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Issue 5 • November 2014 • For daily updates visit www.uwc.ac.za

Your Source for University News

PATH introduces new female condompage 3

New UWC postgraduate journal page 5

The UWC Apprentice page 13

UWC initiates SA-US sport exchangepage 16

Prof Baker wins Women in Science Award T

he University of the Western Cape’s Professor Priscilla Baker received the Distinguished Woman Scientist (Natural Sciences and Engineering)

Award at the annual Department of Science and Technology’s (DST) Women in Science Awards ceremony held in Johannesburg on Friday, 15 August 2014.

DST hosts the Women in Science Awards to reward outstanding female scientists and researchers, and to encourage younger women to follow in their footsteps.

“Male and women scientists both work extremely hard, and both are needed in the sciences,” notes Prof Baker. “But it’s good that we take a moment to recognise how far women have come, and to raise awareness about the issues that may still hold us back a bit, so that we can move forward.”

An NRF C2-rated scientist, Prof Baker is a professor of chemistry who specialises in the application of frequency-modulated electrochemical techniques to the design and evaluation of electrochemical smart materials and electroactive actuator systems (materials that change in size or shape

en ti late y an ele tri fiel e e systems can be applied in water analysis and treatment, bio and industrial catalysis, as well as for energy-related applications.

She has published 65 research articles in international and national journals, written eight book chapters, and has collaborated with researchers on three continents.

Yet her favourite part of her job isn’t the prestigious research she conducts as much as it is teaching. “What I really love about my work is the people interface,” she explains. “Developing human potential, seeing students grow from not believing they can do

it to seriously achieving, seeing them master new skills and endure the discipline of post graduate training, that’s what really gets me excited. Every year of teaching is different, and so is every student.”

Prof Baker has supervised 21 master’s and 16 PhD students, and currently supevises two

an five an i ate She teaches classes from fir t year to o t ra ate level, a practice that helps staff to engage students more effectively.

Prof Baker grew up in Bellville and went to Goeie Hoop Primary and Bellville South Senior Secondary, where she claims not to have been especially brilliant or competitive, but she was passionate about mathematics and science — and especially chemistry. She obtained her BSc at the University of Cape Town, the only black female in her class. She then completed a National Diploma in Analytical Chemistry at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and BSc Honours and MSc degrees at UWC. Prof Baker received her PhD in 2004 from the University of Stellenbosch.

e e a e t e fir t ll ti e e ale ta member in the Chemistry Department at UWC in November 2003, and received her 10-year ervi e ertifi ate la t year

It a oint o re e tion e note a time to look back and think about what you’ve contributed. And I’m happy with what I’ve done, and happy with the changes I’ve seen the Department go through — like moving into this big new building.”

One thing that made winning the award e e ially i nifi ant a t e ti in It wonderful that the accolade came while Prof Brian O’Connell is in leadership,” says Prof Baker. “He believes in UWC more than anyone I’ve ever met — and he can make you believe in it, too.”

In 2006, Prof Baker was elected chair of the Electrochemistry division of the South African Chemical Institute (SACI) and has since hosted two major international electrochemistry conferences in South Africa. Proceedings from these conferences were published in international peer-reviewed journals with Prof Baker as guest editor. In 2013, she was elected vice-chair of the Analytical Electrochemistry division of the International Society for Electrochemistry (ISE, Switzerland). Prof Baker is a visiting professor at the University of Cergy-Pontoise (Paris, France), where she teaches a module in electrochemical sensors to Master’s in Engineering students.

UWC’s Prof Priscilla Baker has been presented with DST’s Distinguished Woman Scientist Award for her work in electrochemistry.

2 News

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Spring Graduation joy tinged with sadness

Spring Graduation in September saw UWC conferring 281 undergraduate, 141 honours, 133 master’s and 37 doctoral degrees — including the

niver ity very fir t o toral e ree in Industrial Psychology — awarded to Marieta

le i inety five i lo a an ertifi ate ere al o on erreProf Brian O’Connell, Rector and Vice-

Chancellor of UWC, urged the graduates to celebrate their achievements and to use what they had learned. “I’ve been arguing for some time that you’re one of the most

important groups of humans that has ever lived,” he said. “You have to deal with climate change and recessions and HIV/Aids — and you are rising to the occasion by getting an education.”

A posthumous doctorate was awarded to Imam Abdullah Haron, a devout Muslim leader who was tortured and killed while in detention by the security police in September 1969.

Imam Haron’s son, Prof Muhammad Haron, received the degree on behalf of the Imam’s family. “Imam Abdullah was a man of ubuntu,” he said. “He socialised with everyone, and tried his best to respect others, to tolerate others, no matter what their backgrounds. And he believed that he was what others helped make him.”

UWC’s Chancellor, Archbishop Thabo

Makgoba, presided over the opening graduation ceremony and reminded the gathering of the imminent loss of two UWC stalwarts.

“I don’t normally say much at these graduation ceremonies,” he noted, “but this is a very special occasion — and in a way a sad occasion. Because today we start the process of saying goodbye to two of UWC’s outstanding lights, two amazing teachers who collectively have given almost 90 years of service: Professor Brian O’Connell and Professor Ramesh Bharuthram.”

The Archbishop explained how much the University had been affected by Prof Bharuthram’s tenure as Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, highlighting the massive gains in research output and in academic standing since he joined UWC in 2008, and how the University had found vision and purpose since Prof O’Connell became Vice-Chancellor in 2001.

“The development of the University of the Western Cape under the leadership of Professor Brian O’Connell and Professor Ramesh Bharuthram is a narrative of hope that has yielded wonderful successes and that has established UWC as one of the country’s leading universities.”

Prof Bharuthram wished the University every success. “It’s been seven very exhilarating years at UWC. I know that you will have new ideas, and new visions, and pick up the battle to take the University to even greater heights.”

Prof O’Connell, expressing his feelings about leaving the institution, said: “I have cherished my time here — these past 13 years have been the most wonderful years of my life. To see all of that greatness the University had restored to itself, and to see UWC becoming something wonderful, is an inspiring metaphor for South Africa.”

Professors O’Connell and Bharutham are to retire at the end of 2014.

UWC’s ranking against other South African universities:• 6th in the proportion of full-time

academic staff with NRF research ratings;

• 5th in the proportion of academic staff with PhDs;

• 7th in percentage of income from research contracts and other forms of third stream income;

• 5th in terms of universities and their research impact as measured by citations; and

• 4th position with respect to the number of NRF SARChI Chairs (11 Chairs awarded to date).

In the period that Prof Ramesh Bharuthram has been Deputy Vice-Chancellor, UWC research output increased by more than 200%. Prof Bharuthram managed to keep up his academic work despite his administrative workload. He holds an NRF B-rating and has published more than 100 research articles in journals of international standing.

Prof Brian O’Connell has been an educator for 44 years, serving as a teacher, school principal, Rector of a Teacher Education College, Vice-Rector at the then Peninsula Technikon, and Superintendent-General of the Western Cape Provincial Education Department, in addition to his roles at UWC.

After 13 years of serving UWC as Rector and Vice-Chancellor, this was the last time Professor Brian O’Connell conferred degrees on UWC students.

3News

Golden Key welcomes new members

PATH introduces new female condom

The Golden Key International Honour Society welcomed new honorary members at the University of the Western Cape and another 350 students accepted membership at the ceremony

in the Main Hall in August.Luminaries among the two million members of Golden

Key include Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel and Bill Clinton. To be eligible for membership of the society, a student has to be in the top performing 15 percent of students.

The new honorary members at the University are Prof Priscilla Daniels, who is Director of the Community Engagement Unit, Dr Peter Plüdderman, a lecturer in the Language Education Department at the Faculty of Education, and Mr Wandisile Mdepa, from the Student Government and Student Development and Support Services.

At the induction of the new members, Rector and Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian O’Connell encouraged new members to continue to excel at what they are doing at the University and in their communities.

Golden Key is the world’s largest academic honour society. The society helps students to develop leadership skills and enourages them to give back to society by engaging in community activities.

Members are organised in 400 university chapters that are rated each year based on their promotion of the three pillars of the society — academic achievements, community service and leadership.

UWC’s Golden Key Chapter was chartered in 2001 and has received gold status — the highest accolade a Golden Key university chapter can attain. UWC’s Golden Key Chapter has managed to achieve the highest number of new member inductees.

The HIV and AIDS programme at the University of the Western Cape invited members of the Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), an international non-governmental organisation that specialises in health

innovation, to present an information session at the School of Public Health on the V Condom, a new female condom that is the product of several years of research and development.

olan a oyo a enior ro ra e an e ear fi er at explained to those in attendance how the new condom was used. “This condom is thinner than the usual female condom,” she says. “It also has one ring as opposed to the old one with two rings, has a dissolving capsule and foam pieces which attach to the vaginal walls.”

She said the condom could be worn two to three hours before intercourse. Ms Moyo added that the condom had undergone 10 years of clinical trials and is guaranteed to prevent STI’s, HIV/Aids and pregnancy if used and inserted correctly.

The condoms, which were approved for use in South Africa by the SABS in 2013, will be available on the market by early next year. Those in attendance were given free samples of the V Condom.

Nerissa Smith, President of the Golden Key chapter at UWC, welcoming new members to the Golden Key Honour Society.

Yolanda Moyo, a Senior and Research Officer at PATH, explaining how the V Condom should be inserted.

4 News

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& Externally

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Innovation

Biko’s legacy commemoratedT

he Centre for Student Support Services, together with the Mayibuye Archives at the University of the Western Cape

and the Steve Biko Foundation, held the second annual Steve Biko Frank Talk Dialogue on 12 September 2014 at the Library Auditorium.

The day marked the 37th anniversary of the death of Steve Biko in police custody. Students and staff members came out in numbers to learn more about the Black Consciousness leader. ‘Frank Talks’ was the pseudonym Biko used in his many writings as the leader of the South African Students

Organisation.Panelists discussing the role of race,

culture and identity after two decades of democracy were the CEO of the Steve Biko Foundation and son of Steve Biko, Nkosinathi Biko, Unisa Professor Kopano Ratele and Mandy Sanger, Education Manager at District 6 Museum.

Nkosinathi Biko said the Frank Talks dialogues and lectures brought people together and got them thinking and talking about Biko’s legacy and the role he played in the lives of others.

Professor Ratele opined that black people often lost themselves in the

process of integration, and that integration sometimes undermined black culture. He also felt that black children were being taught to aspire to white capitalist ideals.

Mandy Sanger recalled how, when she was still in high school, reading or wearing anything with the name Steve Biko was criminalised. “By law we could not integrate, we had to work around those issues,” she said. She concluded by saying that South Africans were still trapped in racialised ways of looking at one another.

Tonia Overmeyer, Manager for Leadership and Social Responsibility at UWC’s Centre for Student Support Services welcomes attendees to the Steve Biko Frank Talk series.

5Natural Sciences

With demand for air transport increasing, the global airline industry will require nearly 30 000 new airliners (over a

100-seat capacity) in the next twenty years. Simultaneously, high jet fuel costs and industry commitment to halving CO2 emissions levels by 2050 are driving the search for alternative solutions to fossil fuel-based propulsion and energy sources.

Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) Systems Competence Centre at UWC is partnering with Airbus UK and the National Aerospace Centre (NAC) in a three-year research project based at HySA’s UWC research facility, on the application of hydrogen fuel cells (HFC) in airliners. The project was launched in Cape Town on 2 September 2014.

The project will identify and test factors that

in en e lo te erat re el ell li e an in a mobile environment (as well as reviewing existing test methods), develop a model to enable engineers to evaluate the expected life of fuel cells before they are implemented and support efforts to predict fuel cell life under various operational conditions.

“Although fuel cell technology for land vehicles has rapidly matured,” says Professor Bruno Pollet, Director of HySA Systems, “the new research with Airbus and the National Aerospace Centre is aimed at gaining an understanding of how hydrogen fuel cells could perform over an aircraft’s service life while subjected to the harsh and rapidly changing climatic and environmental regimes that commercial jetliners operate in.”

it t i in in ir a i entifie

hydrogen fuel cells as a future, emissions-free alternative to the small gas turbines called auxiliary power units (APUs), which are used for generating on-board electrical power and heat while the aircraft is on the ground. Replacing the fossil fuel-powered APUs with hydrogen fuel cells would help achieve the goals of emission-free and low-noise aircraft operation.

“The fuel cell project with HySA Systems and the National Aerospace Centre is the latest element of Airbus’s research and technology initiative with South Africa,” says Dale King, Airbus’s Senior Manager: Emerging Technologies and Concepts. “It underlies our commitment to South Africa, which is a i nifi ant ar et an o t o e o o r o t

important suppliers and is a vital knowledge partner for Airbus.”

y i yin fuel-cell project

Airbus UK is a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus SAS and is responsible for the design and supply of fuel systems for all Airbus models, as well as high-technology Airbus wings and landing gear.

Launched in 2006, South Africa’s National Aerospace Centre (NAC) is an aerospace-focused research programme supported by the Department of Trade and Industry and managed and hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand.

Dale King (left) and Philip Haupt (centre), from the National Aerospace Commission, and HySA Director, Bruno Pollet, sign an agreement for aerospace fuel cell technology creation.

New UWC postgraduate journal The University of the Western Cape

has launched a new bi-annual, multi/inter-disciplinary journal that aims to celebrate the literary talents of our

students.WritingThreeSixty will present the interests

and ideas of graduate students and introduce them to the world of publishing. The journal, which includes creative writing, is edited by postgraduate students in the UWC English Department — one of a range of student a tivitie an initiative i re e t ra ate culture in the Department.

“Each one of us brings something different to the journal, such as diverse research interests and experience,” says Bronwyn Douman, Editor of Creative Writing for WritingThreeSixty. “As postgraduate students our involvement includes, but is not limited to, managing the website, social media and submissions.”

WritingThreeSixty is a platform for postgraduate Arts and Humanities students to showcase their writing and research skills, and

to ain e erien e in t e fiel o olarly and creative writing. They can submit critical research, book reviews and interviews with writers and scholars. In addition, students from all faculties, including undergraduates, may submit creative writing submissions. So if you’re a science student with a poet’s soul, or a budding lawyer with a love for literature, this could be the journal for you. Authors will retain copyright, and they are welcome to republish elsewhere.

“We’d like WritingThreeSixty to be a recognized journal for exciting online publishing from the tip of Africa with a national, continental and international readership,” says Dr Fiona Moolla, Postgraduate Coordinator in the English Department. “We hope that students will gain experience in scholarly publishing

serving on the WritingThreeSixty board and will also hone their own writing and research skills.”

The journal will enable the whole UWC community to gain insight into Arts and Humanities research activities at UWC. It is also intended as a networking tool to connect with universities in the Western Cape. “The journal is open to students from our sister universities, CPUT, UCT and Stellenbosch, and we are working on approaching universities outside the Western Cape,” says Kareesha Naidoo, Editor of Academic and Critical Research for the journal.

The WritingThreeSixty editorial board from left: Nicole Natalie O’Ryan, Bronwyn Douman, Kareesha Naidoo, Nicole Johannisen and Wihan van Wyk.

Excited? Want to be a part of this? Don’t elay i ion or t e fir t i e t at

will be published on 28 February 2015, close on 1 January 2015.

Want to know more about WritingThreeSixty? o an fin o t all yo need to know about the journal’s origins, aims, editorial committee, submissions and formats at http://uwcjournal.wordpress.com/. Or keep up with the latest developments on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Writing360) or Facebook (https://m.facebook.com/writingthreesixty/).

6 Community and Health Sciences

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A winning goal for life E

l ive rea t ee in or t e fir t six months, followed by continued breastfeeding alongside nutritious complementary meals for the next

two years or beyond, is the key to health for newborn babies.

While breastfeeding is common in South Africa, the country has relatively low breastfeeding rates and poor child feeding practices. The early introduction of other oo an i alle i e ee in

is responsible for high rates of diarrhoea an ontri te i nifi antly to in ant malnutrition and death.

Fittingly, UWC’s Department of Dietetics, together with the Western Cape Department of Health, hosted a special seminar during World Breastfeeding Week from 1 to 7 August. The conference, following the international theme of the week, was titled Breastfeeding: A Winning Goal — For Life!

“Breast milk is healthier,” explained UNICEF Nutrition Specialist Chantell Witten. “It contains organisms that protect children, helping to build their immune systems. Even when it comes from the container and there’s some contamination, a baby drinking breast milk has a better chance than it does with just bottle milk. Not to mention that early food feeding [not only] increases obesity...but it also introduces contaminants and can cause diarrhoea.”

The conference emphasised the importance of increasing and sustaining the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding, with speakers discussing challenges and potential solutions for future generations. The aim was to inform health professionals and educators of the latest research, projects and best practices in breastfeeding, as well as new ways of stimulating interest among young people of both genders, and helping them to see the relevance of breastfeeding in a changing, high-tech world.

Hilary Goeiman, Deputy Director: Nutrition in the Western Cape Department of Health, discussed how important breastfeeding was to meeting the Millennium Development Goals, with just one year to go.

“We all know 2014 as the year of the FIFA World Cup, where millions gathered in front of their screens to watch and talk about soccer,” she said. “We want people to also gather to talk about breastfeeding — and we also know that breastfeeding promotes good health and development, which is important for sports.”

Attendees were informed of many of the initiatives being explored to promote breastfeeding, and to professionalise breastfeeding care — attempts to accredit all birthing units, initiatives to create cellular phone applications that will guide

mothers through their breastfeeding schedules, road shows to educate mothers in rural areas, and more.

“We’ve got beautiful policies, and beautiful plans, such as the Human Milk Banking Plan and the Breastfeeding Restoration Plan,” noted Stephen Titus, Director: Facility Based Programmes in the Western Cape Department of Health. “It’s implementation that’s the challenge — and a challenge that should not only lie with nurses in our hospitals, but with everyone. We need to strengthen linkages with community-based services, extending continued support for breastfeeding outside of health facilities.”

itten a ree t at it a i fi lt to change the situation, but not impossible. “It’s a team effort, it will take UNICEF, WHO, NGOs, government and all of us. We just need to do things differently.”

Milk banks allow mothers to donate excess breast milk for mothers who might be unable to produce enough of their own. The local Western Cape milk bank, Milk Matters, was created by the management team at Mowbray Maternity Hospital, the largest maternity centre in the Western Cape. Find out more at http://www.milkmatters.org/

Hilary Goeiman of the Western Cape Department of Health explores the importance of breastfeeding with regard to the Millennium Development Goals.

7Education

Four science labs in one day

(From left) Principal of WA Russouw Primary School, Mr A Fielies; Garden Cities Archway Foundation Director, Myrtle February; Professor Brian O’Connell, UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor; and Director of the SLCA, Professor Shaheed Hartley, open the science laboratory at WA Russouw Primary School in Montague.

The Science Learning Centre for Africa (SLCA) at the University of the Western Cape made yet another valuable contribution to improving science education at schools when it recently established four science laboratories at

deserving Western Cape schools.Rector and Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian O’Connell, Director

Myrtle February of Garden Cities’ Archway Foundation (donor), ar en itie ie inan ial fi er i i on an t e ire tor o

the SLCA, Professor Shaheed Hartley, opened the labs at WA Rossouw Primary in Montague, Masakheke High in Robertson, FJ Conradie Primary in De Doorns and Paulus Joubert High in Paarl — and did it all in one day, on 27 August.

Twenty-three laboratories have now been donated to Western Cape schools by UWC in partnership with the Archway Foundation

since the programme’s inception.Garden Cities has been developing housing suburbs and public

buildings for almost a century. The Archway Foundation, which is its corporate social investment arm, has not only funded the science labs but has built halls at 50 schools.

Schools were selected for laboratories based on their excellent performance in science learning and their need of facilities. Schools were also expected to have dedicated science teachers who will make use of the labs.

“We need to build a network of science learning and teaching in our schools. All the schools today earned what they are getting. This is what you get for producing good results and performing so well in Science,” says Prof Hartley.

8 PhD

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A total of 37 candidates received their PhDs at the September 2014 graduation ceremony. Here is a snapshot of our doctoral graduates with their dissertation titles and areas of study.

PhD Honour Roll

Dr Dinis Fernando da Costa

Title of dissertation: A critical analysis of colonial and postcolonial discourses and representations of the people of Mozambique in the Portuguese Newspaper ‘O Século de Joanesburgo’ from 1970–1980.

Dr Prosperous Nankindu

Title of dissertation: Language in education policy and literacy acquisition in multilingual Uganda: A case study of Kampala Urban District.

Dr Jennifer Simone Parr

Title of dissertation: Integration in South Africa: A study of changes in the community health system.

Dr Clever Chikwanda

Title of dissertation: Combining sport and mediation skills for community healing: A multiple case study of two post-conflict communities in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Dr Egide Kayonga Ntagungira

Title of dissertation: Building a health-promoting schools conceptual framework model as a strategy to address barriers to learning and promote healthy development of school-aged children in Rwanda.

Dr Ananias Iita

Title of dissertation: An assessment of the curriculum and implementation of the subject Religious and Moral Education in Namibia: A case study of perceptions of RME teachers in the Ompundja Circuit of Oshana Region.

Dr Jeanne Kagwiza

Title of dissertation: Functioning, disability and health in people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy in Rwanda.

Dr Oswell Khondowe

Title of dissertation: A home-based physical activity programme in combination with massage therapy to improve motor and cognitive development in HIV positive children on antiretroviral therapy: A randomised controlled trial.

Dr Wallace Karuguti

Title of dissertation: A model development for an interdisciplinary approach to patient care: A case for curriculum development.

Dr Maria Ann Florence

Title of dissertation: Adolescent substance use: The development and validation of a measure of perceived individual and contextual factors.

Dr Albertus Petrus van Dyk

Title of dissertation: The effects of a sports vision training programme on selected visual-motor skills in a non-fatigued and fatigued cardiovascular condition.

FACULTY OF ARTS

FACULTY OF COMMUNITY AND HEALTH SCIENCES

9PhD

Dr Imade Joan Ayo-Yusuf

Title of dissertation: Socio-economic position, oral pain and oral health-related quality of life among South African adults.

Dr Kennedy Alatinga

Title of dissertation: Poverty access to healthcare in Ghana: Challenge of bridging the equity gap with health insurance.

Dr Suweon Kim

Title of dissertation: The political economy of aid-oriented foreign policy change: Elite perspectives on mercantilism in Korea and Ghana.

Dr Jill Fortuin

Title of dissertation: The effectiveness of teleradiology as a diagnostic tool in the provision of oral health services in South Africa.

Dr Nerhene Cindy Davis

Title of dissertation: Inclusive business models in South Africa’s land reform: Great expectations and ambiguous outcomes in the Moletele land claim, Limpopo.

Dr Sharon Patricia Penderis

Title of dissertation: State-society relations in the South African developmental state: Integrated development planning and public participation at the local level.

Dr Eyitope Ogungbenro Ogunbodede

Title of dissertation: Implementation of oral health policies in African countries: South Africa and Nigeria as case studies.

Dr Marieta du Plessis

Title of dissertation: The relationship between authentic leadership, psychological capital, followership and work engagement.

Dr Eria Serwajja

Title of dissertation: An investigation of land grabbing amidst resettlement in post-conflict Amuru District, Northern Uganda.

FACULTY OF DENTISTRY

FACULTY OF ECONOMIC AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

10 PhD

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Dr Ashraf Booley

Title of dissertation: The rights and freedoms of women in Islamic jurisprudence pertaining to marriage and divorce: Lessons for South Africa from Morocco and Tunisia?

Dr Karin Antoinette Chinnian

Title of dissertation: Gender persecution as a ground for asylum in South Africa and Canada: Reconceptualising a theoretical framework for assessing refugee claims by women.

Dr Lovemore Chiduza

Title of dissertation: The significance of judicial independence in human rights protection: A critical analysis of the constitutional reforms in Zimbabwe.

Dr Enoch Chilemba

Title of dissertation: The national implementation of international human rights law pertaining to children with disabilities in selected jurisdictions in Africa.

FACULTY OF LAW

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

Dr Basirat Olayemi Bellononjengele

Title of dissertation: Multilingualism in and out of classrooms: Exploring language and identity in a Cape Flats primary school.

Dr Manuel João José Cabinda

Title of dissertation: Identifying academic reading strategies in a multilingual context.

11PhD

Dr Omoyeni Olubunmi Adenika

Title of dissertation: Investigation of anti-cancer potential of Pleiocarpa pycnantha leaves.

Dr Oko Unathi Gcilitshana

Title of dissertation: Supercapacitor electrode materials based on nanostructured conducting polymers and metal oxides.

Dr Solohery Randriamampandrey

Title of dissertation: Far-infrared-radio relations in clusters and groups at intermediate redshifts.

Dr Zedias Chikwambi

Title of dissertation: A transcriptome analysis of apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) cv ‘Golden Delicious’ fruit during fruit growth and development.

Dr Kehinde Kayode Agbele

Title of dissertation: Context-awareness for adaptive information retrieval systems.

Dr Mbandi Stanley Kimbung

Title of dissertation: A computational framework for transcriptome assembly and annotation in non-model organisms: the case of Venturia inaequalis.

Dr Ram Krishna Shrestha

Title of dissertation: Management and analysis of HIV-1 ultra-deep sequence data.

Dr Charon de Villiers

Title of dissertation: Effect of GnRH I & II on sperm functions of selected primates.

Dr Mawethu Pascoe Bilibana

Title of dissertation: Aptamer nanobiosensor for algal toxin in water.

Dr Nolubabalo Matinise

Title of dissertation: Ultra-sensitive bimetallic nanocomposites of palladium (100) and ruthenium/iridium for electro-catalytic oxidation of ammonia.

Dr Emad Fadhal

Title of dissertation: Graph theoretic methods for identifying functionally important proteins in protein interaction networks and their applications to cancer.

FACULTY OF NATURAL SCIENCES

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Economic and Management Sciences

A triumph of determination

Dr McGhie joins a long list of eminent and distinguished Fulbright scholars from South Africa, including such distinguished alumni as Professors Brian O’Connell and Jonathan Jansen. To learn more about the Fulbright scholarship programme, visit http://southafrica.usembassy.gov/postgraduate.html

Dr Venicia McGhie, a senior lecturer in the University’s Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) Faculty, understands better than

o t t e i fi ltie t at t ent at t e University of the Western Cape may face in attaining their full academic potential. Her understanding is derived not only from her expertise in academic development, but also from her own life journey from high-school dropout to respected academic. Dr McGhie has been granted a Fulbright post-doctoral scholarship to study the factors that inhibit and promote student progress. Her research area i o e on fir t year t ent learning challenges and interventions to

ort t ent e in t eir fir t year r ie ill or it fir t year t ent

and staff at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) in St.Louis, USA, from October 2014 to July 2015. Her study will include evaluating the UMSL intervention programmes to improve pass and retention rates among undergraduate students.

“This is indeed an honour, and I am very grateful for this wonderful opportunity that has been given to me,” she says. “When I get back, I hope I’ll have gathered valuable information and guidelines that I can use to strengthen students’ chances at successful learning at UWC.”

Dr McGhie hails from Potchefstroom. When her parents died, she dropped out of school

in Grade 10 and found work as a domestic worker to help support her four siblings. She later worked as a factory worker, a taxi driver and as an administrative clerk (at the former Potchefstroomse Universiteit vir Christelike Hoër Onderwys).

In 1985 she moved to Cape Town and started her career at UWC in 1988, as a data capturing clerk in the Student

ini tration fi e a in le ot er raising two children, I was determined to better myself,” says Dr McGhie. “ I knew God had a greater plan for me, and I just a to fin y art in it till or in

at UWC, she completed a BA, majoring in Linguistics, English and IsiXhosa, moved on to do her honours and master’s degrees, and decided to do a Higher Diploma in Education as well, to help her move to the other side of the lectern.

In 2002, she became a lecturer in the EMS Faculty, teaching Academic Literacy for Commerce, and continued her studies (for which she won the University’s Lifelong Learning Award for part-time studies in 2003). She received her PhD in Education from Stellenbosch University in 2012 and was promoted to senior lecturer.

“Many academics research and write about students’ learning challenges — issues

a eer re re lan a e i fi ltie and poor time management and planning skills,” she notes, “but not many look at

the enabling factors that promote academic success.”

These include getting to know students and being approachable and open, supporting them academically and personally where possible. Dr McGhie believes strongly in rovi in finan ial a i tan e a ell a

academic support. “Many students at UWC have trouble with paying fees without disrupting their lives too much,” she explains. “Even for those with bursaries an finan ial ai t e finan ial a i tan e received often doesn’t pay for books, travel and general living expenses.”

To cover those costs, she started the EMS Faculty’s Making a Difference Project, in which lecturers in the faculty contribute monthly to a fund for needy students.

Dr McGhie’s autobiography, titled And there is a living God, was published in 2012. She hopes her story will inspire students to over o e i fi lt it ation I ant eo le to realise that they can be a success no matter where they start from.”

Dr Venicia McGhie is exploring the factors that promote student success as a Fulbright Scholar in the USA.

13Economic and Management Sciences

“Yo re fire or made famous by a certain television show — and words that

UWC’s second-year Entrepreneurship and Marketing Strategy Honours students are unlikely to hear in their future careers, given the skills they i laye in t e final ro n o

own 2014 Apprentice Challenge on 22 August 2014.

r ani e y t e fi e or t ent Development in collaboration with the School of Business and Finance (SBF), the Apprentice Challenge gave the students the chance to apply some of their classroom learning.

In a realistic simulated business scenario, teams had to provide a marketing strategy an ine lan to in fiel otor a used car dealership, for their Township Connection Campaign. Each team had to identify a disadvantaged township community in Cape Town, collate pertinent information about the nature and composition of that community (including Statistics SA reports and other consumer and

community surveys), and explain why and o t ey t o t in fiel otor o l enefit ro o eratin t ere“The Challenge helped students apply

theory to practice, develop employability skills and experience real learning,” explains SBF lecturer, Prof Linda de Vries, who oversaw the Challenge. “It was a chance for budding entrepreneurs to enhance teamwork and their decision-making skills as well as their CVs — and to have fun and win prizes.”

The earlier phases were for academic re it t in t e final a e t e to

teams competed for cash prizes. Third place and a R1000 prize, went to the

yner y tea i i entifie a lo al car wash outlet in Langa that could allow

in fiel otor to e ta li a re en e in the area and build their brand.

Second place and R2000 were awarded to the ‘Magnate Warriors’, who selected Khayelitsha as the base of their expanded operations.

Top spot, and a R5000 prize, went to the ‘Bhag Gals’ team of Caroline Dibakoane, Jade Anderson, Motlalepule Mogorosi and Amanda Roman. They chose Gugulethu

for their campaign, with a marketing mix including social media, radio, newspaper and printed advertising, sponsorships, referrals and even marketing at Mzoli’s, a popular eatery.

The students report that the learning experience was fun and challenging, and taught them a lot about the practical application of their entrepreneurship knowledge. They strongly suggested that it become an annual event.

The UWC Apprentice

The Bhag Gals — Caroline Dibakoane, Jade Anderson, Motlalepule Mogorosi and Amanda Roman — are the UWC Apprentice Challenge champions for 2014.

SBF reaches out to entrepreneursU

WC’s School of Business and Finance (SBF) brought entrepreneurial expertise to the community in a workshop

held at Christel House School in Ottery in September.

The SBF partnered with the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) and the Tertiary School in Business Education (TSiBA) in delivering the Entrepreneurship: unemployment to self-employment workshop, aimed at parents who were contemplating starting or had already started their own businesses.

Around 200 parents attended the workshop, and listened to presentations on a variety of relevant topics, including cash o ana e ent le t rer onal rin fiel al latin ri in a ter

candidate Adeeb Samsodien), and social media marketing (master’s candidate Judy

Cache and lecturer Akbar Khalfe).“Our programme for Christel House

was designed to be informative to new venture creation, and also to those already in business,” explains Clint Davies, a master’s candidate and coordinator at the SBF. “Programmes such as these are important for encouraging those who are contemplating starting a business, to take t e fir t te

The workshop combined presentations with service desks focused on three areas of business development: business support in the start-up phase (SEDA); short course business management programmes (TSiBA); and business diagnosis and executive coaching (SBF).

Two experienced micro-entrepreneurs gave an account of their entrepreneurial lifestyles and talked through their experiences of being self-employed. Johnny

Carollissen explained what it was like to run a cell phone repair and accessory retail shop, while pine furniture manufacturer Innocent Khanyile did the same for his enterprise.

“The day went well. Our partners at TSiBA and SEDA reported a very good turnout at their service desks that was at times overwhelming — in this case, a good thing — and the feedback we received from the school and the parents who attended was positive and encouraging,” notes Davies. “We hope to have more such community outreach programmes in future.”

UWC’s School of Business and Finance, along with representatives from TSiBA and SEDA, team up to teach entrepreneurship.

14 Dentistry

Offering A

Holistic Student

Experience

UWC

takes

pride in...

Our Teaching

& Learning

Focus

Producing &

Attracting

Excellent Talent

Sustaining

Financial

Stability

Growing Our

Profile Internally

& Externally

Sense-Making Through

Leadership Development

Our Relevant

Research &

Innovation

Unity is key to oral health O

ral diseases remain a major public health headache for South Africa, with poor nutrition, lack of knowledge and socio-economic

conditions cited as some of the root causes.The Department of Oral Hygiene at the

University of the Western Cape is addressing this situation by employing interdisciplinary and inter-professional approaches to provide preventative and educational treatment at ground level.

Every week the Department, located at the Faculty of Dentistry, hosts outreach programmes at the primary health institution in the Mitchell’s Plain Oral Health Centre for parents, children and other health practitioners.

“What we are trying to do is to speak in

one voice about the importance of oral health and to say oral health is general health,” explains Rugshana Cader, lecturer in oral hygiene and coordinator of the programme.

The programme forms part of community learning for third-year dentistry students to equip them with the skills to work with the communities in primary health care. Under the guidance of lecturers, students rovi e ental treat ent in l in ori e

treat ent fillin an ealant ile educating clients about the importance of oral hygiene.

“There is a lack of resources in our communities and access to healthcare is a challenge,” Cader says. “And we found that our communities don’t always know how

to care for their teeth. They don’t know that if a child sleeps with a bottle it can lead to teeth decay, for instance. We want to educate them instead of just providing treatment.”

Cader notes that they see about 40 children weekly and the initiative is making a positive impact. “As bleak as oral hygiene conditions are in South Africa, there is hope. People are coming in big numbers to our programmes and we are making headway.”

She appealed to private and public health practitioners, as well as the business world and the communities to join forces to address oral health. “There is a need to change the behaviour and mindsets of all stakeholders towards oral health. Working to et er ill a e a i nifi ant i eren e

The Faculty of Dentistry hosts outreach programmes to promote oral health in poor communities.

15Arts

Hip-Hop and Humanities

The Centre of Multilingualism and Diversities Research (CMDR) at the University of the Western Cape co-hosted an interactive lecture

series on hip-hop over two days in August at the Centre for the Performing Arts.

The Heal the Hood Hip-Hop Lecture Series programme, which saw CMDR partner with Staticphlow (a hip-hop research project) and Heal the Hood (a hip-hop non-governmental organisation), focused on how to build a career in hip-hop and the relevance of an education in the humanities.

“The CMDR aims at producing scholarly research and develop knowledge on multilingualism and diversity on a transforming South Africa. It also has a strong commitment to community engagement and aims to work closely with local grassroots community organisations and government organisations on questions of multilingualism and diversity,” says PhD candidate at the Centre for Multilingualism and Diversities Research Dmitri Jegels.

The aims of the lecture series were to provide a forum and an intellectually engaging and stimulating space where the

marginalised voices of school youth will be heard; to share experiences, concerns and goals for the future of hip-hop and education in dialogue with peers, hip-hop artists and researchers and academics who form part of the UWC teaching and learning environment; and lastly, to provide a space for school youth to discuss opportunities for careers via hip-hop in the higher education contexts.

Some of the artists in attendance included Ready D, Quintin Jitsvinger, Emile YX?, Mixed Mense, the cast of AfriKaaps, Native Rhythms, DJ Mad Fingers and Driemanskap.

(From left) Dr Adam Haupt (UCT), Emile Jansen (also known as Emile YX?), Dr Quentin Williams (UWC) and Adrian Van Wyk were in attendance at UWC’s Hip-Hop Lecture series.

16 Sport

Offering A

Holistic Student

Experience

UWC

takes

pride in...

Our Teaching

& Learning

Focus

Producing &

Attracting

Excellent Talent

Sustaining

Financial

Stability

Growing Our

Profile Internally

& Externally

Sense-Making Through

Leadership Development

Our Relevant

Research &

Innovation

UWC MEDIA OFFICEDo you have any important UWC stories to share? Do you know of an event on campus that you’d like to see featured? Have you heard of UWC alumni who’ve done amazing things, which you think the world should know about? Or maybe you have a few suggestions, comments or questions about something in this newsletter? Whatever the case may be, the UWC Media Office would really like to hear from you.Just email us at ia@uwc.ac.za, call us at 021 959 9525, or drop by our offices.

CONTRIBUTORSNastasha CrowMyolisi Gophe

Nicklaus KrugerAsiphe Nombewu

Luthando TyhalibongoAidan van den Heever

INSTITUTIONALUWC

ADVANCEMENT

UWC initiates SA-US sport exchange T

he Interdisciplinary Centre for Sport and Development (ICESSD) at the University of the Western Cape has initiated an innovative two-way youth

sports management exchange programme between local and US participants in partnership with the University of Connecticut (UConn).

Ten youth sport managers from the Western Cape Network for Community, Peace and Development (WCNCPD) — an umbrella organisation of more than 30 NGOs in Cape Town — jetted off to the USA on 5 October to participate in a two-week sport for social change programme supported by the US State Department.

Led by Professor Marion Keim of ICESSD, the group included Linda Mbali and Siphokazi Ndlangalavu of Amandla Edufootball, Mcedisi Mbatha of Aresta, Kholisa Kobo of WCNCPD, Sikhulu Zonde of The Ark City of Refuge, Sanele Manqola of Ithemba Labantu, Lwando tofile o t e ity o a e o n at leen

Lot and Jasmina Majiet of The Hague Primary School and Leonard Marthinus of Inner Circle

Youth Development Trust. They were hosted by several sports organisations based in New York, Boston and Connecticut.

The participants attended workshops and youth sport-related activities, took part in multi-day job shadowing experiences at sport-based youth development programmes, and initiated planning for South Africa-based sport social change projects with their US counterparts.

Keim, who is part of the UN International Working Group for Sport and Peace and was recently appointed to the IOC Commission for Olympic Education and Culture, noted that the participants were selected because of the

i nifi ant or t ey ere oin it ort and development in their communities. She said the programme will enable youth sport managers from both countries to share their experiences in managing and organising youth

sports activities, and advance cross-cultural understanding of the role of sports in fostering positive social change.

A two-week follow-up exchange programme in South Africa will be held in March 2015 for 10 leaders from US sport-based youth development organisations. “This visit will give the members of the US delegation the opportunity to learn from their South African colleagues and to jointly launch pilot offerings of their grant-funded mini-projects to over 1 000 youth sport participants,” Keim commented.

UWC’s Prof Marion Keim led a group of youth sport managers from Cape Town on an exchange programme to the USA recently.

UWC star gets another Banyana call-up S

ensational UWC star footballer Leandra Smeda, whose sterling form over the past few months has seen her bagging goals in almost every game, made the cut for

the Confederation of African Football-organised African Women’s Championship (AWC).

e atta in i fiel er a na e in t e 21-strong Banyana Banyana squad that did battle in what was described as the “group of death” in the tenth edition of the AWC which kicked off in Namibia on 11 October 2014. Other teams in the group were past winners Algeria, Cameroon and Ghana. The top three teams in this bi-annual to rna ent alifie or t e I o en World Cup in Canada.

In a tough tournament, Banyana made it to t e e i final t lo t y t o oal to one to tournament winners Nigeria, who beat Cameroon

in t e final an a eaten y Ivory oa t in t e third place play-off game.

Smeda, a UWC postgraduate student in sport, development and peace, has amassed 36 Banyana Banyana caps and scored 13 goals. She has scored most of her goals in recent matches under the current coach Vera Pauw, and that ave er onfi en e to a e t e final a or

the AWC. “I wasn’t really surprised about my ele tion into t e final tea e a e I ve een in

good form for the national team in the past few months,” said Smeda, who hails from Velddrift on the West Coast.

Smeda notes that UWC has played a huge role in her blossoming soccer career. “UWC was the fir t l I laye or en I ove to a e o n to further my studies in 2008, and the club has helped me grow as a footballer over the years.”

Her involvement in the national squad has also een enefi ial to t e tea I al ay tell

my teammates about my experiences at the national team and share my training programme and the playing style we use at Banyana Banyana with my coach so that she can implement it at the club.”

UWC student Leandra Smeda was selected for the Banyana Banyana team that contested the African Women’s Championship in Namibia in October.