uwc 360e3e issue 16

www.uwc.ac.za/alumni | PAGE 1

ISSUE 16 | APRIL 2016

South Africa’s legacy of unequal education continues to aff ect learners’

performance especially in maths and science education. The World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016 rates the quality of maths and science learning in South Africa last out of 140 countries.

The UWC-Science Learning Centre for Africa (SLCA), which was established in 2009, has been addressing the problems in science education by enhancing the skills of educators, enticing learners to the subject and developing science learning centres.

The fi rst stage focuses on training teachers to become more eff ective in the classroom. The next step is to spark the learners’ interest in learning science and maths through science clubs and participation in competitions. “The important element in building the culture of science is to excite the learners and provide the teachers with skills and diff erent ways of teaching content,” explains Professor Shaheed Hartley, the director of the SLCA.

Hartley notes that schools in disadvantaged communities were never built with proper facilities for teaching science. “Thus the construction of a science learning centre provides the teachers and learners with a creative space in which the teaching and learning of science and mathematics can

be harnessed.” Schools that commit themselves to the fi rst two stages are rewarded with science labs established in converted classrooms. The Science Learning Centres are installed in partnership with corporate funders who fund either part or all of the construction costs, while the SLCA provides the training, support and development of teachers and learners and manages the project.

In February the SLCA opened three science labs at Bernadino Heights High School in Kraaifontein, Porterville Primary School in Porterville and Sophumelela High School in Samora Machel, bringing the number of labs constructed to 34 since 2014. Ten more labs will be constructed this year.

Improving science learning

CONTACT THE ALUMNI RELATIONS OFFICE:

Tel: +27 21 959 2143 | Fax: 021 959 9791Email: [email protected] | www.uwc.ac.za/alumni

http://twitter.com/UWConline http://www.facebook.com/uwcalumni

Sophumelela High learners with their science teacher in the new science learning centre launched by UWC-SLCA and Garden Cities Archway Foundation on 2 February 2016.

ALUMNI NEWSLETTER


UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE

| www.uwc.ac.za/alumni


n The April 2016 Graduation will take place from Monday, 11 April to Friday, 15 April 2016 at the UWC Main Hall.

n The Alumni Relations Offi ce will be hosting the

annual Student Alumni Fashion Show on Tuesday, 19 April 2016 at the UWC Student Centre.

n The UWC Convocation AGM will take place on Saturday, 11 June 2016 at the UWC Library Auditorium.

n The Yale/UWC Leadership Conference will be held at UWC on Friday, 8 July 2016.

UWC a family institution One member of the Mathabatha

family is completing his degree at

UWC this year, two have just started

theirs, and fi ve others are graduates.

Alumnus and Limpopo Premier Stanley Mathabatha and his wife Margaret Mathabatha both obtained BAs at UWC. Together with sisters Mmatebogo Mathabatha (computer sciences), Makgomo Mathabatha (BAdmin) and Mosadisadi Mathabatha (library sciences), they will soon be joined by fi nal-year student Philani Mthimunye (BA in politics and industrial psychology) as alumni of the University. Stanley’s nieces Mmasediba Mathabatha (BCom) and Dimakatso Mathabatha (BAdmin) are in their fi rst year.

“I chose UWC because it is like a family institution,” comments Dimakatso, noting that other family members infl uenced her decision to study at UWC. “I had been accepted at another university but I just chose to come to UWC.”

Cousin Mmasediba says, “My mother (Mmatebogo Mathabatha) is the one who told me to come here actually. She was very

excited about it because she enjoyed her time there.” Her mother had predicted that she would enjoy herself at UWC and that the atmosphere is very welcoming. “I’m in a happy spot here, adjusting well and I’m comfortable.”

Mthimunye’s parents had advised him to pursue his tertiary education in another province (he is from Johannesburg) and UWC was the obvious choice.

“I came to UWC at a stage when the varsity was in transition. I saw the new Res Life Building going up, I saw the new stadium going up and the Kovacs Residence going up. I stayed at an older residence and at Kovacs. The demographics are slowly changing and it has been nice to be part of the transition at UWC.”

Mthimunye says when his aunts visit they are amazed by the signifi cant change at UWC. He found it encouraging to be part of a family with so many UWC graduates. “To see what [other family graduates] have achieved encourages you to push on with what you are doing because you will get somewhere. It shows you that it’s possible to achieve your dreams.”

Welcome to the fi rst edition of

Three-Sixt-e for 2016. We trust that

2015 was a success and would like to

wish you a prosperous 2016.

The University experienced a tumultuous and uncertain 2015, but with each challenge there has been a solution. Despite all the setbacks and postponements we were able to complete the academic year on a high note with successful fi nal exams. While we will face social and economic diffi culties, we will continue to stand together as an institution, always putting education and development at the forefront.

We report in this issue on the gathering of our fi rst-year students for the 2016 Orientation Week. UWC continues to make ground-breaking research advances, this time in the testing of HIV drug resistance, while the UWC-Science Learning Centre for Africa continues to grow future scientists by opening science labs in schools. This year there will be a growing focus on raising funds to assist students in need of fi nancial support and we report on a generous donation from the UWC United Arab Emirates alumni chapter to the Jakes Gerwel Education, Development and Endowment Fund.

We celebrate milestones achieved by several prominent alumni, and also highlight the success of student Zubayr Hamza, who has achieved his dream of playing cricket at a professional level with the support of the University’s Sport Skills for Life Skills (SS4LS) bursary and mentoring programme. We wish them all a successful year.

Happy reading!Patricia Lawrence Pro Vice-ChancellorDepartment of Institutional Advancement

Philani Mthimunye Mmasediba MathabathaDimakatso Mathabatha

Editorial

ALUMNI STORIES

Times and details to be announced

UPCOMING



Drug resistance test innovation

Two years ago more than 200

community members, including a

number of UWC alumni, established

the Ravensmead Uitsig Cravenby

Education Trust (RUCET), to provide

opportunities for needy learners

from these communities to access

tertiary education. Eleven trustees

were elected at this launch meeting

to manage the trust.

During the fi rst bursary allocation process, it was diffi cult to fi nd recipients from Uitsig High School who qualifi ed to attend a university. “It was painful to deal with that,” remembers UWC alumna and RUCET chairperson, Bunita Kohler. “Education is accessible in this area, but people are not grabbing these opportunities. There is unfortunately little belief in this community that education is key to success. There is a sense of hopelessness that we are trying to address.”

RUCET allocated its fi rst three bursaries on 16 June 2015, one of them to a UWC student. To qualify, applicants must have registered at a tertiary institution, have attended a Florida, Ravensmead, Uitsig or Cravenby high school, and be willing to plough back into the community. Kohler, who obtained a teacher’s diploma and a master’s degree in education at UWC (two siblings and her husband are also alumni), is a strong advocate for upliftment through education and notes that there have been a number of success stories, despite the low level of education in the communities.

Kohler, who is also Managing Director of the Community Organisation Resource Centre, called on other alumni to follow suit. “If we as alumni of UWC can give back to our communities we can make a huge diff erence. They used to call UWC ‘the University of the Left’, and we need to reclaim that motto and become real change agents in this country.”

A UWC research team has created a

world-class programme that will

rapidly, accurately and cost-

eff ectively test HIV drug resistance.

According to the World Health Organisation, HIV has the ability to mutate and reproduce itself in the presence of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. This can result in treatment failure, a need to start more costly second- and third-line treatments, increased health costs associated with these, and the spread of drug-resistant HIV.

Medical Research Council of South Africa (MRC) statistics show that almost 10% of the 3.1 million South Africans currently on ARV treatment do not respond adequately to the fi rst-line drugs provided to them. The technology was developed over fi ve years in a programme called Exatype by Professor Simon Travers and his team of researchers at the South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI) based in the Faculty of Natural Sciences.

Prof Travers says that, unlike in the United States, drug-resistant testing was not done routinely in South Africa, and only conducted after a patient has failed the second set of treatments. “Drug

resistance is not a major problem at the moment, but down the line it could become one, so we are creating a solution now to that problem.” The technology, which has been tested in collaboration with a number of researchers and laboratories in South Africa, involves the sequencing of the DNA of the HI virus using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. The results are uploaded to a web-based system and analysed using Exatype to quickly and accurately produce a report showing the clinician which drugs would be most eff ective for that individual patient at that time.

Prof Travers says that Exatype solved the problem of dealing with compli-cated information. “The data in general is difficult to understand and so people have started to look at these types of approaches. We developed a pro-gramme to make it easier to test drug-resistant HIV.”

Although initially focusing on HIV drug resistance testing, solutions for TB and antibiotic resistance testing are also being developed. Exatype is currently web-based, but Prof Travers said the group was looking at making the programme available to the public health sector.

The recipients of the 2015 Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumni Awards.

Local trust gives access to education

The SANBI HIV drug resistance team.

Members of RUCET, from left to right. Back row: Archie Vergotine (UWC alumnus), Dr Randall Carolissen (UWC alumnus), George van Oordt, Dr Razack Karriem (UWC alumnus) and Brennan Marais. Front row: Dr Carina Parring, Bunita Kohler (UWC alumna), Jillene Johnson and Mildred Michaels.

RESEARCH

EDUCATION



UWC welcomes thousands of fi rst-year students

For S’thembiso Zibane, the standing of UWC’s Faculty of Dentistry as one of the top dental schools in Africa was the key factor that persuaded him to pursue his tertiary education at UWC.

The 18-year-old from Mahlabathini in KwaZulu-Natal believes that his studies will help him achieve his dream of improving his community. “Growing up in rural KZN I have always wanted to change the lives of the marginalised people within my community, and I believe I can do that through the Dentistry Faculty,” says Zibane.

Zibane is one of the 4 800 fi rst-year students this year and follows in the footsteps of his brother, who completed his BCom Accounting at the University. He was among the thousands of students and parents who braved the sweltering summer sun to attend the annual Orientation Week on campus.

The event in early February was the fi rst big gathering since the academic project

was suspended late last year in the wake of the nation-wide student protests. Although the protests were a cause for concern for both parents and students, their positive reaction and visible excitement during the Orientation Week show that fears and concerns have been addressed.

In welcoming parents, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tyrone Pretorius, promised that their children were in good hands. “For the next three or more years, your children will be in the custody of our stewardship. I know that you expect nothing less from us than to empower them with the knowledge and skills to shape their character and values and to prepare them for the challenges of life ahead.”

After explaining the University’s current academic standing and its response to the crisis facing higher education in South Africa, Prof Pretorius said: “I’m grateful for the privilege you have given us to contribute to the development of your children, relatives and friends.”

Despite the student protests late last year, UWC continues to be the preferred

choice of many prospective tertiary students, with over 40 000 applicants

received for fi rst-year places.

Thousands of freshers were welcomed to campus at the UWC 2016 Orientation Week.

UWC prides itself in producing

graduates who are able to excel in

their fi elds anywhere in the world,

and Stefan Sickel is no exception.

After completing his BPharm degree in 2000, and his internship and community pharmacy year at Tygerberg Hospital, he worked in the United Kingdom and Namibia before landing up in the Middle East. Sickel is currently a senior director of supply chain for Mediclinic Middle East, where his responsibilities include pharmacy operations, procurement and supply chain logistics. He plays a strategic role in Mediclinic International’s procurement team, which operates over 80 hospitals and healthcare centres in Southern Africa, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Studying at UWC taught him about diff erent cultures, religions and walks of life, he says. “I have been living in Dubai for almost seven years, a territory comprised mainly of expats from all over the world. My time at UWC helped me to appreciate diff erent people with diff erent backgrounds and how we all fi t in together in this world, both professionally and socially.”

He also appreciated the lighter side of life at UWC. “Many laughs and fun times were shared at UWC showing us the importance of having fun in life whatever it is that we do.” A member of the UAE UWC alumni chapter, Sickel sees the chapter as a good platform for professionals to share their experiences and network. “It also provides an opportunity for us to share life experiences that help motivate and inspire current students and future graduates to study hard and follow their dreams.”

Flying the UWC fl ag abroad

ON CAMPUS NEWS

ALUMNI PROFILE

Ploughing back from afar The UWC United Arab Emirates

alumni chapter celebrated its first

anniversary in style by raising a

R50 000 donation for the

University, setting the bar high for

other chapters to follow suit.

The donation to the Jakes Gerwel Education, Development and Endowment Fund was presented to the Rector and Vice-Chancellor Professor Tyrone Pretorius during a gala dinner in Abu Dhabi in December 2015. The Rector was accompanied by Patricia Lawrence, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement, Alumni Relations Offi ce Manager Samantha Castle and Larry Pokpas, Head of Institutional Planning.

Francis Fourie, the chairperson of the UWC UAE alumni chapter, related how nine alumni met two months before the UWC ‘80s Reunion in 2014. The group hosted a fundraising braai a week before the reunion and managed to raise R10 000 for UWC.

Fourie told the Rector and delegates that the chapter has grown from nine to 26 members. “The success of our chapter is not in numbers but in the commitment and the informality of our functions and gatherings,”

she said. The chapter also hosted a Christmas event in 2014 which cemented the chapter's ties to each member.

And when one of the twin babies of alumni couple Bruce and Delia Canterbury needed urgent medical attention that he could not receive in the UAE, the chapter came to his rescue.

“We realised that our own Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town was where he needed to go to survive. In two

months the chapter spearheaded the drive that raised $20 000 to medi-evac baby Luther and the Canterbury family to Cape Town. Luther is a happy toddler in Cape Town today due to the support of chapter members,” Fourie proudly proclaimed.

Presenting the donation, Fourie noted: “We are a small but dedicated group of alumni that wants to show that everyone can change the course of history. We want to show our appreciation for a University that made it easy for us to conquer the world.”

The UWC United Arab Emirates alumni chapter donated R50 000 to the Jakes Gerwel Fund.

Education is the driver of his success From serving as a police offi cer to working as a Programme Specialist and Head of Environment and Climate Change Unit at the United Nations Development Programme, Dr Oduetse Oldman Koboto’s remarkable career is mirrored by his dedication to life-long learning.

Soon after completing his law degree at UWC in 2007, Dr Koboto was employed as a state prosecutor by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions in his home country, Botswana. During this time, he pursued a master’s in environmental law at UWC, and was seconded to the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism as the legal adviser to the minister after he fi nished the degree in 2009. After achieving a doctoral degree in law at an overseas institution between 2011 and 2013, he was appointed as the Director for the

Department of Wildlife and National Parks, later joining the UN in 2015. “It is an honour to be a product of such a school of excellence,” he comments about UWC. “The programme was very intense and made some students reconsider their line of study many times. I did too but conquered through all to achieve good grades that would pave my way to greater heights.”

Dr Koboto, who credits the University with building his confi dence, believes that alumni should belong to chapter networks not just to build friendships but because chapters can create opportunities by linking to a resource base with a wide range of expertise. “Alumni could also create a pool of resources that could establish corporate partnerships and innovative models that can build tomorrow’s future.”



"It is an honour to be a product of such a school of excellence."

Dr Oduetse Oldman Koboto attributes his successful career to UWC teachings.

ALUMNI CHAPTERS

ALUMNI PROFILE



Another UWC cricketer joins Cobras After matriculating from

Rondebosch Boys’ High in 2013,

Zubayr Hamza turned down

opportunities to study at other

universities to join UWC to work

towards his dream of becoming a

professional cricketer.

His dream was realised when he made his debut this year for the Cape Cobras in a Momentum One-Day Cup encounter. “This is hopefully the start of what will become a long and fruitful career of pursuing a lifelong passion to become a quality professional cricketer,” comments his father Nizaam Hamza, who also studied at UWC.

Hamza joins many UWC students who graduated to the professional level of cricket after joining the University’s Sport Skills for Life Skills (SS4LS) bursary and mentoring programme.Others include Cobras teammates Aviwe Mgijima, Omphile Ramela, Mpilo Njoloza, Lizaad Williams and Lesiba Ngoepe, as well as Gurshwin Rabie (former Cobras and Warriors) Rowen Richards (Titans) and Francois Plaatjies (Cobras). Besides making the cut at the Cobras, Hamza also captained the

University team that reached the final of the prestigious Varsity Cricket tournament in its second season. While the Varsity Cricket competition and Universities Week are good incentives for any prospective student, “it is really the academic support, professional structures that are in place and the quality of all round cricket prowess that makes UWC such an enticing option as the University of choice,” says Nizaam Hamza.

“The facilities are really high quality and support staff for all the respective disciplines make it a breeding ground for quality cricket on par with many professional teams out there. Apart from all these functionalities, UWC cricket offers a place where camaraderie and gees prevail and an amazing rapport and bond develops between the players and management that bodes well for the future.”

Mr Hamza studied at another university before joining UWC to complete his BCom – the same programme his son is doing. Zubayr's ambition to become a chartered accountant was influenced by his father’s own career path.

Khutšo Ramontja likes to tell people

that he arrived at UWC a teenager

and left a man. “UWC did not only

provide a conducive learning

environment, but also a family

environment,” he says.

“Today I strive to create a family environment in the organisations I am involved in, and this has to do with the infl uence UWC had on me.” The Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship at Ekurhuleni West TVET College, Limpopo-born Ramontja obtained his BCom in Management and Information Systems, BCom Honours in Marketing and MCom in Management degrees at UWC. He is the author of Design Your Future, a career guidance book for Grade 11 and 12 learners, and serves as pastor of Christ Glorious Church in Krugersdorp.

He gained invaluable experience in a number of student societies while at UWC. “That was leadership in training and leadership in practice,” he remembers. “If it were not for UWC, thousands of people would not be graduates today. The low fee structure at UWC and the degree to which the institution accommodates students from previously disadvantaged back-grounds is something we as alumni cannot aff ord to ignore or to forget.”

Ramontja, who has joined the UWC Alumni Association, feels alumni the world over are pillars of strength for their alma mater. “Part of the reason historically privileged universities in our country have endowments and continue to have strong fi nancial muscle is the role played by their former students. It goes without saying that UWC alumni ought to become donors and ‘shareholders’ of their alma mater, as well as conduits of resources.”

� e UWC infl uence

SPORT

MEET THE MEMBER

Rising cricketing star Zubayr Hamza and proud father, Nizaam.



Professor Pamela Dube is UWC’s

newly-appointed Deputy Vice-

Chancellor for Student Development

and Support (SDS).

She joined the University in December 2015, replacing Prof Mokgadi Moletsane, who acted in the position after Prof Lullu Tshiwula retired at the end of 2014. Prof Dube exercises oversight over the Centre for Student Support Services, the Financial Aid Offi ce, Residential Services, Sports Administration, Campus Health, the Offi ce for Student Development and Student Governance, and works closely with the Student Representative Council and its structures. Prof Dube joined UWC at a time when the higher education sector faced immense challenges with student and staff

protesting over various grievances. “In my view the unprecedented protests of the past few months call on us as leadership and communities of not only the aff ected universities but of the country as a whole to listen and to engage eff ectively,” Prof Dube says. Prof Dube supports the principle of aff ordable access to education, “especially given our history as a country. There should be an opportunity to start addressing the least advantaged among us fi rst.”

High on her agenda for the SDS strategy of supporting a holistic, strength-based and enabling approach to the development and support of students, is the promotion of student engagement and collective eff orts in addressing the challenges of fi nancial need, accommodation, food security and study materials, which often impede student success. “We will work with faculties to increase synergy between curricular and co-curricular activities, to embed UWC graduate attributes from an approach of shared values, and we will enhance eff orts at broadening the concept of learning and submit to the rigours of research-based interventions,” she adds.

Prof Dube holds a BA degree and a BA Honours in Drama and Performance Studies from the then University of Natal, and a master’s (cum laude) and PhD (summa cum laude) in Comparative Literature and Media Studies from the University of Siegen, Germany. She was Dean of Students at the University of the Witwatersrand before joining UWC and has served in various positions at a number of institutions locally and internationally.

The University of the Western

Cape mourns the passing of

alumni, students and staff ,

including:

OBITUARIES

Professor Wendy McMillan died on 23 December 2015 after a short illness. She was the Teaching and Learning Specialist at the Faculty of Dentistry since 2003. A role model, colleague, mentor and friend, her passing leaves a large void in the faculty and she will be dearly missed.

Professor Martin Legassick passed away on 1 March after battling throat cancer. Prof Legassick served as a lecturer in the Department of History from 1992 to 2005. He was a founding member of the Marxist Workers Tendency of the ANC. He is survived by his life partner Margie Struthers, son Dean and daughter Rosa, and his grandchildren Fleur and Robin.

New head for SDS

www.uwc.ac.za

UWC SRC

- OUR FUTURE FUNDIKAMVA LETHU

For as little as R50 a month you can support the dreams of an aspiring student! To donate and join the UWC Alumni Giving Community, dial *120*1525# or click donate on www.uwc.ac.za.

For more information, contact [email protected] or tel: +27 21 959 2143.#ourfuturefund #iamuwc #ikamvalethu

Championing the dreams and aspirations of our students.

NEW APPOINTMENT



Success against the odds

UWC alumna Prof Shirley Zinn has

published an autobiographical

account aptly entitled Swimming

Upstream.

Prof Zinn writes about how she ‘swam upstream’ against poverty and other socio-economic conditions of working class Steenberg at the height of apart-heid, relentlessly pursuing her goals and forging an impressive academic and corporate career.

She describes the support of a hardworking family, a home where values were embedded from an ealy age, and schools where principled teachers helped learners to understand the political turmoil around them. Her teachers were infl uential, awakening a love for knowledge in a child surrounded by the negative infl uences of unemployment, gangsterism, alcoholism and teenage pregnancy. While not a gifted high school learner in her own opinion, Prof Zinn performed well enough to attend UWC, where she again contended with political upheaval and economic hardship. During the student boycott of 1985, as a newly qualifi ed teacher, she was among a number of teachers persecuted by the

authorities for refusing to administer the examinations. She came into her own academically as a postgraduate student, earning an MEd at UWC and a doctorate in education from Harvard. After a stint in academia, Prof Zinn embarked on an extremely successful international corporate career in strategic human resource practice.

The book also recounts the shocking circumstances of the death of her young son in a car accident and her immense struggle to rebuild her life in the aftermath of the tragedy. Ultimately, the great value of the book is that it demonstrates not only the perseverance and success of one individual, but the contribution of the collective to the individual’s success – fi rst from her family, then the high school, then the support of the University, particular academics and her husband, and fi nally, her mentors and colleagues in business.

Prof Zinn is an Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, and an Adjunct Professor at UCT. She is the former Chairperson of DHL Global Forwarding, and serves as a non-executive director on the boards of AdvTech, Sygnia Asset Management, Tuesday Consulting, Knowledge Resources, Business Engage and the Boston Consulting Group. She is a trustee on the Nedbank Eyethu Community Trust and the Ambassador for Orbis Africa Foundation, and is the former Chairperson of Starfi sh South Africa. She is also the President of the Harvard University Alumni of South Africa and a mentor to several women.

Find us… http://www.facebook.com/uwcalumni

and follow us… http://twitter.com/UWConline

On Wednesday, 10 February, award-winning local hip-hop star, Ifani, was welcomed at the University of the Western Cape’s Student Centre where he gave students an inspirational account of how he overcame challenges to succeed in his fi eld.

"� e great value of the book is that it demonstrates not only the perseverance and success of one individual, but the contribution of the collective to the individual’s success."

CelebrityCorner

Your alma mater wants to keep you updated with the latest UWC news, events and information. Update your contact details at www.uwc.ac.za/alumni or send an email with your details to [email protected].

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Join the UWC Alumni Association!

DID YOU KNOW?UWC has two World Health Organisation Collaborating Centres – more than any other institution in South Africa – in oral health and public health.

BOOK REVIEW

uwc 360e3e issue 16

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