​Johannes Henoch Marais died in 1915 but the legacy of this "benefactor of Stellenbosch" is still very much alive in the academic, social and public life of this Boland town.

On 30 May this year, exactly 100 years after his death, Marais' legacy, which includes the founding of Stellenbosch University (SU), the media giant Naspers and the Cape Town daily Die Burger, will be honoured with a dinner, documentary video, a book and a wreath-laying ceremony.

The wreath-laying will take place at his grave on Papegaaiberg at 10:00, and the dinner at his former home at Coetzenburg at 18:30. This dwelling – the Jan Marais House – is now the home of Maties Sport. With the dinner, the 100-year existence of Het Jan Marais Nationale Fonds (The Jan Marais National Fund, HJMNF) will also be celebrated.

A book by Prof Pieter Kapp about the life of Jan Marais, Nalatenskappe sonder einde: Die verhaal van Jannie Marais en die Marais-broers , as well as a documentary film by Herman Binge, Die goeie gewer will also be launched. The film will be broadcast on kykNET on 31 May at 14:30. An exhibition in the cellar of the Jan Marais House as well as an exhibition in the SU library will tell the story of the Marais brothers in words and photographs.

Marais, who is known as Oom Jannie among students, left his home in 1870 as a 19-year-old with three of his brothers to seek his fortune on the diamond fields at the confluence the Vaal and Orange Rivers. Here his brother, Christiaan, found a fortune of diamonds at the lowest point of the river in that area. The brothers started on a journey of extending their business interests, and a year later they moved to Kimberley where they cemented their fortunes with further business expansions. They eventually became major shareholders in the company De Beers Consolidated Diamond Mines.

On his return to Stellenbosch in 1891, Marais and his brother Frikkie bought the farm Coetzenburg from their mother. Jannie would later also buy Frikkie's share. He quickly established himself as one of the leading figures of the town and in 1910, when South Africa became a Union, he became the first representative of Stellenbosch to serve in the House of Assembly.

In his testament of 1915, Oom Jannie bequeathed £100 000 for Stellenbosch University to be established out of Victoria College. In today's terms,  this amount is worth at least R100 million. He also gave a substantial sum of money for the founding of Nasionale Pers (Naspers) and Die Burger.

His testament also provided for the establishment of HJMNF, which currently awards some R20 million annually to a number of developmental projects in Stellenbosch and elsewhere in support of the Afrikaans language.

These donations include an annual amount to every school in the Stellenbosch municipal district; support to homes for the aged and disabled; a contribution to SciMathUS, a bridging programme of SU through which young people get a second chance to improve their matric marks in order to gain admission to university; a number of bursaries; and support of various cultural projects and initiatives, including the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South African Academy for Science and Arts) and the Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal.

The HJMNF also contributed financially to the book Nagmusiek – part fiction and part biography of the composer Arnold van Wyk. The author, Prof Stephanus Muller, a lecturer in musicology and head of SU's Documentation Centre for Music (Domus), recently won the University of Johannesburg's Debut Prize for Writing. Another important literary work supported by HJMNF is ʼn Geskryfde lewe (2013), John Kannemeyer's biography of Nobel laureate JM Coetzee.

VIVUS May 2015 - read about the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences' innovation, engagement and excellence. 

Latest issue of the Faculty newsletter includes:

- Groundbreaking cost-effective skin graft developed at SU
- New procedure for emphysema sufferers a first for Africa
- Talented medical student publishes poetry compilation
- Radiation oncology unit tackles cancer in Africa

Read more: http://www0.sun.ac.za/vivus/2015-05-02.html

​South African research into economic history has gained momentum with the launch of the Laboratory for the Economics of Africa's Past (LEAP) at Stellenbosch University yesterday.

LEAP is affiliated to the SU Department of Economics.

"It brings together scholars and students interested in understanding and explaining the long-term economic development of Africa's diverse societies," says Dr Johan Fourie of the Department of Economics.

Congratulating the Department, Prof Stan du Plessis, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, said he was delighted that the inaugural event of LEAP coincides with the 90th anniversay of the Faculty.

"Prof Sampie Terreblanche spent years to ensure that students of economics did not forget the past. During the last decade we've seen renewed interest in economic history. The World Economic History Congress, which was held in Stellenbosch in 2012, also provided momentum.

"Studying the historical development of an economy provides a context for existing challenges and a source of hypotheses to explain the trajectory of its evolution."

Dr Fourie added, "Economic history has become increasingly important as a framework for studying questions not just in economic history, but also in other fields of economics, particularly macroeconomics, microeconomics and development economics."

• On the photo are some of the students and researchers at LEAP with, in the back row, Dr Johan Fourie (centre) and the Dean, Prof Stan du Plessis (far right); and, in the front row, Dr Sophia du Plessis (far left), Senior Lecturer in Economics.

​

Forestry scientists and bee farmers in the Western Cape are holding thumbs that the natural enemy of an Australian wasp will counter the increasing occurrence of this invasive insect in the province's eucalyptus plantations. Gum trees, and especially the flowers they bear, are an important additional food source for bee colonies in the Cape fynbos region.

Leptocybe invasa (also known as the Chalcid eucalypt wasp) comes from Australia, where eucalypts occur naturally. The wasp has spread to the USA, North and West Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia since the year 2000. It was first observed in South Africa in 2007, and since 2013 has also occurred in Western Cape plantations.

The female wasp provides the biggest headache to bee farmers and plantation owners. She lays her eggs in the leaf stems and veins of the eucalyptus leaves, among other places. The developing larvae cause nodular galls in the infected leaves. The trees lose their leaves and vitality, and eventually die. It is still not clear what the effect of the wasp is on older trees.

This insect pest is increasingly found on especially Eucalyptus grandis and its hybrids. Recently it was also discovered in the experimental plantings of the Department of Forest and Wood Science at Stellenbosch University (SU) on the mountain slopes above Coetzenburg. It also occurs in other experimental plantings of the Department elsewhere in the Boland region.

Deon Malherbe, working in the Silviculture Section of the SU Department of Forest and Wood Science, took the initiative to deploy parasitoids that can exert biological control on the Chalcid eucalypt wasp, rather than using chemical products.  He turned to colleagues at the Forestry and Agriculture Biotechnology Institute (FABI) at Pretoria University, who have done extensive research on this subject in plantations in South Africa's summer rainfall areas.

"Biological control measures usually include the natural enemies of a species that occur in the country of origin, and there controls the spread in a natural way," Malherbe explains. "Such natural enemies could include another insect or a type of fungus."

In the case of Leptocybe invasa success has been achieved with the introduction of another kind of wasp, the parasitic Selitrichodes neseri. Studies by FABI have already shown that it will not prey on South Africa's indigenous insects that live in the plantations.

A sample of Selitrichodes neseri were obtained from FABI and released on the mountain slopes above Coetzenburg on 16 April. This is the first time this wasp has been released in the winter rainfall area of the Western Cape.

It is planned that the progress and effect of this wasp makes in controlling Leptocybe invasa will be carefully studied during the course of an MSc research project.

Typically, the parasitic wasp will visit an infected plant and lay an egg in the gall that forms after an egg of Leptocybe invasa is laid in the leaf stem. The parasitic wasp egg is laid on the larvae of the gall wasp. When it hatches, it feeds on the larvae of Leptocybe and develops further.

"It leaves the gall as an adult insect and then flies to the next infected plant," explains Malherbe. "In this way it stops the spread of the invasive gall wasp, which is unable to develop further and to lay eggs."

Most of the honey that is produced in the Western Cape comes from the hives of bees which feed on the flowers of eucalyptus trees. Bees are also an extremely important link in commercial farming activities. Farmers rely on bees for the cross-pollination of many fruit and vegetable crops.

Dr Ruan Veldtman of the SU Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology expands on the importance of eucalyptus trees in the Western Cape bee farming industry: "Thanks to gum trees a larger number of honey bee swarms survive in the fynbos area. This would not have been possible naturally, especially during periods when there are not sufficient forage plants available. It is therefore important that we retain flowering gums within the current environmental legislation in our agricultural environment."

Other research on eucalypts

Parasitoid release and monitoring form part of the research portfolio of the Department of Forest and Wood Science at Stellenbosch University. Dr Ben du Toit leads research in the Silviculture Section, where some of the research effort is focussed on dryland forestry (including experimentation with improved genetic material site-species matching as well as silvicultural and agroforestry systems for implementation in the winter rainfall region). The site-species matching studies test new taxa as well as fast-growing gum hybrids that flourish in the summer rainfall areas, but could possibly also be planted in the Western Cape. Tests are also being done on the flowering and seed formation of species that are suited to cooler climates.

"There are more than 800 species under the genera Eucalyptus and Corymbia and the possibility to make new hybrids is vast," says Dr Du Toit. "From these hybrids and even from pure species, that do not tend to become problem or invasive plants, one can select taxa that are drought resistant and also resistant to pests and disease."

The wood quality of some drought resistant species is being tested by Dr Brand Wessels, also of the Department of Forest and Wood Science. He found that this wood is suitable for higher quality timber products, and that it can be used for more than just firewood and fence posts. "This means that farmers with these species on their farms can in the future use the wood for nobler purposes and obtain better prices for it, above and beyond the important ecosystem services such as bee feeding, shade for livestock and carbon sequestration that eucalypts already provide," he says.

Media enquiries:
Dr Ben du Toit
Research leader: Silviculture Section
Department of Forest and Wood Science, Stellenbosch University
ben@sun.ac.za
021 808 3305

Photo captions:

LeptobiocontrolDeon.jpg

Deon Malherbe of the Department of Forest and Wood Science at Stellenbosch University with students in silviculture investigated plants that have been attacked by the Leptocybe invasa wasp. Photo: Anton Kunneke

LeptobiocontrolBen.jpg

Dr Ben du Toit of the Department of Forest and Wood Science at Stellenbosch University and some of his silviculture students during the release of the parasitic wasp Selitrichodes neseri. Photo: Anton Kunneke

LeptobiocontrolWesp.jpg

The parasitic wasp Selitrichodes neseri. Photo: Anton Kunneke

Prof Barney Pityana, programme advisor for the Thabo Mbeki Foundation and former Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission as well as Rector and Vice-Chancellor of UNISA, will be the keynote speaker at 09h:45 at a conference at the Faculty of Theology at Stellenbosch University (SU) on Tuesday (2 June 2015).

The annual conference, known as a Winter School, takes place from 2-4 June. The theme for this year is Changing the World? An invitation to faithful discipleship and responsible citizenship. The Winter School is hosted jointly by the Faculty and two of its centres, the Beyers Naudé Centre for Public Theology and Ekklesia, as well as Communitas.

As a service arm of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) and the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), Communitas assists pastors and churches with their work. Ekklesia is an ecumenical service centre of t​​he Faculty that invites churches and other organizations to join a "network pool" that offers coordinated services to churches and other role players.

According to Dr Danie O'Kennedy of Ekklesia, this year's Winter School wants to focus on how churches can contribute to good governance and to making the world a better place.

"This year's Winter School aims to show how the Bible and theological reflection offer guidelines for discipleship that has implications for all aspects of our lives," says Prof Hendrik Bosman, Acting Dean of SU's Faculty of Theology.

He adds: "Faithful discipleship and responsible citizenship are two sides of the same coin and the Winter School wants to acts as catalyst to make this connection a reality in the lives of faith communities."

Among the topics to be discussed are human dignity, transformative leadership, responsible citizenship in a democratic South Africa, the contribution of churches towards addressing poverty and inequality, the role of churches in caring, developing and protection of children, and diversity in congregations.

Other speakers at the Winter School include Prof Amanda Gouws of SU's Department of Political Science, Prof Stan du Plessis, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at SU, Dr Braam Hanekom, former Moderator of the DRC in the Western and Southern Cape, Dr Donald Katts, Moderator of the People's Church of Africa, and Prof Elna Mouton of the Department of Old and New Testament at SU.

Church pastors, students, academics from schools of religion and the general public can attend the Winter School.

• Click here for a full programme of the Winter School.
  
• Contact Helette van der Westhuizen at 021 808 9560 or e-mail hvdwest@sun.ac.za for more information about the Winter School. 

It is well known that men should avoid cigarette smoking if they want to become dads, however a new study suggests that they should also steer clear of other nicotine products, such as e-cigarettes and nicotine-containing patches or gum, to increase their likelihood to conceive.

"The study showed that nicotine has adverse effects on human sperm that could harm a man's ability to get a woman pregnant," said the lead researcher, Dr Peter Oyeyipo, from the Division of Medical Physiology at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences ahead of World No Tobacco Day (31 May). "People forget that cigarettes are not the only nicotine-containing products – patches and gum used for nicotine replacement also contain the substance."

This laboratory study (in vitro) was recently published in the scientific journal Andrologia and found that nicotine negatively affected the sperm cell's ability to swim (motility), the amount of live cells (viability) and the sperm's ability to join with the female egg (acrosome reaction).

When men are exposed to nicotine it shows up in their seminal fluid, where sperm cells come in contact with it.

The study investigated the effect of nicotine exposure on the sperm cells of 12 healthy males. In a laboratory, the sperm cells were exposed to four different concentrations of nicotine (ranging from low to high) over different periods of time. In order to establish at what concentration nicotine adversely affects sperm parameters, the amounts of nicotine were similar to and higher than the levels that men would be exposed to through passive, light, medium and heavy smoking. 

"Low nicotine concentrations, equal to the amount of incidental exposure a passive smoker would experience in his day-to-day life, had little or no effect on sperm cells. But as the level of exposure increased, so did the negative impact," said Oyeyipo, a post-doctoral fellow at the Stellenbosch University Reproductive Research Group (SURRG), whose research focuses on male reproduction.

He does have some good news for former or current smokers hoping to become fathers in future: Oyeyipo's earlier research showed that a man's sperm cell production can return to normal after he quits smoking or other forms of nicotine use.

Photo: Dr Peter Oyeyipo 

Media enquiries

Mandi Barnard
Marketing Coordinator
+27 (0)21 938 9505
mandi@sun.ac.za
Marketing and Communication Office
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Stellenbosch University

Website:                      www.sun.ac.za/health
Facebook:                   www.facebook.com/SUhealthsci
Twitter:                        @SUhealthsci

Two senior managers at Stellenbosch University (SU) are set to join the Rector's Management Team. Prof Nico Koopman, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, will take over from Prof Mohammad Karaan as the Acting Vice-Rector: Community Interaction and Personnel, and Dr Jerome Slamat, Senior Director: Community Interaction, has been seconded to a new position as Executive Manager: Rectorate.

Prof Koopman's management responsibility spans three areas: community interaction, staff and transformation. According to Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of SU, Prof Koopman has shown exceptional expertise as Dean. "At Theology, he was very successful in the creation of a transformed environment, especially in terms of diversity. I look forward to be working with him as a member of the management team," Prof De Villiers said.

SU staff members were also informed on Friday that Dr Slamat will be seconded to the Rector's Office. He will report directly to the Rector and will be responsible for the optimal functioning of the Rector’s Office. Over the next six months, Dr Slamat will have the opportunity to give intrinsic content to this position and determine the scope and responsibilities. The position will then be evaluated formally before a permanent appointment is made. "Dr Slamat is familiar with the academic and support service environments at SU and will make a valuable contribution in ensuring the effective and smooth functioning of the Rector's Office," Prof De Villiers said.

The appointments come after Prof De Villiers's first two months in the Rector's chair. During these two months he has given careful consideration to the content of the Institutional Intent and Strategy (IIS) and the Institutional Plan (IP), and the demands this will place on the Rectorate going forward. "Although there have been many transformation initiatives on campus since 1994, and previous management documents did make reference to transformation, Council’s approval of the IIS in April 2013 placed transformation high on the University’s agenda. Greater diversity is one of SU's four strategic focus areas and transformation one of the strategic management indicators in the IP. Transformation has been embedded in a management responsibility and we will approach it systemically," he said.

Prof Koopman and Prof Karaan will work together in June to ensure an effective transition. Prof Karaan will go on study leave before returning to the Faculty of AgriSciences. "I am grateful for the valuable contribution Prof Karaan has made to the management team," Prof De Villiers said. "He has national commitments on the National Planning Commission and also represents SU in the international arena."

Prof Hendrik Bosman, Professor in Old Testament, will serve as the acting Dean of the Faculty of Theology. Prof Monique Zaahl, Executive Assistant in the office of the late Prof Russel Botman, will be on study leave until the end of November 2015 at which point she may choose to return to the Faculty of AgriSciences or given her experience and specific talents she may be deployed elsewhere with her concurrence, depending on the needs of the University.

​

Marius and Evette Weyers at Woordpret

Marius and Evette Weyers will be the guests at the Woordpret ("Fun with words) of the Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal on 12 June. They will be talking on their careers as artists.

Bellevue Estate will be presenting some of the estate's fine wines.  Wine, juice and snacks will be available form 12:30 and at 13:00 it will be the turn of Marius and Evette.  The program will last 45 minutes and will end before 13:45.

The price of the tickets is R30.  Contact Cecile or Tanja before or on 8 May at 021 8873113 or wat@sun.ac.za to reserve your seat.  There are only 50 seats available.  The Bureau of the WAT is situated in Banghoekweg 115, Stellenbosch. 

​​H. Hofmeyr (1957): il poeta e l'usignolo

J. Ibert (1890-1962): Deux Interludes for Flute, Violin and Piano 

B. Martinu ( 1890- 1959 ): Madrigal Sonata for Flute, Violin and Piano

With three researchers among the finalists, Stellenbosch University (SU) will be well represented at the prestigious 2014/15 National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) and BHP Billiton Awards. This award ceremony is held annually to recognise, celebrate and reward outstanding excellence in Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation (SETI) in South Africa.

The winners will be announced on Thursday 9 July at a gala event at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park where Ms Naledi Pandor, Minister of Science and Technology, and official Patron of the NSTF/ BHP Billiton Awards, will be presenting the awards.

According to the organisers of the award ceremony, it is an exceptional honour to be a finalist, given the quality of the nominees and the fact that participation in the nominations process has increased with 25% from last year.

Prof Bert Klumperman, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science, is a finalist in the category honouring an individual for his or her lifetime contribution (over a decade or more) to research in the field of science, engineering and technology in South Africa.

Regarded as a world leader in the field of radical polymerisation reactions, Klumperman works closely with researchers in microbiology, biochemistry, physiology and medicine to develop polymer systems that will, for example, make it possible to put an active drug in a polymer capsule, direct it to the infected cells and then release it after take-up. 

Klumperman also holds the Advanced Macromolecular Architectures Research Chair of the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChi).

Also among the finalists is Ms Marina Joubert of SU's Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST). She was nominated in the category: Communication for outreach and creating awareness. A champion for public communication of science and technology for more than twenty years, Joubert has conceptualised and launched numerous science communication initiatives and also designed and presented a range of skills development courses for researchers and communication professionals.

Prof John Terblanche of the Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology is a finalist in two categories: the T W Kambule Awards for outstanding research outputs over the last five to 10 years and the NSTF-GreenMatter Award that focuses on biodiversity conservation, environmental sustainability and a Greener Economy.

Terblanche has made several important breakthroughs to understand the physiological, genetic and cellular changes that insects can undergo to adapt to environmental stresses. These have relevance when one wants to understand how insects that carry diseases, invasive species and agricultural pests might spread or need to be managed differently because of climate change.

Having already produced more than 110 scientific publications and contributed to four books, Terblanche counts among SU's top 25 researchers and is a core team member of the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology.

Although not nominated by SU, Prof Jane Carruthers, a Research Associate at UNISA and SU, is a finalist in the category honouring an individual for his or her lifetime contribution (over a decade or more) to research in the field of science, engineering and technology in South Africa.

• Photo: Bert Klumperman, Marina Joubert and John Terblanche
  

​​Prize money of R500 000 will from next year be awarded by Het Jan Marais Nationale Fonds (HJMNF) in collaboration with Naspers and Stellenbosch University to an academic or researcher working in Afrikaans and whose work contributes to strengthening it as an academic language and medium of scientific research.

The establishment of the Jan H Marais prize, the largest of its kind for Afrikaans, was announced on Saturday (30 May 2015) by Prof Andreas van Wyk, chairperson of HJMNF, at a dinner marking the creation of the Fund 100 years ago. The University also announced last week it is to create a fund for the development of Xhosa as an academic language.

The dinner took place at the Jannie Marais House at Coetzenburg. At this event "the benefactor of Stellenbosch",  Johannes (Jannie) Henoch Marais (1851-1915), who died 100 years ago, was also honoured. Earlier in the day, a wreath-laying ceremony took place at his grave on Papegaaiberg.

"With this prize we will acknowledge scientific work and publications of a high standard in Afrikaans," Van Wyk said. "The prize will be awarded jointly by HJMNF, Naspers and Stellenbosch University (SU), which will each contribute to the prize money."

Van Wyk explained that the idea for the prize came from a remark made by Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University (SU).

"After his appointment last year as new Rector, he asked in an interview where the support is from outside of SU for the development of Afrikaans as academic language. He pointed out that financial support cannot just come from his University. This prize is the answer to his challenge."

Exceptional work in all disciplines – arts and social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences and technology – done within South Africa as well as abroad, can be nominated.

Selection will be done by a committee consisting of renowned local and international scientists and academics convened by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South African Academy for Science and Arts). All award ceremonies will take place in Stellenbosch, and the first one is scheduled for 26 May 2016. Recipients will be able to use the prize money as they see fit.

The HJMNF was created in 1915 through a bequest by Jan Marais. Thanks to careful and thorough management over the last century, today this fund has grown to more than R1 billion.

It was also thanks to a bequest of £100 000 (about R100 million today) by Oom Jannie – as Maties students like to call him – that SU was born out of the then Victoria College in 1918. Shortly before his death, Marais also gave £30 000 for the founding of the then Nationale Pers Beperkt (Naspers today) and the daily newspaper De Burger (Die Burger today).

Annually, HJMNF donates more than R20 million to schools, university programmes, hospitals, cultural projects, legal aid and a variety of other organisations and projects, mainly in and around Stellenbosch. However, through its support of a number of other initiatives, including the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees and performing artists, the impact of HJMNF extends nationwide.

The book, Nalatenskappe sonder einde: Die verhaal van Jannie Marais en die Marais-broers, by the historian and Emeritus Professor Pieter Kapp, was launched at the dinner.  And excerpts from Herman Binge's documentary film, Die goeie gewer, was shown at the event. It will be broadcast on kykNET on 31 May at 14:30.

Exhibitions tracing the life of Jannie Marais and his brothers can be seen in SU's library and the Jannie Marais house (the home of Maties Sport today) until the end of June.

Issued by:           Het Jan Marais Nationale Fonds

Contact:               Prof Andreas van Wyk, Chairperson, Cell 082 809 3113; E-mail ahvw@sun.ac.za

Media Inquiries:  Stephanie Nieuwoudt, Cell 083 297 8785; E-mail snieuw@gmail.com

Photo: At the dinner where Prof Andreas van Wyk, chairperson of the Het Jan Marais Nationale Fonds, his wife, Magdaleen, mnr Ton Vosloo, outgoing chairperson of Naspers and his wife, Anet Pienaar-Vosloo (right). ​​Photographer: Anton Jordaan

The competitive level of marketing and student recruitment within higher education requires that universities constantly find innovative student recruitment strategies and actions in order to recruit top achieving students out of a limited pool of potential candidates. Here are some highlights of what has been happening at the Centre for Student Recruitment (CSR) in the past months.

School visits and Information Evenings:

During 2015, the CSR hosted various information evenings throughout South-Africa. Our advisors visited Gauteng and hosted an Information Evening for the Engineering and Economic and Management Sciences faculty in Johannesburg and Pretoria and a general information evening with an AgriSciences focus in KwaZulu-Natal.

In May the Centre hosted two Information Evenings in the Eastern Cape together with representatives of support divisions and faculties.

At these information evenings, parents and learners obtain relevant information on study opportunities at Stellenbosch University, admission requirements, student support services, accommodation, bursaries and loans, sport opportunities and other aspects of being a Matie. Through these activities we reach about 2000 learners, parents and teachers.

"These activities have a dual purpose: recruitment of top achieving students for the University, as well as preparation them for higher education studies. The University places high value on student success, and we aim to help ensure that students are well-prepared for what university studies have in store for them," Magdel Pretorius, Project Manager at the CSR, says.

The Centre for Student Recruitment also identifies about 365 schools to visit every year. During the first semester the CSR advisors reached approximately 218 schools on this list via contact sessions at a school visit, career exhibition or parent evening in the Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Free State, Northern Cape and Namibia reaching approximately 6000 learners.

Open Day:

On Saturday, 28 February 2015, the popular annual Maties Open Day was hosted on Stellenbosch and Tygerberg campuses. More than 8 000 learners visited the various faculties, support services and student bodies. All the faculties as well as the CSR presented information sessions to address all possible questions.

Telematic Broadcasting:

In April the CSR partnered with the Centre for Learning Technologies (CLT) and WCED, who broadcast support programmes in school based curriculum, to use their telematics platform for recruitment and show casting of SU. More than 300 school, mainly in Western Cape, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape. Faculties and other service units were invited to present short presentations, talks and interviews to these Grade 12 learners.

Advisory Sessions:
The CSR offers a campus visit service to prospective students and their parents on Fridays. These visits include an information session with an advisor, followed by a brief orientation tour of the central parts of campus, led by a student ambassador. These visits serve as a valuable tool ensuring that students make informed study and career choices.

Prospective students also get a taste of campus life so that they can prepare themselves for what lies ahead. This service is especially useful for students and parents who are not familiar with the region and the University. The Centre already had over a 300 visits during the first semester.

E-communication:

To remain in touch with prospective learners communication preferences, the CSR makes use of electronic communication such as social media, e-mail, websites, and promotional videos . The SU student recruitment team is also strongly supported in this regard by the Client Service Center that also fall within the Division of Prospective Student Services. Besides dealing with the University's Facebook questions, the centre deals with an average of 30 000 calls and 15 000 e-mails per month.

For more information regarding recruitment activities at the Centre for Student Recruitment, contact 021 808 4704 or send an e-mail to maties@sun.ac.za.

Stellenbosch University (SU) is to create a fund for the development of isiXhosa as an academic language and will also contribute to a new prize for research in Afrikaans.

The SU Management decided to set up the fund to the value of R150 000 that will be awarded annually for the development of isiXhosa as an academic language. The award is additional to the work already being done to promote isiXhosa. The full criteria will be determined over the course of the next few months.

"A key component of the University's language policy is that the institution accepts responsibility for the promotion of isiXhosa as an academic language and language of social interaction judiciously. The fund will help realise this in a practical way," says Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor.

"The initiative is also in line with SU's Language Policy – which was adopted by Council in November last year – a policy which favours multilingualism. Stellenbosch is a world-class multilingual South African university – one of few in this category, which is sorely needed in a country with 11 official languages. We are trying to ensure that language is not a barrier to access, but a tool for success – especially in diverse educational settings."

Various initiatives have been instituted to promote isiXhosa as academic language: as academic field in the Department of African Languages up to PhD level; short courses in basic communication skills; career-specific communication in Education and in Medicine and Health Sciences and the discipline specific terminology guides in for example social work, sociology, psychology, law and economic and management sciences. The Language Centre also has developed sport terminology in three languages for rugby, soccer and cricket. The terminology list for soccer was launched just before the Soccer World Cup in South Africa in 2010 as part of the University's support for the tournament.  

Contribution to research in Afrikaans

The University will also make a contribution, of a similar value, to the Jan H Marais prize that will give recognition to an academic or researcher that has worked and published in Afrikaans and in the process promotes Afrikaans as a scholarly language. The prize is an initiative of the Het Jan Marais Nationale Fonds (The Jan Marais National Fund – HJMNF) with the media company Naspers that will also contribute to this prestigious fund.  

"Today, a scant amount of research is being published via medium Afrikaans. Against the backdrop of a great number of prizes and awards for research in English, the prize is an initiative and incentive that should be welcomed," says Prof De Villiers about the prize.

"A hundred years ago a donation of  £100 000 by Mr Jan Marais made possible the creation of SU as a fully-fledged public university out of the Victoria College, in 1918. Since then more than 200 000 students who graduated from the University benefitted from Mr Marais' contribution. The HJMNF still contributes generously to deserving SU projects – from bursaries, legal aid and community service to music, literature and the arts."

• Liaise with Stephanie Niewoudt at tel 083 297 8785 with media enquiries on the Jan H Marais prize.

Stellenbosch University's (SU) Department of Logistics launched the Logistics Barometer South Africa 2015 on Monday, 1 June. This continues the research published with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Imperial Logistics in the State of Logistics^TM surveys for South Africa over the past ten years.

"This is an exciting development for the University as we are launching a product that is of great importance to the industry," says Zane Simpson, a researcher in the Department of Logistics, who presented a paper on the measuring instrument at the 2015 SAPICS conference at Sun City.

"With this barometer we can further contribute to the extensive knowledge base that has been created with the State of Logistics^TM surveys over the past ten years," says Professor Jan Havenga, who pioneered logistics costs research at SU.

The Logistics Barometer South Africa 2015 reports on logistics costs calculated up until 2013, and forecasted up to 2015. At R393 billion, logistics costs in 2013 equalled 11.1% of South Africa's GDP. This relationship does not compare well with the figures for North America (8.8%), and Europe (9.2%), but is better than those of South America (12.3%) and Asia Pacific (12.8%). Changes in input costs are expected to increase this percentage for 2014 and 2015.

South Africa is one of only three countries that routinely measures and reports logistics costs as a percentage of GDP in a quantitative manner – the others being the USA and Brazil, who measure logistics and transport costs.

"This research serves the country as a whole as it is used for strategic decision making on a provincial as well as national level. It provides regulators, policy makers, infrastructure owners, economic planners and others who operate in the logistics field with intelligence to deal with the issues identified. This research puts the University on the cutting edge in terms of calculating logistics costs using international benchmarks," says Simpson.

South Africa's economy is transport intensive, and the Logistics Barometer identifies transport as the most significant portion of logistics costs in the country. South Africa's GDP constitutes only 0.44% of the global GDP, yet 0.6% of the world's road network and 2% of the world's rail network is in this country.

South Africa accounts for more than 1% of the world's tonne-kilometres, 1.7% of the world's container trade and 5.1% of the world's dry bulk trade. More than 80% of transport costs (85.1% in 2013) are due to road transport, with rail tariffs contributing between 11% – 13%, and pipeline tariffs 2% or less in recent years.

The biggest contributor to road transport costs is fuel. Even with reduced tonne-kilometres in 2013, the total fuel bill was still higher than in 2012. This is attributed to a higher diesel price. The total for some of the variable costs – including driver wages, depreciation and insurance – has seen a slight decrease. However, this is not due to a drop in input costs, but rather a slight change in industry behaviour, warn the contributing researchers and editors of the Logistics Barometer, Nadia Viljoen and David King.

"The Logistics Barometer will have an international impact through the reputation of the underlying research and the long-standing collaboration between SU and other researchers globally," says Simpson.

"Our work is noticed by researchers around the world and used as an example of only a few countries where this measurement is repeated annually and used regularly. We now have 11 years of consecutive logistics costs measurements, and are proud to be leaders in this field."

• The Logistics Barometer and its accompanying figures can be downloaded at: www.sun.ac.za/logisticsbarometer

Prof Stan du Plessis, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, has been ranked first in the category Innovative Research in the Financial Mail's Ranking the Analysts 2015 survey.

In addition to his position as Dean, Prof Du Plessis works part-time as an economist for Prescient Securities.

Published last week, the Financial Mail's rankings, now in their 38th year, recognise the most successful analysts in the financial industry in South Africa.

The rankings and other results are drawn from a confidential questionnaire process conducted with the domestic institutional clients of South African stockbroker firms. The scope of the survey was expanded this year, and questionnaires were completed by 52 (2014: 38) institutional respondents, including asset managers, life insurance companies, some wealth managers and hedge funds. According to the information submitted, the respondents manage a total of R5,8 trillion in domestic assets.

Ten of South Africa's most talented young musicians are semi-finalists in the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival's (SICMF) inaugural International Study Bursary Competition. Among them are two former and two current students of Stellenbosch University's Music Department.

The first prize is R200 000 – the largest single bursary awarded by a South African classical music competition. The semi-finalists were announced on Wednesday, 20 May.

Launched by the SICMF in February this year, this bursary will enable the winner to further his/her music studies abroad at a recognised institution. The competition will run concurrently with this year's SICMF (3 to 12 July) at Stellenbosch University's (SU) Konservatorium.

A total of 19 applications were received for the first round, in which candidates had to submit a 30 to 40 minute recorded recital programme. A screening panel, consisting of two local and four overseas musicians, deliberated on the applications and ten semi-finalists were chosen.

These semi-finalists will compete in the second round, to be held on 1 and 2 July in Stellenbosch. Thereafter four finalists will be selected to perform in the third round on Monday, 6 July. For this final round, the four competitors will perform in the Endler Hall with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) under the baton of the Israeli conductor and SICMF faculty member Daniel Boico.

"For the first round, each of the six jury members listened to nine hours of music. They were all impressed by the high standard of musicianship," says Nina Schumann, Artistic Director of the SICMF.

"Nine of the ten semi-finalists have at some stage in their music careers attended the SICMF. I find it interesting that some of our semi-finalists are very young, while others are more experienced musicians. I believe this competition is the bridge between competitions for school children, university students and semi-professional musicians. The audience can look forward to exceptional performances by these competitors," Schumann adds.

The semi-finalists for the SICMF International Study Bursary Competition are:

• Leana Alkema (28), cello, from Cape Town, currently living in Germany
• David Bester (23), violin, from Stellenbosch
• Willem de Beer (22), piano, from Pretoria
• Lourens Fick (24), piano, from Stellenbosch
• Sakhile Humbane (19), flute, from Cape Town
• Jacques-Pierre Malan (26), cello, from Pretoria, currently living in the USA
• Thapelo Masita (21), cello, from Bloemfontein, currently living in the USA
• Nina Philips (26), piano, from Pretoria, currently living in the USA
• Megan-Geoffrey Prins (24), piano, from Stellenbosch, currently living in the USA
• Myles Roberts (23), flute, from Stellenbosch

A second prize of a bursary worth R60 000, sponsored by Rand Merchant Bank, will also be awarded, as well as an additional four prizes of R10 000 each for respectively the best rendition of a South African work, the best recital, the best rendition of a major chamber music work, and the best concerto performance.

• The SICMF runs from Friday, 3 July to Sunday, 12 July. About 300 South African music students will attend master classes, coaching session and lectures presented by a faculty of 30 local and international musicians. Also, ten evening concerts as well as lunch-time concerts will be presented in the Endler Hall for the duration of the festival. Tickets are available from Computicket or phone 021 808 2358. Visit www.sicmf.co.za for more detail about the programme and performers.

​With three researchers among the finalists, Stellenbosch University (SU) will be well represented at the prestigious 2014/15 National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) and BHP Billiton Awards. This award ceremony is held annually to recognise, celebrate and reward outstanding excellence in Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation (SETI) in South Africa.

The winners will be announced on Thursday 9 July at a gala event at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park where Ms Naledi Pandor, Minister of Science and Technology, and official Patron of the NSTF/ BHP Billiton Awards, will be presenting the awards.

According to the organisers of the award ceremony, it is an exceptional honour to be a finalist, given the quality of the nominees and the fact that participation in the nominations process has increased with 25% from last year.

Prof Bert Klumperman, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science, is a finalist in the category honouring an individual for his or her lifetime contribution (over a decade or more) to research in the field of science, engineering and technology in South Africa.

Regarded as a world leader in the field of radical polymerisation reactions, Klumperman works closely with researchers in microbiology, biochemistry, physiology and medicine to develop polymer systems that will, for example, make it possible to put an active drug in a polymer capsule, direct it to the infected cells and then release it after take-up. 

Klumperman also holds the Advanced Macromolecular Architectures Research Chair of the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChi).

Also among the finalists is Ms Marina Joubert of SU's Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST). She was nominated in the category: Communication for outreach and creating awareness. A champion for public communication of science and technology for more than twenty years, Joubert has conceptualised and launched numerous science communication initiatives and also designed and presented a range of skills development courses for researchers and communication professionals.

Prof John Terblanche of the Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology is a finalist in two categories: the T W Kambule Awards for outstanding research outputs over the last five to 10 years and the NSTF-GreenMatter Award that focuses on biodiversity conservation, environmental sustainability and a Greener Economy.

Terblanche has made several important breakthroughs to understand the physiological, genetic and cellular changes that insects can undergo to adapt to environmental stresses. These have relevance when one wants to understand how insects that carry diseases, invasive species and agricultural pests might spread or need to be managed differently because of climate change.

Having already produced more than 110 scientific publications and contributed to four books, Terblanche counts among SU's top 25 researchers and is a core team member of the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology.

Although not nominated by SU, Prof Jane Carruthers, a Research Associate at UNISA and SU, is a finalist in the category honouring an individual for his or her lifetime contribution (over a decade or more) to research in the field of science, engineering and technology in South Africa.

• Photo: Bert Klumperman, Marina Joubert and John Terblanche
  

Two Stellenbosch University (SU) students are on their way to China after winning the South African Preliminary Competition of the 14^th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for College Students. Liesl Kotze, an Honours Mandarin student, and Jamie Cripwell, a PhD student in Process Engineering, were named joint winners of the competition, an international contest sponsored by Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters. Deemed the best in the competition, they will represent South Africa at the global "Chinese Bridge" competition in Changsha City in Hunan in July.

Liesl and Jamie were not the only SU students who impressed in the local competition. Two other Matie students Leanne Robinson and Daniel Stein came third in the contest held in Durban on 30 May 2015.

More than 30 participants from different Confucius Institutes and classrooms, including the Confucius Institute at SU – part of the Postgraduate and International Office –​ took part in the contest in Durban.  The 8^th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency for Secondary School Students was hosted at the same time. The theme for the competition was My Chinese Dream and included a writing exam, speech and talent show.  The Consul-General of China in Durban, Wang Jianzhou and Chinese Embassy representative Song Bo attended the event.

Liesl, who impressed judges with her knowledge of Chinese, says she is a little bit nervous, but looks forward to participate in China. The honours student says she loves languages and will continue with her Master's degree in Mandarin. "I would like to be an interpreter and Chinese is a good language to learn in South Africa."

​Photo: From left are Liesl Kotze, Wang Jianzhou and Jamie Cripwell. 

Meet Karen Bruns, a trained lawyer with a Master's degree in International Trade Law and Joint Ventures, former marketing director, CEO of a multimedia publishing company, communications consultant to name but a few. These days, she is Senior Director: Development at Stellenbosch University (SU). Bruns took up this new position in February of this year.

What impact will your extensive experience have on your new position?

All of my previous roles have been within academe, with my specialisation being on research development, research dissemination and academic publishing, so coming to the University feels a lot like home already. It's my previous role, which was to build and foster third stream income success in African universities through resources, tools and networks, which has best prepared me for my new challenge. I have a lot of experience in fixing up and setting up operations to pursue new and successful courses. I hope that I'll be able to bring this to bear very soon.

Do you have specific projects that you would like to focus on?

There are a few things that I would like to focus on. I'd like the Development Office to find every opportunity for more corporates, foundations, and individuals to make a real difference in our students' lives through bursaries, fellowships and awards. I'd really like to improve how we engage with our existing funders. Stewardship is more than diligent monitoring of the way in which a person's donation is invested or used. Donors invest in our university and we are ultimately accountable for their 'return on investment'.

I'd also like to focus on improving the quality of our alumni communications and engagements. Our alumni are really important to the University. It is their contributions in their chosen fields that play an important part in the University's impact around the world.

Tell us about your academic journey

I did my undergrad at UCT, my LLB at Rhodes, and graduated with an LLM from the University of Edinburgh.

How do you see the Development Office's role in the University's centenary celebrations?

The Centenary presents a great milestone in the life of the University and these celebrations provide us with ample opportunities for co-ordinated and focussed campaigns.  My initial thoughts turn to the next generation and how we can enable thousands of young people to consider higher education at Stellenbosch University as part of their future. We could really help to overcome the access problems experienced by bright and talented young people who lack financial resources.

As someone coming into the Development Office now, it is evident that the HOPE Project was a big and ambitious campaign, and sought to concentrate and increase fundraising for teaching and learning, research and community interaction at the University. Taking on board the lessons learned, the Centenary represents an opportunity to put a large campaign in place that will culminate in 2018. We hope to start this process in August this year.

On a more personal note, what are you passionate about and what do you do to relax?

I'm passionate about reading. While I read a lot online and via Kindle, I have a big collection of books on a wide range of themes and topics at home – I know because I recently moved house and packed them all lovingly and greeted them like old friends on the other side.

I also like to travel. In my previous position I spent 166 days a year out of the country on average, mainly on the African continent, so it's just as well that this was something that I like to do. When it comes to personal travel, I like to visit islands in particular, and for a whole range of reasons. Most recently I hiked the 238km Corfu Trail from the south to the north of the island. 

​Estelle van Dyk, a full-time MBA student originally from Namibia, and Klemen Paternoster, an exchange student from Slovenia, was the winners of The Business Strategy Game's (BSG) Best-Strategy Invitational Grand Champion Award.

Van Dyk and Paternoster says the competition is a hands-on learning exercise that:

• Draws together the information and lessons of prior courses;
• Consolidates your knowledge about the different aspects of running a company;
• Builds your confidence in analysing the revenue-cost-profit economics of a business;
• Helps you understand how the functional pieces of a business fit together;
• Provides valuable practice in crafting profitable growth strategies;
• Sharpens your business judgment;
• Provides a capstone for your business school education;

They add that the competition also lets you gain useful experience and practice in:

• Business risk;
• Analysing industry and competitive conditions;
• Making decisions from a companywide perspective;
• Thinking strategically about a company's market position and the kinds of actions it will take to improve it;
• Developing strategies and revising them in light of changing conditions; and
• Applying what you have learned in business school.