Go all the way says 76-year-old PhD graduate
"Knowing the extent of the mathematics crisis in South Africa, I wanted to evaluate the impact of the Techno-Blended Model (TBM) for self-directed learning at school level, developed by the Govan Mbeki Mathematics Development Centre (GMMDC) at Nelson Mandela University.”
Dr Pamela Zinn received her PhD at the age of 76
These are the words of Pamela Zinn (nee Radien) who graduated with her PhD in the Faculty of Education on 11 December 2024.
The title of her doctoral thesis is ‘Achievement in Mathematics through self-directed learning
facilitation: an impact evaluation of an offline technological approach.’
“It will take our country decades, if not generations, to overcome the mathematics crisis country-wide unless innovative intervention strategies, such as the GMMDC’s model is implemented in all provinces,” she says.
Graduating at the age of 76, she says “I already had my Master’s in Computer-based Education from the University of Johannesburg and thought I might as well go all the way! You are never too old to learn and I’m always amused when youngsters think I don’t know about computers because of my age.”
Mandela University campaigns win two awards at national conference
Afrika Week and Women’s Month inspired Nelson Mandela University towards a double win at the recent 2024 MACE (Marketing, Advancement and Communication Excellence in Higher Education) conference in Cape Town.
Neliswa Mahlangu and Kelley Felix-Julie (right)
Communication and Marketing won a silver award in the Community and Social Responsibility Campaign category for “The Afrika Week Celebration” campaign and a bronze award for the Stakeholder Engagement Campaign, "Empowered Women, Empowering the Future."
These events showcased the University's commitment to Ubuntu, diversity, and social justice, creating spaces where the University community could celebrate and embrace African culture, said Neliswa Mahlangu, Societies Officer in Arts, Culture and Heritage, who received the award on behalf of the team.
Third place for Quantity Surveying Professor at EDHE Learning and Teaching Excellence Awards
Professor Gerrit Crafford from Mandela University’s Department of Quantity Surveying secured a third place win at the annual EDHE (Entrepreneurial Development in Higher Education) awards for the project: “Building Tomorrow’s Innovators: Empowering Quantity Surveying Students through Business Planning and pitching”.
Established at the end of 2016 as a response to the graduate and youth unemployment crisis, EDHE is the national driver for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) development, third-stream income at universities, as well as for student and graduate entrepreneurship.
It is within this context that Prof Crafford conceptualised his project within the framework of the Professional Practice 4 (QPPV410) module at Mandela University.
Its design aimed to bridge the gap between academic theory and the practical demands of the Quantity Surveying profession.
Students pitch innovative scientific formulations to ‘Dragon’s Den’
Toothpaste infused with garlic, horse stable mats made from recycled rubber, a new kind of tablet for tuberculosis, and a water filter that uses hydrogel beads made from seaweed and shells were among the ingenious inventions of Formulation Science Honours students on show this week.
A group of eight students presented these, and other products, at a Dragons’ Den-type event at InnoVenton, the University’s Institute for Chemical Technology, in Summerstrand on Tuesday, 26 November.
STUDENT INNOVATORS: Formulation Science senior lecturer and course coordinator Dr Nicole Vorster, left, and Formulation Science BSc Honours students Anathi Vava, Lebogang Matinketsa, Gemma Gherbavaz, Luyolo Vacu, Carlen Rudolph, Crystal de Kock, Pamella Mbambela and Joshua Kruger
As with the aspiring entrepreneurs in the reality television show, Dragons’ Den, the students first pitched the product they had invented, and then faced tough questions on commercial viability.
The Department of Chemistry in the Faculty of Science, in association with InnoVenton, showcases the work of BSc Honours students in Formulation Science in this way each year, and can look back on several success stories.
PhD student wins category in Forty under 40 SA awards
Reino Erasmus, co-founder of Ampersand and PhD student in Mandela University's Centre for Community Technologies, is the winner of the Science, Technology and Innovation category in the Forty under 40 South Africa Awards.
The awards were announced recently at a gala dinner at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Centre in Johannesburg.
Reino, who holds a Master’s Degree in Visual Arts from Stellenbosch University said he is happy about being selected as the category winner.
“I feel quite chuffed to have won the "Science, Technology and Innovation" category of the Forty Under 40 South Africa awards. This follows my selection as one of the Mail & Guardian's 200 Young South Africans in the "Technology and Innovation" category earlier this year.
“There was no guarantee that I would be selected as one of the Forty Under 40 South Africa award winners. There were a total of 138 nominees invited across 40 different categories. Some categories did not meet the award criteria and had no winners, so it was quite nerve-wracking to wait for the announcement,” the 34-year-old said.
Mandela doctoral student wins national supply chain award
Mandela University DBA student Unathi Kildase, who is the interim Distribution Centre Executive for Group Supply Chain Operations at Massmart, was recently awarded the Top Woman Supply Chain Professional of the Year at the PAN AFRICAN awards.
Unathi overseas the distribution centre operations at Massmart nationally. That entails dealing with just under 2000 associates for stock coming into the centre, inventory management and delivery to all their 287 stores across the country.
Her research topic for her DBA is the identification of lean wastes in the Omni Channel Supply Chain operation and her supervisor Dr Fraser, who was also her MBA supervisor. Unathi, who was born in Gqeberha and grew up in East London, obtained her Diploma in Logistics and BTech from Mandela University. “I absolutely love it like home”, she says.
She believes she has won the award for her contribution and commitment to the furthering of others in the Supply Chain industry over the last few years. These include being the Supply Chain lead for the Massmart IE Graduate programme for the past two years and guest lecturing at Vaal University of Technology students in Supply Chain retail.
Ground-breaking doctorate focuses on benefits of a traditional diet
Dr Vera Nketiah made history on Wednesday, 11 December 2024, by becoming the first PhD graduate in Dietetics at Nelson Mandela University, with her research tackling South Africa’s health crisis. Dr Nketiah’s thesis, “A Relevant Intervention on Nutrition Transition among Isixhosa-Speaking People in Nelson Mandela Bay,” looks at the health risks of shifting from a traditional African diet to one full of processed foods.
This change is linked to urbanisation, economic challenges, and a lack of knowledge about the nutritional value of traditional foods.
Her study developed a solution to help people return to healthier, traditional diets.
A Ghanaian-born South African, Dr Nketiah completed her BSc in Dietetics at Stellenbosch University before moving to Nelson Mandela University for her MSc and PhD. The Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics started with a class of first year BSc Dietetics students only 13 years ago, and this is its first doctorate.
Now a lecturer at Nelson Mandela University, Nketiah formerly worked as a community nutrition dietician at the Department of Health.