in this field. He held a number of senior positions at the University of Kentucky (UK), including Head of Gastroenterology and Administrative Head of the UK's group of hospitals and clinics, known as UK HealthCare.

The training of nurses and the scholarship of the subject are of particular interest to De Villiers. "Higher education institutions play a pivotal role in this regard, and the commitment to excellence shown by universities and structures such as FUNDISA is very encouraging."

"We need to pursue excellence in nursing scholarship in South Africa," he said. He praised FUNDISA for their focus on academic excellence, which is clearly stated by their motto of 'excellence in university nursing scholarship'.

De Villiers added that the focus of these institutions must not be on education only, but research and scholarship are of equal importance. "Nursing and midwifery are dependent on expert knowledge and skills," De Villiers said.

He also touched on the importance of an interprofessional team approach and explained that recent research suggests that collaboration between health professionals has a positive impact on the quality of service.  "In USA hospitals one will often find the office of the Chief Nursing Officer right next to the office of the Chief Operating Officer."

De Villiers cautioned that South Africa is facing an epidemic of non-communicable diseases over the next decade. South Africa was successful in managing HIV related issues, but the biggest challenge health care will be facing in the near future is that of non-communicable diseases.  "We need to train for this and do research if we want to manage this challenge successfully."

The Division of Nursing at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences hosted the two day event. The newly appointed head of the division, Prof Anita van der Merwe, said that she aims to have the undergraduate nursing reinstated at Stellenbosch University and to develop the PhD programme to full capacity.

PHOTO: From left to right are Profs Hester Klopper, CEO of FUNDISA; Usuf Chikte, Executive Head: Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, FMHS; Dr Therese Fish, Deputy Dean: Community Service and Interaction, FMHS; Profs Wim de Villiers, Rector Designate, SU; Marietjie de Villiers, Deputy Dean: Education, FMHS; and Anita van der Merwe, Head: Division of Nursing Sciences, FMHS PHOTO:  Desmond Thompson

​

ENDLER CONCERT SERIES Korngold Project 2

15 February 2015

Fismer Hall, Stellenbosch

Viva TwoPianists Records! The Korngold-projek is namely a local project initiated by this company. At the moment they are recording the second CD with works by the Austrian composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold with leading international musicians. Hopefully this is not the last of this composer.

In 2013 Korngold's Piano Trio, op. 1 and his Suite, op. 23 was completed as Part 1 of the project with the violists Daniel Rowland (from Britain and the Netherlands), Priya Mitchell (Brittain), the cellist Julian Arp (Germany) and the pianist Luis Magalhães (South Africa and Portugal).

Sunday afternoon Part 2 was recorded in the Fismer Hall. The first part of the program consisted of Korngold's Piano Quintet in E major, op.15, with violists Daniel Rowland and Francesco Sica, viola player Gareth Lubbe, cellist Julian Arp en pianist Luis Magalhães.

The musicians' surrender to the music was enthralling, their energy infectious and the way in which they were attuned and responsive to one another – in a work that at times maintained quite a fast tempo – was praiseworthy.

The second movement contrasts strongly with the first and is hair-raisingly beautiful. One had the feeling that Daniel Rowland, while performing, becomes one with his instrument – his violin an extension of his body. A poem by Afrikaans poet Leon Strydom, in his anthology Geleentheidsverse, involuntarily came to my mind. It is the poem "John Williams, De Doelen" in which he describes the sensual interaction between the guitarist and his instrument. A free translation of the four lines that came to mind: "god, he caresses him / and lulls him / he strokes the neck / the warmth of each spot".

The second part of the program followed on the first without a break – the recording had to be completed before load shedding started.

The String Sextet in D major, op.10, which Korngold composed at the age of 17 years, reflects pure joie de vivre and the energetic performance of the instrumentalists indeed did justice to the joyfulness of the piece.

It is a pity, however, that some people just do not listen to a simple request to switch off their cell phones during a performance or recording. The String Sextet had hardly begun when a cell phone abruptly butt in. Was it my imagination that the very same Rowland had trouble keeping his self-control? In the first few measures after the most unwelcome disruption I detected something like a fury in his performance. Completely justified. However, for this laywoman the performance as a whole was a tour de force. 

​​This SU registered short course targets undergraduate students as future professionals who can reach populations within and beyond South Africa. The course is offered by the Institutional HIV Office and will be presented on 13-14 and 27-28 March 2015.

Training topics will include social justice and vulnerability, latest HIV biomedical facts, developments in HIV prevention and discussions of the role of gender, sexuality education and most at risk populations. 

The course is a registered short course at SU and full attendance will be required to receive a certificate. The course is offered free of charge to all registered undergraduate Matie students and will accept a maximum of 25 participants.

The online application forms are available ​​​​​here.

Applications close 11 March 2015.