Making Madibaz Proud
Representing your country internationally is the ultimate honour for an athlete. These Nelson Mandela University representatives were recognised for their success on the global stage in 2021: Cheslyn Gie NDip (Sports Management)’98 - (Assistant Coach - Men’s Hockey, Tokyo Olympics); Delaine Mentoor BHMS’19 - (Head Coach - Women's Water Polo, Tokyo Olympics ); Erin Harty (Representative - Women's U20 Water Polo, FINA World Junior Champs); Jennifer Kingwill HDip Education'81, BSc'80 - (Jumps Coach - Athletics, Tokyo Olympics); Meghan Maartens (Representative - Water Polo, Tokyo Olympics); Lwazi Mapitiza (Representative - Judo, African Champs & World Champs). Good job!
#MakingMadibazProud #MadibazMagic
The balcony and the dance floor
The scale and speed at which the university sector has been required over 18 months to digitally transform to online and hybrid (a combination of online and face-to-face) models has triggered a seismic shift in higher education.
Last year, Professor Cheryl Foxcroft, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC): Learning & Teaching, co-authored a column with Dr Sam Bosire, our University’s Chief Information Officer, about how the need for rapid digital transformation in higher education has been given a shot in the arm by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Directly after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster due to the pandemic, our institution established the Corona Task Team (CTT), chaired by the DVC: People and Operations.
The CTT, comprising members from the academy led by the DVC Learning & Teaching, Student Life and Development, professional and support services staff, and union representatives, played a central coordinating role, bringing together groups from the entire spectrum of the University.
Mandela Uni’s Selwyn Milborrow co-author of book on Nelson Mandela’s quotes
Madiba’s quotes and anecdotes co-authored by LT Collab’s Selwyn Milborrow and Mandela Uni alumnus Bevan Boggenpoel contains 27 Mandela quotes marking his 27 years in prison on Robben Island.
The commentaries are about how the hors’ experiences tie in with the quotes and encompass the impact Mandela’s quotes had on the country and the rest of the world.
Selwyn commented on his top three Madiba quotes: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
This is very personal to him because at the age of 51, he started his BA degree in Literature Studies.
Documentary on Khoi-San heritage sites
A 40-minute documentary entitled "Origins: an investigation into Khoi-San heritage sites" (NRF-Nelson Mandela University) concludes three years of research about the pre-colonial First Indigenous Peoples heritage places in the Eastern Cape province, premiered on 21 October at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Museum in Gqeberha.
Water update – Mandela Uni working hard to prepare for water crisis
With Nelson Mandela Bay’s dam levels at only 12.36% (19 October 2021), the University is implementing numerous measures in preparing for day zero, which can be expected in a month or two if there is no substantive rainfall.
Students and staff are doing their bit with water saving as the University’s water usage per person has come down well over the past few weeks, reaching a low of 64 litres per person per day in one of the monitored weeks. However, this figure is still above the daily maximum individual consumption of 50 litres.
Province launches paperless patient management system
Gone are the days when hospital staff have to scour through hundreds of documents to find patient files — the Eastern Cape health department has launched an easy-to-use advanced electronic Hospital Management System (HMS).
Health MEC Nomakhosazana Meth launched the HMS2 system at the Elizabeth Donkin Hospital in Gqeberha yesterday.
It was developed during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and first used at the Rev Dr Elizabeth Mamisa ChabulaNxiweni Field Hospital.
Patients’ information and history of care are recorded, saved and protected via the system.
Nelson Mandela University’s director for the Centre for Community Technologies, Prof Darelle van Greunen, said at the height of Covid-19 the department had learnt to monitor patients remotely, using data to detect symptoms.
Mandela Uni to host hybrid Graduation for Masters and Doctoral students
Nelson Mandela University will host hybrid mask-to-mask graduation sessions for its masters and doctoral students on 14 and 15 December, subject to the trajectory of the pandemic.
The in-person opportunity for about 170 postgraduate students and one honorary doctorate recipient was approved by Executive Management recently in what will hopefully be a gradual reintroduction of in-person graduation sessions as the vaccination process gains momentum.
The Transformative, Responsive University
South Africa’s universities must shed their dominant modern/colonial imaginary character to transform and become more responsive.
South Africa’s universities must shed their dominant character and orientation that is trapped in a modern/colonial imaginary, to truly transform and become more responsive to their contexts, Professor Sibongile Muthwa, Universities South Africa’s Chairperson asserted at Universities South Africa’s 2nd national Higher Education Conference that was held from 6 to 8 October.
New professional doctoral degree now presented Mandela Uni Business School
Nelson Mandela University Business School is making history on the continent by offering an internationally recognised, new doctoral programme for business professionals and specialists.
This unique, solutions-driven degree programme is designed to develop crucial skills for executives who have to navigate organisational complexity. “We are indeed proud to add this distinctive qualification to our basket of offerings,” said Dr Randall Jonas, Director of the Business School.
The University is only the second business school in Africa to be admitted to the European Doctoral Programmes Association in Management and Business Administration (EDAMBA) to have its Professional Doctor of Business Administration (ProDBA) accredited.
Business School Research Director, Prof Cecil Arnolds, said this EDAMBA recognition, which followed a rigorous application process of over two years, will allow for greater international collaboration – while shining a spotlight on the continent of Africa.
The SARChI Chair in African Feminist Imaginations is held by Professor Pumla Dineo Gqola from the Centre for Women and Gender Studies (CWGS). Heather Dugmore reports on why this is so significant for female empowerment.
“The Chair is all about shifting how we think about gender power and women’s contributions in the world,” said Prof Gqola, who joined the CWGS in May 2020.
“This includes generating research on the archive of African women’s intellectual and political work as key thinkers, theorists and figures in the liberation struggle, decoloniality and transformation.”
The Chair, officially launched in June this year, has collaborations with colleagues throughout South Africa, the continent and globe. One example is Prof Gqola’s lecture on gender-based violence in January this year to the GendV Project based at Cambridge University in the UK, which includes feminist researchers in South Africa, the UK and India.
Master’s student wins national art make-up competition
Master’s student in the department of Media and Communication, Talya Goldmann, has won the StageLine SA ‘Queen of Colour’ 2021 competition.
Talya is a film and makeup artist specialising in wardrobe and effects for film and video.
To win, she competed against many other talented artists from across South Africa to become the StageLine professional make-up’s Brand Ambassador and the Queen of Colour 2021.
As her prize, she won R9000 worth of StageLine make-up and gets to develop creative content for the brand for the next year.
Aiming to take visual arts to a higher level
Usen Obot is a finalist in The Herald Citizens of the Year Awards in partnership with Nelson Mandela University.
Dreaming of the day visual artists are recognised as being on par with professionals like doctors and lawyers is what motivates The Herald Citizens of the Year Award finalist Usen Obot.
Obot, nominated in the arts and culture category, wakes up each day wanting to make a difference in the industry.
Nigerian-born Obot, the Charge d’affaires at Galerie Noko in Central, has for the past seven years inspired artists and audiences to explore and enjoy the world of visual arts through various community projects and related activities.
Reduce, re-use and retrade is this trash-busting team’s mantra
Maria Grewar is a finalist in The Herald Citizens of the Year Awards in partnership with Nelson Mandela University.
Seeing trash blowing in the wind was the impetus for Maria Grewar’s initiative that has helped some of Gqeberha’s impoverished residents make a living off litter.
Re-Trade, the “trash trade” initiative started in 2013, has grown in leaps and bounds, and has landed Grewar and her team a spot among the finalists for the The Herald Citizens of the Year award, in partnership with Nelson Mandela University, in the category of innovators.
Madibaz coach wins national award
Madibaz water polo coach Delaine Mentoor received national recognition this week when named Coach of the Year at the Momentum GSport Awards.
The prestigious event, which honours women in sport, provided a double celebration for water polo because the South African side, under Delaine, was named team of the year.
The squad was the first SA women's water polo team to compete in the Olympic Games.
IT Prof elected to national body executive
Professor Lynn Futcher from the School of ICT at Mandela University has been elected onto the executive of the national Institute of Information Technology Professionals of South Africa (IITPSA).
The IITPSA is a professional body, recognised by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) which was established in 1957 and has a long and proud history of service to, and representation of, South Africa’s ICT professionals and practitioners. It attracts a broad and active membership from all levels of the ICT Industry.
International recognition for computer science Prof’s work #R2bP
Professor in Computing Sciences at Mandela University, Jean Greyling, has been selected as one of ten winners in the Future Learning category of the international, Falling Walls Science Breakthroughs of the Year 2021.
Falling Walls is a unique international platform for leaders from the worlds of science, business, politics, the arts and society. The Falling Walls Science Breakthroughs of the Year will be announced on 15 September, and should Jean’s project be awarded the title Breakthrough of the Year 2021 in Future Learning, he will be invited to present his work to a global audience at the Falling Walls Conference in Berlin on 9 November.