SA hockey coach hopes plan comes together in Paris opener
Cheslyn Gie, who guided Mandela University back into the A section of the recent USSAs, will face an altogether different prospect when the national hockey team start their Olympic Games campaign in Paris on Saturday.
Madibaz and South Africa men’s hockey head coach Cheslyn Gie is excited to be attending another Olympic Games.
Following a lengthy period of preparation, the South African men’s team will hope to carry a lot of momentum into their first pool match, which will be against the Netherlands.
The other teams in their group are France, Great Britain, Germany and Spain.
Facing the best teams in the world excited Gie, who had been the team’s assistant coach in Tokyo.
“Competing in the Olympics is the absolute pinnacle of our sport and the excitement of attending never fades,” the Gqeberha local said.
“It’s such an amazing experience to be in the village and to rub shoulders with some of the best players and coaches on the planet.”
With their opponents all ranked above them, Gie hoped that their plan to make the top four in their group and thus the quarterfinals would come together at the showpiece.
“Obviously, we cannot reveal our specific strategies, but we have worked hard on how we play without the ball,” the Madibaz and national mentor said.
“As we are the lowest-ranked team here, we could spend a lot of time without the ball.”
Read more: Nelson Mandela University News
Mandela University launches its own publishing press
Nelson Mandela University launched its very own publishing press yesterday (30 July 2024), along with its flagship book, titled Achieving Nelson Mandela University? edited by Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sibongile Muthwa and historian Dr Denver Webb.
The Mandela University Press, which has been years in the making and received its approval from the University’s executive management committee in 2021, is the first university press in the Eastern Cape. It adds to the other seven scholarly presses in the country, based within and outside universities.
The Press will build on the identity of the University and its distinctiveness, critically working with the idea of what it means to bear the name of former president, Nelson Mandela, and to fulfil the promises that were made by the institution at the moment of renaming and rebranding in July 2017, and since.
Nelson Mandela University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sibongile Muthwa, described the launch of the Mandela University Press as a historic milestone along the road to achieving Mandela University.
Environmental science academic cracks Top 11 for NSTF emerging researcher award
Research Fellow in Nelson Mandela University’s Botany Department and Institute for Coastal and Marine Research (CMR), Dr Daniel Lemley, was recently honoured as one of 11 emerging researchers in the TW Kambule-NSTF Awards category.
Established in 1998, the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF)-South 32 Awards, popularly known as the “Science Oscars,” are South Africa’s largest Science, Engineering, Technology (SET) and innovation awards.
They are endorsed by the Ministry and the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), with the Honourable Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, being the official patron of the awards.
Dr Lemley’s category of emerging researcher is based on contributions through research and the outputs over a period of up to six years from the commencement of the research career, predominantly in South Africa.
“My mentor, Professor Janine Adams, responded to a call sent out by the University to nominate suitable candidates, and submitted a nomination on my behalf, which initially put me on a nominee shortlist of 42 candidates for the Emerging Researcher category.
“Thereafter, nominations were evaluated by the NSTF panel of experts, and I was announced as one of 11 finalists” says Dr Lemley.
Top awards for Mandela University academics at Computing Sciences and IT conference
Senior Lecturer in Applied Technologies Mark Brand and Senior Lecturer in Computing Sciences Dr Lynette Barnard received top awards at the annual SA Computer Lecturers Association Conference hosted by the University at the Boardwalk.
From left, Prof Jean Greyling, Mark Brand, Prof Andre Calitz and Dr Lynette Barnard
Mark Brand was awarded the Best Paper award, for his various theories attempting to explain the paradox of a shortage of ICT skills, yet many ICT graduates are not employed.
His PhD supervisors are Computing Sciences’ Professors Andre Calitz and Jean Greyling
Dr Barnard received the prize for the Best Reviewer, giving the most comprehensive feedback after reviewing. Reviewers have to evaluate the submitted papers, allowing the organisers to know which to accept or not for the conference.
Mandela University’s Computing Sciences and the School of IT hosted both the SA Computer Lecturers Association (SACLA) and South African Institute for Computer Scientists and Information Technologists (SAICSIT) with over 170 delegates in total.
Madibaz quartet graduate Cucsa Games with distinction
Madibaz netball skipper Mothira Mohammad and Hanniska van Vuuren were part of the gold medal winning side who beat Zimbabwe 96-30 in the final Cucsa Games in Pretoria recently. Madibaz's Irene Phiri played for the University Sports SA volleyball team and Madibaz's Barry Letsebe for the chess team.
From left, Madibaz's netball players Hanniska van Vuuren and Mothira Mohammad, volleyball player Irene Phiri and chess player Barry Letsebe.
CUCSA stands for the Confederation of University and Colleges Sports Associations from Angola Botswana Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The experience gained by two Mandela University netballers who represented the national student team at the Cucsa Games will stand the institution in good stead for the upcoming Varsity Netball tournament.
Madibaz skipper Mothira Mohammad and Hanniska van Vuuren were part of the gold medal winning side who beat Zimbabwe 96-30 in the final in Pretoria recently.
Mandela University sport scientist selected as Olympic Games official
Sports scientist Courtney Musson, an alumnus of Nelson Mandela University and staff member at the Human Movement Science department, has been selected to be one of six technical controllers for the Artistic (synchronised) Swimming event at the Paris Olympics 2024.
Courtney Musson, centre, together with other World Aquatics officials.
The Olympic Games will run from 26 July to 11 August, with Artistic Swimming taking place at the tail end of the global sports event, from 5 to 10 August.
Being a former national artistic swimmer herself, Courtney will be part of both the difficulty and synchronisation panels, rotating between the two roles throughout the event.
The difficulty panel assesses the routines live and checks if the routine is swum according to what the coach declared.
For the synchronisation panel, the technical controllers judge the number of synchronisation errors during the routine.
Courtney will be one of six technical controllers, which is new to this sport, and links closely to Courtney’s educational background.
Nourish minds, feed futures initiative launched by Nelson Mandela University
Nelson Mandela University has announced the transformative “Nourish Minds, Feed Futures” campaign aimed at tackling students’ hunger and educational exclusion.
The fundraising drive addresses student food insecurity and the need for bursaries. With rising cost of living and fees across the country, many young people who would otherwise be good students face an impossible choice between eating or learning.
As Prof Sibongile Muthwa, Vice-Chancellor of Nelson Mandela University, states: “Education must not become something that only those who can afford to eat get. The ‘Nourish Minds, Feed Futures’ project echoes Madiba’s view of education as a driver of change.”
According to the Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council (ECSECC), the Eastern Cape is in a “technical recession due to sharp declines in the construction, manufacturing, and mining industries, which have put employment on a knife’s edge”.
Dr Nosiphiwo Delubom elected as Ikhala TVET College Council Chairperson
Deputy Director Universal Access and Disability Services at Mandela University Dr Nosiphiwo Delubom has recently been elected as Chairperson of the Ikhala TVET College Council for three years at its inaugural meeting.
She has been appointed by the Minister of Higher Education and Training for a term of five years to the Council in May this year.
“For me, this is a humbling moment to return to serve the college as a Council member, as I worked at the college in Komani from 2010 to 2018”, she says.
Dr Delubom has been appointed at a time when the 2024 to 2029 Strategic Planning in the TVET Colleges is due to be crafted.
Bay mohair designer Gugu Peteni wins fashion award in Paris
Nelson Mandela Bay designer Gugu Peteni has earned a stylish seat at the exclusive fashion table after winning an award at Paris Haute Couture Week in June.
Nelson Mandela University fashion graduate Gugu Peteni with her French fashion award in Paris. Picture: Marc de Boisrolin/Mac.D
The Africa Fashion Up (AFUP) 2024 competition, organised by Share Africa under the patronage of French President Emmanuel Macron, aims to support emerging African designers and redefine the fashion industry.
AFUP is the first major Parisian event dedicated to contemporary African fashion, and it presented the work of four African designers, drawn from 200 applicants across the continent, at Paris Fashion Week.
It invited Nelson Mandela University Fashion and Textile Design graduate Peteni, 29, to show her Gugubygugu spring-summer collection.
Peteni also won the Best Young Designer Award on June 26 in a ceremony held in the Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac Museum.
“It’s so surreal! Amazing! As designers we all dream of being a luxury fashion space, in Paris, so this was a dream come true,” said Peteni on her return in July.
Her prize includes international development support from the elite HEC Paris business school and luxury fashion line Balenciaga, as well as retail exposure through Galeries Lafayette, the biggest chain of up-market department stores in Europe.
Following the show, a pop-up store opened at Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann, where designers could sell their creations to an international clientele. Peteni spent a week in Paris and now will complete the rest of the programme online.
Mandela University alumnus attributes string of qualifications to believing in one’s potential
“The sky is truly the limit” says Nelson Mandela University alumnus Dr Mario Maxwell Muller, “whose journey epitomises the boundless potential residing within each of us, awaiting only belief in oneself to set it free.”
Last year Dr Mario Muller graduated with a PhD in Arts and Social Sciences from Venda University.
Currently, Dr Muller is the Director of Music and Faculty Head of Creative Arts (Music, Art, Drama and Design & Technology) at Braeburn Garden Estate International School in Nairobi, Kenya.
He is also studying for a second doctor’s degree, namely in educational management, law, and policy at the University of Pretoria, under the guidance of Professor Andre du Plessis.
In addition, Dr Muller acquired a total of 14 additional qualifications across disciplines, including Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics with a Masters in Education in Advanced Teaching for Elementary, Middle and Secondary Schools (summa cum laude) from the University of the People, USA.
Over the past 24 years, Dr Muller has been Director of Music, Faculty Lead, Professor, Lead Inspector, and Deputy Head, at international institutions in the United Kingdom, Thailand, India, South Africa, Mexico, Gabon, Thailand, and Kenya.
He has also lectured at the China Conservatory of Music, Capital Normal University and China Women's University in Beijing, while working full-time in the United Kingdom as Director of Music at Fortismere School, one of the top 12 comprehensive schools in England.
Dr Muller’s journey started with his late mother Eileen Theresa Muller, who completed her BMus (Performance) four-year degree at the then University of Port Elizabeth in 1985, He followed two decades later with his BMus (Ed) four-year degree, achieving 80% overall for his thesis with cello and pipe organ as main instruments.
Read more: Nelson Mandela University News
Seven alumni among the 2024 Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans
Seven Nelson Mandela University alumni have recently been announced as being among the 2024 Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans.
Reino Erasmus - Founder and technology designer and PhD candidate
Education is changing drastically due to new technologies such as artificial intelligence and natural language processing.
Reino Erasmus, 34, is at the forefront of this revolution in learning, developing apps at Nelson Mandela University’s Centre for Community Technologies such as the eReady ICT Readiness Assessment Tool, a mechanism that can help implement technology-integrated learning experiences and foster equitable educational opportunities across African communities.