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Ins ide2 Developing women scientists 6 UKZN’s racing car 7 Farewell to historians 8 Hockey champs

Medical School OrientationMedical School OrientationMedical School OrientationMedical School OrientationMedical School Orientationore than200 par-ents andg u a r d -ians offirst yearmedical

students attended OrientationFunctions at the Nelson R MandelaSchool of Medicine on 23 and 24January. The function on 23 Janu-ary included the reciting of the Hip-pocratic Oath by first year students.

Following a welcome address bythe Deputy Dean, Dr Nceba Gqaleniand MSRC Vice-President MissFanele Mdletshe, the Dean, Pro-fessor Girish Mody, presented anoverview of the Medical School’slegacy, its rich social conscienceand its four major strategic areas

of education, research, service andcommunity outreach. He said thathe fully subscribes to the new fiveyear curriculum which received fullaccreditation by the Health Profes-sions Council. He explained thatwhilst the MBChB degree is a fiveyear programme, internship hasbeen increased to two years – giv-ing newly qualified doctors expo-sure and much needed experiencein a range of medical disciplinesduring their internship.

Mr Themba Khumalo, Deputy Deanof Students, outlined the servicesprovided by Student Services.

Parents left the event reassuredand well informed of the policiesand governance of the medicalschool.

THE Annual Oath Taking andAwards Ceremony of the Fac-ulty of Health Sciences on theWestville campus was at-tended by 1 000 guests. Finalyear students in the disci-plines of Audiology, Optom-etry, Occupational Therapy,Nursing, Pharmacy, Physio-therapy, Speech and Lan-

Medical students reciting the Hippocratic Oath.

UKZN student Andrew Kerr hasbeen awarded the prestigious

Rhodes Scholarship for KwaZulu-Natal for 2006. This will enable

Rhodes ScholarRhodes ScholarRhodes ScholarRhodes ScholarRhodes Scholarhim to pursue an MPhil degree atOxford University.

Andrew received his BSc inApplied Mathematics and Eco-nomics summa cum laude in 2004.He did various extra courses duringhis undergraduate degree, includ-ing isiZulu which he has taken tothird-year level. “I believe that itis important for a person workingin the development field to have apractical and not simply academicknowledge of any situation.” Hisfather, who speaks isiZulu fluently,was his inspiration. He completedhis BSc Honours in Economics in2005. During the first semester of2006 he is registered for a Mastersdegree at the University while heawaits his departure to Oxford.

Rhodes Scholarships have beenawarded since 1903, and are givento about 90 students from aroundthe world each year. The Scholar-ships are aimed at students who arenot only outstanding academics,but all-rounders who combine in-tellectual excellence with leader-ship, commitment, involvement,and character.

Secretary of the Selection Committeefor KwaZulu-Natal, UKZN alumnusAngus Stewart, says “it was ulti-mately Andrew’s integrity, humilityand genuine concern for and com-mitment to others that separated himout from the other candidates.”

Andrew is a keen musician, a middledistance runner and a lover of the

outdoors. He is a chairperson of theUKZN athletics club and is re-sponsible for organising a weeklyinformal soccer game for his depart-mental colleagues. He has been ayouth leader in his church’s youthgroup, has organised a holiday clubfor children in an impoverished peri-urban settlement and is a helper in aprogramme that provides meals tohomeless people. On completion ofhis studies, he wants to “use theskills that I have learnt to makeSouth Africa a better place in termsof poverty and economic justice”.Future options include working forthe government, teaching or furtherresearch.

– Bhekani Dlamini

Andrew Kerr.

“MakMakMakMakMake a differencee a differencee a differencee a differencee a difference”guage Pathology and SportScience solemnly took theofficial oaths of their respec-tive disciplines and commit-ted themselves to uphold theintegrity of their profession.

In her address the Dean, Pro-fessor Sabiha Essack, re-minded students of their re-

sponsibility to “make a differ-ence” to the many health chal-lenges facing the country. “TheUniversity has educated andtrained you as healthcare pro-fessionals equipped withknowledge and skills relevantto the South African healthcarecontext.” She encouraged stu-dents to endorse the National

Health Act, the StrategicFramework for the HumanResources for Health Plan, andthe draft Health Charter.

Professor Essack paid tributeto the guest speaker Dr ZukisaHumphrey Zokufa, who hasmade a significant contri-bution to the health environ-

ment and is presently themanaging director of theBoard of Healthcare Fun-ders of Southern Africa, forhis interest and support of theFaculty’s initiatives. Forty twoprizes sponsored by the cor-porate sector were presentedto students in the variousdisciplines.

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The ukzndaba team

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

Send your news to news@ukzn.ac.za

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

UKZN has received a majorgrant from the CarnegieCorporation of New York

that will provide full-cost four-yearscholarships for 26 women studentsin the fields of engineering andagriculture. To be awarded over thethree-year period between 2006and 2008, the WOSA PrestigeScholarships are part of the Womenin Science, Engineering and Agri-culture (WOSA) Scheme, a col-laboration between the College ofAgriculture, Engineering andScience, the Equity Office, theAccess Office and the StudentServices Division. The grant willalso support development of amajor marketing campaign aimedat promoting careers in engineeringand agriculture among women, aswell as a personal and professionaldevelopment programme forscholarship-holders during theirstudies. The acronym is a play onthe Zulu word woza which means‘come closer’, the intention being tobring highflying women into theseexciting disciplines and careers.

All scholarship-holders will be al-located personal mentors through-out their studies and will also haveaccess to a range of professionaland personal enrichment pro-grammes, from dedicated academicsupport should it be necessarythrough to workshops and otherforums intended to equip womenstudents to negotiate working en-vironments which, traditionally, arelargely the domain of men. To-gether with UKZN’s Public Affairsand Corporate CommunicationsDivision, the College will alsolaunch a broader drive to addresssocietal barriers to women’s pur-suit of careers in engineering andagriculture, and inform young

women about the range of excitingprofessional prospects available tothem in these fields.

Professor Pete Zacharias, DeputyVice-Chancellor and Head of theCollege of Agriculture, Engin-eering and Science, described theaward as a major boost to theefforts of the College to improveparticipation by women in fieldswith which they have not tra-ditionally been associated. “Theforesight and generosity of theCarnegie Corporation have givenenormous momentum to this im-portant initiative. It is now up to usto build the Scheme and find othersponsors for promising youngwomen who have the ability anddetermination to break new groundin these areas that are critical toAfrica’s long-term prosperity.”

The UKZN Foundation and theCollege are actively seeking sup-port for further scholarships andother financial aid mechanisms forthe WOSA Scheme. “Hopefully,the grant from the Carnegie Cor-poration will motivate local donors,industry and the public sector toinvest in scholarships and work-study schemes for women stu-dents,” said Professor Zacharias.“These sectors are under pressure tomeet gender equity targets. Invest-ment in the WOSA Scheme providesan excellent opportunity for in-dustry, commerce and governmentto guarantee themselves access tothe country’s top women graduatesin these fields.”

- Sean Jones

This article was originally pub-lished in Development Brief, Vol 2No 3, November 2005

CarnegieCarnegieCarnegieCarnegieCarnegieCorporationCorporationCorporationCorporationCorporationbacks womenbacks womenbacks womenbacks womenbacks women

BROADENING HORIZONS: The scholarships will promote thedevelopment of women scientists.

THE UKZN Faculty of Law, in con-junction with Professor PenelopeAndrews of the CUNY School ofLaw, hosted an international con-ference on “Comparative Consti-tutionalism and Rights: Global per-spectives” from 10-13 December2005.

Professor Andrews is a visitingprofessor at the University ofSaskatchewan. The conference atthe Howard College campus coin-cided with the commemoration ofInternational Human Rights Day on10 December.

Following a welcome address byUKZN Vice-Chancellor, ProfessorMalegapuru Makgoba, presen-tations and debates focused onhuman rights and constitutionalissues from a global comparativeperspective.

A gala dinner to commemorateHuman Rights Day was held at the

Constitutionalism andConstitutionalism andConstitutionalism andConstitutionalism andConstitutionalism andhuman rightshuman rightshuman rightshuman rightshuman rights

COMMITTED TO HUMAN RIGHTS: Conference delegates.

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Killie Campbell Africana Libraryat which Constitutional CourtJudge Zac Yacoob delivered thekeynote address. The HonourableChief Justice of South Africa PiusLanga, the Honourable JusticeDennis Davis of the Cape HighCourt, the Honourable Justice NaviPillay of the International CriminalCourt and several other prominent

dignitaries from the legal fraternityalso attended the dinner.

During the conference formerConstitutional Court Judge JohannKriegler presented the Law Faculty’sthird annual Victoria and GriffithsMxenge Memorial Lecture.

- Bhekani Dlamini

ukzndaba goes greenLAST year, the Public Affairs and

Corporate Communications Division made acommitment to print all the UKZN publications produced by

our Publications Unit on environmentally-friendly paper. In co-operation with the University’s Procurement Office, we began a process of

research and enlightenment which has, indeed, proved fascinating.

We discovered how many meanings environmentally-friendly can have. We also realisedhow many contradictions and dilemmas eco issues pose. Like all research, our research has

taught us that there is no ‘perfect’ answer to our questions.

One of the questions we faced was whether to accept environmentally-friendly paper manufacturedin another country. Believing that our environment includes communities who rely on local papermills for their livelihoods, we decided to go with a local (and affordable) paper.

Starting with this issue, your campus newspaper is being printed on Dukuza Matt, an environmentally-friendly paper manufactured at a paper mill on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast.

The mill is one of only two in the world to use sugar cane to produce paper. Dukuza Matt is manufacturedfrom a combination of bagasse – the residue after sugar has been extracted from the cane – and a smallamount of wood pulp. The wood to make the wood pulp comes from what is known as a ‘sustainableforest’ – indigenous forests have not been destroyed to make way for plantations.

Untreated pulp needs to be bleached to make the paper white. One of the biggest consumer concernsregarding paper manufacture has been the use of chlorine for bleaching. The effluent produced

from this method of bleaching pollutes rivers and kills fish and other wildlife. Oxygen bleachingensures that Dukuza Matt is chlorine-free.

Approximately 100 litres of water are needed to produce one kilogram of paper. Thepaper machines which produce Dukuza Matt recycle about 90% of their water.

Dukuza Matt is fully recyclable. Unless you want to keep it for posterity, weurge you to put your copy in a recycling bin after you have read it.

Editorial

3

Street Law is a programmethat is designed to teachsecondary school learners,

prisoners and civil society in gen-eral about law, human rights anddemocracy. The teaching is mainlydone by senior law students. Since1987 the students have been trainedto use outcomes-based teachingtechniques. The techniques theyuse include small group discus-sions, debates, case studies, drama,role plays, mock trials, games andcritical thinking exercises. Schooleducators and community leadersare also taught how to teach theprogramme.

The programme was initiated inthe United States in 1972 atGeorgetown University LawCentre. The first internationalStreet Law programme was in-troduced in South Africa by Pro-fessor David McQuoid-Mason in1985.

In 1987 the Centre for Socio-LegalStudies (CSLS) was set up on theDurban campus to accommodateStreet Law and a labour law pro-ject. The Street Law project wasinitially funded by the Associationof Law Societies and proved to bea great success. It was soon expan-ded to 15 other universities, andsubsequently attracted sub-stantial funding from USAIDand other donors.

Street Law and the CSLSStreet Law and the CSLSStreet Law and the CSLSStreet Law and the CSLSStreet Law and the CSLS

ORI is an independent, non-profitand non-governmental, SouthAfrican marine and coastal re-search institution dedicated togenerating scientific information insupport of biodiversity conser-vation and sustainable develop-ment of resources in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and the WestIndian Ocean (WIO). ORI is theresearch division of the SouthAfrican Association for MarineBiological Research (SAAMBR),which also includes the Sea-WorldAquarium at uShaka Marine Worldand the NPC-Marine EducationCentre. SAAMBR is controlled bya Council, comprising privateindividuals with academic, scienti-fic and business acumen. Two seatson Council are permanently allo-cated to the University.

ORI functions academically as aResearch Institute of UKZN andeach year generates a substantialnumber of post-graduates fromKwaZulu-Natal and the EastAfrican region in fisheries andrelated sciences. To date more than75 post-graduate students havequalified through ORI.

Research activities are undertakenby a professional team of 25-30scientific staff. Projects are under-

The Oceanographic RThe Oceanographic RThe Oceanographic RThe Oceanographic RThe Oceanographic ResearchesearchesearchesearchesearchInstitute (ORI)Institute (ORI)Institute (ORI)Institute (ORI)Institute (ORI)

Law students continue to be in-volved in the programme through-out South Africa, and at the HowardCollege campus 92 students wereinvolved in the 2005 credit-bearingStreet Law LLB course, where theyuse the CSLS resource centre whenpreparing their lessons. The pro-gramme provides them with valu-able in-service training to developthe skills they will need as futurelawyers.

In 1997 Professor McQuoid-Mason was requested by StreetLaw Incorporated to use his SouthAfrican experience, and the workof the CSLS, to help develop pro-grammes in Eastern and CentralEurope, Central Asia and theformer Soviet Union. Street Lawprogrammes have also developedin Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria andGhana – most of them based on theSouth African model that emergedat the CSLS.

More recently, the CSLS and StreetLaw have been focusing on edu-cation and training on HIV/Aids,human rights and the law. At theend of 2005 the CSLS and StreetLaw took over the IndependentMedico-Legal Unit’s trainingprogramme on Crimes againstWomen and Children that, underthe auspices of the KwaZulu-NatalDepartment of Health, trains policeofficers, prosecutors, district

medical officers, lawyers, nursesand NGOs, to work as teams toensure that women and childrensurvivors of crimes get their day incourt and that the people who haveabused them are properly convictedand sentenced.

taken for a wide range of local,national and international agenciesand donors, including governmentsof the region. ORI actively contri-butes to the development of marinescience as well as coastal andmarine policy instruments in SouthAfrica and beyond.

ORI has operated successfully formore than 50 years and has recentlyrelocated to the new 11 hectareuShaka Marine World on Durban’sbeachfront. ORI has modern andefficiently managed facilities andinfrastructure. This includes one ofthe most up-to-date marine sciencelibraries in sub-Saharan Africa, amodern and efficient computer

network, a mariculture laboratory,good research laboratory facilities,including histology, age determi-nation and genetic capacity. Inaddition there are classrooms andlecture hall facilities for up to 120people as well as a strong adminis-tration department that providesfinancial and related services.

For many years ORI has activelysupported research projects ofdirect application to the NairobiConvention and published infor-mation relevant to the aims of theConvention. Recent initiativesinclude collaboration with theSWIOFP, Jakarta Mandate,TransMap and CORDIO. Through

these projects, ORI has establishedexcellent working relationshipswith marine and coastal institutionsthroughout East Africa and theWIO island states. ORI also hasstrong alliances with regionalbodies such as IUCN, WOMSA,WWF, FAO, etc.

The overall research policy of ORIis based on the following:

to conduct applied coastal andmarine research with practicalapplication;

to facilitate the use of scientificknowledge in decision-making,hence aiding sustainable de-velopment;

to employ and support a coreteam of top scientists;

to train South African studentsin marine science, specificallyto develop and retain suchcapacity within the region;

to collect, manage and interpretlong-term data sets in support ofenvironmental monitoring in theWIO.

Spotlight on … UKZN Centres

4

Deputy Vice-Chancellor andHead of the College ofHumanities, Professor

Fikile Mazibuko was the sole SouthAfrican delegate at the regionalconference and workshop on therole of the African University in theattainment of the United Nation’sMillennium Goals.

The conference was held at theKenya School of Monetary Studies,Kenyatta University, Nairobi, from14-18 November 2005. Prominentfemale scholars from Africanuniversities were invited.

In her presentation, ProfessorMazibuko quoted President Thabo

Mbeki: “All of us understand thatthe goal of shared prosperity isachievable because for the firsttime in human history, humansociety possesses the capacity, theknowledge and the resources toeradicate poverty and underde-velopment.” She added that HigherEducation institutions are a criticaland strategic player in developmentand education, transformation andcapacity building. They lead thediscourse and shape the philo-sophical frameworks for develop-ment and education. For the pastdecade South Africa has investedintellectual, human, financial andother resources to change thelandscape of Higher Education and

GOLDEN Key is an organisationfor the top 15% of students at SouthAfrican universities. Members ofGolden Key do more than aca-demic work – they participate in awide variety of community out-reach projects. In KwaZulu-Natal,for example, Golden Key memberscollected donations of shoes,blankets, clothing and other itemsfor Agape Child Care Centre inHillcrest, which looks after child-ren orphaned by HIV/Aids. TheCentre lost everything when itsbuildings caught fire.

Guest speakers at the 2005 GoldenKey Conference included theHonourable Ms Justice LeonaTheron, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, MrEdwin Letty and Mrs ChantellIIbury.

In her address, Justice Theron saidthat decisions that students make

Conference on Millennium GoalsConference on Millennium GoalsConference on Millennium GoalsConference on Millennium GoalsConference on Millennium Goals

AS South Africa gears up for localgovernment elections, povertyalleviation and service deliveryhave been identified as two of thecountry’s biggest challenges. Therecent conference on “The seconddecade of local democracy in SouthAfrica: Towards accelerated ser-vice delivery” hosted by UKZN’sSchool of Public Administrationand Development Management, incollaboration with the DemocracyDevelopment Progarmme, couldnot have come at a more timeousmoment.

The conference critically examineddelivery of basic services, NGOand community involvement, inter-governmental relations, planning,municipal infrastructural grantsmanagement and development. The140 delegates also explored per-formance management, municipalservice partnerships and strategicissues in housing /water/sanitationand electricity policy.

Academic co-ordinator of theConference, Professor P S Reddysays that since 1993, a plethora oflegislation has been introduced tofacilitate local government restruc-

TAKING UKZN TO AFRICA: Professor Mazibuko addresses the Conference.

Speeding upSpeeding upSpeeding upSpeeding upSpeeding upservice deliveryservice deliveryservice deliveryservice deliveryservice deliveryGolden Key ConferenceGolden Key ConferenceGolden Key ConferenceGolden Key ConferenceGolden Key Conference

turing. This transformation processhas had a marked impact politi-cally, institutionally, economicallyand socially on the development ofthe 284 new, non-racial, demo-cratic local authorities.

He points out that “the obstacles toefficient and effective servicedelivery are limited capacity andresources, which have to be ad-dressed as a matter of urgency.”The effect of the poor skills base,he adds, meant that some munici-palities are unable to implementnew strategies of delivery and costrecovery. Improving the quality oflife of local communities willrequire the infrastructure to addressbacklogs; suitable institutional andfinancial arrangements to facilitatethe provision of sustainable ser-vices; and enhanced mechanismsand systems

The conference was attended bysenior local and provincial govern-ment officials, Councilors, aca-demics, researchers and repre-sentatives of non-governmentalorganisations.

- Bhekani Dlamini

now will affect the rest of theirlives: “You are at an exciting stageof your life, whatever you are goingto achieve is going to be what youhave worked for in life, and alwaysremember that umuntu ngumuntungabantu – people make you whatyou are.” Today’s youth face manychallenges, including the fightagainst HIV/Aids, crime, and youthdevelopment. “Youth must becentral in the development of thenew South Africa. Homelessness,hunger, poverty and lack of educationare our enemies.” Justice Theron wasofficially installed as a Golden Keymember at the Conference.

Dr Sooliman of the Gift of theGivers Foundation, the largestNon-Governmental Organisation inAfrica, encouraged Golden Keymembers to be more active andsupport poverty stricken com-munities.

“There are huge skills shortages.Golden Key members have toapply their minds, resources, andknowledge, to find solutions tothese problems and change thecourse of history. South Africa mustlive up to its name of being thepowerhouse of the continent”, hesaid.

The University of Cape Townscooped nearly all the awards, withthe Nelson Mandela MetropolitanUniversity receiving the Best NewsLetter Award. The electronic news-letter reaches more than 2 000Golden Key members. RhodesUniversity student Peter JohnMohau Griffiths was chosen as the2005 student leader of the year, andreceived a cheque for R5 000.

- Thembeka Dlungwane

(Left to right) Mrs Sooliman, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman from Gift of the Givers Foundation, Mrs Sheri Seetal (ChapetrAdvisor-Westville),Mrs Mia Badenhorst (Golden Key Director:SA), Mr Peter John Mohau Griffiths (2005 StudentLeader of the Year) and Miss Guntze Motiang (Head Office Liaison).

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education in general. “It is inter-esting and important that ourUniversity’s vision to be the‘Premier University of AfricanScholarship’ is put into actionthrough engagements like thisconference.”

An article on “Social work pro-fessional associations in SouthAfrica” by Professor Mazibuko andProfessor Mel Gray of the Uni-versity of Newcastle in Australiawas on the list of the 50 most-readarticles in the International SocialWork journal for November 2005.

- Siyabonga Seme

FellowFellowFellowFellowFellowTHE Collegium Fellows of the International Communicology Institute(ICI) has nominated Profesor Keyan G Tomaselli of UKZN’s Culture,Communication and Media Studies to become an ICI Fellow.

ICI aims to create a research community of like-minded scholarsinterested in the broad range of communication and culture from theperspectives of Semiotics and Phenomenology. The ICI structure andprocedure is modeled on the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Professor Tomaselli said that “The ICI conferral suggests that thework done at UKZN has an international reach and relevance”.

5

Student Student Student Student Student vvvvvisionisionisionisionisionNew SRCs were voted in on

each of UKZN’s fivecampuses towards the end

of 2005. ukzndaba asked thepresident of each structure tooutline their vision for 2006:

Pietermaritzburg campus SRCpresident Mr Semi Mashita feelsthat “our campus sometimes getsforgotten”. He adds that “transfor-mation is one of the key issues onthis campus”. Security and accessfor students who are physicallychallenged are two more issues thatwill receive his attention.

“Your priority is to get your degree.Avoid substance abuse and preg-nancy”, he advises students.

The Howard College campusSRC is led by Miss Sibu Sibiya.

“The challenges facing HowardCollege are those facing UKZN asa whole – academic exclusions,high failure rates, insufficientresidence facilities, financial ex-clusions and financial aid.” Other

items high on Miss Sibiya’s agendaare racial integration on campus,conscientising students on HIV andAids and providing more supportmechanisms for differently-abledstudents.

“The University is a microcosm ofthe world. Don’t be apathetic anddon’t cocoon yourselves in yourown worlds,” she says.

Mr Thabani Nyawose, SRC Pre-sident on the Westville campus,says that UKZN is still in a state oftransition: “We cannot expecteverything to be perfect. We haveconfidence in our Vice-Chancellorand Executive, but hope that theExecutive Management will under-stand issues affecting students andbe more sensitive to student needs”.He is committed to preventing thespread of HIV and Aids among thestudent population and supportingthose who are already infected. Heurges students to make use of thestudent counseling facilities pro-vided by the University for bothacademic and personal problems.

STUDENT LEADERS: (Left to right) Thabani Nyawose (Westville), Nokwethemba Mtshali (Medical School),Semi Mashita (Pietermaritzburg), Sibu Sibiya (Howard College), Sibusi Ngwano (Central SRC president) andThabo Tsiki (Edgewood).

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President of the Medical SchoolSRC, Miss Nokwethemba Mtshaliwould like to see students fromdifferent backgrounds becomingmore tolerant towards one an-other. Although Medical Schoolis a relatively safe campus, the

residences are far from lecture andstudy facilities. This does have animpact on the safety of students.

Edgewood campus SRC PresidentMr Thabo Tsiki describes Edge-wood as a growing campus that

requires more resources. “We areplanning a number of activities thisyear that will bind us together andbuild a spirit of solidarity amongstall the students”, he said.

- Thembeka Dlungwane

THE search for a suitable candidateto lead the University’s Human Re-sources Department has ended withthe appointment of Mr IsaacMafereka, who assumed duty inJanuary 2006.

Mr Mafereka has a BA (Hons) inIndustrial Psychology and is cur-rently completing an M.Phil inEthics at the University of Johan-nesburg. Married with three child-ren, he grew up in Evaton,Vereeniging.

He has 25 years of experience,including 20 years in the HumanResources field in both the privateand tertiary education sectors. Hehas worked as a General Managerat Malesela Taihan Electric Cables,

Associate Director of HumanResources at Vaal University ofTechnology and as Manager ofEmployee Strategies and Servicesat Samancor. He believes that theintegration of different cultures atUKZN offers an opportunity toharness diversity and that thedifferences can be used in a posi-tive way. He says he was impressedthat the University implemented itsmerger within the space of twoyears. “Other institutions are stillgrappling with the how’s and thewhy’s of mergers and have setthemselves timeframes rangingfrom 5-10 years to implement it.”

Sharing his vision, Mr Maferekasuggests that everyone who is partof UKZN should work towards a

common goal and make the Univer-sity a Centre of Excellence. Hefeels that Human Resources shouldnot function merely as an adminis-trative entity, but should add valueto the Institution by enhancing itsability to achieve its strategicobjectives. “The world is changingvery fast. Gone are the days whena Human Resources Departmentonly did leave and appointments –although these are an importantcomponent of its work.” He is agreat believer in participativemanagement: “Continuous engage-ment is important to manageanxiety and uncertainty.” Hebelieves that conflict resolution isfar preferable to litigation.

Mr Mafereka is a Chartered HumanResources Practitioner with theSouth African Board for PersonnelPractice (SABPP), a member of theInstitute of Personnel Management(MIPM), and a member and Directorof the Black Management Forum(BMF) in the Vaal Triangle Branch.He also served as a GoverningCouncil Member of the SebokengCollege of Education, a member ofthe Watuni Transformation Forumof Potchefstroom University forChristian Higher Education (nowthe North West University) and asa member of the Young Men’sGuild (YMG) of the MethodistChurch of Southern Africa.

- Bhekani Dlamini

New HR DirectorNew HR DirectorNew HR DirectorNew HR DirectorNew HR Director

Isaac Mafereka.

The studentsThe studentsThe studentsThe studentsThe students’voicevoicevoicevoicevoicePOWER, money, cars and manyother privileges – that’s what comesto many minds when you mention‘SRC’.

This is not what the SRC is about!

So what does the SRC do?

The SRC is there to representstudents in all University matters,be it as individuals or as part of thestudent body. The SRC fights forstudents’ rights and strives for ahigh standard of welfare andservices for all, regardless of race,colour, creed or gender.

The SRC facilitates communi-cation between students and otherstakeholders in the University and

the Higher Education sector. Itrepresents students on variousUniversity structures, includingSenate, Council, and the FinanceCommittee and on the AcademicBoards. Leading by example, itpromotes a culture of democracyand tolerance within the Universitycommunity. The SRC works to-wards a national education systemthat will instill in students a senseof unity, responsibility and patri-otism.

The SRC creates forums to achievecommon goals. It helps to resolvedisputes between students. Itsupports the development of goodstudent governance by partici-pation in various student structures.

The number of women SRC mem-bers has increased over the years,proving that women are taking theirrightful place in University gover-nance structures.

Students, support your SRC. Get toknow them, not only when youneed help! Attend mass meetingsand get involved in Universityactivities. You have nothing to loseand everything to gain!

- Zikhona P Ndzuta, Internationaland Marketing Officer, CentralSRC

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Zikhona Ndzuta.

6

UKZNUKZNUKZNUKZNUKZN’s racing cars racing cars racing cars racing cars racing carFourth year students at

UKZN’s School ofMechanical Engineering

have designed a Formula Veeracing car in the latest Pro/ENGINEER 3D software, withsponsorship from Bearing Man.Five hundred sets of Pro/ENGINEER were donated to theUniversity by productONE.

The racing car was entered in tworaces in the Formula Vee section atthe Kyalami Race Track recently.Driven by professional driver ClaudeJanisch, it achieved an overallresult of 26th place out of 41 cars.

Formula Vee racing originated in1963 in the United States where itwas first established as a learningclass of motor racing. Today it has

achieved global popularity, withassociations in America, Australia,New Zealand, Germany, SouthAfrica and Britain.

Professor Evgeny Morozov, headof the vehicle design project andthe Formula Vee project supervi-sor at the University, says that ap-plying the principles they havelearnt in a practical situation is acritical part of engineering student’straining. “You cannot get a betterpractical realisation than designinga racing car that actually races pro-fessionally and, while not winning,certainly competes and finisheswithout any problems.” The car isto be sold and the proceeds will begiven to charity.

- MaryAnn FrancisRACING BOFFS: (left to right) Claire Hean, Lloyd Clark, Jamie Ramsamy, Professor E V Morozov, Jean Pitot,Zaahir Essa, and Lyndie Schwikkard.

Deputy Deans of StudentsDeputy Deans of StudentsDeputy Deans of StudentsDeputy Deans of StudentsDeputy Deans of Studentsappointedappointedappointedappointedappointed

TWO Deputy Deans have beenappointed to facilitate the provisionof accelerated services to students,who are the largest constituency atthe University.

Mr Themba Khumalo has beenappointed Deputy Dean of Students

on the Westville and Edgewoodcampuses and Rev James Ngomanewill serve as Deputy Dean ofStudents on the Pietermaritzburgcampus. The Deputy Deans reportto the Executive Dean of Students,and are responsible for the welfareof students on their particular

campuses. They are also in chargeof campus-based departmentswithin the Division of StudentServices such as the Student Coun-selling Centres, Campus HealthClinics, Sports Administration,SRC Administration, StudentLeadership Development, CareerDevelopment and Student Employ-ment.

Rev Ngomane sees his role asgiving strategic leadership tostudent-related services. He will bein charge of facilitating and co-ordinating financial exclusions andchairing academic appeals. He iscommitted to upholding students’right to learn, as laid down in SouthAfrica’s Constitution. He says oneof his challenges is to protectstudents’ interests from privatecompanies, who promote theirproducts on campuses. “I amdrafting policy regarding studentservices and student development.This will assist the Executive Deanin facilitating a better relationshipbetween students and academics.”Rev Ngomane also hopes to ad-dress the issue of cultural misunder-standing and encourage culturaldiversity. One of his top prioritiesis improving residences to cater forboth undergraduate and post-graduate students, and ensuringthat transport is readily availablein the Pietermaritzburg Munici-pality.

“I want to be an instrument ofchange. We need to improve learn-

Mr Themba Khumalo.

Rev James Ngomane.

ing facilities, including lecturehalls, auditoriums and libraries andembrace modern technology”. Healso wants to preserve the Univer-sity’s cultural heritage on thePietermaritzburg campus.

Mr Themba Khumalo has extensiveexperience in working with stu-dents. After having served asDirector of Housing, he was theInterim Assistant Dean of Studentsduring the merger period.

He says that his first priority is toensure a cohesive student servicedivision on the Westville campus.He described last year’s transportand housing problems as learningexperiences. Such situations can beavoided through proper planning.One of the difficulties with housingis that “we can never have enoughaccommodation for students andwe will have to use private accom-modation”. Transportation pro-blems are being resolved via thetender process.

Many parents and students haveraised the issue of security on theWestville campus. Mr Khumalostressed that the Campus Pro-tection Services has capableofficers. No major incidents haveoccurred and all the access pointsare monitored.

- Thembeka Dlungwane andBhekani Dlamini

PROFESSOR Peter Robinsonof the School of Architecture,Planning and Housing wasawarded the Gerd Albers prizefor the best book publicationof the year by the InternationalSociety of City and RegionalPlanners (ISoCaRP) at its 41st

Congress held in Bilbao inOctober. The book, edited byPeter Robinson, JeffMcCarthy and Clive Forster, isentitled “Urban Reconstruc-tion in the Developing World.Learning through an interna-tional best practice”. It isbased on research into the re-construction of Cato Manorand many of the papers in-cluded in the book were writ-ten by UKZN academics.

In response to the Congresstheme “Making spaces for theCreative Economy” ProfessorRobinson’s paper on “Thecreative approach to integratedlocal economic developmentin Cato Manor” was the basisfor eThekwini municipalityreceiving one of ISoCaRP’sfive inaugural Awards forExcellence. The Awards forExcellence are conferred inrecognition of exceptionallyinnovative urban initiativesthat best express the theme ofthe annual ISoCaRP Congress.Other cities to receive Awardsfor Excellence were Bilbao,Curitiba, Helsinki and Singa-pore.

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UKZN achievers

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Innovative and creative projectswere the order of the day at theSchool of Electrical, Electronic

and Computer Engineering’s OpenDay. One hundred and fifteen final-year students displayed their work.

Design is fundamental to engineer-ing and students are required toparticipate in design studies duringall four years of the curriculum. Thedesign projects are a test of theirability to survive as a design engi-

Prof S P Vij (President: Plant Sciences Section, ISCA), Dr P Pathak (PunjabUniversity, Chandigarh), Prof U C Goswami (Gauhati University, Assam)and Dr Nisha Singh.

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MAKING STRIDES: Engineers of the future.

neer. Working alone for the firsttime, they were required to meetindividual design specifications.

Grant Freyer received the AltronGroup Prize as the best overall final

year student in Electronic En-gineering. He designed a low cost,compact GPS-based positionlogger. This logging system can beactivated inside a car to lockpossessions inside and trace wherethe driver has been. Grant iscurrently working as an electronicengineer in training for SASOL,which sponsored his studies.

Chris Sweidan scooped the AccenturePrize for the Best Electronic Engineer-ing Final Year Design Project. Hedesigned and worked on a vehicletravel logger. This allows a driverto log each trip, marking it as eitherbusiness or private. It also recordssome of the information about thepurpose of the trip. The trip dis-tance is automatically recorded.

Akash Tulsie won the Siemens Ltdsecond prize for his 4th Year DesignProject and the ABB South Africaprize for the Best Final YearStudent in Electrical Engineering.He designed an excitation controlfor power system stability. This

works as a generator to prevent ablackout. He is working as juniorengineer at Spoornet in Durban.

Nikesh Hargoon walked away withtwo prizes – the Siemens Ltd firstprize for the Best Electrical Engi-neering 4th Year Design Project andthe ABB South Africa prize for theBest Control Systems Project. Hedesigned an Automatic Warehous-ing System.

Kartik Naidoo won the Council forScientific and Industrial Research(CSIR) Defence Technology Prizefor the Best Computer EngineeringFinal Year Design Project and wasnamed the Best Final Year Studentin Computer Engineering. Hisproject was a Real Time OperatingSystem, which controls all pro-cesses in a plant at once. Kartikintends pursuing a Masters degree.

The School extended thanks to all thecompanies who sponsored prizes.

– Bhekani Dlamini

Blazing theBlazing theBlazing theBlazing theBlazing thescience trailscience trailscience trailscience trailscience trail

Farewell to eminent historiansFarewell to eminent historiansFarewell to eminent historiansFarewell to eminent historiansFarewell to eminent historians

A farewell function at the CampbellCollections honoured the contri-butions made by two eminentUKZN historians, who both retiredin December 2005.

Professors John Wright and JeffGuy have made an enormouscontribution to the historiographyof KwaZulu-Natal and have alsoserved as outstanding teachers andmentors. They have won awardsand recognition for their work onindigenous societies and the impactof colonial rule as well as theformation of modern South Africaon the people of this region. Usingarchaeological, oral, written as well

as visual sources, these two his-torians have published papers andbooks read and used around theworld and in KwaZulu-Natal re-focusing the way in which weunderstand the past.

Professor Guy joined the Univer-sity in 1992. Describing his aca-demic career as both “tough andexciting”, he is concerned thatinterest in history is diminishing.

Professor Wright served the Uni-versity for 34 years, starting in1971. He recalls the late 1980swhen South African society waschanging. “We had to change our

DR Nisha Singh, principal techni-cian in the School of Biological andConservation Sciences, was invitedto present a paper at the 93rd IndianScience Congress held in Hydera-bad, India, from 3-7 January 2006.Of the 20 000 delegates Dr Singh,who has been with the Universityfor the past 25 years, was the onlyscientist from South Africa.

The conference highlighted the useof scientific knowledge to improvethe lives of rural people. Dr Singh’spaper focused on entrepreneurship.Her current research focuses onextracting useful compounds fromplants using modern biotechno-logical methods.

Dr Singh has received widespreadrecognition for her work. She is therecipient of the National ResearchFund Thuthuka Award for 2006 andreceived a Research ExcellenceAward from UKZN in 2004. Sheattributes her success to the factthat UKZN provides her with worldclass facilities.

She hopes that more young womenwill pursue careers as scientists:“Science has proven that we allhave the same brain and are there-fore capable of similar achieve-ment. It’s just a matter of exposureand being given the opportunity”.

- Thembeka Dlungwane

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Professors John Wright (left) and Jeff Guy.

teaching – a valuable and enjoyableexperience”.

Tributes flowed from local col-leagues, and from England,Canada, Australia, the USA,Lesotho and Norway, where Pro-fessors Wright and Guy haveestablished research contacts andlinks through teaching over the last40 years. They will both maintaintheir links with colleagues atUKZN.

- Catherine Burns, Liz Gunnerand Bhekani Dlamini.

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

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The hockey season is upon usalready and local clubplayers have begun wield-

ing their sticks in indoor arenasaround the city.

UKZN’s first team ran rampantover Pinetown to win 13-2. Theteam fielded some of their newsignings from the season with Matt

THE 9th Time of the Writer international writers’ festival takes placefrom 20-25 March. Co-ordinated by UKZN’s Centre for CreativeArts, this established event on the South African cultural calendardelivers quality national, African and international literary talentwithin an extensive week-long programme of activities.

Participants include Chris Abani (Nigeria), José Eduardo Agualusa(Angola), Abdelkader Benali (Morroco/Netherlands), BernardineEvaristo (United Kingdom), Amitav Ghosh (India), Eric Miyeni(South Africa), Kagiso Lesego Molope (South Africa), PatriceNganang (Cameroon), OEHM Nxumalo (South Africa), Monica Aracde Nyeko (Uganda), Marguerite Poland (South Africa), Marita vander Vyver (South Africa), Ayu Utami (Indonesia), Eliot Weinberger(USA), and Zapiro (South Africa). Further participant informationand programme details will become available closer to the festival.

Presentations, readings and discussions take place nightly at theElizabeth Sneddon Theatre on the Howard College campus, withdaily activities at various tertiary institutions, community centres,museums, schools and other venues, including prisons.

Of special interest this year is the conference on “The ChangingFace of African Literature” organised by the Centre for AfricanLiterary Studies from 21-23 March on the Pietermaritzburg campus.

Tickets are R20 for the evening sessions and R10 for students, andcan be purchased through Computicket or at the door one hourbefore the event. Workshops and seminars are free. For moreinformation contact The Centre for Creative Arts on 031 - 260 2506or e-mail: cca@ukzn.ac.za

HockHockHockHockHockey champsey champsey champsey champsey champs

UKZN’s Women’s Hockey team won the Indoor League in 2005.

Botha (formerly Gongs) and youngbloods Gerhard Olivier (Maritz-burg College) and Kevin Demartines(KES), who both matriculated lastyear.

In the women’s section the Uni-versity once again appears to be thepace-setter and is well poised toretain the indoor crown. UKZN

took the opening round 14-1. Thetoast of the team was Teri Chelin,who netted eight times, while therest of the goals were shared byCindy Botha (4) and Carla Botha(2).

Edited version of an article byZayn Nabbi in the Daily News,12/1/2006

Leadership ProgrammeLeadership ProgrammeLeadership ProgrammeLeadership ProgrammeLeadership Programme

Pamela Adams, Manager: Events & Protocol (Public Affairs and Corporate Communications Division) (front rowsecond right) and Busisiwe Adelaide Ndlovu, (Occupational Health Nurse) (back row, second right) at UKZNattended a Programme on Leadership, Training and Development at VV Giri National Labour Institute in Noida,India last October. Here she and fellow course participants pose in front of the Taj Mahal in Agra.

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