Umkhakha Wezokuhlelwa Kwamabhuku Ezimali e-UKZN uthole Ukulinganiselwa Okuphezulu
.Click here for English version
Umkhakha wezokuhlelwa Kwamabhuku Ezimali e-UKZN uthole izinga 1 ku-South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (i-SAICA) okulandela ukubuyekezwa okujulile okwenziwa ibhodi lezokuhlelwa kwamabhuku ezimali Ikomidi Lokubuyekezwa Kwezokufunda (i-ARC).
Lokhu kuyimpumelelo ebalulekile e-UKZN njengoba izinga 1 kuyisilinganiselo esiphezulu se-SAICA futhi lokhu kusho ukuthi iNyuvesi - ngokusebenzisa iSikole Sezokuhlelwa Kwamabhuku Ezimali, Ezomnotho neZezimali (i-SAEF) - izifezile zonke izidingo zebhodi ebezidingeka ukuze izinhlelo zabafundi abangakabi neziqu kuzifundo zokuhlelwa kwamabhuku ezimali kanye nalaba abaneziqu kuzifundo zokuhlelwa kwamabhuku ezimali, kufaka phakathi i-Bachelor of Commerce ku-Accounting, i-Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) ku-Accountancy, kanye ne-Postgraduate Diploma ku-Accounting (Certificate in the Theory of Accounting (CTA)) ezibasiza ukuba babe ngabahleli bamabhuku ezimali abagunyaziwe (Chartered Accountancy qualification).
Ukubuyekezwa kwezinhlelo zokuhlelwa kwamabhuku ezimali kujwayele ukwenziwa i-ARC kuzo zonke izikhungo zemfundo ephakeme ezigunyazwe i-SAICA ukuqinisekisa ukuthi izinhlelo ezenziwa ilezi zikhungo zisezingeni eliphezulu.
Umphathi omkhulu we-SAICA obhekelele ukuthuthukiswa kwezobuchwepheshe, uNkz Mandi Olivier, uthe isinqumo sokuklomelisa i-UKZN ngezinga 1 lokulinganisela kubangwe intuthuko enhle efinyelelwe i-SAEF ngohambo lwabo lokugcina lokuhlola; ikakhulukazi indlela iSikole esakwazi ngayo ukuxazulula zonke izingqinamba ezazikhona ngendlela egculisa i-ARC.
Isinqumo esithathwe iNyuvesi sokwandisa iminyaka yokuthatha umhlalaphansi kusukela kuminyaka engama-60 kuya kwengama-65 sanconywa i-ARC njengoba ivumela izikolo ukuba zigcine abasebenzi ababalulekile abasezikhundleni zokuphatha, babe beqinisekisa ukuba abasebenzi abakhona banele ukuthi bangafeza izidingo zomsebenzi kanye nocwaningo olulindelwe iNyuvesi.
‘Umthelela wokuba nohlelo olunabaphathi abasha nababalulekile emsebenzini luyabonakala kumanje ngezinhlelo zokuthuthukisa izingabunjalo kanye nenani lokukhiqizwa komsebenzi,’ kwengeza u-Olivier.
Ekhuluma ngokuphumelela kohlelo olusetshenziswa isikole sizama ukuxazulula izinkinga ezikhona eziphathelene nenani eliphansi lokukhiqiza umsebenzi, IDini EyiNhloko Yesikole, uSolwazi Mabutho Sibanda, uthe ukufunda okulimimbili kwethulwa ukuze kulekelelwe abakhuluma iSingisi njengolimi lwesibili kanjalo nosizo lwezezimali ngokunikeza imifundaze kanye nokuxhasa ngezincwadi kubafundi abaphuma emakhaya aswele.
‘ISikole sesinyuse isibalo semihlangano yokufunda, sethula izingxoxo zokugqugquzela nokukhuthaza abafundi ukuba basebenzise abaluleki bezengqondo kwezokufunda e-UKZN,’ kusho uSibanda. ‘Siyajabula ukuthi lezindlela zokungenelela ziyabonakala ikakhulukazi uma sibheka ukuthuthukiswa kwenani lomkhiqizo wezitifiketi ze-CTA eselinyuke kusukela kuma-38 amaphesenti ngonyaka wezi-2016 kuya kuma-49 amaphesenti ngonyaka wezi-2017. Enye intuthuko okubalulekile ukuba yaziwe ukukhula kwenani labafundi ababhalisele uhlelo lwe-CTA oselunyuke kusukela kuma-248 ngonyaka wezi-2017 kuya ku-373 ngonyaka wezi-2018. Ngaphezulu kwalokho, abafundi base UKZN bahambe phambili emhlanganweni we Initial Test of Competence ebikuMasingana ngonyaka wezi-2018 okubonisa ukuba siphokophele phambili futhi singaziqhenya ngomsebenzi esiwenzayo njengeSikole,’ esho.
IPhini LeSekelashansela EliyiNhloko YeKolishi Lezifundo Zomthetho Nezokuphatha, uSolwazi Nana Poku ubongise uSibanda nethimba lakhe ngemizamo yabo yokuqinisekisa ukuthi iNyuvesi iligcina liphezulu izinga le-SAICA ngoba lokhu kuzokwenza izinikele ngenhloso yokuguqula umsebenzi wokuhlelwa kwamabhuku ezimali.
Amagama: uHazel Langa
author : .author email : .Lidekiwe Itafula: Obhuti Abangamawele Basungule Indawo Yokudlela eKhempasini i-Howard College
Obhuti Abangamawele uLuthando kanye noThando Adam abavule indawo yokudlela ekhempasini i-Howard CollegeClick here for English version
Obhuti abangamawele baphinde babe abafundi be-Masters eKolishi LezesiNtu, uLuthando kanye noThando Adama, sebevule indawo yokudlela iXhamela Kitchen ekhempasisni i-Howard College.
Amawele athengisa ukudla kwesintu okumnandi futhi okungabizi okufana nojeqe nobhontshisi, inhloko nophuthu, usu kanye namanqina enkukhu.
‘Njengabantu abazimele futhi abawathandayo amasiko, sathatha ithuba esalinikezwa i-UKZN isixhasa ngesibonelelo sokuqala esingu R5000 esasilekelela sifeze iphupho lethu,’ kusho uThando.
Bekhuluma ngabakwenza njalo ngosuku, uLuthando uchazile, ‘Usuku lwethu olujwayelekile luqala ngo 4am sesiqala ukupheka ukudla ukuze kulungele isikhathi sokuvula ngehora le-9am.’
Ukuze kube nozinzo phakathi kwesikole nebhizinisi, amawele athembela kakhulu kuhlelo olunomthetho oqinile. Benza uhlelo lwesonto; babhale phansi yonke imigomo yabo yesonto bebe besebenza kanzima ukufeza futhi baqede amapulani ebebezibekele wona.
Kusho uThando, ‘Sihlela ukukhulisa ibhizinisi lethu ngokuvula amaziko kuwona wonke amakhempasi aseUKZN nangaphandle. Sizokwenza lokhu ngokulithengisa, sithole i-website kanye nokukhankasa ezindaweni zokuxhumana ukuze sikhulise inani labantu esifinyelela kubo futhi negama lethu laziwe. Sisaphumelele kuze kube imanje ngokusebenzisa amakhasimende ethu athembekile futhi asesekayo.’
Lezi zelamani ziphinde zinezinhlelo zokuqala uhlelo lwezenhlalakahle oluyisibophezelo lokuhlinzeka abafundi abaswele ngokudla. ‘Sifuna ukunikeza injabulo. Njengabantu abasebenza ngokuthuthukisa imiphakathi, sesithathe isinqumo sokulwa nobumpofu hhayi nje emphakathini wethu kodwa nasemphakathini waseNyuvesi,’ kusho uLuthando.
Eluleka osomabhizinisi abancane abasafufusa, uThando uthe, ‘Ukuzimela yiwona khiye, ikakhulukazi kusizukulwane sethu. Siyabagqogquzela ozakwethu abangabafundi ukuba basebenzise amakhono kanye nobuchwepheshe babo ukuze babe abakhi bemisebenzi. Ungalindi uhulumeni akwenzele izinto kodwa bahlangabeze eduze njengabaholi bakusasa.’
Indawo yokudlela itholakala eYMCA yabafundi, ku-201 Prince Alice Avenue eceleni kwendawo yokuhlala i-EJ.
Words: Melissa Mungroo
Isithombe: Sihlinzekiwe
author : .author email : .Breakfast Celebrates Culmination of UKZN Wonder Women in Science Campaign
The 2018 Wonder Women in Science are, from left: Dr Nomfundo Mahlangeni, Ms Zahra Kader, Professor Annegret Stark, Dr Joyce Chitja, and Ms Seipati Mokhosi.UKZN’s Wonder Women In Science (WWIS) campaign culminated in a women’s breakfast held at the Coastlands Hotel in Durban.
The campaign - run last month by the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science to commemorate National Science Week and National Women’s Month - comprised a series of articles which profiled passionate, pioneering and persistent UKZN heroines “making waves in the field of science”.
Each of the women shared their story with the 150 guests who included UKZN staff, high school pupils, representatives from the corporate world as well as members of the media.
Dean of Research, Professor Kevin Kirman, welcomed guests and paid tribute to the scientists, acknowledging their contribution to the University and society.
WWIS Professor Annegret Stark of the School of Engineering was the first to tell her story. She urged parents and teachers to empower girls. ‘Young girls can become anything but we need to nurture them and teach them how to succeed and trust in themselves,’ she said.
Next up was Ms Seipati Mokhosi of the School of Life Sciences who spoke of how stories of pioneering women had inspired her to overcome adversity. ‘Your background should not determine where you are going. I grew up in rural QwaQwa in Munatswa and never let it hold me back’,’ she said.
Dr Joyce Chitja of the School of Agricultural Earth and Environmental Sciences was inspired to become a scientist by watching her grandmother farm. ‘She never went to school but I watched how she planted certain crops and understood the soil. I didn’t realise then that she was teaching me and imparted her life’s purpose to me,’ she said.
Dr Nomfundo Mahlangeni of the School of Chemistry and Physics was grateful for the WWIS campaign and its future impact. ‘I hope in the coming years there is an abundance of platforms such as this that celebrate and commemorate women doing amazing things in science,’ she said.
Ms Zahra Kader of the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science recalled that as a child, she wanted a kitten for a birthday but her parents gave her a book instead. ‘My consolation prize was pretty good as it really motivated me to pursue science and ignited my curiosity about the solar system,’ she said.
Guests then took part in a science competition with each table having 10 minutes to complete two science activities. First, they had to build a DNA molecule of sodium chloride using tooth picks and Jelly Tots and then had to assemble a tangram puzzle into a shape.
Some academics in the room were left perplexed, whereas the students were tactful and strategic. Durban Girls High School and Saphumula Secondary School were the eventual winners.
The Office of the eThekwini Municipality’s Deputy City Manager: Support Services Unit, sponsored 30 high school learners from underprivileged schools to attend the event, while Eskom, UKZN InQubate, Umgeni Water and Smart Gifts sponsored items and gifts for the breakfast.
View the complete image gallery at https://wwis.ukzn.ac.za/2018-wwis-breakfast-gallery/
Words: Sashlin Girraj
Photograph: Albert Hirasen
author : .author email : .Iqraa Trust Pledges R1 Million in Bursaries for UKZN Engineering Students
Dr Mahmoud Baker (left); Professor Jules Tapamo, Acting Dean, School of Engineering (fourth right); Professor Cristina Trois, SARChI Chair in Waste and Climate Change (far right) and the Iqraa-AfriHub bursary recipients.The Iqraa Trust is committed to South Africa’s development. This was the assurance given by Iqraa Trust Executive Chairman, Dr Mahmoud Baker, when he pledged R1 million for bursary funding through the Hub for the African City of the Future (AfriHub) to students studying Engineering at UKZN.
Iqraa Trust aims to uplift the quality of life of all South Africans by promoting and supporting humanitarian programs that are designed to help those who are most in need, to help themselves. The organisation has an illustrious and established history of community development in South Africa.
The Iqraa-AfriHub collaboration aims to identify and nurture students who demonstrate not only academic excellence, but have the desire to participate actively in social development projects. ‘It is this rare combination of developing professional skills and nurturing social awareness that differentiates the Iqraa-AfriHub collaboration,’ said AfriHub Manager, Dr Rudi Kimmie.
Because the bursaries enable recipients to study at UKZN, more importantly it facilitates their holistic development. Hence beneficiaries are expected to participate actively in AfriHub activities, become involved in outreach programmes and excel academically. The aim is to develop professional as well as civic leaders.
Words: Ndabaonline
author : .author email : .Best Poster Award for Avocado PhD Research
Mr Sakhile Mathe with his Young Minds Award certificate from the International Society for Horticultural Sciences.Mr Sakhile Mathe, a PhD candidate in Horticultural Sciences, received the Young Minds Award for best poster at the 30th International Horticultural Congress (IHC) organised by the International Society for Horticultural Sciences (ISHS) in Istanbul, Turkey.
Mathe, whose trip was funded by the Post-Harvest Innovation Programme, presented his poster on girdling as a tool to unravel the “Hass” avocado skin colour problems. Poor skin colour change of South African “Hass” avocados is an issue that impacts export of the fruit to other countries. The concern is that the fruit does not effectively change colour from emerald green to purple to black to indicate ripeness which affects consumers’ decisions to buy the product and compromises market competitiveness.
Mathe felt the IHC had been an informative event where he was especially interested in avocado research and horticultural management studies presented. He previously presented his research at the 2016 and 2017 Combined Congresses and at another ISHS event.
Mathe has worked on this research with the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) where he is part of their Professional Development Programme (PDP). The ARC Tropical and Subtropical Crops (TSC) was commissioned by the South African Avocado Growers’ Association (SAAGA) to investigate both pre- and postharvest factors causing this conundrum.
Mathe’s study involves an investigation of several pre and postharvest factors which could explain poor ‘Hass’ avocado skin colour development during ripening. The study recommended girdling trees for earlier maturation to resolve the problem of the skin colour not changing when the fruit got ripe, especially with early harvest fruit.
Mathe, who completed his undergraduate and Honours degrees in Agricultural Management, was inspired to pursue his Master’s and PhD studies in Horticultural Sciences by Professor Isa Bertling and Dr Renate Oberholster.
Dr Samson Tesfay of UKZN and Dr Nhlanhla Mathaba of the Perishable Product Export Control Board (PPECB) are supervising his doctoral research.
Mathe’s Masters research comprised a comparative study of the antioxidant potential of some leafy vegetables with emphasis on African leafy vegetables such as amaranthus and exotic vegetables. He believes indigenous vegetables have potential to alleviate problems of malnutrition and hunger, and extraction of antioxidants could have applications in medicinal development.
Mathe hopes to go into a research career, potentially including molecular level work on this problem facing the avocado industry.
He thanked his supervisors, friends and staff at the ARC, in particular Mr Justice Mlimi and Mr Jan Ntandane, for their support. He also thanked Ms Bridgette Machipyane from the University of Limpopo, the UKZN Horticultural Sciences team as well as his family.
Words and photograph: Christine Cuénod
author : .author email : .Smoking a Cause of Depression in Teenagers
Research reveals smoking teens are prone to depression.Teenagers who smoke suffer a great risk of depression. This is according to research conducted over a period of seven years by UKZN Public Health academic, Dr Andrew Tomita who was lead author of a study titled: Evidence on the Association Between Cigarette Smoking and Incident Depression from the South African National Income Dynamics Study 2008–2015: Mental Health Implications for a Resource-Limited Setting.
The study was based on an analysis of data from the South African National Income Dynamics Study; a nationally representative sample of households at follow-up periods between the years 2008-2015. The cohort consisted of 14 118 adult participants who at baseline were depression free.
However, after tracking the participants, the researchers found that depression was significant in older adolescents (ages 15–19). This was observed in both men and women especially as adolescents are often developmentally vulnerable and disadvantaged socio-economically. Recent studies investigating the association of smoking, and later depression, confirmed this finding.
According to Tomita and co-author Dr Jennifer Manuel of New York University, although the underlying mechanisms are unclear, the hypothesis is based on the premise that prolonged nicotine alters the neurochemicals in the regulatory systems which may in turn make it difficult to regulate stress or emotions.
Tomita is a senior lecturer in UKZN’s School of Nursing and Public Health and a research associate at the Kwazulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP). A United States citizen, his research interests includes studies of Critical Time Intervention (CTI) and investigating ways to improve the lives of individuals living with serious mental illness in the United States and South Africa.
Since relocating to UKZN, Tomita has implemented numerous mental health services studies in KwaZulu-Natal as project leader which were funded by NIH Fogarty International Center (FIC) and National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) as part of the prestigious Fogarty International Clinical Research/Global Health Research fellowships.
‘Given the limited health services infrastructure in many developing countries, our findings highlight the need to implement cigarette smoking prevention and cessation approaches to reduce their use and treat depression,’ said Tomita. Teenagers diagnosed with depression may exhibit several behavioural issues such as irresponsible behavior, excessive sleeping, substance abuse, withdrawal from friends and family, memory loss and rebellious behavior etc.
Tomita and Manuel commented on possible treatment options for those afflicted, ‘There is limited evidence on effective treatment options for young smokers with current depression. However, a recent systematic review of smoking-cessation treatments among adult smokers with current depression suggests that depressed patients can quit smoking with effective smoking-cessation treatments, especially pharmacological treatments, and these strategies must be encouraged.’
Words: MaryAnn Francis
author : .author email : .The UKZN Griot. Of Novels, Chastity and Smart Toilets
.‘Technological chastity is the way to go,’ so says Terry Eagleton, a literary scholar and public intellectual who characterises himself as an “e-mail virgin”.
He observes that the internet is:
an anti-modern device for slowing us all down, returning us to the rhythms of an earlier, more sedate civilisation. In the frantic, fast-moving years before Apple and Google, you would ask for a hotel room and the clerk would just write your name down in a book - all over in 20 seconds. These days the hotel receptionist types a chapter of his novel. Once he has inserted one or two rather elaborate subplots and added a few complex new characters, he remembers what he is supposed to be doing and hands you your room key [1].
This is my experience also. Recently I had to extend my booking at a very expensive government-managed hotel in Shanghai. I knew it was expensive because its breakfast cost R900 for middling fare, not to mention a cancellation fee of R1 100 if even one wanted to change booking dates. Eagleton came to mind when it took me and my Chinese conference helper 90 minutes to figure out how to make the booking while hovering at the hotel’s check-in counter dealing with an apparently disinterested reception desk clerk.
We were told to book in via the Internet. So, armed with my laptop and my helper’s cellphone, we tried this obligatory digital route while being disregarded by the clerk who continued to spasmodically type her novel’s next chapter on her PC.
Since I wanted to pay cash and not by card, the internet booking site refused to accept instructions entered into my laptop and kicked out a massively inflated quote because the site identified my IP address as “foreign”. Questions directed at the clerk in Chinese by my helper were met with long explanations, probably similar to those I often experienced at UKZN, “It can’t be done”. Since I had previously asked a different clerk to tentatively book the night, the computer now told us that there were two bookings from the same person. By now, I was frantic about potential cancellation costs while wanting to confirm only one booking. All the time, the site demanded my credit card number which I refused to provide lest I get extorted for a cancellation and such use would have resulted in further extortion by the SA Reserve Bank of R60 just to use my card plus my SA bank’s processing charges, not to mention the further punishment of a falling exchange rate.
My assistant, Lui, as she explained it, cancelled the first booking by calling the customer service of the hotel booking website. Like other customer service hotlines, the phone was answered by a bilingual automatic system. A human - English or Chinese speaking - can be located by pressing certain numbers. After connecting with a live human being, the booking was thankfully cancelled. Human intervention does still work!
Then, after 75 frustrating minutes with Eagleton’s story buzzing my head, not to mention the hilarious British sitcom, Fawlty Towers, Liu booked the room via an app on her Chinese smartphone and I reimbursed her in real money. By this means, we fooled the internet booking site and obtained a quote that was about R400 cheaper than the one I had been given for the same room because her IP address evaded my being surcharged as a “foreigner”. The transaction succeeded just as the clerk was completing her first page of her next chapter.
But wait, there’s more. On checking out at 3h30 the next morning, I asked for a receipt. This time I did not have my very enterprising Chinese helper with me and I was told that there is “no charge” for the room as the payment had been made by my travel agent. A receipt could not therefore be issued. I explained that the booking had been made by a conference helper in her private capacity and that she could not issue an official travel agent receipt. But this was an argument that I could not win. The taxi was waiting and I had to leave without the hotel’s receipt. I did have an electronic receipt from the booking site - all in Chinese- sent to my helper’s phone and from there, to my email inbox.
To return to Eagleton’s analysis; the guest becomes a pawn as computers consume our time, attention and distract reception clerks from us humanoids, who, to misuse Eagleton’s term, become “non-beings”. The other non-beings in queue were stalled while we were connecting to a remote booking site rather than being processed at the counter.
While the software, computers and internet were slowing everything down, the hotel had been unable to fix a continuous leak in my bathroom, and had to relocate me to a much smaller room, but still the computer charged me the same amount. No discount offered for inconvenience, water leaking from the ceiling, or getting the guest to do all the clerical work to get booked in for the extra night.
But I did get a “smart” electronic lavatory in my second room that sprayed, washed, enabled cold and hot massages, beeped and bleeped, was splash proof and fitted with a nightlight and bacteria and worm killing chemicals. One could hip wash and have safety protection and the toilet I suspect delivers some other unmentionable services too risqué to mention here.
Happily, the lav did not need to be controlled via an internet or cellphone app, but it does need an instruction manual and I did not lose my chastity!
Reference
[1] http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/terry-eagleton-email-internet
Keyan G Tomaselli is a Distinguished Professor, University of Johannesburg, and Professor Emeritus and Fellow, UKZN, where neither campus sports smart toilets, and where one is lucky if the bowl still has its seat.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are the author’s own.
author : .author email : .Zooming in on Teenage Sexual and Reproductive Health
Speakers and guests at the mini-symposium on the Sexual and Reproductive Health of teenagers.UKZN’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology recently hosted a mini-symposium on the Sexual and Reproductive Health of Teenagers as part of the national Women’s Month celebrations.
The event attracted healthcare practitioners, representatives from NGOs and the KwaZulu-Natal departments of Health and Education as well as researchers.
The symposium heard that there is a high incidence of teenage pregnancies in South Africa and that about 19 percent were repeat pregnancies within those (teenage) years.
Dr Sibonisile Zibane, a social worker from the School of Applied Human Sciences, spoke on how teenage boys and girls negotiated their sexuality, particularly in a township context. She said there are informal sexual cultures in high school which result in risky sexual behaviours and abuse as well as subsequent pregnancies.
Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim from the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), who is one of the world’s leading HIV/AIDS researchers, confirmed the high incidence of teenage pregnancies in South Africa and highlighted that HIV incidence was disproportionality higher among teenage girls and young women compared to their male counterparts. Abdool Karim, who was recently appointed as the UNAIDS Special Ambassador for Adolescents and HIV, said research had shown that this trend appeared to be driven by young girls engaging in sexual relations with older men.
The forum concluded that options to prevent both unwanted pregnancies, STIs and importantly; HIV needed to be reinforced and research in the field should be intensified. Further, there was commitment from the various stakeholders to engage more deliberately with each other in trying to understand and address issues of sexuality and reproductive health among teenagers, including “sexuality messaging” at school level.
Words: Lihle Sosibo
author : .author email : .Seminar Questions Hidden Assumptions of Curricula
Professor Kriben Pillay.The core perspectives that keep world views of division and separation intact in curricula were explored during a seminar presented by Professor Kriben Pillay of the Graduate School of Business and Leadership.
Hosted by the University Teaching and Learning Office (UTLO), the seminar was based on the chapter authored by Pillay which appears in the landmark book: Disrupting Higher Education: Undoing Cognitive Damage, which is edited by UKZN’s Professor Michael Samuel, Dr Rubby Dhunpath and Professor Nyna Amin.
The chapter is titled: The Illusion of Solid and Separate Things: Troublesome Knowledge and the Curriculum.
The presentation explored the urgency of dismantling a model of reality that cannot be proven but which underlies the country’s educational system as well as others. It is a model that says the world is made up of discrete and separate things, and while this may have utility value in certain domains of experience, it causes systemic collapses all over.
Within the current discourses of curriculum transformation, Dhunpath added, ‘We are tweaking the curriculum rather than exploring deep epistemological assumptions.’
Pillay will present a version of this seminar to academics in the Faculty of Health at York University in England later this year.
Pillay has been approached to host sessions that deal with the experiential dimensions of seeing directly, in one’s own experience, the fact of non-separation. For further inquiries, he may be contacted by email: pillaykri@ukzn.ac.za.
Words: Ndabaonline
author : .author email : .Film Explores the Science Behind GMOs
Professor Steve Worth welcoming the guests to the Food Evolution movie screening.The Food Evolution documentary, which tackles the science and debates surrounding the topic of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food, was screened before more than 200 guests at the John Bews building on the Pietermaritzburg campus.
The screening was made possible by the South African Association for Food Science and Technology (SAAFoST) and co-ordinated by the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science (CAES). The intention behind the screening was to create a forum for improved awareness and understanding of the science of GMOs and their role in food security, and to spark questions and discussions around various views on the contentious topic.
Guests included academic and support staff from UKZN, students, industry representatives and professional scientists.
The film, directed by Academy Award-nominated director, Scott Hamilton Kennedy, and narrated by pre-eminent science communicator, Neil deGrasse Tyson, explored the controversy surrounding GMOs by examining cases from Hawaiian papaya groves, banana farms in Uganda to the cornfields of Iowa in the United States. It included emotionally charged debates and expounded on science around the subject.
According to producers, the film demonstrates how easily misinformation, confusion and fear can overwhelm objective analysis.
Food Evolution features input of plant breeding, agricultural economics, environmental activism, journalism, genomics, biotechnology, nutrition, and science communication experts, including Mark Lynas, Michael Pollan, Alison van Eenennaam, Jeffrey Smith, Andrew Kimbrell, Vandana Shiva, Robert Fraley, Marion Nestle and Bill Nye. It also includes views of farmers and scientists from around the world and separates the hype and emotion from the science and data to unravel the debate around food and help audiences reach their own conclusions.
Following the screening, a discussion took place with Professor Mark Laing and Professor Hussein Shimelis of the African Centre for Crop Improvement and Professor Augustine Gubba of Plant Pathology answering questions posed. Much of the discussion centred around questions of issues surrounding the use of GMOs such as ethics, legislation and ownership. Professor Steve Worth of the African Centre for Food Security facilitated the discussion panel.
Representatives from SAAFoST congratulated UKZN on the screening; lauding the team’s enthusiasm, team spirit, co-operation and effectiveness in hosting an exceptional event.
CAES Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head, Professor Albert Modi, noted that the world learns differently today and remarked on the value of films such as Food Evolution to extend learning from the classroom as well as inspire debate and the posing of questions in University programmes.
Words and photograph: Christine Cuénod
author : .author email : .Humanities Students Compete in My Kitchen Rules SA
Humanities students, Ms Minenhle Ntuli and Ms Nomthandazo Xaba, participate in the TV show: My Kitchen Rules South Africa.College of Humanities students, Ms Minenhle Ntuli and Ms Nomthandazo Xaba, recently competed in the yummy local cooking competition, My Kitchen Rules South Africa (MKRSA).
Based on the popular Australian format, the MKRSA show kicked off with a pressure cooker Instant Restaurant section during which five teams from two tables were required to show off their skills. The team with the lowest score from each group was eliminated at the end of the round, with the survivors moving on to the show’s headquarters to face a variety of challenges.
Sparkling and vivacious “millennials”, Ntuli (23) and Xaba (20), met at the Idols SA TV show audition and immediately became friends. The two bubbly girls gel in the kitchen and have great fun cooking together.
In MKRSA, the two entertainers wanted to show the world that it is possible to modernise traditional cuisine without diminishing the African experience.
‘We wanted our guests to feel our love. The food we dish up reflects who we are. Technically, we give them “us”,’ said Ntuli.
Ntuli says she was “born to be in the entertainment industry”. Both students are musicians, radio hosts and MCs for private and school events, and share the same food style and tastes.
They both love eating as much as they love cooking, especially if it is the type of food found in a traditional African home.
Words: Melissa Mungroo
Photograph supplied by My Kitchen Rules SA
author : .author email : .Stunning Contemporary Dance on Opening Night of JOMBA!
The opening night of the UKZN contemporary dance show, JOMBA!The “full house” signs were on display at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre on the opening night of UKZN’s 20th JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience presented by the Centre for Creative Arts (CCA) in the College of Humanities.
One of the few remaining contemporary dance festivals in South Africa, JOMBA! features performances over two weeks; offering dancers, choreographers and the public an opportunity to engage in workshops, discussions and master classes.
UKZN Artistic Director and Performing Arts lecturer, Ms Lliane Loots, gave the keynote address which looked back on the birth of JOMBA! and its prolonged success. ‘It’s space of hope that has championed our collective deep abiding passion and need for art as well as the political and personal right of all of us to access cultural expression as our democratic birth right; be this as an artist, dancer, journalist, academic, audience, reader or listener,’ said Loots while describing the CCA and JOMBA!.
She sees the arts as the “ephemeral and transient manifestation of hope”.
Being the Artistic Director of this Festival has been an act of service for Loots. ‘I and the extraordinary team I work with have had to find courage to be these “keepers of hope”. This is the legacy we hope to continue to build on,’ she said.
The JOMBA! Opening performance featured Johannesburg-based Moving into Dance Mophatong (MIDM) which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. They performed in the very first edition of JOMBA! In 1998. MIDM performed two new works: Sunnyboy Motau’s Man Longing, a brooding yet beautiful work that uses dance and poetry to explore the sinister world of human trafficking and guest artist, Khutjo Green’s collaboration with MIDM women dancers in The Women Who Fell from the Moon inspired by Nina Simone’s song: Four Women, a searing exploration of the collective power of women.
Words: Melissa Mungroo
Photograph: Val Adamson
author : .author email : .Workshop on Seed Dispersal by Ungulates
Delegates at the Seed Dispersal workshop.Seed Dispersal by Ungulates from Southern Africa was the title of a workshop organised at UKZN by the School of Life Sciences in partnership with the Centre for Invasion Biology, SANParks and the French National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture (Irstea).
Ungulates are hooved mammals and include buck, cattle, giraffe and horses. These animals play a role in both external and internal seed dispersal, such as carrying seeds stuck on their fur or ingesting and excreting seeds respectively.
The workshop was open to park rangers, wildlife reserve managers, wildlife and game ranching professionals, hunting associations, ecologists studying large mammalian herbivores and their interactions with vegetation as well as students in ecology.
Seed dispersal by ungulates is relatively understudied in South Africa, and with the variety of ungulate species found in the region, it is felt that more studies about this would help with understanding these systems which in turn would help with long-term conservation.
Participants included students and staff from UKZN, University of Pretoria, University of Cape Town, University of the Free State, Stellenbosch University, Nelson Mandela University, Massey University (New Zealand), SANParks, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, Agricultural Research Council as well as Eastern Cape Tourism.
The goals of the workshop were to discuss seed dispersal by ungulates in Southern Africa and thus share and improve the collective knowledge on this ecological process and potentially initiate a network of collaborators.
The programme for the day began with talks about ungulate-mediated dispersal in different biomes in Europe, Southern Africa and the tropics and ended with a workshop to discuss methodological approaches, share personal observations and narratives and discuss future data collection.
Words: Preshnee Singh
author : .author email : .UKZN Drama Students in Action at National Arts Festival
UKZN Drama students perform A Raisin in the Sun at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.A group of UKZN Drama students - under the supervision of visiting academic from the University of Missouri in the United States Professor Niyi Coker - performed the acclaimed Broadway production: A Raisin in the Sun, at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival (NAF).
A Raisin in the Sun, which debuted in 1959, is the first play written by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway. The play is a critical cultural document that examines race matters in the United States and how racially oppressive circumstances can, and do, thwart dreams. It also explores the invisible internal struggles that exist within family structures and in homes in reaction to these oppressive external factors.
The UKZN production - a South African adaptation by Lorraine Hansberry - was part of the Main Student Theatre Festival programme at NAF. Set in South Africa in the 1980s, it illuminates the complementary struggles of systematic racism and segregation in both this country and America.
Said Coker, ‘The inspiration in creating this play came from articles I read about housing segregation and discrimination in South Africa and this production is pretty relevant to that,’ adding that he was aware of socio-political ills and housing segregation faced by Black communities to this day.
‘First of all, the cast is from UKZN and they are looking at their own immediate society in Durban. In terms of Durban, Pinetown is the cutting point you look at from when a lot of Black people started moving into areas that were not predominantly Black. The first Black person moved into Pinetown in 1984,’ said Coker.
Production Assistant, Ms Kamini Govender, said, ‘It is important for students to be given the opportunity to showcase their talent and to bear witness to the talent and opportunities around them,’ whilst also advising students, ‘Start looking for or creating your own opportunities in the arts. Soak yourself in the artistic works of others as well as nurturing your own talent.’
Words: Melissa Mungroo
Photograph: Hlamvu Yose
author : .author email : .Bridging the Gender Gap Vital for Prosperity
UKZN alumnus and former SRC member, Dr Maureen Tong.According to a report by the McKinsey Global Institute, a total of 75 percent of unpaid work globally is undertaken by women.
This was heard by members of the audience at the recent Women’s Month Celebration Talk organised by the Corporate Relations Division and presented by UKZN alumnus and former SRC member, Dr Maureen Tong, under the theme: Diversity: Maximising on the Gender Dividend for the Good of Humankind.
Tong is a professional coach, international lawyer, published author, academic and businesswoman. Tong, who holds a PhD in International Law from the Université de Strasbourg in France, is also a lecturer at the Wits Business School, Coach Companion South Africa CEO, Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa (PSASA) Pretoria Chapter Vice-President, and is the Deputy National Secretary of Coaches and Mentors of South Africa (COMENSA).
Referring to the McKinsey Global Institute report titled: The Power of Parity, Tong said there were interventions necessary to bridge the gender gap, including financial incentives and support; technology and infrastructure; the creation of economic opportunity; capability building; advocacy and shaping attitudes, laws, policies and regulations.
She said unless South Africa had quotas in place and enforced sanctions and penalties as well as having incentives for complying companies, there would be no visible growth in gender equality.
She also highlighted statistics that proved that women-led companies and those with a large female representation on their boards were performing better than those led by men.
Referring to other countries such as Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Germany which have taken the lead in gender equality and development, she said, ‘This is a clear example showing that when you empower women, you do it for the good of humankind.’
She stressed that women currently in leadership roles also needed to be supported, adding that the country’s patriarchal system did not support women and undermined their achievements.
She reminded women never to apologise for their success and to find the right people to support them.
Speaking on the current treatment of women in South Africa, she decried the current brutality of gender-based violence and highlighted the struggle faced by rural women for basic needs such as food, shelter and healthcare.
UKZN Acting Director: University Relations, Dr Sally Frost, thanked Tong for an interesting talk which reminded the University that empowering women was good for everyone.
Words: Sithembile Shabangu
author : .author email : .KZN Tennis Association and AfriHuB Boost UKZN Tennis
Excited members from the UKZN Tennis Club after receiving a donation from the KwaZulu-Natal Tennis Association.“A healthy mind needing a healthy body”, received a much needed boost when the UKZN Tennis Club received a donation of tennis equipment and coaching funding to the value of R25 000 from the KwaZulu-Natal Tennis Association. The official handover was held at the renovated courts on the Howard College campus.
Executive President of the KZN Tennis association, Mr Leonard Morgas, said it was the first donation the body had made to a Higher Education Institution, adding that the plan is to extend support to other universities.
According to Morgas, ‘The current trend is that people play tennis while at school and then disappear from the sport until they are in their 30s’. He further added that donations such as the one to UKZN, were aimed at helping bridge that gap and enable university students to feature regularly in the eThekwini Tennis Association (ETA) and university leagues.
The donation which was facilitated by Dr Rudi Kimmie, Manager of the Hub for the African City of the Future (AfriHub), aims to promote sport as part of a healthy student lifestyle. Kimmie thanked the KZN Tennis Association, expressing his gratitude ‘to finally get to a stage where a stronger partnership can be forged between UKZN and the KZN Tennis Association.’ Kimmie said it had been a long journey and the partnership would try to address a number of objectives that UKZN wants to achieve such as social cohesion, discipline, promoting a healthy lifestyle, encouraging UKZN students to be competitive and to help them develop critical life skills to use in their professional and personal lives.’
UKZN Tennis Club Chairman, Ms Lebo Nchabeleng and UKZN Sports Union President, Ms Nomandla Mabaso, said they were grateful for the assistance. Nchabeleng, who was introduced to tennis at University, said the donations would assist the club enormously.
UKZN Sports Administrator, Ms Nomkhosi Ndlovu, said getting involved in tennis was a huge challenge for students from disadvantaged communities as equipment was too expensive. She said the donation would thus go a long way to assist in that area.
Morgas wished students well and thanked UKZN for giving his association an opportunity to contribute to the promotion of tennis at the University, appealing to students to not only play tennis at University, but to take the sport to their communities and form their own clubs as this would attract more young people to join clubs.
Giving the vote of thanks, UKZN Senior Sports Officer, Mr Mvuyisi Sigila, said the University’s Tennis Club would take up the challenge of recruiting more players.
Words and photograph: Sithembile Shabangu
author : .author email : .Human Resources Division Holds Women’s Month Seminar
Human Resources women staff members with seminar guest speakers, Dr Rosemary Sibanda and Dr Gita Suraj-Narayan.In celebration of Women’s Month, the Human Resources Division held a breakfast seminar focusing on its female staff members.
Dr Rosemary Sibanda, lecturer in the Graduate School of Business and Leadership, and Dr Gita Suraj-Narayan of the African Laughter Institute were guest speakers.
Sibanda highlighted the many challenges women face in the workplace, emphasising the importance of women knowing who they are, emotional intelligence as well as using mindfulness to be able to rise above challenges.
Suraj-Narayan highlighted the importance of laughter which is often taken for granted due to day-to-day stress. She indicated that people were so stressed that they hardly laugh and miss out on the benefits. She shared results of her research, saying laughter therapy led to improvements in patients’ blood pressure and blood sugar levels, amongst many benefits. She highlighted the physical and psychological benefits of laughter therapy through the release of endorphins for dealing with stress and illnesses; equating 30 minutes of laughter to 10 minutes on the treadmill. HR women were taken through an experiential laughter session which they found beneficial.
‘The session was fun and relaxing and we learned a new de-stressing technique which is much needed,’ said Mrs Thabisile Gwambe, Manager: HR-Professional Services.
Words: Busisiwe Ramabodu
author : .author email : .Student YMCA Celebrates Women’s Month
Young women came to learn more from Dr Delarise Mulqueeny.In celebration of Women’s Month, UKZN’s Student YMCA hosted a lunch with the emphasis on empowering, motivating and educating young women - and men - about how to overcome challenges and deal with life’s harsh realities.
Guest speaker, Dr Delarise Malqueeny, spoke on issues faced by young people, including sexual reproductive health and rights.
Malqueeny also spoke about the importance of education, the need for people to get their priorities right when it comes to education as well as different types of abuses including physical, verbal, emotional and sexual, which many women are victims of.
The YCMA thanked Mulqueeny for her involvement and also those who had sponsored the event, which was attended by both women and men.
The YMCA will host two more events that will concentrate on issues of entrepreneurship, budgeting, time management, depression, healthy relationships, and sexual reproductive health and rights. Anyone interested in attending these functions should call Phumelele Hadebe on 061 948 6926 or email phumelelehadebe3@gmail.com.
Words and photograph: Zama Zwane
author : .author email : .Seminar Explores the Use of Technology Enhanced and Blended Learning Approaches in Education at UKZN
Professor Rupert Ward (seated, second right) with the students and staff who attended the seminar.The discussion and proposal of a Roadmap for the uptake of technology resources to enhance the teaching and learning experience for UKZN staff and students was the focus of a seminar recently hosted by UKZN’s Teaching and Learning Office (UTLO) in collaboration with University Capacity Development Grant.
The seminar titled: A Roadmap for Technology Enhanced Learning Implementation at UKZN saw Professor Rupert Ward, a former Special Adviser to HRH The Duke of York, KG, and Project Lead for The Duke of York Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award and co-author of the University’s highly successful assessment and feedback strategy, who holds six postgraduate qualifications across a range of disciplines share insights based on his vast experience on the use of technology enhanced and blended learning approaches in education.
‘We don’t need to teach as much information as we used to because everyone now has Google and Wikipedia and students can access the information from there. The most important questions are what is the role of teaching and what is the need for a university degree? Your role is not to teach but to facilitate knowledge and develop informed people so we cannot teach them theory of driving a car and then expect them to get into a car and be able to drive just from learning the theory alone,’ advised Ward.
The interactive seminar saw Ward engage with staff and students on the following areas:
- Why academics are reluctant to use technology even though it is easily available at no cost
- Why students do not find the time to watch multimedia materials on line
- If they do, does this improve their understanding of key concepts?
- Should entire lectures be captured in classrooms and distributed?
- Benefits of video recording lectures and distributing them on line
- How video materials may be made interesting in the manner they are produced.
‘I think of education as more of a hurdle race, if you fit and have trained a lot then you are fine but if you haven’t then it becomes harder to endure the race. You have to understand learning from a student’s perspective and change their perception that the use of technology is hard. We also have to develop a diagnostic tool that will help with the transition of the students from high school to university by ascertaining their proficiency when it comes to using technology and develop resources that will assist with the transition because this type of learning is about engagement and motivation,’ said Ward.
Discipline of Information Systems and Technology lecturer Dr Upasana G Singh who arranged Ward’s visit to UKZN which was also his first visit to South Africa had this to say:
‘In this highly volatile South African Higher Education environment that we are situated in we all understand the need to introduce and integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum, rather than viewing it as an add on or afterthought. However we also need to take cognisance that technology is a useful servant but as Christian Lange states, “also a dangerous master”. In this light Professor Rupert Ward will engage us in a discussion on how to make use of technology enhanced and blended learning approaches in education.’
Words and photograph: Thandiwe Jumo
author : .author email : .UKZN Representatives in Old Mutual Student Competition
Student competitors with representatives from Old Mutual, Plaas Media and UKZN. Nine students from the School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences (SAEES) took part in the UKZN leg of a competition organised by Old Mutual and Plaas Media to identify top agricultural students at South African universities.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science (CAES), Professor Albert Modi, said the one purpose of the competition was to enthuse students and encourage knowledge sharing. He encouraged interaction between staff, students and industry representatives present at the event.
Third-year student participants were from the Disciplines of Animal Science, Agricultural Economics, Crop Science, Horticultural Sciences and Soil Science. They presented on three set topics related to beef production, land expropriation without compensation (EWC) and sustainable agriculture.
The three winners selected, one in each category, were Mr Keshveer Singh of Animal Science for his presentation on beef production, Ms Jessica Lubisi of Soil Science for her presentation on sustainable agriculture and Mr Lungani Mvelase of Agricultural Economics for a presentation on EWC.
The three winners from UKZN received prize money from Old Mutual and will participate in the final round of the competition in Parys later in the year; competing against finalists from the University of Pretoria, the University of the Free State and Stellenbosch University. Participation in the final event will provide the opportunity to interact with the broader agricultural industry.
Mr Albert Loubser from Plaas Media congratulated students on being selected and encouraged them to use the event as a learning experience, saying they were pioneers thanks to their participation in this inaugural edition of the competition, which is planned to become an annual event.
Each student gave a 10-minute presentation based on their allocated topic, then fielded questions from the judges and audience.
‘This is your chance to take a subject and make a stand,’ said Loubser, who highlighted the value of participation for a student’s experience, setting them apart as they enter the industry.
He thanked Modi and his team for facilitating the UKZN round and thanked Old Mutual for being willing to invest in the future by supporting this event.
Modi thanked Old Mutual and Plaas Media for their partnership with UKZN, and also SAEES academics who assisted in the selection and assessment of participants.
‘You are future agricultural leaders and Old Mutual is proud to invest in the future,’ said Advocate Koos Nel from Old Mutual. ‘Time is a commodity and what will make a difference is how you use it. The strategic importance of agriculture is growing daily in line with the growth of the population. Agriculture is the place to be. Indeed, Professor Modi is right in saying that this is a new partnership with UKZN,’ said Nel.
Words: Christine Cuénod
Photograph: Ntokozo Dladla
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