Ugqozi LokuCwaninga Lukhuphulele Umfundi WezoMthetho Emazingeni Aphezulu
Mnu Musa Kika.Click here for English version
Ukuqokwa kowayengumfundi wezomthetho uMnu Musa Kika njengoMsizimcwaningi ophikweni lwezokuPhatha Ngentandoyeningi kanye Namalungelo kuzomsiza ukuthi aqhubeke nento ayithandayo okungamalungelo abantu, umthetho wezomthethosisekelo nomthetho wezokuphatha.
Lolu Phiko lwathulwa ngonyaka wezi -2014 luwuphiko olugxile ocwaningweni lwezinto ezenzekayo futhi luzinze eMnyangweni WezoMthetho Womphakathi eNyuvesi YaseKapa, lugxile ezintweni ezithintene nezokuphathwa kwezomthetho, ukuqokwa kwamajaji, uguquko kwezobulili emajajini, ilungelo lokutholakala kolwazi, nokutholakala kosizo lomthetho mahhala kanye nezomthethosisekelo.
KuKika - ozothweswa iziqu ze-LLB ngenyanga ezayo – lo msebenzi uzomsiza ukuba asize ocwaningweni oluhlukene olwenziwa wuphiko okuzomenza abe nolwazi olubanzi ngemikhakha ehlukene yezomthetho. UKika unolwazi lwezocwaningo lwezomthetho ngoba useke wasebenza njengoMsizimncwaningi eSikoleni SezoMthetho futhi unolwazi ngezinkantolo ngoba ubeyingxenye yohlelo lomabhalane bezinkantolo obeluhlelwe yiJaji uMalcom Wallis esikoleni.
‘Ukusebenza kwami eDRGU kuqale kuNholanja kulandela ukusuka kwami e-UKZN ngiya e-UCT. Bengilokhu ngixhumana nophiko kusukela ngiqala e-UCT nyakenye. Okwamanje ngibambe iqhaza emisebenzini emibili: uhlelo lweJSC Monitoring kanye nohlelo lokuhlola ukuthi lungasatshalaliswa kanjani lolu hlelo kwamanye amazwe ase-Afrika,’ kusho uKika.
Njengoba angena kowamanqamu kwi- Ellie Newman Moot Court ngowezi-2014 futhi enza izifundo ze-LLM kwezoMthetho Womphakathi, uthi ulwazi azoluthola kulomsebenzi luzomsiza kakhulu ezifundweni zakhe.
‘Umsebenzi engiwenza e-DRGU uncike entweni enginesasasa layo. Ugqozi lwami lulele ekusetshenzisweni komthetho ukuze kutholakale ukuphatha okufanele. Uma ngibheka phambili, ngizimisele ukujoyina i-Bar ngisebenze emkhakheni womthetho womphakathi.
‘Engikuhlosile ngokuqhubeka kwesikhathi ukusebenza e-Afrika emkhakheni wezamalungelo abantu, ezokuphatha, nezomthetho ngokusebenza ezikhungweni ezifana ne-SADC, i-AU, ne-UN nezinhlangano ezingaphansi kwazo, ‘ kusho uKika.
Thandiwe Jumo
author : .author email : .Vital for People to See Justice Being Done – Advocate Gerrie Nel
Advocate Gerrie Nel signing autographs for excited UKZN Law students.‘Everyday, you can make justice happen.’ This was National Prosecuting Authority’s Advocate Gerrie Nel’s inspirational message to UKZN’s Law students during his recent visit to the University’s Law School.
Nel delivered two lectures to students who filled the Howard College Theatre to capacity, eager to hear words of wisdom from their “icon” whose legal prowess so impressed them all during the much publicised and high profile trial of Oscar Pistorius.
The first lecture targeted third-year students, focusing on criminal procedure and evidence. He then addressed fourth year students on how to prepare for a trial and litigation.
The aim of the lectures was to give students a realistic view of the practical approach to law as well as a glimpse into the life of a prosecutor, with Nel sharing personal and professional experiences which have shaped his successful 32-year legal career.
He highlighted the importance for a prosecutor to understand a case, know and understand the defence system and aspects of cross examination, listen to judgements, and to consult with and prepare witnesses well.
‘My duty as a prosecutor is to assist the court to get to the truth not a conviction. As a student, the first thing I learned was how to prepare for a case. Every time you consult with a witness you learn something new that is why you have to prepare them for what is to come. I love Law even when I am losing - every advocate is as good as their last case,’ said Nel.
Students were given an opportunity to engage with Nel during the question and answer session. Questions asked centred around the upcoming appeal in the Oscar Pistorius trial and the public attention the trial attracted.
Nel said he believed all public interest cases should be broadcasted in the media as people had a right to see justice being done.
‘I have been amazed by the educational value that the broadcasting of the trial has had on people as they often come up to me and say now they know how the court works and what Dolus Eventualis is! Everyone has a right to access the law and I fully support cases being broadcast in the media,’ he said.
Law academic, Ms Sandy Singh who facilitated Nel’s visit for the benefit of her students had this to say:
‘We were indeed fortunate to have Advocate Nel with us. It was an invaluable opportunity for students to interact with someone they had watched prosecute a criminal trial. He shared important tips for the purposes of practice. It rounded off the Criminal Procedure course in which the trial had been referred to for the purposes of a practical understanding of the law.
The lectures were preceded by a meet and greet session where the Law School’s staff members got an opportunity to engage with Nel.
Nel said he was impressed with the practical approach the School had adopted to legal education.
Thandiwe Jumo
author : .author email : .Medical Students Enjoy Rural Experience
Sixth-year MBChB students at their feedback session meeting.Final-year medical students at UKZN’s College of Health Sciences now have a six-week attachment in one of ten rural district Hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal as part of the new MBChB curriculum (MBChB Curriculum 2010). During this period they are fully immersed in the work of the hospital and contribute to the care of patients and communities as part of the local health care team.
The programme, coordinated by UKZN’s Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine and the School of Nursing and Pubic Health, forms part of a larger initiative by the College of Health Sciences in partnership with the provincial Health Department to create a decentralised education platform for health professionals. The Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) based at UKZN, provides support for the programme.
During the feedback session following the rural experience, Programme Head, Dr Mosa Moshabela, reminded the students of the reasons for the programme which include the need for them to experience rural health care in preparation for their internship and community service as well as the country’s transition to the National Health Insurance and Universal Health Coverage Reforms.
‘The programme addresses that need and gives final year medical students the opportunity to work in rural district hospitals, closer to the many local and indigent communities in the province,’ said Moshabela. ‘With the current reengineering of Primary Health Care (PHC), medical institutions have to decentralise training so that our graduates can adequately support PHC and address the chronic shortages of doctors at rural level.’
Many of the students reported that during the programme they progressed from merely identifying symptoms to actually understanding the patient holistically. They said the experience had made them more confident in managing their own patients. They interacted well with hospital supervisors and were impressed by the service to communities offered by the hospitals they worked at.
‘Besides the cobra that visited our quarters, we had a great experience at Emmaus Hospital where doctors were chilled and helpful. We had to take initiative and show our enthusiasm to learn. The nursing sisters were also great, helpful and very knowledgeable,’ said student Mr Ahmad Peer.
‘I didn’t want to go home,’ said Ms Samukelisiwe Madlabane who worked at Murchison Hospital. ‘The experience was amazing. For six weeks we rotated and saw everything from snake and dog bite victims to delivering babies in theatre.’ According to Madlabane, the hospital services about 200 000 people, including patients from the Eastern Cape. ‘Night duty calls were amazing, Nurses taught us a lot,’ she added.
‘We met the most disciplined doctors,’ said Mr Siyanda Kubheka, who was based at Bethesda Hospital. ‘Although the hospital is in the middle of nowhere, we had such a great experience. Doctors were more than willing to teach and staff generally were very helpful.’
The Manguzi Hospital group said they had good experiences in terms of learning and exposure. ‘Our supervisor took an interest in us. He was always available to help. He took time to teach us in emergency medicine. All we had to do was to show interest and take initiative.’
Madlabane said, ‘We really had such a humbling experience. People showed appreciation for the services we rendered. We were really in touch with the human factor, it helped me realise that being a doctor is not about glitz and glam, but about serving the community.
author : .author email : .Albert van Jaarsveld Installed as UKZN’s Vice-Chancellor and Principal
Dr Albert van Jaarsveld was installed as UKZN's Vice-Chancellor and Principal in an official ceremony on the Westville campus.View gallery | Download Speech | Collage of Media Coverage
Dr Albert van Jaarsveld was sworn in as the new Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) at an official Installation ceremony on the Westville campus on Saturday, 7 March 2015. Van Jaarsveld takes over the reins from UKZN’s founding Vice-Chancellor, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, who served the University with distinction since its creation in 2004.
The well attended occasion included Cabinet Ministers, MECs, Director-Generals, Members of the Diplomatic Corp, Members of the judiciary, Vice-Chancellors and senior members of other South African Universities, as well as senior representatives from the business fraternity and University stakeholders.
Welcoming the new Vice-Chancellor, Chair of Council, Dr Phumla Mnganga, said ‘the ceremonial act of installing the Vice-Chancellor is our way of not only welcoming him to the Institution but entrusting him with more than 100 years of academic achievement on which he can make his mark’.
Robed in a traditional gown made especially for him, van Jaarsveld took a solemn oath to serve the University before being capped by Chancellor, Dr Zweli Mkhize. In his address, van Jaarsveld reflected on the achievements of the Institution and expressed his commitment to furthering the University’s aspirations of advancing excellence and transformation.
‘…Possibly because of the Institution’s extraordinary and rich history, buried deep inside its belly there burns a sense of urgency and excitement; a passion that is straining to be unleashed on the African continent; an innate desire that can transform this country and KwaZulu-Natal into an ever more important powerhouse. I am proud to have been afforded the honour to assist and nurture this inherent passion to its full potential.’
Van Jaarsveld spoke fervently about the national challenge of providing tuition loans for the many students who cannot afford the fees. He described the challenge as a ‘pressure point’ that would remain. ‘As difficult as it may seem, UKZN will continue to fight for approaches and resources that will support the maximum number of underprivileged and academically sound students.’
Inspired by systems implemented in the UK and US, van Jaarsveld proposed alternative mechanisms that included providing possible tax incentives to individuals, corporates and financial institutions, to complement the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
On the trajectory to advance transformation and excellence, van Jaarsveld spoke of the aggressive post-doctorate recruitment programme that is aimed at increasing the number of African and especially African women scholars in academia. He indicated a particular interest in “growing young academic stars”, and how ‘this explicit focus on growing young talent will increasingly become the distinguishing characteristic of UKZN’.
KZN Premier, Mr Senzo Mchunu, delivered the keynote address, welcoming van Jaarsveld to KwaZulu-Natal and commending him for getting to this milestone in his career. Mchunu spoke of the challenge of strengthening collegiality among staff at all levels and asked that the Vice-Chancellor, ‘find a creative way to ensure high morals among staff and students’.
Minister Naledi Pandor of the Department of Science and Technology, Deputy-Minister Mduduzi Comfort Manana of the Department of Higher Education and Training, as well as the Chair of Higher Education South Africa (HESA), Professor Adam Habib, delivered messages of support.
Pandor praised the new Vice-Chancellor, saying he was probably the first Zoologist and the first former CEO of the National Research Foundation to become a Vice-Chancellor. Pandor added that his ‘understanding of our national facilities’ and his ‘insight into the training of a new generation of scientists in SA will benefit UKZN’.
Manana called upon van Jaarsveld to focus his attention on furthering the national policy objectives for transformation and to increase the number of doctoral graduates. ‘Although the situation has improved a lot, it remains a concern and these imbalances need to be addressed.’
Habib commented on some of the major Higher Education challenges in South Africa. ‘We are in a moment in history where it is not easy to be a Vice-Chancellor… in this context you need a leader who is empathetic but strategic; managerially nuanced but also academically ensconced; politically wise but rigorously independent. Albert is all of these things and more…I do not believe that UKZN could have made a better choice.’
Dr van Jaarsveld’s experience in research, teaching and leadership spans two local universities and multiple local and international institutions, as well as local and international industry committees. In that light, the new Vice-Chancellor of UKZN brings with him a wealth of experience and new ideas on how to keep the University on an upward trajectory, building on its record of excellence through transformation.
Sejal Desai
author : .author email : .Student Mentorship Initiative to Promote Academic Success
Discipline of Public Governance mentors.In a proactive effort to curb the dropout rate at first year university level, the Discipline of Public Governance in the School of Management, Information Technology and Governance has initiated a Mentorship Programme aimed at promoting academic success to its students.
The Programme is championed by Developmental Lecturer, Mr Jabulani Nyawo, and Academic Development Officer, Ms Jennifer Nxumalo, under the guidance of Academic Leader for Public Governance, Dr Fayth Ruffin.
The Programme enables third-year and honours students to provide first year colleagues with the academic, emotional and social support needed to make a successful transition from high school to tertiary education.
‘A lot of students struggle with the volume of work involved in their first year because it is so different from the work they are used to at school. While tutorship is available for students, they need a more holistic initiative such as this mentorship programme as it will look at all aspects of their development and help them successfully bridge the gap between high school and university,’ said Nyawo.
Nxumalo said the aim of offering the support structure to students is to ensure they don’t miss out on the opportunities available because of poor academic performance.
‘Students who excel in their studies can take advantage of funding opportunities as they can apply for bursaries and scholarships. This is something we want to encourage students to think about from an early stage so that they are aware that in order for them to reap these benefits they have to work hard,’ said Nxumalo.
Ruffin commended Nyawo and Nxumalo for their efforts to help improve academic monitoring and support in the Discipline.
‘We already have 50 students who have signed up and are being allocated mentors. We were targeting first years but will not turn away any students seeking mentorship. I really want to congratulate Jabulani and Jennifer for doing such a wonderful job and I would like to recognise them with the prayer that they will continue to perform well among all the other projects they are working on, including their respective doctoral thesis and full research masters dissertation,’ said Ruffin.
‘Both Jabulani and Jennifer graduated from our undergraduate and honours programmes. Their role in the mentorship programme as well as participation of the mentors and mentees, will help us “grow our own timber” for the benefit of UKZN, South Africa, and beyond.’
Thandiwe Jumo
author : .author email : .Research Project Launched on Religion and Migration
Religion and Migration research team members (from left) Mr Quinton Marlowe, Mr Mark Mapaketi, Mr Delipher Manda, Ms Buhle Mpofu and Dr Federico Settler.UKZN academic Dr Federico Settler and a group of postgraduate students in the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics on the Pietermaritzburg campus have launched the University’s first-ever programme focusing on the study of Religion and Migration.
The research project titled: “Religion and Migration in Postcolonial Africa”, will offer an intellectual space for researchers from across the region to reflect on the intersection of the under-researched relationship between faith and mobility.
Funded by a Thuthuka research grant from the National Research Foundation, this multi-year research project involves students and staff conducting research in Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth, focusing on the role religion plays in the migratory process as well as ways in which migration changes religious practices and beliefs.
The first cohort of students includes doctoral candidates Ms Buhle Mpofu and Mr George Okwii, and Masters students, Ms Laureen Confait, Mr Mark Mapaketi, Mr Quinton Marlowe and Ms Delipher Manda. Their projects range from studies of migration and health-seeking behaviour to religion and integration among selected religious communities. While this is a UKZN-led research project, it also includes research collaboration with scholars from the University of Edinburgh, the University of Oslo and the University of Witwatersrand.
As a Sociologist of religion, Settler hopes the project will not only merge sociological and religious perspectives on migration, but, in particular, reflect on migration from a postcolonial and transnational vantage point which he believes will open new possibilities for theorising and understanding migration.
UKZNDabaOnline
author : .author email : .PsySSA Visits UKZN Psychology Department
Psychological Society of South Africa representatives with Ms Lucinda Johns (sixth left), and UKZN Psychology students.The Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) - the professional body representing all psychology professionals in South Africa - recently visited UKZN’s Department of Psychology in Durban and Pietermaritzburg as part of the Society’s annual presidential road show.
They shared information regarding the Society and engaged students, academics and tertiary institution-based psychology professionals on the future of organised Psychology in South Africa, emphasising the importance of participating in the PsySSA-hosted Annual South African Psychology Congress.
President of PsySSA, Professor Juan Nel, encouraged students to visit the Society’s website, subscribe to the free newsletter, PsyTalk, and to be part of the Student Division.
Free membership for the year was also granted to students at the road show presentation allowing them full access to services offered by PsySSA, such as a subscription to the quarterly South African Journal of Psychology, reduced fees to workshops and PsySSA activities and reduced fees to the Annual National Psychology Congress.
PsySSA Office Manager, Ms Fatima Seedat, also encouraged students to embark on creating their own student psychology organisation in an effort to ‘build relationships, support each other and keep abreast of news in the field’. They were also urged to nominate UKZN lecturers for the annual PsySSA awards in the various categories as a way of showing appreciation to the teaching staff.
UKZN Lecturer Ms Lucinda Johns described the event as ‘educational and beneficial for students to understand the role of PsySSA as a professional body. Students are now keen to develop a Student Division in UKZN’.
Masters student Ms Elevia Nyallingu - whose research examines how children in rural areas see “madness” and their perceptions of it within a South African context - felt the road show was both insightful and informative.
‘It provided us with vital information and it’s amazing that we get full membership access - I will be making full use of PsySSA membership services,’ she said.
Another Masters student, Ms Theresa Lenta, said the presentation was relevant and she planned to attend the congress.
PsySSA’s 21st Anniversary is being celebrated this year with the focus on getting as many academics and students, as possible to participate in the PsySSA Strength in Unity congress in Johannesburg in September.
Speaking to students, Nel said: ‘We hope that you take the opportunity to submit abstracts under our theme for this year’s congress and take advantage of the reduced fees and join us.’
Melissa Mungroo
author : .author email : .Academic’s Research in Deaf School Commended by MEC
Mr Bhekisisa Maxwell Thabethe.Lecturer within the School of Education, Mr Bhekisisa Maxwell Thabethe recently made a request to the provincial Department of Education to conduct research in a deaf school and was thereby given the green light for his study that tackles teaching Technology and Mathematics within such schools.
‘I spoke to provincial MEC for the Department of Social Development (DSD) Weziwe Thusi about my professional development including the study that I am pursuing on deaf learners. The study has the potential to contribute effectively on disability in general. It will enhance the rendezvous of DSD and DoE in providing equivalent support to deaf communities,’ said Thabethe.
He was also invited to the official opening of the provincial parliament in which the entire study was intended to be discussed in relation to the MEC’s Department. Thusi added that Thabethe’s study will add an informed value to her Department.
Thabethe is humbled by the opportunity and is prepared to learn in the field of research so that the knowledge gained through his experiences can be put on paper in a professional way.
‘There is always a cry in our growing democracy that technology skills in South Africa are lacking, yet there is a non-utilised human resource in disabled communities. My hypothesis is that we need to conduct research in disabled communities so that we can provide therapeutic support that will enhance an appropriate understanding of gateway subjects to vulnerable population.’
Thabethe is still conducting this research but he is aiming to complete another research paper on Albinism. Speaking about this future research venture, he said: ‘Albinism is a newly adopted disability that has been in existence from ages. A controversy of this disability brought about different beliefs and myths in different communities. Some of these beliefs minimise a participation of learners in education.’
‘However, I wish to explore the threshold of technology in people with albinism and bring a professional perspective on the issue of Albinism. We have experienced brutal killings and permanent loss of children with Albinism in Kwazulu-Natal which provides an indicator of symptoms of albino killing in Tanzania.’
Melissa Mungroo
author : .author email : .UKZN Alumnus Performs at Jazz Centre
Mabu Mhlongo at the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music.The Centre for Jazz and Popular Music recently featured vocalist and UKZN Music graduate, Ms Mabu Mhlongo.
Mhlongo, originally from Mtubatuba in KwaZulu-Natal, is noted for her impeccable diction, purity of tone and her interpretation of the music of Princess Magogo ka Dinizulu and Busi Mhlongo, who are her main influences.
Mhlongo studied for a Diploma of Jazz and Popular Music at UKZN where she majored in performance under the supervision of Susan Barry, Demi Fernandez, Neil Gonsalves and Mageshen Naidoo. While at UKZN she co-founded the band, Eyami, which released its debut album in 2010.
The debut album was nominated for the South African Traditional Music Award (SATMA), while Eyami was a prominent band in Durban.
Mabu has performed at a variety of venues, including the 2013 Standard Bank Joy Jazz Festival, Moshito Festival also in 2013 and Puisano Cultural Exchange South Africa, which was endorsed by the Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation.
She is currently working on her solo album due to be released by the end of 2015. The album will feature some of the well-known South African musicians who have played an important role in her musical development.
Melissa Mungroo and Thuli Zama
author : .author email : .Keeping Body and Soul Together
Professor Beverley Haddad presenting the Memorial Lecture.“Keeping Body and Soul Together: Theological Reflection on Social Transformation”, was the title of the fourth annual Steve de Gruchy Memorial Lecture presented on the Pietermaritzburg campus by Senior Research Associate at the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics (SRPC), Professor Beverley Haddad.
Addressing the audience on de Gruchy’s theological work on social transformation, Haddad said: ‘Keeping Body and Soul Together is the title Steve himself chose to give to a proposed book on his writings on Theology and Development. It resonated with what he had read in fictional and non-fictional theological work. I surmise that he wanted to communicate that all theological reflection should resist a dualist understanding of the body and the soul.
‘In order for our theological work to be socially transformative, we need to see that all of life, that all of our current material reality, matters to theological reflection. We cannot do theology without being socially engaged with our context. The needs of the “body” and “soul” intersect and so are one and the same. Thus, to be socially engaged and transformative scholars, our work needs to be informed by our activism, by actual work in communities. We need to be what I have termed “activist-intellectuals”.’
Haddad attempted to answer questions pertaining to theological reflection such as methodology, generative themes and the implications of theological reflection for theological education. She noted that the way in which one does theology, the methodology, was central to answering the question: ‘Is the social transformation of society still at the heart of our theological project?’
Haddad further highlighted that one of the greatest challenges today for the theological project of social transformation was the theological theme of sexuality and particularly the implications for the rights of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgendered and Intersex (LGBTI)) community.
She also noted that it was not just society that needed to be transformed, but the church itself. ‘Church leaders, ministers, clergy all too often become demi-gods as soon as hands are laid upon them and the collar is placed around their neck. But the truth be told, we cannot transform society, if we, the church, are not transformed away from power to stand in inclusive solidarity with those who are powerless.
‘The theological project will never be an instrument of social transformation unless the church itself is transformed. And this transformation can only come about if church leaders, ministers and clergy are people who themselves are willing to be leaders who enable social transformation.’
In her lecture, she drew on the work of the Centre for Biblical Studies (CEBI) in Brazil, documented by Latin American Theologian, Carlos Dreher in a book titled, The Road to Emmaus, which Haddad claimed was helpful in thinking through what it meant to be a leader who enabled social transformation and so built redemptive communities.
Haddad mentioned that within the text Luke 24: 13-35 where Jesus meets his disciples after his resurrection, Dreher identifies seven steps key to what he terms popular education’.
‘This liberation perspective to education fundamentally presupposes that we engage with people where they are, work with them to analyse their situation, together apply the Biblical text to their context, and so enable social transformation,’ said Haddad.
In her concluding remarks, she said: ‘The needs of the world are so great. The needs of people in our communities are so great. The task is enormous. But as Jesus walked the road to Emmaus, listening, discerning, sharing biblical texts appropriately and allowing others to become active subjects of their history, so too can we. And as we do this, we play a part in building redemptive communities that offer hope where there is despair and allow for a vision of a future that is truly transformed.’
Melissa Mungroo
author : .author email : .Death of Renowned UKZN Plant Pathologist
Professor Emeritus Michael Martin: Plant Pathologist, husband, father and devout Christian.Head of the Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology at the Faculty of Agriculture on the Pietermaritzburg campus of the former University of Natal from 1977 to 1987, Professor Emeritus Michael Menne Martin, passed away peacefully aged 87, surrounded by his family.
After completing his BCom part-time in Durban and then realising it was the wrong career choice, Martin left South Africa to work on a farm in Canada but the intolerable cold drove him to Vancouver, where he worked as a postman before being awarded a bursary to study at the Faculty of Agriculture in Pietermaritzburg.
He completed his BSc Agric at the then University of Natal (UN), and as there were no local virologists, he undertook his Masters through the Department of Virology at the University of Wageningen in The Netherlands. This was converted into a PhD after his return, and he was subsequently appointed as the local departmental Virologist at UN. His PhD, awarded in 1976, focused on the Purification and Electron Microscopy of the Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus. Interestingly, the current incumbent of the Virology post at UKZN, Dr Gus Gubba, also studied tomato spotted wilt virus for his PhD.
Martin was appointed a Lecturer at UN in 1958, going on to serve as a Senior Lecturer during the 1960s and being made a full Professor in 1977. He was Head of the Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology from 1977 to 1987, succeeding Professor Susarah Truter, who started the Department in 1955.
His subsequent research interest was in the field of plant immunology, specifically on how systemically acquired resistance was initiated and transmitted in plants in response to viral infection. In the meticulous studies that he conducted with the assistance of Mrs Lynne Goudswaard, he was 30 years ahead of the field. In the last 10 years, various breakthroughs have been made on this topic, and it is now known that there are several forms of systemic plant resistance, including one specific for viruses. Martin was delighted to discover that the latest developments tied in remarkably well with his earlier innovative research.
He introduced the study of plant disease epidemiology at UN, based on the ground-breaking works of Dr JE Vanderplank, an alumnus of the University and a South African plant pathologist who pioneered this field globally. As a result of this foresight, UKZN is the only university in South Africa which offers two undergraduate courses in plant disease epidemiology.
Martin had the exceptional intellect to understand and lecture in two very different fields – virology and epidemiology – and to recognise their parallel importance.
His plant pathology lectures were a bit of a “curate’s egg”, as he lectured from the knowledge stored in his remarkable brain, without notes, which made them a little disorganised. What made these lectures special was that they were delivered with passion, spontaneity and a sense of curiosity, which gave the students a glimpse into the real world of plant pathology, into the unknowns and fascinating questions facing the discipline, with all the opportunities and possibilities they presented. He inspired many of his colleagues to pursue plant pathology as a career.
Martin was an intellectual and a gentleman, gentle of nature and spirit, and an extraordinarily kind individual. His love of nature and music were recurring themes throughout his life, with flowers bought for the garden being considered ‘an investment in beauty’. He was truly egalitarian, one who attached no importance to status, race, title or money.
As a religious and deeply spiritual person, he expressed his beliefs in the most positive way, living his faith in his daily life, and in his engagement with the world and his fellow human beings.
He was married to Melloney (nee Morton) for 58 years. They had four children and four grandchildren.
A memorial service was held on Saturday 7 March at St Peter’s Cathedral in Pietermaritzburg.
* Compiled by Mark Laing, with input from Frits Rijkenberg, Mike Wallis and Carrin Martin.
author : .author email : .New Field Guide to SA Orchids by UKZN Botanists
Professor Steve Johnson (left) and Dr Benny Bytebier with their newly released book: Orchids of South Africa – A Field Guide.UKZN Botanists, Professor Steve Johnson and Dr Benny Bytebier, both of the School of Life Sciences on the Pietermaritzburg campus, have just released a new book titled: Orchids of South Africa – A Field Guide.
The book - the first complete field guide to local orchids to be published in more than 30 years - covers nearly 500 orchid species found in the country as well as in Lesotho and Swaziland.
Moreover, Orchids of South Africa showcases extraordinary photographs by renowned Austrian photographer Herbert Stärker, who with his wife, Helga, has traversed the region since 2006, travelling around 370 000 kilometres to capture orchids in their natural habitat.
Johnson and Bytebier’s new book covers almost all local orchid species ‘from the more common to the extremely rare; from the less remarkable to the brazenly beautiful’. Said Bytebier: ‘It includes those that are most secretive and inaccessible – flowering ephemerally or clinging to life in remnant habitat pockets.’
Stärker’s treasure-trove of images has been combined with the orchid expertise of Johnson and Bytebier, both noted specialists in the field. Johnson, an NRF A-rated scientist, holds the South African Research Chair in Evolutionary Biology, is a leading international expert in the field of plant pollination biology, and is also a co-author of a previous book, The Cape Orchids.
Bytebier holds an NRF C-rating and is curator of the Bews Herbarium based on the Pietermaritzburg campus. His research focuses on the systematics, biogeography and evolutionary history of African orchids.
As a field guide, Orchids of South Africa offers multiple photographs for each species; succinct text, enabling sure identification; calendar bars showing flowering seasons as well as distribution maps and up-to-date science. An illustrated introduction discusses orchid structure, ecology and conservation status, and a comprehensive key to genera is included to reflect the latest taxonomy.
Informative, colourful and easy to use, Orchids of South Africa has been hailed as the product of rare and invaluable dedication – an essential guide for orchid enthusiasts everywhere. The 536-page book, published by Struik Nature, costs R350.
UKZNDabaOnline
author : .author email : .UKZN Academic to Present Oral Health Research Findings in Spain
Dentistry Lecturer, Mrs Moganavelli Reddy.UKZN Dentistry Lecturer, Mrs Moganavelli Reddy, is to present her award-winning doctoral research at a Euro Dental Congress in Spain.
In 2014, Reddy won R30 000 towards attending an international conference of her choice when she impressed adjudicators at the College of Health Sciences Research Symposium with her study titled: “A Situational Analysis of the Viability in Delivering Oral Health Promotion within the Health Promoting School Initiative in KwaZulu-Natal”.
‘Being a novice in research I could not believe I had won this award but was very pleased and felt honoured being recognised for my hard work,’ said Reddy. ‘Thanks and appreciation also go to my supervisor Dr Shenuka Singh for her constant support.’
The study which examined the viability of integrating oral health promotion activities within the health promoting schools programme was conducted at 23 health-promoting schools in the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal.
Reddy said schools were settings where education and health programmes could have their greatest impact and influence on learners in an important stage in their lives – ‘childhood and adolescence’.
‘Dental caries, which is influenced by multi factorial factors such as diet, socio-economic status and the availability of oral health services, is a common condition affecting children in South Africa,’ said Reddy.
‘Currently services offered at public health facilities are mainly curative. School Health Services do not reach all learners especially in the rural areas and there is also a lack of funds and oral health personnel for the delivery of oral health services. Dental caries is expensive to treat but very preventable.’
Results from the study indicated that although policies included statements on oral health promotion, this was not translated into practice at school level. Barriers and challenges identified in the study for the successful implementation of an oral health promotion programme included lack of funds, human resources, knowledge and ownership, high workloads and time constraints.
‘Policy formulation and strategic planning must include educators and health care workers at grass root level for the successful implementation and sustainability of oral health promotion programmes,’ said Reddy, adding that more research was necessary to address opportunities and challenges facing educators and other oral health care providers working in the school environment.
Her current research interests include oral health promotion, health promoting schools, tobacco cessation and policy.
‘My career as a Dental Therapist started as a Clinician and I then became involved with the training of students at the facility I worked at because I enjoyed working with them and sharing my knowledge and expertise. The reward at the end was witnessing my students graduate and becoming successful professionals.’
Reddy was awarded funding by the National Research Foundation to complete her study on sabbatical this year.
Lunga Memela
author : .author email : .UKZN Lecturer Appointed to Medicines Control Council
UKZN Lecturer, Mr Andy Gray.Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Mr Andy Gray, has been appointed to serve on the Medicines Control Council (MCC) of South Africa.
The MCC is a statutory body entrusted with the registration of medicines and medical devices on the basis of safety, quality and efficacy. It also regulates clinical trials, both of non-registered medicines and new indications for registered medicines.
‘I am extremely proud to have been appointed to the Medicines Control Council,’ said Gray, who acknowledged there were still serious challenges facing medicines regulatory practice in South Africa.
He said the country was committed to a fundamental reform of the medicines regulatory system in which the MCC would be replaced by a new structure, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA).
‘Currently, the final decision-making power is vested in the Ministerially-appointed Council, as advised by a series of expert committees. The decisions of the MCC are then implemented by a secretariat located within the National Department of Health. In future, the decision-making power will be vested in the staff of SAHPRA, as advised by a series of expert committees.’
SAHPRA will be located outside of the civil service, said Gray, adding that the newly appointed MCC would therefore serve until the establishment of SAHPRA. Parliament is currently considering a Medicines Amendment Bill providing for the establishment of SAHPRA.
Gray explained that medicines regulatory practice involved not just the registration (marketing authorisation) of medicines and medical devices, but also interventions to ensure safe and responsible use of such products.
‘South Africa has a mature medicines regulatory system, but one that is under considerable pressure. The MCC needs to deal decisively with the backlog in applications for both new and generic medicines, while at the same time extending appropriate regulatory control over medical devices and complementary medicines. It also needs to address the issue of transparency.’
Gray noted that medicines regulation was just one aspect of an overall national medicines policy. ‘Implementing national policy in this regard requires attention to other aspects, such as industrial policy, procurement, and the regulation of a range of health professions.’
Widely published in leading international journals, Gray’s own research interests include policy analysis, particularly the processes of development and implementation of national medicines policies, rational medicines use, and the application of antiretroviral therapy in resource-constrained settings.
Gray was appointed in 2013 as a Fellow of the International Pharmaceutical Federation in recognition of his contribution to the organisation and the profession internationally. He is a Fellow and Honorary Life Member of the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa and a past President of the South African Association of Hospital and Institutional Pharmacists.
Gray is also a member of the National Essential Medicines List Committee, the World Health Organization Expert Panel on Drug Policies and Management, and the UNAIDS Scientific Expert Panel.
He continues as Research Associate and consultant Pharmacist in the UKZN-based Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA).
UKZN’s Pharmaceutical Sciences Discipline congratulated him on his new appointment.
Lunga Memela
author : .author email : .Study Contributes New Knowledge to National Malaria Control Programme
Mr Ezra Mutegeki.A study recently completed by UKZN Masters student, Mr Ezra Mutegeki, examined the knowledge women living in the Mgedula Village of Jozini in the uMkhanyakude District have about malaria as well as their attitudes and practices towards the disease.
Mutegeki presented the study at the College of Health Sciences (CHS) Annual Research Symposium where he highlighted that more than 80 percent of malaria cases presenting in KwaZulu-Natal were recorded in the uMkhanyakude District.
Because the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) had set the high target of eradicating malaria completely among affected populations, it was essential that such research investigated those people’s knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding the disease.
Supervised by CHS Dean of Research, Professor Moses Chimbari, Mutegeki’s study was a public health research project, conducted in order to provide the NMCP with up-to-date information to help guide the development and implementation of effective and comprehensive interventions among women at a community level.
It was found, in line with the key measures implemented by the NMCP, that the study population possessing basic malaria-related knowledge received visits from a community health worker and had a history of previous malaria infection and high literacy levels.
The study found that positive malaria attitudes and good practice were associated with high malaria knowledge and high literacy levels. It also discovered that high levels of basic malaria knowledge positively influenced the health-seeking behaviour among study participants.
Mutegeki said the population’s limited knowledge of malaria needed to be addressed in order to positively modify their attitudes, practices and health-seeking behaviour.
He said the fact that malaria was the biggest cause of death in his home country of Uganda influenced him to study the disease with the aim of helping to control infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, especially malaria.
‘I became aware that knowledge, attitude and practices played a part in South Africa’s success story in the fight against malaria, and how similar successes could be achieved in other countries.’
Mutegeki holds a Bachelor of Science Honours degree and further qualifications including Intermediate and Advanced Project Management as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health.
He said UKZN was a reputable university ‘ranked highly in Africa for conducting research and the support it renders to young researchers. The support from senior researchers at UKZN is exceptional’.
Mutegeki said he looked forward to conducting further research on malaria at a PhD level. Professor Chimbari, Dr Steven Knight and members of the Malaria and Bilharzia in Southern Africa (MABISA) project had given him great support and inspired him in his work.
Lunga Memela
author : .author email : .Seminar Highlights Need for Evidence-Based Practice in Health Sciences
.jpg "Seminar Highlights Need for Evidence-Based Practice in Health Sciences")
Participants at the UKZN seminar on Evidence-Based Practice.Staff, students and a host of healthcare practitioners attended a seminar on Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) organised by the Discipline of Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) and presented by Professor Ralf Schlosser of the United States.
The widely published professor from the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Northeastern University in Boston, Schlosser is also the Director of Clinical Research at the Centre for Communication Enhancement’s Autism Language Programme at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Schlosser is a three-time winner of the Editors Award for Augmentative and Alternative Communication; the founding joint editor-in-chief of Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention and also serves on the Editorial Board of several professional journals.
Schlosser’s full-day seminar was the result of a joint National Research Foundation-funded initiative, spear-headed by Professor Shakila Dada, a UKZN graduate now based at the University of Pretoria, and Professor Mershen Pillay from the Discipline of SLP at UZKN. This seminar series is part of a broader plan to develop firmer working relationships and to strengthen disciplinary ties between the two universities.
The decision to host Schlosser in collaboration with the University of Pretoria was based on his relevance and appeal to both researchers and practitioners in light of the significance of EBP for both groups, said Academic Leader for the Discipline of SLP at UKZN, Dr Penelope Flack. Flack said there was a growing need to expose researchers, postgraduate students as well as healthcare practitioners to EBP. It was important for the latter to realise that they too had important contributions to make to research.
Schlosser said in addition to clinical expertise, all the practices carried out by healthcare professionals today needed to be supported by research evidence.
The seminar was geared towards equipping participants with the skills and knowledge related to key steps of the EBP process, namely: how to ask a well-built question, searching for evidence, appraising evidence, and the application of the evidence effectively within the respective professions.
Schlosser and his colleagues have expanded the PICO model used in evidence based medicine by including two additional aspects relevant for speech language therapy practice, namely: the environment or context of the client as well as the stakeholders, typically the communication partners of the client, in the parameters to be considered when developing the clinical question.
He explained that EBP was an evolving concept which fundamentally replaced eminence-based, convenience-based as well as habit-based practice. He said EBP provided healthcare practitioners with possible assessments and interventions, addressed the research-to-practice gap, and led them to meet the increasing demands for accountability.
According to Schlosser, many practitioners take little or no time to review current research findings. He suggested that even busy practitioners could initiate EBP through a little effort. ‘Building up a good question is an important step of the EBP process because everything else hinges on it,’ he advised.
Guiding the participants though practical examples, he said the EBP process involved developing a well-built question, selecting and searching sources of evidence, examining and synthesising the evidence, using clinical judgment to select assessment or intervention approaches based on the evidence, then evaluating the application of the evidence and disseminating the findings to further add to the evidence base.
Academic Leader for the Audiology Discipline, Dr Neethie Joseph, said ‘practice philosophy’ was a growing area of interest in the field. She said in terms of thinking and research, attending the seminar was important because it would shed light on how to make their assessments and interventions relevant, effective and current when working with people who have hearing loss.
Although the focus was on EBP in SLP, with examples from the field of augmentative and alternative communication and children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, the concept was relevant to all health professionals.
Participants at the seminar comprised Audiologists, Occupational Therapists and Speech-Language Therapists, Educational Psychologists, undergraduate and postgraduate students - including Psychiatry postdoctoral student, Dr Andrew Tomita, who said he attended the seminar in order to expand his knowledge and see how EBP could be applied to his area of research interest which is Mental Health Services among people with schizophrenia.
Third-year SLP students, Ms Shanice Moodley and Ms Ashley King, said they looked forward to their Honours year in 2016 where they would be more involved in research. They felt it was important to attend such seminars as they presented new knowledge that would be useful for their careers in the near future.
Lunga Memela
author : .author email : .Documenting Traditional Knowledge for Future Generations
Participants at the Indigenous Knowledge Systems stakeholder meeting on the Howard College campus. A stakeholders’ workshop on the documentation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in KwaZulu-Natal was held in the Traditional Medicine Boardroom on UKZN’s Howard College campus.
Hosted by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Documentation Centre, the workshop explored formalising agreements between the traditional leaders of eThekwini and UKZN. A Memorandum of Understanding has been drafted and will be signed by the Amakhosi (traditional leaders) and the University.
Chief Director: Science Missions at DST, Professor Yonah Seleti, shared recent developments in IKS, including proposed legislation which will positively affect indigenous knowledge holders and practitioners. ‘The purpose is to protect the knowledge. That gives you the knowledge holder rights,’ said Seleti.
He said the proposed law should appear in an upcoming Government Gazette and encouraged all workshop participants, including traditional healers and leaders, to submit feedback ‘so that their knowledge contributions are heard’.
UKZN’s African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AIKS) Research Leader, Professor Hassan Kaya, said the IKS Documentation Centre hosted by UKZN would contribute greatly to the knowledge economy in KwaZulu-Natal.
Kaya echoed the sentiments of other participants who called for the sustainable harvesting of indigenous plants in rural areas, with a particular emphasis on Warwick Market.
In an endeavour to implement the National IKS Policy, the DST’s National IKS Office (NIKSO), has embarked on the process of documenting IKS in local and rural communities in the country. KwaZulu-Natal is one of the pilot provinces for the initiative which is in line with National IKS Policy, ie to recognise, develop, promote, and protect Indigenous Knowledge Systems.
In order to facilitate this process, NIKSO has established a National Recordal Systems and an IKS Documentation Centre at UKZN, located within the University’s Research Office.
DST’s Ms Carol van Wyk said the National Recordal System could serve as a ‘national knowledge management tool for the province’.
Van Wyk said seven IKS Documentation Centres had already been established throughout the country, with further centres due in Mpumalanga and Gauteng by 2017. She outlined developments around the country and said the IKS documentation hubs should benefit the community and knowledge holders through protecting, preserving, promoting and developing the knowledge.
Van Wyk said more than 4 000 items had already been recorded, and stressed the importance of updating communities on any developments. She emphasised aligning the legal framework so that the community members and IKS holders were protected.
Co-ordinator for IKSDC, Ms Zodwa Masinga, gave the background of the project, which dates back to December 2012 at Warwick Market. She said in total, 260 knowledge holders had been reached in the past two years, with a strong focus on medicine and food.
Masinga outlined the future plans for the Centre, such as expanding to other domains of IKS, including documenting information on the Amakhosi and maidens.
Mr Lindokuhle Sibiya of the Department of Development, Tourism, and Environmental Affairs presented a provincial perspective, examining the provincial activities relating to IKS and focusing on the Provincial IKS Strategy being developed in collaboration with UKZN and the Moses Kotane Institute.
Liaison for the Amakhosi and eThekwini’s Manager Traditional Leadership Support, Mr Victor Mkhize, said: ‘We have touched the kingdom because we are talking to the Amakhosi; and they will take this to the King.’
Mr Sipho Ngwenya of the Isizinda sobukhosi affirmed the support of His Majesty the King and the Amakhosi for the IKS project and thanked the University for involving traditional healers and healers in the process.
Seleti chartered the way forward, saying agreement had been reached at a broader level and that the three levels of government - national, provincial and local - would be involved. He said eThekwini would be used as an example of best practice and stressed that ownership needed to be at a provincial and community level.
Raylene Captain-Hasthibeer
author : .author email : .Twitterati Applaud UKZN’s New VC
UKZN’s Facebook page was a hive of activity as Dr van Jaarsveld was sworn in as the new VC.Installation Video
Universities have come a long way from those of yesteryear. While formal communiques will always have their place at traditional universities, social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have become the new age way of communicating with students and alumni.
When UKZN’s new Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Dr Albert van Jaarsveld, was installed at a ceremony on the Westville campus, staff, students and the public were invited to watch the ceremony via live-streaming, live Tweeting, and Facebook.
UKZN’s social media team was hard at work days before the event, strategising on ways to rack up as many tweets, retweets and likes as possible. Their hard work paid off as with more than 1 527 likes and over 58 503 Facebook followers reached, it was obvious the Twitterati paid attention to the Installation of UKZN’s new VC, #UKZNVC15.
Posts to social media included:
* Akande Joseph Olorunfemi: Congrats Dr Albert on your new appointment … we full of hope that you will transform this great citadel of learning to the best in Africa and beyond. Congratulations once more!
* Andile Andries Ndlovu: Congratulations Dr Albert, we look forward to be led by you.
* Kiru Naidoo: Proud to be an alumnus of a great university. Van Jaarsveld is a man of ideas. There is nothing finer than an idea whose time has come. Sekunjalo ke nako.
* Dauda Gava Andrawus: My university, my pride.
* Kwazikwakhe Cele: Welcome Dr Albert. We believe in you sir, take UKZN to greater heights.
* @UKZN_WST: We’ve already accepted Dr van Jaarsveld as one of our own! Having seen him supporting UKZN IMPI #BackingOurBoytjies #WelcomeVC @UKZN_Rugby
* @LubnaNadvi: Gr8 advice on how to deal with Tokoloshes from @AdHabb @ installation of the new VC of @UKZN. Like the good old days
Here’s a video of the Installation featuring interviews with key role players at the University.
Raylene Captain-Hasthibeer
author : .author email : .Excavating Body Stories Workshop a Success
From left: Dr Barbara Boswell; Professor Shalina Mehta and Dr Maheshvari Naidu.Dr Maheshvari Naidu of the School of Social Sciences in the College of Humanities recently convened a highly successful workshop titled: “Excavating Body Stories”, as part of her involvement in the Young women’s Leadership Project.
The workshop, presented in co-operation with the African Gender Institute (AGI) based at the University of Cape Town, was part of a larger project funded by a Ford Foundation Grant awarded to AGI and to which Naidu was invited.
The theoretical context to the workshop foregrounded the fact that academic institutions are often contested spaces where a multiplicity of identities and articulation of “self” and “body” are performed and challenged. Naidu said ‘these realities force academics to confront theoretical issues in material terms and in the lived contexts of the lives of women students’.
The material starting point for her workshop, she said, was meant to, in turn, offer young university women an opportunity to share their stories around issues relating to power and disempowerment around their bodies. ‘The workshop offered a space for the participants to share stories and concerns around sexual coercion and control, and issues around body ownership,’ said Naidu.
‘The workshop provided space and opportunity for “action research” and working with “an ear to the ground”, all of which allows us to gain greater insight into the women whose lives we seek to understand.’
The invited key speaker was Professor Shalina Mehta, Social Anthropologist at Panjab University in Chandigarh, India. Among many other accolades and achievements, Mehta was appointed Convener of the International Seminar on Prevention and Care for People affected by HIV and AIDS at the Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands in 2001.
In 2003 she was also the Senior Fellow, Social Science Research Council, New York, under its South Asia Regional Fellowship Programme funded by the Ford Foundation in the United States.
In her address, Mehta drew from her qualitative work with women and body issues in the third world context of India, identifying South African parallels.
Dr Barbara Boswell of the African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town spoke about the wider inter-institutional and inter-collaborative nature of the project, and welcomed both Naidu and UKZN formally to the Project.
Naidu said that she designed the Workshop itself to be highly interactive and consciously featured poetry and art sessions as creative contexts and modalities through which “body stories” could be excavated and shared by the young women. An invited session on ‘Body Work’ was also convened by Dr Partab who invited the group to initiate a conversation around interrogating notions on “body” and “self”.
Dynamic poetry and vocal performances motivated the participants to compose and share their own powerful narratives and stories that revealed deeply embedded issues.
In the last session, Mr Danny Moatlhodi invited participants to draw their emotions as a way of externalising embedded stories and feelings.
Naidu said the aim of additionally inviting female representatives from the SRC leadership, Peer Educators, Student Residence representatives, LBGTI Forum members as well as staff and postgraduate students interested in Gender issues, was to reach, through those attending, the wider contexts within which these women interacted. Naidu’s postgraduate students acted as student facilitators and collated participant contributions and feedback.
The workshop was a resounding success, judging from the response and the feedback from those attending and was covered in the local media in attendance. Naidu said the positive response was heartening and that this workshop was the first in a series she aimed to present during the year.
Naidu said that she appreciated the Grant awarded to her by AGI which made this kind of critical work possible.
Melissa Mungroo
author : .author email : .Pharmaceutical Sciences Lecturer Receives NRF Rating
Dr Johannes Bodenstein.Senior Pharmaceutical Sciences Lecturer, Dr Johannes Bodenstein, has joined top researchers in his field after being awarded a C3-rating by the National Research Foundation (NRF).
The NRF’s rating system is a key driver in its aim to build a globally competitive science system in South Africa, benchmarking the quality of the country’s researchers against the very best in the world.
‘It is a rigorous process to become NRF-rated,’ said an excited Bodenstein, emphasising that the NRF rating workshop organised by UKZN’s Research Office had helped him tremendously when making the application for the rating.
He said he would now be able to apply for bigger grants to enable him to increase his research capacity and postgraduate student intake in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Discipline.
‘It’s exciting to see Masters and doctoral students with a background in Pharmacy, Biochemistry and Microbiology graduating from the University. The pool of qualified Pharmacologists with PhDs in South Africa is quite small compared to other developed countries.’
Bodenstein said he wanted to expand the profile and impact of his research by also appointing postdoctoral fellows.
His research interests include G protein-coupled receptor signal transduction mechanisms; proteomics; antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and toxicological properties of components in natural products and synthetic derivatives; and apoptosis and genotoxicity.
Bodenstein said he was particularly interested in molecular pharmacology with an emphasis on the characterisation of dose-response relationships – an area of pharmacology that is often difficult to comprehend but can give clues in terms of drug action and interactions. Accordingly, his work is geared towards the development of novel treatment therapies.
Bodenstein said the research fields of pharmacology were extremely wide, covering all illnesses.
‘There is a lot of overlap with biochemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, microbiology and physiology. Learning and researching drug properties are interesting in terms of developing drugs with higher activity and specificity, low toxicity, and better patient compliance.’
Bodenstein is part of the College of Health Sciences pool of academics currently building an evidence-based teaching portfolio. He said because teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students was one of the core responsibilities of the University, the teaching portfolio was an important document to evidence successful teaching and training of students.
He said he believed every individual could make great progress by working towards common goals to overcome obstacles.
Bodenstein hosted a workshop on laboratory animal research as a satellite meeting for the World Congress of Pharmacology in 2014 on the invitation of the South African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. ‘The workshop specifically targeted delegates from developing countries, and feedback was honourable.’
In addition to his hobbies of reading, listening to music and travelling, Bodenstein is an active member of the Westville Camera Club where his photography has received good ratings. He also wants to complete a course in scuba diving.
Lunga Memela
author : .author email : .Overseas Study Opportunities for UKZN Staff and Students
Staff and postgraduate students that attended the presentations on the study and research opportunities in Europe.Staff and postgraduate students were alerted to study and research opportunities in Europe during an information session held recently at UKZN’s Westville Campus coordinated by the institutions International Office.
UKZN is a partner in two of the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship programmes namely INSPIRE AND EUROSA with an opportunity to apply for AESOP + as a target group two applicant. These mobility scholarships are open to both academic and support staff members.
The scholarship offers studies towards a PHD or masters degree, semester exchange programmes and staff mobility visits. It covers the cost of studies, health insurance, flights, tuition and living expenses.
More information on the scholarship programmes and on the required documentation is available on Erasmus Mundus website.
EUROSA’s representative, Ms Zinzile Kalitshana, said the scholarship was a human development project focusing on potential rather than excellence, and to enhance the quality of cultures.
Kalitshana emphasized that all required documentation - including a letter from the host university in Europe - needed to be attached to avoid disqualification.
Staff who have lived in Europe in the past five years were not eligible to apply.
The deadline for applications is 15 March 2015. For further information contact EUROSA’s offices on: email: nkalitshanaz@cput.ac.za or phone: 021 959 6048, or mokoenam@cput.ac.za or phone: 021-4603985.
Ms Preshantha Reddy from UKZN’s International Office can also be contacted on email: reddyp@ukzn.ac.za or 031 260 2870 for further enquiries on the mobility scholarships.
author : .author email : .New UKZN Vice-Chancellor Receives Widespread Support
Science and Technology’s Minister Naledi Pandor congratulates UKZN Vice-Chancellor, Dr Albert van Jaarsveld during his Installation on 7 March.Representatives of Government, business, Higher Education and student council sectors delivered messages of support for newly-installed UKZN Vice-Chancellor, Dr Albert van Jaarsveld, during his Installation ceremony on the Westville campus.
Van Jaarsveld was previously the Chief Executive Officer at the National Research Foundation (NRF).
Science and Technology’s Minister Naledi Pandor congratulated him on his appointment, adding that there were challenges he would have to deal with.
‘The first challenge you face is to provide managerial and intellectual leadership. You will be able to draw on your immense experience at the executive level from your days at other universities.
‘I would ask you to give special attention to first-generation students, those who don’t have parents to look after them, those who rather have to look after their parents. Make them feel at home. Make them feel they belong. Get them to show you how good they can be….they are your future success.’
She urged the new Vice-Chancellor to provide a clear vision of what UKZN stood for as a university, making students proud of their education and their degrees.
Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mr Mduduzi Manana, added his congratulations saying the ‘Institution could not have chosen a more worthy person to fill this challenging, demanding and yet exciting post in our dynamic Higher Education system’.
Manana highlighted challenges faced by Higher Education including transformation, the increase of doctoral and PhD graduates and research outputs. He urged UKZN to partner with neighbouring historically disadvantaged universities.
‘We trust that with the support of your team, you will succeed in making the University of KwaZulu-Natal not just a great institution in terms of research and academic excellence, but indeed, a multicultural space where everyone will feel at home and be given a fair opportunity to grow, both academically and professionally. Congratulations Sir, and all the best to the University of KwaZulu-Natal.’
On behalf of Higher Education South Africa (HESA), the University of Witwatersrand’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adam Habib, welcomed van Jaarsveld to Higher Education and to KwaZulu-Natal.
‘I do not believe that UKZN could have made a better choice. But we as VCs are also keen on receiving Albert’s insights and wisdom in our collective deliberations at HESA.
‘Albert, congratulations on your ascension to the Vice-Chancellorship of this great Institution. May fortune be on your side and may wisdom accompany you on this path…we stand together with you on this arduous journey.’
The Chair of Council, Dr Phumla Mnganga, said the ceremonial act of installing the Vice-Chancellor was the University’s way of not only welcoming him to the Institution but entrusting him with more than a century of academic achievement on which he could make his mark.
‘He will preside over one of the top five universities in South Africa and one of the top 500 in the world.’
Sithembile Shabangu
author : .author email : .UKZN Vice-Chancellor Pledges Support for Deserving Students
Newly installed UKZN Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Dr Albert van Jaarsveld.Newly-installed Vice-Chancellor, Dr Albert van Jaarveld, has committed UKZN to continuing to ‘fight for approaches and resources to ensure the success in a sustainable fashion of the maximum number of underprivileged and academically sound students’.
He made this clear during his address at his Installation ceremony at the MH Joosub Hall on the Westville campus.
Van Jaarsveld said it was important for universities to prepare students for the emerging economy rather than the present day one, emphasising that education was one of the ways of narrowing societal inequalities.
‘I truly believe we can support our youth using approaches other than simply increasing the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) bursary funding. As it is, NSFAS, the Minister of Higher Education and Training and the government are hard pressed to significantly increase the available bursary funds,’ said van Jaarsveld.
The Vice-Chancellor urged government to engage with business and society to create mechanisms to complement NSFAS.
‘Can we incentivise corporations and financial houses to contribute to a NSFAS supplementary fund, can we contemplate a graduate tax where people pay government back once they are employed, or explore mechanisms for assisting banks to provide loans to students at cheaper rates? Collectively this suite of instruments could craft a more sustainable student funding landscape for the entire system and provide a platform which supports our national ambitions.’
Central SRC President, Mr Dithobe Mosana, congratulated the Vice-Chancellor and wished him well on his appointment on behalf of the student body and student leadership.
Sithembile Shabangu
author : .author email : .