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Ins ide55555 Multilingualism Project takes shapeMultilingualism Project takes shapeMultilingualism Project takes shapeMultilingualism Project takes shapeMultilingualism Project takes shape 66666 UKZN achieversUKZN achieversUKZN achieversUKZN achieversUKZN achievers 1212121212 Students empower rural womenStudents empower rural womenStudents empower rural womenStudents empower rural womenStudents empower rural women 1616161616 Sport cornerSport cornerSport cornerSport cornerSport corner

Fellowship for ViceFellowship for ViceFellowship for ViceFellowship for ViceFellowship for Vice-----ChancellorChancellorChancellorChancellorChancellorPROFESSOR MalegapuruMakgoba, Vice-Chancellor andPrincipal will be awarded theprestigious Fellowship of theImperial College Faculty ofMedicine in the United Kingdomin October this year in recognitionof his outstanding contributions tomedical research, internationalpublic health and to universityadministration.

In announcing Professor Makgoba’snomination, the Principal of Im-perial College, Professor StephenSmith wrote: “Fellowships of theImperial College Faculty of Medi-cine are awarded to persons notmembers of the Faculty who are ofoutstanding distinction in fieldsrelated to medical science or par-ticularly supportive of the aims andvision of the Faculty.”

An internationally-recognisedmolecular immunologist, Professor

Makgoba has received manyhonours and distinctions, includingthe Science-for-Society GoldMedal of the Academy of Scienceof South Africa in 2002. In 2003,he was elected member of the

founding Co-ordinating Committeeof the Global HIV Vaccine Enter-prise. In 2006 he was selected asone of the 65 Caring Physicians ofthe World by the World MedicalAssociation in recognition of

outstanding contributions to “care,ethics and science” thereby con-solidating his place as a role modelfor young scientists.

Professor Makgoba is a prolificauthor and has written severalground-breaking scientific papers.In 1989 he co-authored two of themost cited papers in immunology.Nine of his publications have beencited more than 100 times, four ofwhich have been cited more than500 times, a remarkable record.

Professor Makgoba obtained hisMBChB from the former Univer-sity of Natal and a Doctor of Philo-sophy in Human Immunogeneticsfrom Oxford University. He is aFellow of the Royal College ofPhysicians of London and waselected as foreign AssociateMember of the United StatesNational Academy of Sciences’Institute of Medicine.

Vice-Chancellor ProfessorMalegapuru Makgobaawarded certificates and

gifts to three UKZN researchers ata luncheon at the Govan MbekiCentre on the Westville campus on20 July.

The Vice-Chancellor’s ResearchAward is awarded annually by theUniversity Council. The award ismade on merit and is open to allacademic staff who are under theage of 40. It recognises exceptionalresearch and research-relatedscholarly activities.

Professor Dorrit Posel from theFaculty of Management’s School ofEconomics and Finance is the 2004recipient. In 2005 the award wentto Dr Richard Mace from theFaculty of Science and Agricul-ture’s School of Physics. ProfessorThumbi Ndung’u from the DorisDuke Medical Research Institute’sHasso Plattner Research Labo-ratory received the award in 2006.

In his welcoming address ProfessorMakgoba said that the fundamental

Vice-Chancellor’s Research Awards

aspect that distinguishes a Univer-sity is its research output. UKZNresearchers have generated morethan R80 million for the Universitythrough their research output.Professor Makgoba added that “weare growing a cadre of young and

productive people. Researchshould be carried out by youngpeople at the University because itis these young people who willcarry the future of the Institution.”Professor Posel’s research focuseson socio-economic concerns in

South Africa. Her primary researchareas investigate the nature of, andinteraction between, labour marketand household dynamics. Herresearch has included studies ofkey changes in the labour marketin the post-1994 period, labour

migration, the effects of the socialpension and the economic impli-cations of marriage.

Dr Richard Mace’s primary re-search field is theoretical spaceplasma physics with particularemphasis on waves (linear and non-linear), fluctuations and instabi-lities in nonthermal space plasmascontaining an excess ofsuprathermal tail particles distri-buted in energy according to apower law.

Professor Thumbi Ndung’u’s re-search interests are biologicalmechanisms underlying HIV/AIDSpathogenesis, and in the develop-ment of biomedical interventionsthat can be used in resourcing poorsettings to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. His research is concentratedon HIV-1 subtype C, which is theHIV strain that affects the largestnumber of HIV-infected people,and causes the highest rates in thepopulations it infects.

- Thembeka Dlungwane

Professor Thumbi Ndung’u; Professor Dorrit Posel; and Dr Richard Mace. Picture: Mangana Makhumisane

The British National Museum ofScience and Industry selected hiswork in 1994 for a permanentdisplay popularising state-of-the-art science in the 20th Century.

“It is indeed a privilege to have anacademic of the stature of ProfessorMakgoba at the helm of the Univer-sity. I am not surprised by yetanother international accoladebrought to the University throughthe distinguished scientific contri-bution of Professor Makgoba andI congratulate him on behalf of theUniversity Community,” said Pro-fessor Vincent Maphai, Chair ofCouncil.

The Fellowship will be presentedat a special dinner on 2 October atthe Science Museum in SouthKensington to mark the 10th anni-versary of the Faculty of Medicineand the Centenary of ImperialCollege.

Professor Malegapuru Makgoba.

2

The ukzndaba teamThe ukzndaba teamThe ukzndaba teamThe ukzndaba teamThe ukzndaba team

Dasarath Chetty Deanne Collins Bhekani Dlamini Thembeka Dlungwane Fikisile Mabaso Vidhya Singh

Send your news to news@ukzn.ac.za

Professor Dasarath Chetty, Executive Director,Public Affairs and Corporate Communications

EditorialEditorialEditorialEditorialEditorial

O n 8 June, two executive members of the Higher Education Quality Com-

mittee (HEQC) gave presentationson the Westville campus about theUKZN Institutional Auditscheduled for October 2008.

The purpose of the institutionalaudit is to assess the effectivenessof management systems in assuringthe quality of UKZN’s teaching andlearning, research, and communityengagement. All Higher EducationInstitutions will undergo institu-tional audits in the 2004-2009cycles. The HEQC provides thecriteria and guidelines for theinstitutional preparation processand the framework within whichthe audit takes place.

Dr Mark Hay, the Director of theHEQC’s Institutional Audits Direc-torate, noted that while an insti-tutional audit fulfils regulatoryrequirements, it will also assistinstitutions to know if they areoffering quality programmes andproducing quality research. Headvised that while there are setcriteria, each institution has somefreedom in interpretation, and inhow it uses the audit process toachieve its own purposes. He addedthat through the audit, especiallythrough the institutional self-reflection aspect, the institutionwill be able to identify what it isdoing well, celebrate its quality interms of good practice, and plan toameliorate that which is not donewell. He advised that all staffshould be kept in the loop to keepthe conversation alive within theinstitution and suggested thatinstitutions make key leaders andteams accountable for their workin the preparation process.

Executive Director of the HEQCDr Lis Lange said that the audit isabout both accountability anddevelopment, emphasising that allinstitutions are accountable to

Institutional auditInstitutional auditInstitutional auditInstitutional auditInstitutional auditstudents, employees and society atlarge. In her view, “self-assessment(generally understood as an eight-month period of institutional self-reflection) is the starting point fordevelopment.” She noted that theaudit panel comprises some12 peers, who dedicate at least fivedays full-time to understanding andassisting the institution. Shedescribed the institutional audit asa mirror reflecting back an insti-tution’s view of itself, adding thatthe outcome should be institu-tional growth. Responding to aquestion about what happens at theend of the institutional audit, DrLange explained that there will beno penalties or rewards; insteadthere would be a report with com-mendations on the institution’sachievements, and recommend-ations and suggestions aboutproblems identified.

Head of UKZN Quality Promotionand Assurance, Ms DenyseWebbstock, says that UKZN isviewing the institutional audit as anopportunity to engage in a processof critical self-evaluation in orderto continue the process of de-veloping and consolidating a new,single, integrated University. Sheadds that it is also an opportunityto advance the implementation ofthe University’s strategic plan thatwas developed in 2006. The Uni-versity has embarked on a thoroughpreparation process led by anInstitutional Audit Co-ordinatingCommittee chaired by the Vice-Chancellor. A self-evaluation pro-cess will be undertaken throughseven task teams, each focusing ona different aspect of UKZN’sactivities. Schools, Faculties andcertain support divisions are alsoengaging with a set of questionsdesigned to elicit analytical res-ponses in order to prepare for theaudit visit.

- Bhekani Dlamini

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(Back row) Professor John Mubangizi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Headof the College of Law and Management Studies; Dr Mark Hay, Director ofthe Institutional Audits Directorate, Professor Ahmed Bawa, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Knowledge Production and Partnerships; andProfessor Malegapuru Makgoba, Vice-Chancellor and Principal.(Front row) Dr Lis Lange, Executive Director of the Higher EducationQuality Committee; and Ms Denyse Webbstock, Head, UKZN QualityPromotion and Assurance.

Speech TherapySpeech TherapySpeech TherapySpeech TherapySpeech TherapyTTTTTraining for Africaraining for Africaraining for Africaraining for Africaraining for AfricaA delegation from Uganda visited UKZN’s School of Audiology, Occupational Therapy and SpeechLanguage Therapy to explore the Schools’ Speech Language Pathology course with the aim of developinga similar course at their home institution, Makerere University.

Ms Jenny Pahl, Academic Co-ordinator for Speech-Language Pathology says South Africa is the onlycountry in Africa that offers this course. Within South Africa it is offered by UKZN and the Universityof Stellenbosch. The Speech Language and Audiology Programmes have been offered at the Universityfor the past 25 years and over the last nine years, the School has been offering an African contextualisedcurriculum.

Ms Pahl adds, “We are in a good position to share our experiences with institutions in Africa. We havea strong focus on community-based rehabilitation as do the representatives of the NGOs who were a partof the visiting delegation. It’s extremely exciting to see training of Speech Language Therapists spreadingin Africa and a wonderful opportunity to meet with a dynamic group of people with a clear goal inmind.”

Delegates included a group of stakeholders from the Makerere University Medical School, MulagoHospital, Uganda Society for Disabled Children, Kyambogo University, Mulapo National ReferralHospital and Voluntary Service Overseas which sponsored the exploratory tour.

- MaryAnn Francis

THREE and a half years after themerger the Institutional Audit process offers the

University community a splendid opportunity to evaluate, ina participative, consultative and systematic way, the extent to which

we are doing what we set out to do. The new mission made what is termed inmarketing speak, a “brand promise”. A promise of academic excellence in our

teaching and learning endeavour, of innovative research in line with societal needs, andof a critical engagement with society through engaging in outreach programmes that are

contextually located within social dynamics and reflective of an appropriate response to regionaldevelopment priorities. Realising this promise, we believe, would render us “the Premier University

of African Scholarship”.

Therefore it follows that in measuring our fitness of purpose we are challenged to frankly address thetransformational role played by UKZN within the policy and legislative context of Higher Education inSouth Africa. As the Council for Higher Education (CHE) points out, increased equity and accessopportunity for previously marginalised groups, greater responsiveness to societal priorities in andthrough teaching and research, and use of institutional resources and expertise to address issues relevantto our communities, are all clear goals against which we need to measure our progress. On the face ofit, much has been achieved. Increased research output that places us as the second most prolificpublisher of accredited publications, the establishment of specific executive portfolios for both

Access and Equity to drive the transformation agenda and praiseworthy community engagementprojects providing services, empowerment opportunities and skills transfer are all visible

indices of a stated commitment. Whilst such a progressive trajectory is something tobe proud of, has academic freedom been curtailed in this process? Or is this just a

mantra of a disaffected few critical of the transformation agenda? These andmany other questions such as what actually constitutes academic

freedom may be answered by the Institutional Audit.

Institutional Audit

3

UKZN’s Centre for Environment,Agriculture and Development(CEAD), in partnership with theWater Research Commission(WRC) and the Tony and LisetteLewis Foundation (TLLF), anddrawing on expertise from a num-ber of institutions, has recentlycompleted a three year project:Profiling Estuary Management inIntegrated Development Planning.The project forms part of the longterm, award-winning Eastern CapeEstuaries Management Pro-gramme. It builds on a previousWRC funded research projectwhich established protocols for thegovernance, management, biodi-versity protection, sustainable use,monitoring, rehabilitation, eco-nomic development and knowledgemanagement of or at estuaries.

The project recognised that es-tuaries are key economic, socialand ecological resources in thecoastal environment and that theyrequire active management in orderto sustain benefits to society. It alsorecognised that most estuariesoccur within local municipalitiesand it is these institutions that needto lead and drive the governanceand management process.

The project analysed the IntegratedDevelopment Planning (IDP) pro-cesses of local municipalities anddeveloped mechanisms throughwhich estuary management couldbe integrated into these processes.Key focal areas of the research

T hirty five students from universities in the US, Canada and the Nether-

lands were at UKZN during thewinter break to experience SouthAfrican culture.

Mr Stiv Twigg from England isdoing a BA degree in InternationalCommunication at Temple Univer-sity of Philadelphia in Pennsyl-vania, USA. He is studying isZuluLanguage and Culture, CulturalDiversity and Rainbow Nation as

Study AbroadStudy AbroadStudy AbroadStudy AbroadStudy AbroadStudents at UKZNStudents at UKZNStudents at UKZNStudents at UKZNStudents at UKZN

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Miss Lauren Riobert, Miss Katie Kolosso, Miss Saran Brandt, Miss Brooke Tweedale, Miss Stephanie Hunt, MissKatherine Sands, Miss Adriane Demoe and Miss Kate Sattler.Miss Laura Otto, Miss Megan Larschneid, Miss Kelsie Bauer, Miss Nora Beckstrand, Miss Rachel Dederich, MissAlicia Edmonds and Miss Ellyn Brayton.

ManagingManagingManagingManagingManagingnaturalnaturalnaturalnaturalnaturalresourcesresourcesresourcesresourcesresources

included the legislative and policycontext for management, the eco-nomic rationale for active manage-ment and the management processitself. The research findings wereformally published by the WRC ina comprehensive technical report.

As part of the project and buildingon a commitment to effective out-reach, an estuary managementtraining course was developed formunicipalities. Testing of thecourse took place at Port St Johns,Buffalo City and eThekwini Muni-cipalities, and the response wasextremely positive. This edu-cational tool is now available inelectronic format to trainers, prac-titioners and the general public. Inaddition, the technical publicationwas translated into a user-friendlyestuary management guide. Threethousand copies of the guide havebeen distributed to local municipalstaff.

Acknowledging the success of theproject and the overall programme,the WRC has agreed to anotherround of funding. Valued at R 1.5million, the new project will re-search estuaries as catalysts foreconomic empowerment. TheWRC is particularly excited by thisdirection as it will provide lessonson how other aquatic ecosystemssuch as wetlands and rivers mightalso act as catalysts for economicempowerment.

- Duncan Hay

modules. Miss Stephanie Hunt isdoing a BA degree in EnglishLiterature at the University ofWisconsin – Eau Claire in the USA.She is taking modules in isiZuluLanguage and Culture, and ServiceLearning.

Receiving the international stu-dents at an orientation programmeon 22 June, Director of UKZNInternational Dr Roshen Kishunassured them that the Universitywould take care of them. He also

advised them to make the rightdecisions to protect themselvesfrom the scourge of HIV/AIDS.Staff from different Departmentsand Units advised the students onservices available. Dr Kishun saidsome of the students were going tovisit eight service learning sites inKwaZulu-Natal, where they wouldinteract with communities, helpthem and make donations on asmall scale.

- Bhekani Dlamini

25 Y25 Y25 Y25 Y25 Year Rear Rear Rear Rear Reunion foreunion foreunion foreunion foreunion forMedical GraduatesMedical GraduatesMedical GraduatesMedical GraduatesMedical GraduatesTHE Medical School Class of 1982reunion was held at the Spier WineEstate near Stellenbosch from 4-6May. Almost a quarter of the classattended the reunion, which was co-ordinated by Dr Andre Reddy fromDurban and Dr Vadi Govender ofCape Town. Malti Patel flew downfrom Canada and Funeka “Shorty”

Madikiza made a special appear-ance on the Saturday night, takingtime off from postgraduate exami-nations.

A colourful banner with the UKZNand Nelson R Mandela School ofMedicine logos was erected in thehotel foyer. Commemorative T-

shirts and gifts from the UKZNAlumni Affairs Office were well-received. It was the first time manyof the former classmates had metin 25 years and there was muchcatching up to do!

Sixty two people, including spousesand a few children attended the galadinner dance. The master of cere-monies was Vadi Govender and theguest speaker was Dr Zweli Mkhize,KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Finance.Dr Mkhize called for a minute’ssilence for all those classmates whohad passed on since 1982. He alsomade a passionate plea for alumnito get involved in UKZN, supportits programmes and assist withfunding needy students via theAlumni Affairs Office. LancetLaboratories and classmate PeterMatseke sponsored the drinks forthe evening.

- Vadi GovenderGraduates at the reunion.

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The new guide published by the programme.

4

The new offices of the HealthEconomics and AIDS Re-search Division (HEARD)

on the Westville campus wereofficially opened by Dr Peter Piotthe Executive Director of UNAIDon 6 June. HEARD, which beganoperations on the Howard Collegecampus in 1998, is now located onthe top floor of J Block.

“HIV/AIDS is affecting us all inways that we had not expected. Thefuture of this country and others inthe region will be determined byhow we respond to HIV/AIDS. Itis an opportunity to come togetherand to work for the betterment ofour society, or to fall apart. The keyquestions are around prevention

HEARD opens new officesHEARD opens new officesHEARD opens new officesHEARD opens new officesHEARD opens new officesand ARVs. We must have an AIDSfree generation soon. If we don’tthe society of 2031 may not be onewe want to live in,” said ProfessorAlan Whiteside, Director ofHEARD.

HEARD has Joint FinancingAgreements with five developmentpartners – UNAIDS, the BritishDepartment for International De-velopment, the Royal NetherlandsEmbassy, the Swedish Inter-national Development Agency(SIDA) and Irish Aid.

In 2004 HEARD was recognisedas a UNAIDS Collaborating Cen-tre, appointed by the UNAIDSSecretariat to carry out specific

activities in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. HEARD also wonthe bid to host the Secretariat forthe UNAIDS/World Bank Eco-nomics Reference Group and heldthe first meeting in Washington inMay (see below).

In October 2002, HEARD wasawarded a five-year grant from theNational Institute of Child Healthand Development (NICHD), aninternational scientific fundingagency in the USA, to research thewell-being of orphans in theAmajuba District of theUkhahlamba region of KwaZulu-Natal.

- Thembeka Dlungwane

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Professor Ahmed Bawa, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Knowledge Production and Partnerships; ProfessorAlan Whiteside, HEARD Director; and Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director: UNAIDS.

THE Faculty of Education hasintroduced an exciting new teach-ing practice module for all first yearBachelor of Education studentscomprising field and campus-basedteaching experience.

The rethinking of the teachingpractice component for first yearshas been the result of a number ofchallenges. Professor MichaelSamuel, Deputy Dean of InitialTeacher Education says that, “wehave always produced world classteachers, but now we have to ensurethat they can teach in South Africa’sdiverse educational landscape aswell.”

An additional challenge is toinspire students to serve theirpracticums in schools different tothose they attended as scholars. Inthe past two years, there has beenmuch resistance by students to doso because of enduring stereotypes,a consequence of the apartheidlegacy.

The Faculty’s response has been tomake the BEd qualification morerelevant to South African contextsin creative and productive ways.

The new module begins withstudents being taken on a bus tourto three diverse contexts. The tour,conducted at the end of May,provided students with their firstexperiences of diversity. This iswhat students had to say:

“I thought I was visiting aschool in the United States. Theyhad the latest technology. I wouldlike to teach in a school like that.”

“The school we went to waslike a war zone. I didn’t know therewere schools like that in SouthAfrica.”

“I now understand what thelecturers were telling us aboutschool context. Every school isdifferent.”

“I am going to do my teachingpractice in Ndwedwe next year. Itis a safe area and the people arewarm and friendly.”Dr Labby Ramrathan, Head of theSchool of Educational Studies saysthat students “are now sharplyaware of how contextual forcesinfluence pedagogy because it is inthe classroom that the contextualdescriptions that make schoolsunique come to bear and influenceteaching, learning and productionof knowledge. The visit to schoolssucceeded in driving that messagehome”. The Dean of Education,Professor Renuka Vithal, adds thatthe success of the pilot project wasdue to collaborations between theFaculty and schools, students andlecturers, and between staff and theDeanship. She will support theimplementation of the new ap-proach next year. A total of 431students visited 27 schools.

- Article Supplied

New teachingNew teachingNew teachingNew teachingNew teachingpracticepracticepracticepracticepracticemodulemodulemodulemodulemodule

HEARD appointed as SecretariatHEARD appointed as SecretariatHEARD appointed as SecretariatHEARD appointed as SecretariatHEARD appointed as SecretariatTHE UNAIDS/World BankEconomics Reference Group(ERG) was formed in 2001 asan advisory body to provideexpert economic advice onpolicy and operations aroundHIV. The ERG serves as aforum for analysis and review,and informs UNAIDS, theWorld Bank, the UN andnational policymakers on keyfindings and research trends.

Every three years, differentagencies are appointed toserve as its Secretariat.HEARD (represented by MsJacqui Hadingham and Pro-fessor Alan Whiteside) hasachieved this status as the thirdincumbent, for the period 2006to 2009.

HEARD’s role is to governand implement the ERGagenda, convening eight to 10core members from sub-economic disciplines. Topicsand focus areas emanate fromthe World Bank and UNAIDS,and are tied to its grant to theSecretariat agency. This ap-pointment is therefore highlysignificant, both strategicallyand materially.

The first meeting of the ERGwas held on 3 and 4 May inWashington DC, focusing onthe theme: “Analysis of theLabour Market Implications ofScaling Up Services for HIVPrevention and AIDSTreatment, Care AndMitigation”.

Ms Hadingham and ProfessorWhiteside co-ordinated andattended the meeting, alongwith economists from varioussub-disciplines, and represen-tatives from the World Bankand UNAIDS.

Three background papers werepresented at the meeting tostimulate discussion and pro-vide information on issuesbeing researched in the field.Gaps in the current economicknowledge base were identi-fied. It was apparent that muchinformation is still needed inorder to make informed andeffective decisions with regardto setting policy around HIVprogrammes and funding at theglobal level.

After two days of interestingdebate and discussion aroundthe substantive topic, sixtopics emerged that will beconsidered as possible foci forfuture meetings:

Labour market impli-cations of scaling up HIVand AIDS interventions:distribution, equity andcost-effectiveness of in-terventionsSocio-economic impactof HIV and AIDSPoverty reduction: effec-tiveness of responseImpact on human capitalformationPositive and negativeexternalities of HIV pro-grammes

HIV and AIDS and theprivate sector: the GlobalDisease Survey

For the full report of themeeting proceedings, go to:

http://www.heard.org.za/ERG/ERGMay07Proceedings.pdf

The next meeting of the ERGwill be held in October 2007.

For further information, con-tact:Jacqui HadinghamResearch Co-ordinatorHEARD

Tel: 27 31 260 8082

E-mail:hadinghamj@ukzn.ac.za

5

TTTTTeaching and Learningeaching and Learningeaching and Learningeaching and Learningeaching and LearningMultilingualism Project takMultilingualism Project takMultilingualism Project takMultilingualism Project takMultilingualism Project takes shapees shapees shapees shapees shapeTHE UKZN Language Policy istaking exciting steps towardsinitial implementation throughthe SANTED MultilingualismProject: Multilingualism toPromote Access, Retention andSuccessful Professional Train-ing, generously funded for threeyears by the Norwegian Govern-ment. This project includescollaboration with the DurbanInstitute of Technology and is ledby Dr Nobuhle Hlongwa, Headof the School of isiZulu Studies,and supported by ProfessorElizabeth de Kadt, ExecutiveDirector: Access. It targets a coreweakness of many South Africangraduates: they are proficient intheir field of expertise, but theyare unable to communicate withZulu-speaking clients – forinstance, the highly-trainednurse who cannot understand theneeds of his/her patients; thequalified primary school teacherwho cannot teach where the needis greatest because s/he cannotspeak Zulu, the psychologistwho is unable to interact withpotential clients.

Colleagues in Nursing, Edu-cation and Psychology (atUKZN) and in Dental Assisting(at DUT) have set up a languagedevelopment project with thegoal of enabling future gradu-ates to interact professionallywith their clients in both Englishand isiZulu. Past attempts toachieve this have generallyfailed, because although stu-dents completed one or twomodules in isiZulu, there was nofurther support for the isiZuluthey had learnt, and mostimportantly, their training didnot involve the use of isiZulu inreal-life contexts. In contrast, theSustainability Model ofLanguage Acquisition (de-veloped by Professor RosemaryWildsmith-Cromarty in theSchool of Language, Literatureand Linguistics) takes learnersfrom initial language learningthrough integration and appren-ticeship into an innovativeextension phase, where de-veloping language skills aresustained by working for shortperiods with the speech com-

munity. The SANTED Multi-lingualism Project intends topilot this model of multi-language teaching and learningin higher education, and for thesustainable acquisition of langu-age for professional purposes.

Both students and staff in Nur-sing, Education and Psychologyare already much involved inlearning isiZulu, and some staffare now considering ways ofusing both Zulu and English intheir teaching, for instance intutorials. This will of necessityalso involve the development ofnew terminology in isiZulu – along-term and complex project.Staff in the School of Nursing,for instance, are currently identi-fying subject specific words andphrases to be translated intoisiZulu, to enable students to useboth English and isiZulu in theirclinical practice sites. This, it ishoped, will also lead to bilingualgroup discussion in the class-room – involving English,isiZulu and much code-switching. Project leader in

Nursing is CharlotteEngelbrecht, with Dr Hlongwainvolved in the isiZulu languageteaching.

In the Faculty of Education, theSANTED project has taken theform of the Masikhulume Pro-gramme, which is led by Pro-fessor Robert Balfour. This Pro-gramme is especially tailored forpractitioners in four disciplineareas: Maths and NumeracyEducation, Language andLiteracy Education, LifeOrientation, and Early Child-hood Studies. Two experiencedZulu educators (Pansy Sibekoand Joy Khumalo) are beingemployed to teach staff andstudents discipline-specificaspects of isiZulu. Senior stu-dents Zinhle Mncube andNompilo Hlatswayo are en-gaged in the development andtranslation of some teachingmaterials into isiZulu. Their goalfor 2008 is to have students ableto draw on some isiZulu inteaching practice with pre-primary learners.

In Psychology, under the guid-ance of Professor NhlanhlaMkhize, English-speakingpost-graduate students havealready experienced some ofthe benefits of using their basicspoken Zulu (taught by MaryGordon) in a participatoryaction research context.“Knowing basic isiZulu ishelpful in research activities,however i t is even moreessential for building rapportbetween researchers and par-ticipants ,” they reported.“Ukuhlonipha (to respect) isfundamental to the function-ing of Zulu society, and it ismost appreciated whenpracticed by people outside thesociety who are engaging in anisiZulu context.” They con-cluded: “We applaud the Uni-versity for the SANTEDIsiZulu Init iative and westrongly encourage students,especially those in applieddisciplines, to take lessons inconversational isiZulu oranother relevant indigenouslanguage.”

The School of Music inpartnership with theDepartment of Arts & Cul-

ture will be hosting the 40th WorldCongress of the InternationalCouncil for Traditional Music(ICTM) in July 2009. In preparingfor the upcoming World CongressProfessor Dasarath Chetty, Ex-ecutive Director of Public Affairsand Corporate Communicationsled a delegation to the ICTM WorldCongress in Vienna in July on adelegate boosting exercise.

Professor Chetty who was accom-panied by Dr Patricia Opondo andMs Normah Zondo, PRO for theCollege of Humanities addresseddelegates at the closing plenary andofficially invited all delegates to the40th World Congress in Durban.The presentation which included afive minute video of Durban, and a15 minute powerpoint presentationon UKZN and African Scholarshipwas enthusiastically welcomed byall representatives in Vienna andthe UKZN delegation was assuredby many that they were lookingforward to coming to Durban.Supported by Durban Africa andthe eThekwini Municipality Pro-fessor Chetty and Ms Zondo set upan information desk and distributedinformation on the city of Durbanto the 500 delegates present at thecongress.

International Music CongressInternational Music CongressInternational Music CongressInternational Music CongressInternational Music Congress

The aims of the ICTM are to furtherthe study, practice, documentation,preservation and dissemination oftraditional music, including folk,popular, classical and urban music,

Dr Steven Wild, ICTM General Secretary; Ms Lee-Ann Proberts, ICTM Secretariat (Australia); and Professor Dasarath Chetty.

and dance, of all countries.TheICTM was founded in 1947, inLondon, England, by scholars andmusicians as The International FolkMusic Council. In 1949, the Coun-

cil was one of the Founding Mem-bers of the International MusicCouncil, the United Nations Educa-tional, Scientific and CulturalOrganisation (UNESCO), and is

currently an NGO in Formal Con-sultative Relations with UNESCO.

- Normah Zondo

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UKZN achieversUKZN achieversUKZN achieversUKZN achieversUKZN achievers

UKZN’s Student FundingCentre (SFC) has receivedthe 2006 National Student

Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)Bronze award in the category“Most Improved MergedInstitution”.

The award was presented to theDirector of the SFC, Mr JerryMoodley by the Minister of Edu-

Student Funding CentreStudent Funding CentreStudent Funding CentreStudent Funding CentreStudent Funding Centrescoops NSFscoops NSFscoops NSFscoops NSFscoops NSFAS awardAS awardAS awardAS awardAS award

cation, Ms Naledi Pandor, at aceremony in Cape Town in April.

Twenty three tertiary institutionsreceive funding from the NSFAS. In2006 it distributed R1 216 billion,which was used to assist 106 852students to pay for their studies.

The SFC has been congratulated bythe Executive Dean of Students, Mr

Trevor Wills, for their good workwhich culminated in the award. MrMoodley attributed the award to thehard work of the Loans Staff on allthe UKZN campuses and the teamwork and support of the otherdivisions in the SFC.

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Mr Rajen Naidoo, Loans Manager, Westville campus; Mr Michael Davids, Loans Advisor, Howard College campus;Ms Mbuyiswa Sokhela, Loans Manager, Howard College campus; Ms Sally Day, Loans Manager, Pietermaritzburgcampus; Mr Jerry Moodley, Director, Student Funding Centre; Mr Richard Morrison, Deputy Director, Scholarshipsand Bursaries; and Ms Constance Dube, Loans Advisor, Howard College campus.

AT the 45th Congress of theSouthern Africa Society of PlantPathology held in Benoni, Gautengfrom January 21-24, a student in theSchool of Biochemistry, Genetics,Microbiology and Plant Pathologycame out on top of the pile.

Ms Benice Sivparsad, an MScstudent in Plant Pathology receivedthe Pannaar award for best studentresearch paper. The prize consistedof a floating trophy and a chequefor R1 000.

Ms Sivparsad’s presentation wasbased on her MSc research projectand was titled: “Isolation andmolecular characterisation oftomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV)isolates occurring in South Africa.”She is a member of the PlantVirology Research Group in theDiscipline of Plant Pathologywhich is led by Dr Gus Gubba. Themain research thrust of the group

MSc student receives awardMSc student receives awardMSc student receives awardMSc student receives awardMSc student receives award

Ms Benice Sivparsad with her supervisor, Dr Gus Gubba.

AT a gala ceremony held in Johan-nesburg the Centre for Rural Health(CRH) at the Nelson R MandelaSchool of Medicine received theDiscovery Foundation ExcellenceAward. This once-off amount of R1million is awarded to “an organi-sation that demonstrates excellencein service delivery, training andinnovation for the benefit of SouthAfrican health care, particularly byway of strengthening human re-sources in the health sector.”

The award was received by Pro-fessor Steve Reid, Director ofCRH, who said, “we are proud tohave been selected by Discovery.Every investment helps towards theimprovement of the health careoffered to people from rural areas.”

The money will be used to run theCommunity Service Officer (CSO)Project at CRH. The project,undertaken in rural hospitals inKwaZulu-Natal is in partnershipwith the Provincial Department ofHealth and various Departmentsfrom the Nelson R Mandela Schoolof Medicine. The project offerssupport and ongoing training tomedical graduates during their

ExExExExExcellencecellencecellencecellencecellenceAwardAwardAwardAwardAward

community service year, as well asto graduates who have completeda year of the in-service component.

CRH aims to improve the healthcare offered to underserved com-munities in rural areas. Healthworkers, officials from the publichealth system, health sciencestudents, and residents of ruralcommunities benefit from theproject.

The Discovery Foundation is anindependent shareholder of Dis-covery – the well-known medicalaid scheme – with a principle aimof investing in the education andtraining of medical specialists.

The Foundation hopes to make apositive contribution to the health-care sector by investing in medicaleducation, with a particular focuson previously disadvantaged medi-cal graduates.

“The strengthening of humanresources in the health sectorprovides the key link between whatthe Discovery Foundation exists todo, and the aims and objectives ofCRH,” said Professor Reid.

Honorary DegreesHonorary DegreesHonorary DegreesHonorary DegreesHonorary DegreesUKZN will honour six outstanding individuals for their distinguishedcontribution to society by conferring the degrees of honoris causaat the University’s graduation ceremonies in 2008.

Educationist and activist Professor Kader Asmal (Doctor of Laws),spiritualist and advocate of the poor Sri Swami Sahajananda (Doctorof Theology), historian Mr David Rattray (Doctor of Social Science),sociologist and human rights activist Professor Lena Dominelli(Doctor of Social Science), theologian and human rights activistFather Michael Lapsley (Doctor of Theology) and botanist andconservationist Mrs Elsa Pooley (Doctor of Science) will be awardedthe first honorary degrees from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, said that, ‘theUniversity is honoured that all of the nominees have accepted theaward and I am personally delighted at the prospect of having suchan illustrious group inscribe their names on the roll of honorarygraduates of this Institution.’

The degree of honoris causa can be conferred upon any person whohas rendered distinguished services in the advancement of one ormore of the branches of learning recognised by the University whoin some other field of endeavour (e.g. the advancement of democracy,social justice or through social service, community, leadership,economic enterprise, public affairs, philanthropy, the performing andcreative arts) has a personal record of distinguished service and/orachievement which is deemed appropriate for the University torecognise.

- Indu Moodley

is to identify and characteriseviruses infecting major vegetablecrops in South Africa. The infor-mation generated will be used todevelop sustainable control stra-tegies. Ms Sivparsad has now com-pleted her MSc studies and willcontinue working under the super-

vision of Dr Gubba for her PhDdegree. Her PhD project will focuson viruses infecting sweet potatoesand the use of modern biotech-nology techniques to manage viraldisease in this important food crop.

- Vicky Crookes

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UKZN achieversUKZN achieversUKZN achieversUKZN achieversUKZN achievers

The School of Biochemistry,Genetics, Microbiology andPlant Pathology had good

reason to celebrate when MsRochelle Parsons, a 2006/7 hon-ours student, received confirmationthat a paper reporting her honoursresearch has been accepted forpublication in the South AfricanJournal of Wildlife Science. Herproject entitled “A genetic indexfor the stripe pattern reduction inthe zebra: the Quagga Project”,represents the findings of a noveland useful study associated withhow better to breed a more quagga-like variant of the plains zebra. Re-viewers responded enthusiasticallyto Ms Parsons’ work and praised herfor her paper’s originality, soundscientific basis and its clear,concise and logical presentation.

RRRRReturn from eeturn from eeturn from eeturn from eeturn from extinction? –xtinction? –xtinction? –xtinction? –xtinction? –a novel study of the zebraa novel study of the zebraa novel study of the zebraa novel study of the zebraa novel study of the zebra

Ms Rochelle Parsons (left) celebrates her success with one of her supervisors, Mrs Colleen Aldous-Mycock.

“Overall, I found the manuscriptfascinating, informative and usefulboth scientifically and techno-logically,” commented one re-viewer.

Ms Parsons, under the expertguidance of supervisors, MrsColleen Aldous-Mycock andProfessor Mike Perrin, used solidpopulation genetic analyses in herstudy of quagga and zebra striping.The quagga was driven to extinc-tion over a hundred years ago, butit is hypothesised that its genesmight still exist within the plainszebra populations. By breedingplains zebras for quagga-like traitssuch as reduced striping, it mightbe possible to breed a quagga look-alike. The most significant outcomeof Ms Parsons’ research was the

development of a simple andefficient index to facilitate furtherstriping reduction via selectivebreeding procedures. Overall, herresearch is useful in that it developsa new technology to improve thepractical side of a project, whiledemonstrating, via standard popu-lation genetic theory, the efficacyof the endeavour. Mrs Aldous-Mycock, who is immensely proudof her young student, said that ‘itis extremely rare for an honoursstudent project to be published ina scientific journal’. She added thatit is even more unusual to receivesuch a rave review, without anycorrections, for a paper submittedfor publication.

- Vicky Crookes

NEWLY appointed Poultry Scien-tist, Dr Mariana Ciacciariello hasreceived an award from the ProteinResearch Foundation (PRF) for theBest Scientific Paper in her field.

Dr Ciacciariello shares this awardwith Professor Rob Gous, the co-author of the paper. She lectures inAnimal and Poultry Science in theSchool of Agricultural Sciencesand Agribusiness on the Pieter-maritzburg campus. The Awardwas made at the Annual Congressof the South African PoultryAssociation in Johannesburg lastApril. This paper was published inthe British Poultry Science Journalin 2005. This is the second time inthree years that Dr Ciacciariello hasreceived an award from the PRF.

Dr Ciacciariello’s research focuseson nutrition and management ofbroiler breeder hens and theiroffspring. Her current projectsinvestigate nutrient requirements ofbreeding birds as a means ofimproving production and profit-

BestBestBestBestBestScientificScientificScientificScientificScientificPPPPPaperaperaperaperaper

Poultry scientist Dr MarianaCiacciariello.

FACULTY of ManagementStudies graduate Miss KateMeyerowitz, 23, has been awardedthe Rotary International Ambas-sadorial Scholarship. She will leavefor the United States in August tobegin a Masters in Economicsdegree at San Diego State Uni-versity.

Miss Meyerowitz holds a BSc:Computer Science and Economicsand an Honours degree in Eco-nomics from UKZN.

The Rotary International Ambas-sadorial Scholarship’s main ob-jective is to promote world peaceand international understandingand to extend relations amongpeople of different countries. Oncethey have completed their studies,scholarship holders share theirexperiences with people back homeand with the local Rotarians whosponsored their scholarship.

Miss Meyerowitz has an out-standing academic record. Sheserved as a Tutor for the AccessProgramme for Economics stu-

RRRRRotary Scholarotary Scholarotary Scholarotary Scholarotary Scholar

ability through simulation mode-ling. She has received a FocusAreas Grant from the NationalResearch Foundation (NRF) toundertake this research for the nexttwo years. This grant is coupledwith the award of a ‘Y’ rating bythe NRF early this year. She hasalso received funding from the PRFto re-evaluate amino acid require-ments and utilisation in broilerbreeder hens.

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Celebrating ExCelebrating ExCelebrating ExCelebrating ExCelebrating ExcellencecellencecellencecellencecellenceACADEMIC excellence calls for celebration. This was the sentiment that inspired the AlumniAffairs Office in Public Affairs and Corporate Communications to co-ordinate a celebratoryluncheon for the cum laude, summa cum laude, and PhD graduates from the October 2006 andMay 2007 graduations. The luncheon was held at the MH Joosub Hall on the Westville campus on25 June and was attended by 194 people. Celebrating with these top achievers were parents,friends, Convocation Executive members and senior University staff.

In his speech, President and Chair of Convocation, Mr Andre Young encouraged the graduates tocontribute to the University by becoming active members of Convocation. “You can give back toyour University by taking some of the students as interns or trainees in your companies. I alsoencourage you to pursue your post-graduate studies.”

Feedback from the graduates was extremely positive.

- Thembeka Dlungwane

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dents and also lectured in Eco-nomics at UKZN and VarsityCollege. In her third year of studiesshe served on the Science StudentCouncil, and was responsible fororganising the Science Sym-posium. She currently works as aResearch Assistant at the HumanSciences Research Council(HSRC). She hopes to venture intoMaritime Economics after thecompletion of her studies.

- Thembeka Dlungwane

Miss Kate Meyerowitz.

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UKZN achieversUKZN achieversUKZN achieversUKZN achieversUKZN achievers

Fourth year Law students, Sarah Swart and Danny Hutton from the Faculty of

Law (Pietermaritzburg campus),will participate in the 16th AfricanHuman Rights Moot Court Com-petition in Senegal which takesplace in August. The costs ofparticipating in this prestigiouscompetition have escalated overthe years with the result that someuniversities are no longer able toparticipate. The Pietermaritzburgcampus was able, throughgenerous sponsorship, to raise thefull cost of sending their team. Themain sponsors of their team are lawfirms Venn, Nemeth and Hart ofPietermaritzburg, Deneys Reitz ofDurban and Bowman Gilfillan ofSandton. Howard College fourthyear Law students, Carl AnneEpstein and Nishaat Lambada willalso be taking part in this com-petition, representing the HowardCollege campus.

The 16th African Human RightsMoot Court Competition, one ofthe premier human rights events onthe continent, is organised by theCentre for Human Rights based atthe Faculty of Law, University of

Human Rights MootHuman Rights MootHuman Rights MootHuman Rights MootHuman Rights Mootin Senegalin Senegalin Senegalin Senegalin Senegal

Pretoria, in partnership with theFaculty of Law at Universite’Gaston Berger in Saint-Louis,Senegal. Approximately 70 lawfaculties from across Africa andneighbouring islands send a teamof two students and a human rightslaw lecturer to the competitionevery year. The students argue ahypothetical human rights andinternational law case before lawlecturers and human rights experts.The judges in the final round are

international human rights lawyersof the highest standing.

“It is really good experience foraspiring law students,” says RobPennefather, co-ordinator of theMoot Court on the Pietermaritz-burg campus. He stressed that moresponsors are required to fund theteams as the costs of participationcontinue to escalate annually.

- Hazel Dlamini

(l-r): Mr Matthew Francis from Venn, Nemeth & Hart; Professor MichaelCowling, Dean of Law; Ms Sarah Swart, Law Student; and Mr DannyHutton, Law Student.

Physics medalPhysics medalPhysics medalPhysics medalPhysics medalSENIOR Lecturer in the School ofMathematical Sciences andcosmologist Dr Kavilan Moodley,has been awarded the prestigiousSilver Jubilee Medal for 2007 bythe South African Institute ofPhysics. The medal, awarded everytwo years to young researchersunder the age of 35 years, waspresented to Dr Moodley at theopening event of the South AfricanInstitute of Physics’ 52nd annualconference held in Johannesburg.

Dr Moodley has done outstandingwork in helping develop thePhysics research community inSouth Africa. Over recent years, heran a research internship pro-gramme for students from dis-advantaged backgrounds, and helectured at the African Institute ofMathematical Sciences and theNational Astro-physics and SpaceScience Programme.

His work earned him an invitationto join the Atacama CosmologyTelescope project, a new gene-ration Cosmic Microwave Back-ground experiment run by the teamwho carried out the hugely suc-cessful Wilkinson MicrowaveAnisotropy Probe project. In thisproject he is expanding his researchinterests to include observations

Dr Kavilan Moodley.

with the Southern African LargeTelescope. He was also invited tojoin the Science Advisory Com-mittee for the Square KilometreArray and is currently supervisinga project involving pulsars andgravitational wave science for theSKA.

“Kavilan’s enthusiasm, his dedi-cation and his uncompromisingpursuit of true excellence in re-search have been an inspiration toall who work with him,” said DrCatherine Cress, a past-medalwinner and post doctoral fellow inthe School of MathematicalSciences.

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SIXTY nine UKZN students atten-ded this year’s annual LeadershipCourse.

Organised and run by StudentDevelopment, the LeadershipCourse began in 2000. The co-ordinators are Ms Marie Odendaal,Ms Tracey Harper and Mr MandlaNdaba. The theme of this year’scourse was “Leadership in Actionfor Positive Social change”.

The Course aims to create a learn-ing community and a commonforum for students to share know-ledge and ideas about governance,citizenship and leadership. It hopesto develop a cohort of studentleaders committed to sharingknowledge and skills to empowerothers; service; integrity; account-ability; and contributing to trans-formation of the University in linewith its mission and vision. Itattracted postgraduate and under-graduate students across all UKZNcampuses.

Leadership CourseLeadership CourseLeadership CourseLeadership CourseLeadership Course

Sport Science Honours studentMiss Benina Mkhonto was a mem-ber of the group that investigatedservice delivery in Sobantu town-ship in Pietermaritzburg. “Welooked at the infrastructure and

environment and wanted to see howmuch councilors do for the people.We also wanted to find out if peo-ple were happy with councilorsfrom different wards,” says MsMkhonto. Students gave a presen-

Students who participated in the Leadership Course (l-r) Miss Nellie Ndlovu, Miss Sarika Ramparsad, Miss NtokozoMajola, Mr Mjabulo Mabaso, and Miss Manitha Nadasan.

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tation to officials of the MsunduziMunicipality and NGOs based ontheir field work and their inter-views. They also interacted withdifferent ward councilors andlearned how they work. Ms

Mkhonto believes leadership isabout grooming someone to be agood leader, as leaders are not bornbut made. She adds that leadersinspire others and want to make adifference in people’s lives. Shehopes to become such a leaderherself.

Second year BCom Economicsstudent Mr Densu Moseti hailsfrom Kenya. He says that he usedto think that one needs to be apolitician and be at the front to bea good leader. The Course taughthim that one has to lead frombehind to be able to empowerothers. He also learnt that one canbe a leader in different aspects oflife in community. He believes thatcommunication is a very importanttool in conflict resolution. “If weunderstand one another well, wecan resolve any conflict,” says MrMoseti. He highly recommends theLeadership Course.

- Bhekani Dlamini

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UKZN achieversUKZN achieversUKZN achieversUKZN achieversUKZN achievers

Ms Thembeka Dlungwane has been awarded the prestigious Common-

wealth Scholarship. She will beleaving for Westminster University,Harrow campus, London in Sep-tember to study for a MastersDegree in Public Relations andCommunications.

UKZN Journalist heads forUKZN Journalist heads forUKZN Journalist heads forUKZN Journalist heads forUKZN Journalist heads forWWWWWestminster Universityestminster Universityestminster Universityestminster Universityestminster University

The youngest female staff memberin Public Affairs and CorporateCommunications, Miss Dlungwanereceived a KwaZulu-Natal bursaryfor her undergraduate studies anda National Research Foundationscholarship to finance her Honoursstudies. The CommonwealthScholarship is jointly offered by the

Association for CommonwealthUniversities, the Foreign andCommonwealth Office, Universityof Westminster and the Inter-national Students House, Lon-don.

Miss Dlungwane considers this aone-in-a-lifetime opportunity to de-velop her career and expertise. Sheintends doing research into how toimprove internal communication inthe Higher Education sector.

“It’s a great honour for me. TheScholarship will provide bothpersonal growth and career de-velopment. It will broaden myhorizons and knowledge in PublicRelations and Communications.Joining Public Affairs helped mechange my career from tourism anddeveloped my passion for this field.I am very excited that UKZN hasafforded me this opportunity topursue my long term goal of ac-quiring skills through a MastersDegree programme abroad,” saysMiss Dlungwane. She adds that thisis living proof that UKZN is reallycommitted to developing the skillsand expertise of its employees.

- Bhekani DlaminiPict

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Miss Thembeka Dlungwane.

TWO postgraduate students fromthe School of Geological Scienceson the Howard College campushave been recognised for outstand-ing achievements in their fields ofresearch.

Mr Warwick Hastie has beenselected by the Geological Societyof South Africa (GSSA) as therecipient of the Haughton Awardfor 2006. This prestigious award ispresented annually to the author ofthe best honours dissertation inGeology at a South African uni-versity. Mr Hastie’s dissertationtitled “The KZN North Coast:Brittle Structures and Planar In-trusions Related to the GondwanaBreak-up”, focused on the fracturesthat developed in the rocks alongthe KwaZulu-Natal North Coastwhen Africa, South America andAntarctica separated as Gondwanabroke apart between 140 and 180million years ago. Through hisresearch, Mr Hastie was able toderive a model for continentalbreak-up that provides a betterunderstanding of the changes thattook place in stress and strainthrough time in response to em-placement of magma from theEarth’s mantle into the Earth’scrust.

Geology studentsGeology studentsGeology studentsGeology studentsGeology studentseeeeexxxxxcelcelcelcelcel

Mr Hastie, who is currentlyregistered as an MSc student underthe supervision of Professor MikeWatkeys, received the award at theGSSA Annual Awards Gala Dinnerin Midrand on 12 July.

Mr Neil Tinmouth, another MScstudent, has been awarded a placein the internationally competitiveOcean Mapping Programme at theGraduate School of the Universityof New Hampshire in Durham,USA. Mr Tinmouth, who is super-vised at UKZN by Dr Ron Uken,will study for a PostgraduateCertificate in Ocean Bathymetry atthe Center for Coastal and OceanMapping/Joint HydrographicCentre. His programme of studyextends from August 2007 toAugust 2008, and will focus onissues such as Geodesy andGeomatics, Marine Geology andGeophysics, Ocean Mapping andBathymetric Spatial Analysis.

Mr Tinmouth will be fundedthrough a scholarship from theGebco Nippon Foundation and isone of only six applicants inter-nationally to receive this pres-tigious scholarship.

- Vicky Crookes

UKZN Fellows DinnerUKZN Fellows DinnerUKZN Fellows DinnerUKZN Fellows DinnerUKZN Fellows DinnerDEPUTY Vice-Chancellor, Re-search, Knowledge Production andPartnerships, Professor AhmedBawa hosted a dinner for Uni-versity Fellows at the Govan MbekiCentre on the Westville campus on6 July. The dinner is an annualsocial occasion, where new Fel-lows are also introduced andwelcomed.

The University Council awardsFellowships to permanent membersof staff in recognition of theirdistinguished academic achieve-ment and high quality scholarlywork. The Fellowships are con-ferred for life. University Fellowsplay a significant role in theacademic community.

The two new UKZN Fellows areProfessor Duncan Brown of theSchool of Literary Studies, Mediaand Creative Arts, who has pub-

lished widely in the field of SouthAfrican literary and cultural studies

and Professor Ann Coutsoudis ofthe Department of Paediatrics and

Child Health who has received astring of accolades for her role in

the global scientific community.Their Fellowships were conferredat the 2007 Graduation ceremonies.Professor Denis Brothers of Bio-logical and Conservation Sciences,whose Fellowship was conferred in2006, was also introduced at thedinner.

After enjoying a delicious dinnerand listening to the mellow soundsof Martin Sigamoney, the Univer-sity Fellows had an opportunity todiscuss the latest developments atUKZN and how they can contributepositively to the Institution.

The dinner is an especially memor-able occasion for retired Fellows,providing them with the oppor-tunity to reconnect with friends andcolleagues.

- Thembeka Dlungwane

Professor Bill Freund, Economic History; Professor Ahmed Bawa, DVC Research, Knowledge Production andPartnerships; Professor Ntombifikile Mazibuko, DVC and Head of the College of Humanities; and ProfessorVishnu Padayachee, School of Development Studies, at the Fellows Dinner.

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Flatfoot reaches outFlatfoot reaches outFlatfoot reaches outFlatfoot reaches outFlatfoot reaches outThe Flatfoot Dance Com-

pany is reaching out tocommunities in Umlazi and

KwaMashu. Based in Drama andPerformance Studies on theHoward College campus, the Com-pany is also nurturing the talent ofUKZN dance students.

Flatfoot Creative Director andChoreographer in Drama andPerformance Studies Ms LlianeLoots says that the outreach pro-jects comprise two streams. Thefirst is Project Dudlu Ntombi – theRights of a Girl Child Project. Thisproject uses dance to teach lifeskills, focusing on gender identity,and what it means to be a girlgrowing up to be a women. Dis-cussions focus on sex and sexuality,all mediated through dance.

The Rights of a Boy Child projectis called Project Hheshe Nsizwa,and embraces 60 boys between theages of eight and 15. Ms Loots saysthat this project has offered the

Ms Lliane Loots (in red shirt) with trainee dancers. Picture: Supplied

boys a safe environment and anopportunity to ask questions. Theydiscuss issues ranging from sexualabuse to children’s rights. The

projects are about teaching res-ponsibility. “Dance is a wonderfuldiscipline because you have towork with other people. These

young dancers are learning aboutdiscipline, and working with oneanother and listening to oneanother”.

At the beginning of each year, theFlatfoot Training Company audi-tions about 30 dancers who areprimarily students from the Uni-versity. Successful candidates aregiven the opportunity to dospecialised contemporary AfricanDance training. Each November,the trainees showcase what theyhave learnt in a performance at theSneddon Theatre.

“For me my great love is teachingthe trainees. I’m absolutelydelighted that the University andthe Drama Department see thevalue of that, and give us the spaceto work in,” said Ms Loots. Sheadds that the greatest challengefacing dance companies and dan-cers in South Africa is the lack offunding. This leads to many of SouthAfrica’s most remarkable dancersemigrating. Financial constraintsalso hinder the continuation ofcommunity-based projects.

- Thembeka Dlungwane

A hundred and ten guests andprospective students attended theMBA 2008 Open Day hosted bythe Graduate School of Business.

Mr Sifiso Mncube, Head of Train-ing and Development at AfricaVukani Investment ManagementServices spoke about the pro-gramme, and the added benefits ofdoing an MBA. Mr Zamo Gwala(CEO, TIKZN) spoke of the manydoors the programme has opened

MBA Open DayMBA Open DayMBA Open DayMBA Open DayMBA Open Dayfor him. He pointed out that doingan MBA requires excellent timemanagement. Finding more time inthe day means giving up something– in his case it was sleep!

MEC for Sport and Recreation inKwaZulu-Natal and Leader ofMinority Front Mr AmichandRajbansi spoke from the pers-pective of the spouse of an MBAstudent. His wife, Mrs ShameenRajbansi, has recently completed

Professor Mario Ariatti, Lecturer in Biochemistry; Mr Amichand Rajbansi, MEC for Sport and Recreation inKwaZulu-Natal; and Professor Anesh Singh, Head of the Graduate School of Business.

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her first semester examinations. MrRajbansi said that a spouse needsto understand that for two and ahalf years one has to resign oneselfto being an ‘MBA widow/widower’. The support will pay off,however, as the benefits of obtain-ing an MBA are shared with thestudents’ families.

- Anesh Singh

The KwaZulu-NatalThe KwaZulu-NatalThe KwaZulu-NatalThe KwaZulu-NatalThe KwaZulu-NatalEconomic TEconomic TEconomic TEconomic TEconomic TeachereachereachereachereacherTTTTTraining Projectraining Projectraining Projectraining Projectraining ProjectIN June 2006, economic educationexperts within the higher educationsector formed the KwaZulu-NatalCouncil for Economic Education(KZNCEE) in an effort to buildeconomic knowledge and capacitywithin the province. DrSuriamurthee Maistry and DrMilton Nkoane from the School ofSocial Science Education on theEdgewood campus as well as MrTemba Tenza from the Faculty ofManagement Sciences are Ex-ecutive Members of this Council.

The Council trains high schooleconomics teachers through aproject known as the NationalEconomic Teacher Training Pro-ject. Teachers from 45 differentcircuits gathered on the Edgewoodcampus to attend a seven-dayWorkshop from 1-7 July. Pre-senting at the workshop wereEconomic experts from Ohio StateUniversity, Oshkosh University, theUniversity of Minnesota and theUniversity of Norbert College.

The project is jointly funded by theAmerican National Council ofEconomic Education, the Depart-ment of Education, the DurbanUniversity of Technology andUKZN. An amount of R130 000was pledged for the workshop.

The project aims to develop con-tent knowledge, especially eco-

nomics content topics in the newFET curriculum; develop economicliteracy amongst teachers andpupils; expose teachers to newteaching pedagogy; and set upteacher professional developmentprogrammes (in service training)for teachers.

After the training workshop theteachers become Lead Teachers ineconomics education and runworkshops in their circuits. Theyare responsible for disseminatingthe information they have ac-quired. The project will be moni-tored on an on-going basis by theCouncil.

Dr Nkoane says “Many peoplestruggle to manage personalfinances. The programme is aimedat inculcating economic literacy inpeople from a young age.”

The research spectrum of theKZNCEE is to initiate Researchand Scholarship in Economic Edu-cation nationally. The Council hasformulated international connec-tions with universities in Uruguay,Paraguay, Mexico, Indonesia,Egypt and the USA. Other partici-pating institutions include theUniversities of the Western Cape,Rhodes, Free State and Johannes-burg.

- Thembeka Dlungwane

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T he African Association forRhetoric held its 1st BiennialColloquium on the Howard

College campus on 3 July. TheColloquium was co-ordinated byDr Segun Ige, a Researcher at theHealth Economics and AIDS Re-search Division (HEARD) atUKZN.

The theme of the Colloquium was:Rhetoric Protests and the Economywhich aimed to address thequestion: ‘What are the rhetoricalstrategies that can be deployed

Rhetoric ColloquiumRhetoric ColloquiumRhetoric ColloquiumRhetoric ColloquiumRhetoric Colloquiumduring an impasse betweengovernment and civil society?’

Professor Philippe Salazar, Pro-fessor of Rhetoric and Director ofthe Centre of Rhetoric Studies,University of Cape Town deliveredthe keynote address. ProfessorSalazar also serves as the lifePresident of the Association forRhetoric and Communication inSouthern Africa (ARCSA).

The African Association forRhetoric seeks to promote scholar-

Dr Segun Ige, Colloquium Co-ordinator; Professor Philippe Salazar, Director Centre for Rhetoric, UCT; ProfessorDavid Moore, Programme in Economic History and Politics, UKZN; and Professor Paulus Zulu, Director, MauriceWebb Race Relations Unit, UKZN.

ship in African Rhetoric and en-courages scholars from Africa andthe rest of the world to participatein rhetorical debates as they relateto democratic governance.

UKZN members of the Colloquiumorganising committee included MrMistrey Deepak, Philosophy; MsElke Steinmeyer, Classics; DrThenjiwe Magwaza, Gender Stu-dies; and Mr Adrian Bellengere,Law.

- Bhekani Dlamini

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PLANT scientist Dr Yaser HassanDewir has joined UKZN as aPostdoctoral Fellow.

Dr Dewir, from Kafr-El-SheikUniversity in Egypt is working onthe mass production of phyto-molecules using bio-reactortechnology in the School of Bio-logical and Conservation Scienceson the Westville campus. Phyto-molecules from medicinal plantsare used to cure ailments. Con-sidered endangered, Dr Dewirintends to produce, protect andconserve some of these species forfuture use. “We are establishing aprotocol for phytomolecule pro-duction and conservation of en-dangered South African medicinalplants. Hopefully we will scale upour production for com-mercialism,” he says. He will beworking with Dr Nisha Singh,Research Project Leader.

Dr Dewir has produced numerousinternational scientific researchpapers. He brings with him exper-tise from China, Hungary andSouth Korea where he previouslystudied. His postdoctoral fellow-ship is funded by the NationalResearch Foundation.

Plant scientistPlant scientistPlant scientistPlant scientistPlant scientistjoins UKZNjoins UKZNjoins UKZNjoins UKZNjoins UKZN

He is linked to a team of re-searchers including Professor FOShode from Chemistry, who ad-vises on chemical analyses, andProfessor A Nicholas from Bio-logical and Conservation Scienceswho is a specialist in Plant Taxo-nomy. Other researchers are MissZamangwane Khanyile (Honoursstudent), Mr Marlin Patchappa(Research assistant) and MrsShakila Shaik (Doctoral candi-date).

- Bhekani Dlamini

Dr Yaser Hassan Dewir.

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DEPUTY Vice-Chancellor andHead of the College of Humanities,Professor Fikile Mazibuko pre-sented an electric guitar to the Schoolof Social Education on 20 June.

The guitar is a gift from ProfessorTy Okosun of the Justice Pro-

Guitar presentationGuitar presentationGuitar presentationGuitar presentationGuitar presentationgramme at the University of North-eastern Illinois (NIEU), Chicago.Professor Okosun visits UKZNannually with a group of studentsfrom NIEU.

Professor Mazibuko said that shehad been greatly impressed by a

Professor Fikile Mazibuko, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Humanities; Ms Jane Todd, LecturerVisual Art; Ms Nella de Waal, Lecturer in Arts and Culture; Ms Ronel Laidlaw, Lecturer in Music; ProfessorRenuka Vithal, Dean of the Faculty of Education; and Dr Dennis Francis, Head of the School of Social ScienceEducation.

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student and staff performance at theSupper Theatre at Edgewood. Theguitar will hopefully inspire morestudent teachers to get involved inmusic.

- Bhekani Dlamini

TheologiansTheologiansTheologiansTheologiansTheologiansrespond torespond torespond torespond torespond toHIV andHIV andHIV andHIV andHIV andAIDSAIDSAIDSAIDSAIDSTHE final stage of the Church ofSweden Project offering a Mastersin Theology with a special focus inHIV and AIDS came to a close witha Symposium at the Blue WatersHotel. Over 40 delegates were ableto share three days together andhear the papers of eight of the 36Masters students. The delegateswere comprised of church leaders,university academics and membersof World Council of Churches inGeneva. Of the total group ofstudents who came from fourinstitutions in the Eastern side ofAfrica, 33 have graduated and threewill graduate this year. Eachstudent received a full scholarshipfrom the Swedish InternationalDevelopment Agency through theChurch of Sweden. The grantamounted to R3 million.

UKZN’s School of Religion andTheology chose 10 students toreceive this scholarship. The

students came from many regionsof Africa and represented an inter-denominational group. Their topicsincluded Female Genital Mutil-ation; Widow’s Purification; ACritique of the Churches’ EarlyResponse to AIDS in KwaZulu-Natal; Stigmatisation; The Re-levance of HomeBased Care; andTerminal Care and Life Care.

The Project has provided theopportunity for Christian churchesto explore the role of Theology andTheological Reflection in the fightagainst HIV and AIDS. The Schoolof Religion and Theology willcontinue to receive funding forthree Masters students for the nextthree years. The School is inter-nationally recognised for its re-search capacity and publicationswhich are at the cutting edge ofcontextual theology.

- Edwina Ward

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THE University has conferred the title of Professor Emerituson five academics.

The status of Professor Emeritus entitles the academic touse UKZN’s library and other facilities, attend graduationceremonies, inaugural lectures and installation ceremonies,join academic processions, access campuses and continuethe benefit of fee remission.

Professor Robert Mervyn Gous, a Fellow of the University,is a respected scholar in animal and poultry science. He hasundertaken research in this field over the past 35 years, hismost significant recent contributions being the developmentof simulation models that predict food intake and growth ofbroilers and pigs, and the effect of light on the attainment ofsexual maturity and subsequent production of broilerbreeders. Professor Gous was recently awarded another ‘A’rating by the National Research Foundation (NRF).

Professor Allan Wilson is a leading petrologist andanalytical geochemist. The focus of his research is ancient(older than 3 billion years) volcanic rocks in northernKwaZulu-Natal, and the investigation of the origin ofplatinum in many parts of the world. He was honoured witha Fellowship award in 2005. He is Fellow of the GeologicalSociety of South Africa, a Member of the GeochemicalSociety, a Member of the European Society for Geochemistryand is registered as a Professional Natural Scientist.

Professor Thomas Anthony Ford is a respected scientistin the field of Pure and Applied Chemistry. He is a Fellow ofthe International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry andof the Royal Society of South Africa.

He played a significant role when the Royal Society ofChemistry (RSC) signed a co-operation agreement with theSouth African Chemical Institute (SACI) early this year. Thisagreement facilitates the establishment of continuouscommunication and exchange in the field of chemistry andrelated areas of knowledge for the benefit of chemicalcommunities in South Africa and the United Kingdom. He isalso a Fellow of the University.

Professor Terence Brian Doyle is a respected academic andphysicist with a wide range of research interests. He is widelypublished and a frequent reviewer of journal articles.

Professor Doyle is a Member of Royal Society of SouthAfrica and of the South African Institute of Physics. He servedas Head of the School of Physics of the former University ofNatal from 1999-2004.

Professor Andrew Ian Dale joined the former Universityof Natal in 1968 as a lecturer in the Department ofMathematics. In 1969 he went to the United States ofAmerica, and on completion of the Ph.D in Statistics at theVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, returnedto Natal.

Professor Dale’s interests are in the theoretical and historicalaspects of statistics and probability. He has published some30 papers on these topics. He is a member of several statisticalassociations and is a Fellow of the South African StatisticalAssociation.

- Bhekani Dlamini

ProfessorsProfessorsProfessorsProfessorsProfessorsEmeritusEmeritusEmeritusEmeritusEmeritus

UKZN’s Students in Free Enter-prise (SIFE) is helping rural womenmarket their craft and beadworkacross the globe.

SIFE members recently organisedan exhibition for the King ShakaArts and Craft Co-operation Projecton the Westville campus. The wo-men hail from different areas aroundDurban including KwaNyuswaand Marianhill. Women fromNduduzweni Centre for the Blindwere also invited. Internationalstudents and UKZN staff wereinvited to view and buy this work.

Students empowerStudents empowerStudents empowerStudents empowerStudents empowerrural womenrural womenrural womenrural womenrural women

Speaking on behalf of the KingShaka Co-operation Project MrsAngela Mlambo acknowledged therole played by UKZN Commercestudents who help women withsound, innovative business ideas tosustain their businesses.

Mr Walter Whitehead, a BComFinance student, is leading theproject to establish internationallinks and find markets. SIFEmembers, Miss Dumile Gumedeand Mr Zama Dladla, say thatstudents are exploring a projectwhere women will accommodate

guests for the 2010 World Cup inrural homesteads. They are alsofacilitating the building of a bakerycalled Africano Bread which willbe launched in July. Rural womenwere invited to become partnerswith established business people inthis bakery in Springfield. Otherstudents’ projects being exploredinclude an entrepreneur project,Ukukhanya project, Eyethu pro-ject and the 2010 Schools’ Project.

- Bhekani Dlamini

Mrs Angela Mlambo displays her craft at the exhibition on the Westville campus.

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CoCoCoCoCo-----operation with Toperation with Toperation with Toperation with Toperation with TurkurkurkurkurkeyeyeyeyeyPUBLIC Affairs and CorporateCommunications accepted an invi-tation by the Interfaith Foundationof South Africa for staff membersto visit Turkey from 2-7 July. Themain objectives of the visit wereto investigate the possibility of

exchange programmes or otherforms of collaboration with aninternationally recognised univer-sity in Turkey; and meet publicaffairs and communications practi-tioners at Turkish Universities andother organisations.

The meeting at Fatih Universityincluded discussions regarding thepossibility of student and staffexchanges. The University is aprivate, English-medium institutionthat has a Faculty of Arts andSciences, Faculty of Economicsand Administrative Sciences,Faculty of Engineering, Faculty ofMedicine, various VocationalSchools and an MBA Programme.There are also a number of inter-disciplinary projects.

The visit to the Zaman MediaGroup was most informative.Established in 1986 along with itsparent company Feza Publications,Zaman has become the most widelyread newspaper in Turkey, with adaily circulation of nearly 700 000.The Public Affairs and CorporateCommunications team toured thepremises, engaged with staff anddiscussed best practice with theEditors and Marketing Director.

This visit to Turkey has establishedpartnerships that will benefitUKZN in the future.

- Len Mzimela

Pictured on the Fatih University campus (l-r) are Mr MustafaCoum,Interfaith Foundation Istanbul; Mr Finn Christensen, Alumni AffairsManager, Public Affairs and Corporate Communications; Executive Directorof Public Affairs and Corporate Communications Professor DasarathChetty; Miss Pam Adams, Events Manager, Public Affairs and CorporateCommunications; Ms Serpil Zaman, English Lecturer, Fatih University;Mr Len Mzimela, Schools Liaison Manager, Public Affairs and CorporateCommunications; Mr Ferhat Arslen, Director of the InternationalProgramme Office, Fatih University; and Ms Elif Kiran, English Lecturer,Fatih University.

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Physicists from differentSouth African institutionsgathered at UKZN’s School

of Physics on 25 May to officiallylaunch the KwaZulu-Natal Centreof the National Institute for Theo-retical Physics (NITheP).

Interim Deputy Director, ProfessorNithaya Chetty, said that the Insti-tute will bring physicists andmathematicians together to col-laborate on research problems ofmutual interest. He said that Theo-retical Physics Institutes of thiskind are not uncommon inter-nationally because new theoreticalconstructs often emerge from suchenvironments that are applicable toa variety of different disciplines -not just physics. He mentioned theexample of theoretical biology asone new exciting endeavour wheretheoretical physicists are makinguseful contributions to funda-mental understanding. The Insti-tute will be hosting a workshop inTheoretical Biology in July on theWestville campus.

The Institute will also focus ondevelopmental issues and willproduce a new cohort of theoreticalphysicists for the country. It will

National Institute for Theoretical PhysicsNational Institute for Theoretical PhysicsNational Institute for Theoretical PhysicsNational Institute for Theoretical PhysicsNational Institute for Theoretical Physics

participate in a national MastersProgramme, and will liaise closelywith many Historically BlackInstitutions (HBUs). The Uni-versity of Zululand is representedon the management committee ofNITheP-KZN, as is the DurbanUniversity of Technology. TheDST has required that NITheP

forge strong ties with Africaninstitutions north of our borders.

Some of the research areas thatNITheP-KZN will focus on areCosmology and Gravitational Stu-dies, Astroparticle Physics, Quan-tum Information Systems, PlasmaPhysics and Space Science, Con-

densed Matter Physics, Moleculartheory, Statistical Physics andComputational Physics. Seminars,workshops, Summer Schools, re-search programmes, sabbaticalvisits, research fellowships, post-doctoral fellowships, and graduatebursaries are all under discussionto further its research agenda.

Launching the Institute, ProfessorHendrik Geyer, Interim Directorfor NITheP showed images of theconstruction of the new premisesat Stellenbosch for the main centreof the Institute, which is fundedwith generous private donations.He added that he envisages a verystrong postdoctoral programmewhich would be unique in naturein South Africa.

Professor Joao Rodrigues, InterimDeputy Director of NITheP at Witssaid that the Institute is looking toestablish relations with neigh-bouring institutions like in Gautengand Limpopo, and will maintainstrong collaborations with Stellen-bosch and KZN.

Keynote speakers were Dr KristianMûller-Nedebock from Stellen-bosch and Dr Aram Harrow, fromthe University of Bristol in the UK,as well as Professor Sunil Maharaj,Senior Professor in UKZN’sSchool of Mathematical Sciencesand Director of the Astrophysicsand Cosmology Research Unit.

- Bhekani Dlamini

Professor Sunil Maharaj addresses guests at the launch of the KZN Institute of Theoretical Physics.

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UKZN stampsUKZN stampsUKZN stampsUKZN stampsUKZN stampsout plagiarismout plagiarismout plagiarismout plagiarismout plagiarismUKZN has taken the first step ineradicating the growing scourge ofplagiarism by purchasingSafeAssignment, an anti-plagiarism software tool from theMyDropBox™ family of educa-tional products. Arising fromrequests within the academic com-munity to address the increasingoccurrence of plagiarism amongstudents, ICT conducted pre-liminary investigations to identifythe leading anti-plagiarism soft-ware products and decided toconfine the evaluations to Turnitinand SafeAssignment. A projectteam, managed by Mr Ashok Karafrom ICT and college represen-tatives consisting of ProfessorsTrevor Hill, Johan Jacobs,Relebohile Moletsane, RobertTaylor, Roger Peplow, Dr KribenPillay, Mr Raniel Misra, Mrs AnneStanton, and Ms Upasana Singhconducted a systematic andstructured evaluation and recom-mended the purchase ofSafeAssignment.

In addition a new policy onplagiarism is being drafted to raiseawareness about academic inte-

grity to ensure that appropriateaction is taken when plagiarism isdetected, but more importantly toassist staff and students in avoid-ing plagiarism in their writing.

Anti-plagiarism software toolsallows submitted papers / docu-ments to be scanned for suspiciousmaterial and generates a report onthe amount of content that couldpossibility be plagiarised. Thetechnology works by creating adigital fingerprint of a paper andchecks its patterns against theinternet, newspaper and encyclo-pedia archives as well as peer-to-peer databases of previouslysubmitted student work. A report isthen produced which provides anoverall score, and where appro-priate, highlighting matching textpassages together with the sourceof the match.

SafeAssignment is developed andmarketed by Sciworth Inc. based inToronto, Canada. Sciworth is aprivately-held company specialis-ing in collaborative e-learning andassessment solutions for academic,publishing and corporate clients.

SafeAssignment possesses anindustry-leading collection ofdatabases employed in originalitydetection checks. Each papersubmitted to SafeAssignmentundergoes a series of compre-hensive comparisons.

The results of originality detectionare presented in easy-to-readreports with an analysis of allexternal sources. On average it onlytakes SafeAssignment a fewminutes to produce a report. Aunique originality detection enginebuilt into SafeAssignment allowsdetecting plagiarism that wasintentionally masked by changingwords to synonyms or swappingwords in a sentence. This techno-logy is unique to SafeAssignmentand serves as an additional stimulusfor students to submit authentic andproperly referenced work.

Staff members wishing to use thesoftware are required to go to thefollowing url:http://www.mydropbox.com

Contact the ICT Expert Desk onyour campus for assistance.

SowetoSowetoSowetoSowetoSowetoPPPPPoetryoetryoetryoetryoetryIN 1982, in the aftermath of Soweto ’76 Michael Chapman,now Professor of English at UKZN compiled and introducedviews, interviews and articles on the then new phenomenonin South African literature: the new Black Poetry of the 1970sor, as it came to be called, Soweto Poetry.

The poetry tapped the imagination, ideas and issues of a BlackConsciousness challenge to the apartheid police state.

The collection has been republished, in 2007, by the UKZNPress.

The republication was prompted by a continuing interest inSoweto Poetry – via website ‘hits’ and library searches notonly in South Africa, but also around the world.

‘I think the continuing interest,’ Professor Chapman explains,‘is that Soweto Poetry captured a moment in poetry world-wide: from print-bound to oral inspired rhythms, fromobscure language to a language simple but ethically profound,from poetry as elite expression to poetry as popular com-munication.’

What is particularly valuable about this republication – 25years later – is the record of an African intervention. Amongthe contributors are HIE Dhlomo, Nat Nakasa, Esk’iaMphahlele, Mbulelo Mzamane, Njabulo S Ndebele, namesthat together with the poets – Mtshali, Serote, Sepamla,Gwala and others – have defined a ‘black aesthetic’ in acomplex South African interaction of the local and the global.

- Article: Supplied

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THE Discipline of Afrikaans andNederlands of the School of Langu-age, Literature and Linguisticshosted the 6de InternasionaleNeerlandistiek-kongres (6th Inter-national Dutch Studies Con-ference) at the Nkosi Albert LuthuliConvention Centre in Durban from16-18 July.

The conference takes place everythree years, and is sponsored by theNederlandse Taalunie (DutchLanguage Union) in The Hague,but is organised by the committeeof the Suider-Afrikaanse Verenig-ing vir Neerlandistiek (SouthernAfrikaans Organisation for DutchStudies) of which the two mainorganisers are committee membersDr Andries Visagie of the HowardCollege campus, and Mrs Heidi deVilliers of the Pieter-maritzburgcampus.

Apart from two representatives ofthe Dutch Language Union, MrMarc le Clercq and Mrs Linde vanden Bosch, the 80 delegates in-cluded academics from the Nether-lands, Belgium and Poland as well

Dutch StudiesDutch StudiesDutch StudiesDutch StudiesDutch StudiesConferenceConferenceConferenceConferenceConference

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Dr Andries Visagie, School of Language, Literature and Linguistics; MrFred de Bruin, First Secretary and Head of Media & Cultural Affairs,Embassy: Kingdom of the Netherlands; Professor Dorothea van Zyl, Chairof the Dutch Studies Association of Southern Africa; and Ms Maria vanDaalen, Dutch Poet.

On 12 May a team of staffand students from theProgramme of Geomatics

(Land Surveying) on the HowardCollege campus and the BernardPrice Institute for PalaeontologicalResearch, University of the Wit-watersrand, surveyed a series ofdinosaur trackways in a remotevalley in the Ukhahlamba Drakens-berg Park – World HeritageSite.

The logistics of the operation weremade feasible by JNC Helicopters,with funding from the Durban-based African Conservation Trust,

TTTTTracking dinosaurracking dinosaurracking dinosaurracking dinosaurracking dinosaurfootprintsfootprintsfootprintsfootprintsfootprints

who flew the groups in with theirheavy equipment.

As the footprints in the one sitewere over 10m above the ground,the surveyors had to use a lasermeasuring theodolite to preciselyobtain the readings to withinmillimetre relative accuracy. Thetrackways had been discoveredpreviously by the Rock ArtMapping Project of UKZN but hadyet to receive a proper scientificdescription. They are preserved inthe sandstones of the Elliot Form-ation and are thought to be LateTriassic in age (approximately 210

million years old). The number ofprints in each trackway, the size ofeach trackway and the position ofeach footfall were measured inorder to determine the direction oftravel and speed of each animal.The tracks were left by a theropoddinosaur: a two-legged meat-eaterakin to Tyrannosaurus rex.Although not as large as the famedT. rex the Drakensburg dinosaurswere unusually large for their ageand may have reached a length of6m and weighed somewhere be-tween 200 and 300 kg.

- Article and picture supplied

as academics from various univer-sities in South Africa. The themeof the conference beingVergelyking en Verandering(Comparison and Change), thepapers dealt with comparisonsbetween Afrikaans and Dutch, andchanges that have been broughtabout in the two languages in thelinguistic and the literary field.

The four keynote speakers wereProfessor Hennie van Coller fromthe University of the Free State,Professor Joop van der Horst fromthe University of Leuven, Pro-fessor Ernst van Alphen from theUniversity of Leiden and therenowned Dutch poet Ms Mariavan Daalen. The opening cocktailfunction at the Killie Cambellvenue was sponsored by UKZNand organised by Public Affairs andCorporate Communications. De-puty Vice-Chancellor and Head ofthe College of Humanities, Pro-fessor Ntombifikile Mazibuko,gave the welcoming address at thisevent.

- Article: Supplied

ExExExExExchange programmechange programmechange programmechange programmechange programmeSIXTEEN UKZN students have been selected to be part of anexchange this semester. They are Mr Michael Van Niekerk, MrMxolisi Felix Dlamini, Mr Murray Sterley, and Miss MellisaSamson, who will all be attending the University of Oslo; Mr ChevySmith, and Mr Bjorn Hoffmann, Sodertorns Hogskola UniversityCollege; Miss Christine Hobden, and Mr Blade Borland, bothUniversity of Trent; Miss Shaastra Nagesar and Miss Lensha BuhleDlamini, Pitzer College; Mr Rowan Lussi and Mr Prince Bulo,University of Iowa; Miss Bongiwe Dlamini, University of Ghana;Mr Anshen Kishun, University of Calgary; Mr Itumeleng Makae,Millersville University and Miss Vanessa Moodley, AlleghenyCollege

UKZN has 80 student exchange agreements in 21 countries.Students pay for tuition and accommodation at their homeinstitution and do not pay for these items when they go abroad.Credits gained at overseas institutions are accepted for their degreeback home.

Soccer legend toSoccer legend toSoccer legend toSoccer legend toSoccer legend tocoach UKZN teamcoach UKZN teamcoach UKZN teamcoach UKZN teamcoach UKZN teamSOCCER legend Mr Calvin Petersen has joined the University as Coach for its soccer team playingin the South African Students Sport Union (SASSU) league.

Mr Petersen, who lives in Pietermaritzburg, played for the National Soccer League teams BushBucks and Moroka Swallows. He also featured in the Bafana Bafana national soccer team when itplayed against Nigeria for the World Cup qualifier in 1992.

Armed with a Level 1 South African Football Association (SAFA) coaching certificate, he was anassistant coach to Maritzburg United together with former Bafana Bafana coach Clive Barker in2005.

Love for football has inspired Mr Petersen to own his under19 team called Napoli Football Club.“I enjoy working with youth and I am an expert in youth development,” he says.

“I want to help the UKZN team qualify for the National Competition and get them to win it,” saysPetersen. He adds that he is pleased to be associated with UKZN because of its professionalvision to develop sport, especially soccer.

- Bhekani Dlamini

Surveyors use a laser theodolite to measure the footprints on the roof of one site.

15

Toyota South Africa hascommitted R3.2 million toUKZN for the period 2006/

2007. The symbolic handover ofthis investment took place on 25June.

Executive Director of the UKZNFoundation, Mr Bruno van Dyk,accepted the cheque on behalf ofthe University. He noted that“Toyota has always been a valu-able partner and we have had a longand distinguished relationship withthem”. He added that Toyota hasalso invested a great deal in theprovince of KwaZulu-Natal. Thepartnership with Toyota hasadded tremendous value in anumber of different endeavours atUKZN.

The Director of the Student Fund-ing Centre, Mr Jerry Moodley saidthat Toyota has contributed R350000 over the years. Mr RichardMorrison, Deputy Director: Bur-saries and Scholarships, StudentFunding Centre, noted that Toyota

TTTTToyota gets it right at UKZNoyota gets it right at UKZNoyota gets it right at UKZNoyota gets it right at UKZNoyota gets it right at UKZN

contributed close to R70 000 inbursaries for financially needy but

deserving students in 2006 and thatit had made a real difference in the

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Mr Bruno van Dyk (third from left) receives the cheque from Mr Lindsay Clive-Smith.

Fulbright Hays educatorsFulbright Hays educatorsFulbright Hays educatorsFulbright Hays educatorsFulbright Hays educatorsvisit Education Facultyvisit Education Facultyvisit Education Facultyvisit Education Facultyvisit Education FacultyA group of 16 Fulbright Haysteachers, education academics andadministrators visited UKZN’sEdgewood campus on 25 July aspart of their KwaZulu-Natal tour.

The visitors met with the Dean ofEducation, Professor RenukaVithal and other staff members aswell as several postgraduate stu-dents to learn about how theFaculty of Education is respondingto the South African government’seducation policies, and addressingthe needs of previously disad-vantaged students, particularly firstgeneration university students. Inparticular they were keen to findout how the Faculty preparesstudents from diverse cultural andlanguage backgrounds for teachingand research careers in SouthAfrica. Dr Daisy Pillay, Dr JenniKarlsson and Mr Thabo Msibi co-ordinated the event.

In her welcoming address Pro-fessor Vithal outlined the history ofUKZN. In taking up the leadershipof one of South Africa’s largestFaculties of Education, many newstructures had to be set up. In ad-dition to the national programmere-accreditation processes, theseimperatives helped to bring mem-bers together and focus them in thesame direction.

Professor Michael Samuel, DeputyDean for Initial Teacher Education,highlighted national challenges in

lives of these students. MsRosheena Jeawon thanked Toyota

for investing in the University’sGraduate Recruitment Programmeat UKZN, while Mr ShamimBodhanya from the LeadershipCentre added that Toyota had givenstudents the opportunity to im-prove their leadership and manage-ment skills. The Leadership Centrehas learned from the theories thatinform the work of Toyota.

Presenting the cheque, Mr LindsayClive-Smith, Manager for Housingand Social Investment at ToyotaSouth Africa, promised that thecompany will continue to supportUKZN and to increase its invest-ment in the University in the yearsto come. He also acknowledgedUKZN staff for their efficient co-operation with Toyota. He em-phasised that Toyota’s contri-bution to the University should beseen as an investment and that thereis always received a return on thisinvestment.

- Bhekani Dlamini

developing and supplying enoughteachers for South Africa’s publicschool system. He outlined somesuccesses of the Faculty of Edu-cation in attracting young peoplewho will ‘serve the nation’,especially in those subjects andphases where the greatest needshave been identified.

Dr Ruth Wilson of San Jose StateUniversity in California said thedelegation was at UKZN to learnabout language and cultural diver-sity among the student populationand staff. Dr Omiunota Ukpokodufrom the University of Missouri inKansas City, said that the dele-gation was keen to learn what rolestudent academic achievement

plays in the success of the Uni-versity and the country as a whole.Ms Nabilia Massoumi, whocoaches teachers in a cluster ofschools in California, spoke aboutthe challenges facing educators inculturally diverse, multi-lingualclassrooms in the US. In the UnitedStates a total of 400 languages arespoken among students.

Other members of the Faculty whomade presentations at the metingincluded Dr Daisy Pillay, Dr JenniKarlsson, Mr Thabo Msibi, DrVolker Wedekind and Dr DennisFrancis.

- Bhekani Dlamini

(l-r): Mr Deva Govindsamy, Senior Public Affairs Adviser at the USConsulate, Durban; Dr Ruth Wilson; Ms Tasche Bryant; Dr OmiunotaUkpokodu; Ms Lauruce Coker; Mr Daniel Jocz; and Professor RenukaVithal.

ON Friday, 7 September 2007 we will becelebrating Casual Day, allowing you theopportunity to be a star and to shine in the life ofa disabled person

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UKZN Finance Division staffmember Ms Chantal Botts wonGold and Silver medals in theBadminton Ladies Doubles at theAll Africa Games held in Nigeriafrom 12-18 July.

Staff member bringsStaff member bringsStaff member bringsStaff member bringsStaff member bringshome the goldhome the goldhome the goldhome the goldhome the gold

Miss Botts started playing bad-minton at the tender age of 10 andnow plays for South Africa in thesenior team. For the past sevenyears she and partner MissMitchelle Edwards from CapeTown have been undisputed bad-minton champions with an un-broken record at the Africa Games.She also represented South Africaat the Olympic Games in Athens in2004.

“Going to the Olympics was mydream come true. Now I am readyto retire,” she says. She has dedi-cated herself to coaching youngbadminton players at the KZNSatellite Academy and also coachesthe under-19 KwaZulu-Natal Bad-minton Team.

- Thembeka Dlungwane

Miss Chantal Botts with the medalsshe won at the All Africa Games inNigeria.

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Recycle your ukzndabaPlease don’t litter ... when you’ve finished with your ukzndaba, why not pass it on tosomeone else, or place it in a bin for recycling with other paper-waste.

Produced by PuProduced by PuProduced by PuProduced by PuProduced by Pubbbbblic Affairs and Corporate Communiclic Affairs and Corporate Communiclic Affairs and Corporate Communiclic Affairs and Corporate Communiclic Affairs and Corporate Communications ations ations ations ations www.ukwww.ukwww.ukwww.ukwww.ukzn.ac.za zn.ac.za zn.ac.za zn.ac.za zn.ac.za Tel: 031 Tel: 031 Tel: 031 Tel: 031 Tel: 031 260 124 260 124 260 124 260 124 260 1245/2027/2957/7115 5/2027/2957/7115 5/2027/2957/7115 5/2027/2957/7115 5/2027/2957/7115 Fax: 031 260 2813 Fax: 031 260 2813 Fax: 031 260 2813 Fax: 031 260 2813 Fax: 031 260 2813

Send your diary of events to events@ukzn.ac.za

Sport CornerSport CornerSport CornerSport CornerSport Corner

Steinhoff International Hold-ings Ltd, the world-widebrand, has entered into a

three-year sponsorship agreementwith the UKZN Hockey Club.

Part of the sponsorship agreement,which was officially launched on20 June is that Steinhoff Inter-national will brand 12 UKZNteams in the Internal ResidenceLeague and seven teams in theKwaZulu-Natal Coastals Pro-vincial Hockey League. This is thefirst sponsorship of its kind for the71-year old Sport Admin Club. TheClub has a proud history and hasproduced around 40 players whohave played for South Africa. TheHockey Club competitive teamscompete in the KwaZulu-NatalCoastals Hockey Indoor and Out-door Leagues from January toSeptember each year.

Vice-Chancellor ProfessorMalegapuru Makgoba thankedSteinhoff International for sponso-ring and branding UKZN Hockey

Making a world ofMaking a world ofMaking a world ofMaking a world ofMaking a world ofdifference in hockdifference in hockdifference in hockdifference in hockdifference in hockeyeyeyeyey

teams. He added that to create asustainable relationship with thesponsor “we must work on goodprinciples and ethics to build it”.He hopes this relationship is thebeginning of many others in whichUKZN will engage.

Head of Sport Administration onthe Howard College campus MrAndile Nqini says: “It’s an honourand privilege to receive thissponsorship. This is the best wehave ever had and we hope that youwill maintain this relationship inmany years to come. We see thisgesture as a way to change the livesof our youth at the residences.” MsKaren Sharrat, Co-ordinator ofHockey in the Sport AdministrationDivision on the Howard Collegecampus, facilitated negotiations forthe sponsorship.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Re-search, Knowledge Production andPartnerships) Professor AhmedBawa views the sponsorship as aspecial honour for UKZN: “The

bulk of the sponsorship that UKZNreceives comes from outside ofSouth Africa. This kind of sponsor-ship is also special as it opens upthe way for South African univer-sities and companies to engage inpartnerships.”

Mr Derrik Matthew, MarketingDirector: Steinhoff International,says negotiations to enter into thisagreement started in March lastyear. “We are passionate aboutsupporting sport and we are alsosupporting other sporting codes atother institutions such as rugby andsoccer,” says Mr Matthew. He addsthat he is also impressed by theproud history of UKZN sport.

Deputy Dean of Students on theHoward College campus and Medi-cal School, Dr Bheki Ngcobooffered a vote of thanks and ap-pealed to Steinhoff International totake this linkage beyond hockey tomake it sustainable.

- Bhekani Dlamini

Miss Marie-Louise Albertyn, Steinhoff International; Mr Alex Skosana, KZN Academy; Ms Kary Sharratt, HockeyCo-ordinator, Howard College campus; Mr Derrik Matthew, Marketing Director: Steinhoff International; MrAndile Nqini, HOD Sports Admin, Howard College campus; Professor Amed Bawa, Deputy Vice-Chancellor; DrBheki Ngcobo, Dean of Students, Howard College campus; Mr Lennie Botha, President, KZN Hockey; and MrDave Carr, President, SA Hockey.

UKZN and the South African SportConfederation and Olympic Com-mittee (SASCOC) hosted the SouthAfrican Student Sports Union(SASSU) Karate NationalChampionships from 1-3 July at theOld Mutual Sport Hall on theHoward College campus.

Twenty two tertiary institutionsfrom all over the country partici-pated in the Championships. Teamsand individual players did katasand full and semi-contact fighterscompeted. On the semi-contact sideoverall first place went to theUniversity of North West. Therunners-up were the University ofCape Town. On the full-contactside, the winners were WalterSisulu University, Buffalo Citycampus and the runners-up wereWalter Sisulu University, IbikaCampus.

National KarateNational KarateNational KarateNational KarateNational KarateChampionshipsChampionshipsChampionshipsChampionshipsChampionships

The National Championships pre-pared teams and players for theAfrica Games and World Uni-versity Games 2008. SixteenAfrican countries took part in theAfrica Games last year, whereSouth Africa took first position.The South African Karate team inwhich UKZN players featured wenton to compete in the United Stateslast year.

Head of Sport Administration onthe Howard College campus MrAndile Nqini officially opened theChampionships. Mr FransMamabolo, SASSU Chairpersonpresided over the games, while MsFrancina Borotho, GeneralSecretary of SASSU Karateassisted in ensuring that theChampionships went smoothly.

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UKZN karate players include Miss Raeesa Abdulla; Mr Keith Thaver; MissBianca Fearick; Miss Yushira Harkoo; Miss Elishia Naidoo; and Mr AdrianNaidoo.

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