Wits scholars honour Madiba

14 March 2014 - By Wits University

Harvard scholars and leading Africanist thinkers gathered at Sanders Theatre at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, 11 March 2014, to remember and celebrate the life and heroic legacy of the anti-apartheid activist and inspirational world leader, the late South African president Nelson Mandela.

Panelists included Margaret Marshall, a native South African and retired chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court who is now a senior research fellow and lecturer at Harvard Law School; Professor Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg; and Achille Mbembe, Wits Research Professor in History and Politics.

Read the full article published in the Harvard Gazette.

Brighter smiles for the underprivileged

31 March 2014 - By Vivienne Rowland

Underprivileged communities in Diepsloot, Salvokop and Boschkop in Gauteng will smile brighter after the donation of four mobile dental units on World Oral Health Day, celebrated annually on 20 March.

The Wits Department of Community Dentistry in the School of Oral Health Sciences joined hands with the global health care company Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) and the Gauteng Department of Health as part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives. GSK donated the four fully equipped mobile dental units to Wits and the other two to oral health academic institutions in Gauteng. 

These academic institutions are now able to conduct service learning and provide oral health services, which commenced in April 2013, to the under-served communities of Diepsloot, Salvokop and Boschkop and will further strengthen primary health care.

At an official launch event at the Diepsloot Community Hall, about 200 guests, including the Gauteng MEC for Health Hope Papo, community members, students, representatives from several community organisations, GSK; and the Wits School of Oral Health Sciences; attended the hand-over of the units.

Professor Veerasamy Yengopal, Head of the Wits Department of Community Dentistry said that worldwide about 5 billion people suffered from dental problems.

“Dentistry is one of the most expensive services to deliver and we are thankful that GSK has donated the mobile units for us to achieve successful oral health for the people of Diepsloot and surrounding communities,” said Yengopal.

“Gauteng is committed to offering dental services at all levels and mobile services are cost effective and ideal at meeting the needs of communities,” said Papo.

Dr Liezel Bygate, spokesperson for Aquafresh at GSK South Africa  shared specification details of the dental units: “The units feature everything you would find in a dentist consulting room. Three of the units have two dental chairs each and the fourth has one chair; it also has X-ray equipment and all the necessary dental supplies that are required to offer quality care. The mobile units have been fitted out to the same high standard of treatment that people would receive during a visit to a dental practice.”

Did you know?

• 90% of the world’s population will suffer from oral disease in their lifetime, ranging from caries, periodontal diseases and tooth decay to oral cancer.
• Only 60% of the world’s population enjoys access to oral health care.
• Between 60 and 90% of school children worldwide have dental caries.
• Toothache is the number one reason for absenteeism from school.
• Oral health has also a huge impact on general health and other issues such as self-confidence, problems with social interactions and disrupts crucial functions like speaking and sleeping.
• The first line of oral health care is with the individual through prevention, especially good brushing habits and regular check-ups.

Scholarship recipients honoured

17 March 2014 - By Wits University

Twenty special individuals were honoured for their achievements during a celebratory breakfast at the Wits Club on 16 March 2014. Any one of these individuals could go on to become the next Governor of the Reserve Bank – or the next president! But on Sunday, seated among their parents and senior members of the Wits executive, the recipients of the VC’s Scholarships and the Equality Scholarships were reminded of the need to continue striving for excellence to be able to realise the opportunities at their fingertips.

The Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarships are awarded to the 10 most outstanding matriculants from all schools who have chosen to do their undergraduate degrees at the University. This year, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education, Wits has introduced the Equality Scholarships, awarded to the top 10 matriculants from Quintile 1 and 2 schools who have chosen to attend the University.

The top learner among the 20 achieved a matric aggregate of 98%.

Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Adam Habib, produced some more numbers to remind the scholarship recipients of just how extraordinary they were. He said that Wits received about 46 500 applications for 5 500 available places this year. The Faculty of Health Sciences received about 8 000 applications for 250 available places in medicine.

“The students here are 20 out of 46 500. They are the top end of students not only in this University, but probably in the country,” said Habib.

Furthermore, while 1.2 million learners enter the school system, only 600 000 make it to matric and only 30% of those obtain a university pass. Once learners have entered the higher education system, only 50% will finish, and only 30% of those will finish in the stipulated time.

“Only about 40 000 students complete their degrees on time. This is an enormous waste of human talent. We can talk about freedom and development all we like, but if we lose 1.1 million people, we have no hope. We recognise the need to assist students who are struggling to make sure they pass on time,” said Habib.

The Vice-Chancellor, who presented each recipient with a certificate and gift pack, said he was humbled to be in the presence of the 20 remarkable students. “I have the opportunity to lead a great institution, but our greatness is defined by these men and women.”

He also paid tribute to two groups of people without whom the scholarship recipients would not be who they are – their parents, and their school principals.

Wits Acting Registrar, Nita Lawton-Misra, urged the students to continue working hard to benefit not just themselves, but also their fellow countrymen. “Make sure that whatever your chosen career path, you use the opportunities given to you to make this country a better place,” she said.

University slams anti-gay laws

3 March 2014 - By Wits University

Statement from the University of the Witwatersrand pertaining to anti-homosexuality legisation in Africa

The University of the Witwatersrand notes with dismay and concern recent legislation in Nigeria and Uganda that criminalises women and men who express themselves through relationships other than those defined as heterosexual. It also decries the targeted violence that has accompanied this legislation in these and other countries.

While academic debates may focus on the extent to which human sexuality is a result of nature or nurture, or whether it is inherent to Western or African culture, the reality is that diversity in terms of sexual orientation is part of the recorded history of virtually all societies.

Tolerance and acceptance of such diversity has not been easily secured, but those nations that have afforded equal rights to sexual minorities alongside a multitude of other diverse identities can justifiably claim the benefits of an equitable and just environment for their citizens who live in, and actively contribute to an inclusive and productive state.

The University of the Witwatersrand values diversity and believes that its student and staff body should reflect a multiplicity of race, gender, socio-economic background, urban and rural geographic origin, culture, ethnicity, disability, religion, national origin and sexual orientation. Indeed it believes that everyone has a role to play in furthering human development and that diversity can only enhance learning and the generation human knowledge. Such principles are the foundation of university policies and are underpinned by values enshrined within the constitution of South Africa.

It is the University’s view that recent legislation in Africa and elsewhere that seeks to criminalise sexual minorities, runs counter to these values and in addition contravenes key articles contained within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is apparent that these legislations are driven, not by a desire to address true criminality but rather are projected by an incomplete understanding of human sexuality compounded by an orchestrated campaign of hate towards vulnerable groups. South Africans understand only too well the damaging legacy that hate founded on institutionalised prejudice can deliver and that while the seeds of hate are easy to sow, they can take generations to uproot once they have spread and taken hold.

Leadership carries with it a huge responsibility, not least of which is protection of minority rights from the ebb and flow of opinion amongst the “moral majority”. The University (that counts amongst its staff and students, thinkers from across the continent of Africa), stands with other academic institutions in urging leaders to reflect carefully on what they have allowed to pass and points out that history will judge harshly those who are responsible for imprisoning others as a result of whom they love. We strongly urge that these laws be rescinded and encourage others who value the sanctity of Universal Human Rights to call for the same.

Happy birthday, Geosciences!

6 March 2014 - By Wits University

The School of Geosciences celebrated its 110th anniversary on 7 March 2014.

Staff and students gathered in front of the Geosciences Building to sing “Happy birthday” to the School and cut a specially decorated cake to mark the occasion.

The School shares a birthday with two other Schools that were also formed in 1904, known today as the School of Mines and the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering. The history of these Schools dates back to when the South African School of Mines moved from Kimberley to Johannesburg in 1904 to become the Transvaal Technical Institute. From these humble beginnings, the University of the Witwatersrand later emerged.

This short video marks the Geosciences’ celebration.

A memoir of place and sexuality

5 March 2014 - By Erna van Wyk

Well-known South African author, Mark Gevisser, launched his new book, titled Lost and Found in Johannesburg, at the Wits Art Museum (WAM) on Tuesday, 4 March 2014.

He is best known for his book Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred, a biography of the former president. But with his latest book, Gevisser embarked on a very personal journey of growing up in and exploring his beloved Johannesburg.

The Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WiSER) alongside Jonathan Ball Publishers and City Press hosted the launch and provided this abstract of his book: “As a boy in the 1970s, Gevisser would play ‘Dispatcher’, a game that involved sending imaginary couriers on routes mapped out from Holmden’s Register of Johannesburg.  As the phantom fleet made its way across the troubled city’s atomised geographies, so too did the young dispatcher begin to figure out his own place in the world. With the maps and photographs he has collected over two decades, Gevisser plots his path across the fraught city of his birth, from his coming to sexual consciousness to his brutal experience, as an adult, of an armed home invasion.” 

“He tracks back along his Jewish immigrant family’s routes to South Africa, from Vilnius and Dublin and Jerusalem, and he immerses himself, too, in the city of today, spending time with a transgender sangoma, the artists William Kentridge and Nicholas Hlobo, a glamorous environmental crusader, an elderly black gay couple from Soweto, and many more.”

“In a style that balances gripping storytelling with deep lyricism and boundary-breaking pastiche, Gevisser finds himself, loses himself, and finds himself again in the city of his birth.”

Gevisser addressed a packed WAM café, with the vibrant Braamfontein as a fitting backdrop for a story about the many faces of Jozi. He told the audience that being South African has always meant the “negotiation of frontiers”.

“That has meant the marking of territories; the separating art of us from them; of the known from the unknown; the safe from the fearful; the rich from the poor; the gated from the squattered; the banked from the un-banked,” he said. .

Read Gevisser’s essay in the Mail & Guardian. Learn more about Mark Gevisser.

Humanities academics recognised by awards

31 March 2014 - By Vivienne Rowland

A legal anthropologist and education geneticist have been selected as the winners of the annual Humanities Teaching and Learning Awards hosted by the Wits Faculty of Humanities.

Dr Kelly Gillespie from the Department of Anthropology receives the Postgraduate Teaching and Learning Award, while Eunice Nyamupangedengu from the School of Education receives the Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Award.

This is the third year that the awards are taking place, and it aims to reward excellence in teaching and the promotion of learning in the Faculty of Humanities. The purpose of these awards is to stimulate teaching and teaching-related scholarly and/or creative activities.

Hayani walks away with Naledi Award

19 March 2014 - By Vivienne Rowland

One of Wits’ premier performances staged by Drama for Life received the recognition that it deserves at the 11^th annual Naledi Theatre Awards held on 17 March 2104.

Hayani, the play performed by Nat Ramabulana and Atandwa Kani and directed by Warren Nebe, the Director of the Drama for Life (DfL) programme in the Wits School of Arts, walked away with the award for Best New South African Script (Musical or Play).

In the play, Ramabulana and Kani, two of South Africa’s brightest young and upcoming stars, explore the meaning of “home” in South Africa by telling the stories of their own lives. The play has been staged annually at Wits since 2008 when the pair was still students and has been a resounding success since.

“This work has been autobiographical and we encourage all writers to tell their own stories. We have also been working with great people in the industry, we have a lot of mentors and a lot to be thankful for,” said Kani in his acceptance speech.

"It is inspiring and encouraging to know that our hard work, passion and dedication is acknowledged and we can be rewarded for it. We were in a category with giants and it is simply astonishing that we won. We have worked unbelievably hard over the last five years since Hayani was created and it has been a gruelling journey and now it is our chance to truly celebrate," said Ramabulana.

Nebe paid homage to legendary theatre greats: “Hayani’s award is an acknowledgement of a tradition of playmaking that stems back to the work of Fugard, Kani and Ntshona, Workshop’71, Barney Simon and the original Market Theatre Company. It was created through improvisation, play, storytelling, mapping, interviews and dialogue. We are truly proud of Nat and Atandwa’s achievement in producing a fine script for Hayani,” said Nebe.

Nomzamo, the production directed by Gcebile Dlamini, one of the new DfL scholars which won the Best Community Theatre, was also celebrated.

“Our commitment to develop a creative research space for postgraduate students and alumni through the DFL Company Laboratory has birthed a number of new, original South African productions,” said Nebe.

Drama for Life received no less than eight nominations for the 2014 Naledi Awards.

Wits "digital mine" to test satellite communication

13 March 2014 - By Wits University

"The digital-mine mock-up that is being built beneath the School of Mining Engineering at Wits is expected to pave the way for the introduction of real-time satellite communication into South Africa’s Internet-deprived underground mines.

"The move, if successful, is expected to bring South Africa’s underground mines into the twenty-first century by providing modern communication that could save lives and slash costs."

This is according to Mining Weekly who interviewed the Head of School, Professor Fred Cawood, about the imitation mine which will enable students to carry out important experiments.

Read more.

New research on potent HIV antibodies

3 March 2014 - By Wits University

The discovery of how a KwaZulu-Natal woman’s body responded to her HIV infection by making potent antibodies (called broadly neutralising antibodies, because they are able to kill multiple strains of HIV from across the world), was reported today by the CAPRISA consortium of AIDS researchers jointly with scientists from the United States.

The study, published in the prestigious scientific journal, Nature, describes how the research team found and identified these antibodies in her blood and then duplicated them by cloning the antibodies in the laboratory. The cloned antibodies were then used in a series of experiments in the laboratory to elucidate the pathway followed by her immune system to make these potent antibodies. 

The South African researchers in the CAPRISA consortium, which includes scientists from Wits University, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in Johannesburg, the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the University of Cape Town, worked jointly with US partners based at the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, and Columbia University in New York, to conduct this research. 

“In this new publication, we have been able to isolate a broadly neutralising antibody from this CAPRISA volunteer and trace its origins to understand exactly how it arose. This could lead to new HIV vaccine strategies that are able to stimulate the rare precursors of these protective antibodies,” says Professor Lynn Morris, from the National Health Laboratory Service in the Wits School of Pathology who leads the research team at the NICD.

Professor Salim S. Abdool Karim, leader of the CAPRISA consortium and President of the Medical Research Council, commented, “The new insights gained from this KwaZulu-Natal woman into immune responses against HIV bring hope for future HIV prevention and treatment strategies. This woman, referred to as CAPRISA 256 (abbreviated to CAP256), is doing well on antiretroviral therapy and continues to attend the CAPRISA clinic regularly.”

Just over a year ago, the same team of South African researchers reported in Nature Medicine (also part of the Nature group of journals) on their discovery relating to two other KwaZulu-Natal women, that a shift in the position of one sugar molecule on the surface of the virus led to the development of broadly neutralising antibodies against HIV. 

All HIV infected people respond to HIV by making antibodies. In most patients, these antibodies are not able to kill a wide range of HIV – this is described as a lack of neutralisation breadth. However, in a few infected people, they naturally make antibodies that kill (neutralise) many different kinds of HIV (i.e. they are broadly neutralising antibodies).

“Broadly neutralising antibodies have some unusual features,” says Dr Penny Moore, from Wits University and one of the lead South African scientists on the study based at the NICD. “The outer covering (envelope) of HIV has a coating of sugars that prevents antibodies from reaching the surface to neutralise the virus. In this patient, we found that her antibodies had ‘long arms’, which enabled them to reach through the sugar coat that protects HIV.”  In this study, the researchers found that these antibodies had ‘long arms’ right at the outset. “We discovered that some HIV antibodies are born with ‘long arms’, requiring less time and fewer changes to become effective in killing HIV,” says Moore.

The identification and successful cloning of these special antibodies enables the researchers to make sufficiently large quantities for further testing, similar to the way a medicine used to prevent or treat HIV would be tested. “Our goal is to test these antibodies, preferably in combination with other broadly neutralising antibodies, directly in patients with HIV infection or in patients at risk of getting infected,” said Karim. “But this will take some time as the team is currently planning animal studies as a first step.

Broadly neutralising antibodies have previously been shown to be effective in preventing and treating HIV infection in animals, but this has never before been shown in humans.” The future studies on animals and humans are being supported by the Strategic Health Innovation Partnerships, a unit of the South African Medical Research Council, with funding from the Department of Science and Technology.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Derek Hanekom, commented: “This study highlights the importance of international scientific partnerships and the contributions of South African researchers to world-class medical science. The Department of Science and Technology is delighted to have contributed funds for this research. We are proud of the South African research team who conducted this ground-breaking study and thank the US partners for their collaboration and support.”

The Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, pointed out: “Since South Africa has the largest burden of HIV infection globally, we are gratified to see South African scientists, under Professor Abdool Karim’s leadership, undertake this research to find solutions that will bring an end to AIDS. We are hopeful that this research takes us one step closer to developing an AIDS vaccine.”

Listen to the audio 

Elephants are exceptional

6 March 2014 - By Wits University

An elephant’s grief for a recent compatriot is one of many indications that elephants are exceptionally intelligent, social and empathic creatures. Now scientists have only started to seriously examine the neural architecture housed in the elephant cranium, but they have already found some unique features.

A blog by Ferris Jabr on Scientific American’s website on 26 February 2014 features Research Professor Paul Manger from the Wits School of Anatomical Sciences. He moved to South Africa in 2002 for the express purpose of studying the elephant brain. What stands out so far, he says, are neural networks specialised for the elephant’s extraordinary senses and kinetic talents. Read the full article: Searching for the elephant’s genius inside the largest brain.

A hospital for the children of Africa

20 March 2014 - By Wits University

The Nelson Mandela Children Hospital Trust today officially celebrated the start of construction of the long-awaited Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital at a sod turning ceremony held at Wits University’s campus in Parktown, Johannesburg. 

Speaking at the event, Sibongile Mkhabela, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust, said: “After years of fundraising under difficult economic conditions we are proud to announce that we have raised R570 million, enabling us to break ground and start building the hospital.”

The hospital will be a world class, highly advanced specialised children’s hospital which will shape the lives of the children of Africa and the future of a greater Africa.

“Having followed our beloved Madiba’s mandate of improving the care of our children, we are proud of reaching this milestone and look forward to building this hospital,” said Mkhabela.

Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi reiterated the government’s support for this legacy project  through  committing to the operating expenses of the hospital, which would be budgeted for in the financial plan of the national Department of Health.

It is envisaged that the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital will open in March 2016.

In addition to giving patients access to world class health care, the hospital will serve as a training and research facility, which will ensure a much wider reach into the region. “Wits University will ensure that we have various academic and clinical synergies for the operation of the hospital and for the training and education of high level clinical paediatric skills in the Southern African region, said Prof. Adam Habib, Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal.

“The location of the hospital on Wits land as well as its close proximity to the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital allows for paediatric academic teaching access from the Wits Medical School, maximising operational efficiencies and staffing models,” said Habib.

Once complete, this will be a facility that not only promises to never turn a child away due to the guardian’s or parents’ inability to pay, but gives them the nurturing care and surroundings that promote quick recovery.

Fundraising by the Hospital Trust will continue until the target of R1 billion is reached for building and equipping the hospital, as well as training medical professionals who work within it.

“This is an exciting time for the project, and we encourage global citizens to continue to be part of the living memorial to Mr Mandela’s legacy. Together, we can build this hospital and secure Africa’s hopes of a better future,” said Mkhabela. 

A selection of media coverage

, 21 March    , 22 March    , 24 March    , 18 March

  SAfm 21 March     21 March     , 20 March     , 17 March

Addressing challenges in primary mathematics

11 March 2014 - By Wits University

The two NRF SA Numeracy Chairs (Wits and Rhodes) were involved in a panel presentation and discussion titled "Addressing challenges in primary mathematics" on 26 February 2014 in Grahamstown. The event was part of the NRF's Science for Society lecture series and was broadcast on SAfm.

Mathematics is a flashpoint of any discussion on education in South Africa. Primary mathematics education forms the basis of the economy and it is critical that this area be addressed.

The speakers were the South African Research Chairs on Numeracy Education, Professor M Graven from the Education Department at Rhodes University and Professor H Venkatakrishnan from the School of Education at Wits University.

Listen to the presentation and discussion.

Opposition politics in SA debated

5 March 2014 - By Vivienne Rowland

The Wits Centre for Ethics hosted a public debate on Opposition Politics in South Africa: Elections 2014 - 20 years of democracy.

Speakers included political commentator Eusebius McKaiser discussing Does the DA get the race issue?; political scientist Steven Friedman talking about What will it take to build a viable left wing opposition?; seasoned journalist Karima Brown on Strategic blunders of the opposition since 1994; and Professor Daryl Glaser from the Wits Department of Political Science speaking on What is the value of the multi-party democracy?

“Twenty years ago we achieved important political freedom; yet substantial and pressing problems remain unsolved. There is clearly a role for effective opposition parties to play,” said Professor Lucy Allais, Director of the Wits Centre for Ethics. 

Professor Tawana Kupe, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Finance, Human Resources and Transformation, welcomed the participants and directed the debate.

Listen to the audio 

"Pregnancy brings its own challenges"

17 March 2014 - By Vivienne Rowland

For many women, especially those on the lower income scale, pregnancy is more of a challenge than the joy of anticipating the birth of a new child. These challenges include financial, transport, health and proper care difficulties, amongst others.

This was discussed at a Maternal Health Symposium, hosted by the Centre for Health Policy in the Wits School of Public Health on Friday, 14 March 2014.

Themed Global insights on health systems and community interventions to improve maternal health – lessons for South Africa, the meeting featured local and international experts from a range of organisations, government departments, and non-governmental organisations.

Presentations covered the vulnerability of pregnant women in South Africa; the option of maternal grants and cash transfers to help improve maternal and child health outcomes; international evidence on funding transport in pregnancy; interventions involving the private sector to improve health; the effectiveness of health system interventions to improve maternal health in South Africa; and the role of maternity waiting homes among others.

New dating for old bones

14 March 2014 - By Wits University

After 13 years of meticulous excavation of the nearly complete skeleton of the Australopithecus fossil named Little Foot, South African and French scientists have now convincingly shown that it is probably around 3 million years old.

In a paper published today, Friday, 14 March 2014 at 12:00 (SATS), in the scientific journal, the Journal of Human Evolution, the latest findings by Professor Ron Clarke from the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand and his colleagues refute previous dating claims that suggested Little Foot is younger.

The paper is titled: Stratigraphic analysis of the Sterkfontein StW 573 Australopithecus skeleton and implications for its age, and is the result of a detailed study of the stratigraphy, micro-stratigraphy, and geochemistry around the skeleton.

• The authors’ details and affiliations follow below.
• A media release by the Institut National de Recherches Archéologique Préventives (Inrap) in France is available in and .
• Download high res images.

Little Foot’s story:

The Sterkfontein Caves of Gauteng, South Africa have been world famous since 1936 for producing large numbers of fossils of the ape-man Australopithecus. However, for sixty years, these fossils consisted only of partial skulls and jaws, isolated teeth and fragments of limb bones. These were obtained by blasting or drilling and breaking of the calcified ancient cave infill or by pick and shovel excavation of the softer decalcified infills.

Questions arose about the age of these fossils, of how they came to be in the caves, and also of how a complete skeleton would appear. Then in 1997 Ron Clarke, Stephen Motsumi and Nkwane Molefe of the University of the Witwatersrand discovered an almost complete Australopithecus skeleton with skull embedded in hard, calcified sediment in an underground chamber of the caves. They began to carefully excavate this skeleton in order to expose it in place in the cave and to understand the ancient processes that contributed to its burial and preservation.

This was the first time that such an excavation of an Australopithecus has taken place in an ancient calcified deposit. During the course of this excavation, it became clear that the skeleton had been subjected to ancient disturbance and breakage through partial collapse into a lower cavity and that calcareous flowstone had subsequently filled voids formed around the displaced bones.

Despite this fact being published, some other researchers dated the flowstones and claimed that such dates represent the age of the skeleton. This has created a false impression that the skeleton is much younger than it actually is.

Latest research:

A French team of specialists in the study of limestone caves, Laurent Bruxelles, Richard Maire and Richard Ortega, together with Clarke and Dominic Stratford of Wits University, have now, with this research published in the Journal of Human Evolution today, shown that the dated flowstones filled voids formed by ancient erosion and collapse and that the skeleton is therefore older, probably considerably older, than the dated flowstones.

Little Foot is probably around 3 million years old, and not the 2.2 million years that has been wrongly claimed by other researchers. The skeleton has been entirely excavated from the cave and the skull, arms, legs, pelvis and other bones have been largely cleaned of encasing rock.

Clarke has concluded from study of the skull that it belongs to Australopithecus prometheus, a species named by Professor Raymond Dart in 1948 on fragmentary ape-man fossils from Makapansgat in what is now Limpopo Province.

Thus at Sterkfontein, there existed two species of ape-man, Australopithecus africanus (for example, Mrs Ples) and Australopithecus prometheus, many specimens of which have been identified by Clarke from two deposits at Sterkfontein.

Article reference:

BRUXELLES L., CLARKE R. J., MAIRE R., ORTEGA R., et STRATFORD D. – 2014. - Stratigraphic analysis of the Sterkfontein StW 573 Australopithecus skeleton and implications for its age. Journal of Human Evolution.

Funding:

The research has been funded by the French Embassy in South Africa, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the city of Toulouse, the University of the Witwatersrand and its Evolutionary Studies Institute, the Palaeontological Scientific Trust which has supported research at Sterkfontein Caves for nearly two decades, the National Research Foundation, Inrap (Institut National de Recherches Archéologique Préventives) and the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) of France.

Authors and affiliations:

Laurent Bruxelles (1) (2) (3), Ronald J. Clarke (4), Richard Maire (5), Richard Ortega (6) (7), Dominic Stratford (2)

(1)    French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap), France

(2)    University of Toulouse, UMR 5608 du CNRS (TRACES), Toulouse, France

(3)    School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

(4)    Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

(5)    University of Bordeaux, UMR 5185 ADES, CNRS, France

(6)    University of Bordeaux, CENBG, UMR 5797, F-33170 Gradignan, France

(7)    CNRS, IN2P3, CENBG, UMR 5797, F-33170 Gradignan, France

Lessons for improving maternal health

4 March 2014 - By Wits University

South Africa is unlikely to achieve the Millennium Development Goals for maternal health by 2015. The country has huge disparities in socio-economic conditions, which reflect large differences in maternal health status across population groups, and three-fold inequities between the poorest pregnant women and the wealthiest in some cases.

Enormous challenges around health system access, acceptability, and community interventions related to health promotion and social factors affecting health continue to burden the health system.  

Also, systematic channels to influence policy makers are lacking, and so the research which could influence maternal health outcomes has little impact on health policy and implementation.

In an effort to translate its scientific research for a broader audience of policy makers, implementers and the public, the Centre for Health Policy (CHP) in the Wits School of Public Health hosts a symposium entitled Global Insights on Health System and Community Interventions to improve Maternal Health – Lessons for South Africa.

The meeting, taking place on Friday, 14 March 2014 at the Wits School of Public Health, will feature local and international experts from a range of organisations, government departments, and non-governmental organisations.

Presentations will cover the socio-economic vulnerability of pregnant women in South Africa, the interventions to counter the lack of male involvement in maternal health, and the option of a cash transfer to help improve maternal and infant health based on a systematic review and modelling.

The second session entails a mapping of all research on maternal health in low and middle-income countries from 2000 to 2012, and a summary of who has led and funded that work. The meeting closes with a fascinating look at the concept of maternity waiting homes, where the state would provide shelters for women to stay near the end of pregnancy.

“We hope this symposium will vividly depict the social vulnerability of pregnant women, its consequences, and the conditions into which so many children are born due to the child support grant beginning only on average at one year of life. The presenters will also propose some solutions to these challenges, together with the health systems interventions done to improve maternal health outcomes and reduce health inequalities of mothers and infants,” said convener of the meeting, Associate Professor Matthew Chersich from the CHP.

For further information, contact Ann.Luusah@wits.ac.za on (011) 717-3420.

Today at Wits

20 March 2014 - By Wits University

Eyewitness News and Wits University will be hosting a public debate on the findings of The Nkandla Report and its implications for South Africa today at 15:30.

The Public Protector, Advocate Thuli Madonsela, will be joined on the panel by David Lewis from Corruption Watch and Professor Steven Friedman, political analyst and academic.

The discussion will be facilitated by Professor Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Wits University, and broadcast live on Talk Radio 702 and streamed live on www.ewn.co.za.

Social workers deal with the hard stuff

18 March 2014 - By Wits University

On 18 March, social workers in South Africa and around the world commemorated World Social Work Day. In an article highlighting the dynamics of the profession, Ajwang Warria, a lecturer in the Department of Social Work, says the often invisible profession deals with difficult matters on a daily basis, ranging from broken families and marriages to homelessness. While the profession attracts idealists; the work has it challenges.

Read the article published in .

Public Protector talks straight

26 March 2014 - By Erna van Wyk

The Public Protector, Advocate Thuli Madonsela, was joined by David Lewis from Corruption Watch and Professor Steven Friedman, political analyst and academic on Thursday, 20 March 2014, for a public discussion on the findings of The Nkandla Report and its implications for South Africa.

Hosted jointly by Eyewitness News and Wits University in the Senate Room, the discussion was facilitated by Professor Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Wits University, and broadcast live on Talk Radio 702 and streamed live on www.ewn.co.za. Read more.

Click on the video below to watch a slideshow of images from the event.

3rd DFL Human Rights Social Justice season kicks off

13 March 2014 - By Wits University

The 3rd Human Rights and Social Justice Week takes place from 17 to 20 March 2014 at Wits. This year’s Human Rights and Social Justice Week focuses on the right to mental health and access to mental health services. The week’s programme aims to shed light on the many mental issues that students face and their rights and responsibility in accessing the care they need. Read more.   

The DFL Human Rights and Social Justice Project started in 2009 as the “Drama for Life Zimbabwe Project”. The project aimed to contribute at normalising the Zimbabwean social and political situation, as well as promote democracy. The project targeted Zimbabweans living in diaspora, as well as those living in the country. Read more. 

World TB Day

24 March 2014 - By Wits University

Today, 24 March 2014, is World Tuberculosis (TB) Day. The World Health Organisation and the Stop TB Partnership are this year promoting World TB Day under the slogan “Reach the 3 million”. According to the WHO TB is curable, but current efforts to find, treat and cure everyone who gets ill with the disease are not sufficient. Of the nine million people a year who get sick with TB, a third of them are "missed" by health systems. Many of these three million people live in the world’s poorest, most vulnerable communities or are among marginalized populations such as migrant workers, refugees and internally displaced persons, prisoners, indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and drug users.

World TB Day provides the opportunity for affected persons and the communities in which they live, governments, civil society organizations, health-care providers, and international partners to call for further action to reach the three million. All partners can help take forward innovative approaches to ensure that everyone suffering from TB has access to TB diagnosis, treatment and cure.

At Wits today, the Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research (CBTBR) students and staff will be in the Medical School foyer on the Parktown Health Sciences Campus between 13:00 and 14:00 to raise awareness about TB.

The CBTBR issued this list of important things to know about TB:

• TB remains one of the leading causes of death in South Africa;
• Southern Africa is home to the world’s biggest TB-HIV co-infection epidemic;
• TB is spread through the air when TB diseased people cough or sneeze;
• People are infected by inhaling tubercle bacteria;
• TB can exist in people as active disease or latent infection;
• Active disease is treatable, symptoms include prolonged cough (with blood), loss of weight, pain in the chest, chills, fever and night sweats;
• One third of the world habours latent TB infection;
• In the case of people with compromised immunity, such as that caused by HIV infection, there is enhanced risk for reactivation of latent TB infection.
• If you suspect that you have TB, seek medical attention urgently;
• If you are diagnosed with TB disease, get on treatment as soon as possible – stay on treatment, do not stop taking antibiotics – complete the course of treatment;
• Spread the word – make people aware.

MQA gives Wits over R20m

17 March 2014 - By Wits University

The Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA) handed over a cheque for more than R20 million to Wits University on Friday, 14 March 2014. The money will go towards support for seven lecturers in mining engineering and bursaries for 236 students in the following disciplines: analytical, chemical, electrical, industrial, mechanical, metallurgical and mining engineering, and geology. 

The Head of the School of Mining Engineering, Professor Fred Cawood, said the longstanding partnership between Wits and the MQA dated back to 2005 and had strengthened to the point where it was valued at such a significant sum of money. “This commitment speaks volumes about the MQA and sets an example for other SETAs,” he said.

Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Wits, Professor Adam Habib, echoed Cawood’s opinion that the MQA had set an example for other industries and reminded those present that the historical disenfranchisement of some South Africans had created enormous levels of inequality which could only be addressed through collective action.

“The VC can no longer say that his responsibilities end at the gates of the university. The CEO can no longer say that his responsibilities end with the company’s shareholders. How we begin to bridge institutional boundaries has become important. This partnership with the MQA is testimony to what can be done,” said Habib.

The total amount of the partnership is R23 592 113.03. The total amount of support for lecturers is R4 624 113.03 and the total amount to be given in bursaries is R18 868 000.00.

Habib said the bursaries, to be given to disadvantaged students, would send a powerful message of hope to the poor that talented people have access to one of the best universities in the country, and that the support that would be given to lecturers was an investment in the creation of a new black professoriate.

R100 000 will be used to support students whose studies are being affected because they can’t afford necessities such as spectacles. The MQA also supports the kitchen project which feeds students who can’t afford lunch. Cawood said the School had seen an almost 99% success rate in students who had been assisted in this manner.

The CFO of the MQA, Yunus Omar, told student and staff representatives from Wits that the MQA was comprised of people who had been in their shoes. “They know what the students and lecturers are going through,” he said.

New Dean outlines vision for Faculty

17 March 2014 - By Wits University

Professor Ian Jandrell spends a lot of time imagining the future and what kind of high level skills will be required. When the good times come, he wants South Africa to be ready. Fortunately, as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at Wits University, he’s in a better position than most to influence what kinds of skills the country develops.

Jandrell spent three months as Acting Dean before taking up his current position on  January 2014. He is no stranger to Wits, having served as the Head of the School of Electrical and Information Engineering (SEIE) for 10 years, before becoming the Transnet Professor of Systems Engineering in the then newly established Transnet Centre for Systems Engineering (TCSE). He is also a Personal Professor in the SEIE where he holds the CBI-Electric Chair of Lightning.

Jandrell had been asked to apply for the deanship previously – at both Wits and other universities – but it was not until after a research intensive break from being Head of School that he decided the time was right to reintroduce management and leadership as large components of his job.

There are many things that excite him about the position, including the opportunity to work with top minds who can help him execute his vision for the Faculty. “You can’t do everything yourself, but you can surround yourself with remarkable people,” he says.

His vision for the Faculty sees centres like the TCSE playing a crucial role as a solid line of third stream income. “Centres fill the space between the academy and industry. We have to walk a tightrope because we don’t want to become a consulting company, but there is a way to do short-term projects that meet genuine needs within industry and for those projects to feed into long-term research. We have to do things in parallel,” he says.

He is also intent on ensuring that the Faculty maximises its contribution to building South Africa’s economy. “We must be able to say that without this Faculty, industry would be worse off,” he says. There are three components to this: skills development, problem solving, and perhaps most importantly, knowledge generation. “Exiting graduates will sustain the economy, but if you want to grow the economy, you need research,” he says. As such, Jandrell distinguishes between training and education, and recognises the need to develop curriculums that prepare students for possible careers in research.

For the Faculty to maximise its contribution to the economy, it will need to bring together technical and creative skills. As Head of the SEIE, Jandrell was embedded within a single discipline. One of his biggest challenges going forward as Dean will be the need to understand and promote the range of very different professions that are housed within Engineering and the Built Environment so that they serve a common purpose.

“We need to make it clear that this is a faculty about both infrastructure and creativity. Without infrastructure you can’t grow the economy. But you need to apply your mind at the highest level to how best to deliver the infrastructure. You can throw up some concrete blocks or you can say, hang on, these concrete blocks are going to be there for years – how can we make them fit with the future needs of society so that they deliver real benefit? If you apply your mind, things last longer and have true meaning.”

According to Jandrell, there is no separation between good engineering design, good industrial design or good architectural design. “You’ve got to incorporate the human being. If you fail to recognise that you’re designing for people, you’ve lost the plot,” he says.

Another of his challenges as Dean is to increase access to the Faculty while still maintaining excellence. “We’ve been growing our student numbers, but we haven’t necessarily been increasing numbers of graduates along with that,” he says.

He also recognises that some students will go on to change career direction a number of times and that the priority of the Faculty should be to provide a very solid pure science foundation. “We’re not producing technologists. Our graduates will reskill themselves over and over again. South African engineers are famous for their flexibility. Our strength is in giving them a foundation that is incredibly broad and incredibly deep. The details of the profession can follow.”

He also believes in developing competence in critical thinking through the medium of literature and, while Head of School, saw literature introduced to the SEIE. “If you can imagine it, you can do it,” he explains. All schools in the Faculty have subsequently followed suite.

In fact, Jandrell seems to be all about breaking down boundaries, whether by removing the fences between academia and industry, recognising the common purpose of engineers and designers, introducing non-typical engineering subjects into engineering curricula, or cracking one of his trademark jokes.

He comes across as one of the nicest guys on campus, but his co-operative approach is also strategic and stems in part from his work in systems engineering. “There’s more to be gained by seeing where expertise overlap. By breaking down insularities you have a better chance of speaking to the real needs of society and the economy, and attracting funding.” Jandrell lists a number of core competencies within Wits, spanning every Faculty. “Can you imagine the team we could put together?”

This brings him to a phrase that was introduced to him in the software engineering environment and seems to be his mantra for his term as Dean. “Leadership, teamwork and trust – we can’t work without them.”   

Wits students reward peers in film awards

7 March 2014 - By Wits University

Aspiring student filmmakers were honoured and rewarded for their excellent work last year at the recently held annual Student Tele Awards.

Hosted by the Wits School of the Arts (WSOA), the award ceremony took place in Braamfontein on 27 February 2014 to celebrate the work of the 2013 student filmmakers enrolled in the Film and Television division at Wits University. 

Each year the annual Student Tele Awards celebrates the previous year’s second to fourth year student films and is hosted by the students to showcase their work to their peers, the Faculty and the film industry.

Professor Brett Pyper, the newly appointed Head of the WSOA, delivered the welcome address and highlighted the WSOA’s unique multi-disciplinary offering across all disciplines, including the performing, visual and fine arts.

“The Wits School of the Arts has a rich tapestry of courses, programmes and workshops across all disciplines. Each student at the School has a wide choice and we are confident that we send out only the best in the industry into the world,” said Pyper.

Head of the Wits Film and Television division, Damon Heatlie, referred to the impressive quality of the student films that were entered for this year’s awards. 

Heatlie explained that the new BA Film and Television degree being offered at the School from next year, has evolved out of the institution’s proven track record of over 30 years of film and television education as part of the BA Dramatic Arts degree.   

“We have a bank of intellectual capital that none of our competitors can offer. We aim to produce not just filmmakers but critical thinkers and creative innovators.  Our students have the technical expertise, but they can also think quite differently about the world,” said Heatlie.

For a list of the winners, .

Does tyranny beckon?

29 March 2014 - By Deborah Minors

City Press editor, Ferial Haffajee asked: “Does tyranny beckon?” at a Wits Alumni networking event held recently that focussed on politics and protests. Attended by 65 Witsies in the Senate Room (Braamfontein Campus East) on 19 March 2014, Haffajee’s talk was followed by a question and answer session during which the alumni debated topics that included South Africa’s violent society, corporations’ role in corruption and political party representation in the media.

“Tyranny, before it came to its common meaning today meant oligarchy or aristocracy,” Haffajee said. She argued that the ANC’s response to legal protests, the Economic Freedom Fighters’ dispatching tyres to protestors, police brutality, corruption and the Marikana mining massacre suggest that tyranny, indeed, beckons.

“What troubles me is that the ANC, a rooted and grounded party of the people, resorted to guns and hammers to deal with a legal march by an opposition party. Surely that flirts with tyranny,” Haffajee said. “As a large and secure governing party, why has it twice felt the need to call out shock party troops – the Moses Kotane brigade of largely unemployed youth – to protect it? We have a police service, after all - a system of governance.”

In reference to the Public Protector’s Nkandla Report on President Jacob Zuma’s residence, released earlier that day, Haffajee said corruption, the arms deal and Marikana are the result of what happens when tyranny develops. “Laws are eschewed. Institutions insulted and denigrated in the public mind,” she added.

Haffajee reported that there are five to six protests per day in South Africa. She referred to the EFF’s “currency of tyres”, conceding that their strategy of following the protest-fire line is “original”. She speculated that the EFF would win 5 – 7%of the vote in the 7 May 2014 election and that they would “radicalise” parliament.

“I do think we flirt with the tyrants’ ways,” Haffajee concluded. “I do think we should worry about the currency of tyres. I do think we should be concerned when men in ANC bibs start policing the streets we live in … places where laws and institutions have never properly taken root.”

“But I don’t think we should despair. Ultimately, I am with Judge Edwin Cameron whose book Justice has this to say:  ‘…that we are a noisy nation which has shown, in 20 years, that we do not keep quiet … There is the quiet, beautiful sturdiness of our Constitutional Court where the poor, the under-classes, the rich and powerful all take their ultimate battles and, largely, accede to its judgement’.”

to Haffajee.

NRF Science For Society Lecture

27 March 2014 - By Erna van Wyk

Professors Lee Berger and Bruce Rubidge from the Palaeosciences Centre of Excellence at Wits University presented the National Research Foundation (NRF) Science For Society Lecture in the Senate Room on Wednesday, 26 March 2014.

Broadcast live on the Talk Shop on SAfm, with presenter Masechaba Moshoeshoe, the lecture was titled: Building the knowledge of humanity by mapping its past. Palaeoscience is the cartographer of humanity’s distant past.

Rubidge and Berger gave an overview on the history of palaeosciences and why South Africa is in many respects fittingly referred to as the cradle of humankind. The palaeosciences map a clearer picture of the history of the world around us and imbues us with the knowledge to create a better future for all.

The NRF Lecture Series seeks to bridge the divide that exists between science and community issues in an effort to help society relate to how science, research and technology positively impact on our day-to-day lives and on future generations.

Former Witsie promotes nursing research

12 March 2014 - By Vivienne Rowland

A former head of the Wits nursing department is making international inroads into promoting nursing education and research to the world.

Professor Hester Klopper, international academic with interests in global health, public health, policy development, nursing and health care, was elected as the president of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), the international organisation supporting the learning, knowledge and professional development of nurses making a difference in global health, late last year. She will hold this position for the next two years.

In addition to this, Klopper is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Forum for University Nursing Deans in South Africa (Fundisa).

Klopper, who was the head of the Wits Department of Nursing in the School of Therapeutic Sciences between 2001 and 2003, says her election as the first non-North American president in the 91-year history of STTI, is a huge honour and privilege which enables her to take the good work of South African nurses to the world and vice versa.

“I always make it clear that I am first a South African nurse and then an African one when I promote and profile the work that we do.  This has played a great role in receiving requests from universities all over wanting to work with our nursing schools,” says Klopper.

She is passionate about nursing education and research and has made it her mission to advance the work in this area extensively.

“Nursing education on an undergraduate level in South Africa compares well with the rest of the world and that is why our nurses are in great demand abroad – our nurses have a wide scope of competence. Yet, while our practical education is good, our clinical research still needs huge development.”

Klopper, a former Dean of the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences at the University of the Western Cape and Director of the School of Nursing at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University, was also the co-director of a World Health Organisation collaboration centre at the University of Alberta in Canada. There, she says, is where she saw what a concentrated focus on the development of leadership in nursing and mental health areas can do for the field.

“At the University of Alberta, for example, there are at least three national research chairs, occupied by nurses who are leading clinical laboratories. The one undertakes research in hormonal therapy and how it influences depression in women and the neuro-science aspect of it. In South Africa we have a long way to go. Our standard of research is good, but not amongst the best in the world,” says Klopper.

Her relationship with Wits continues and the University benefits from her expertise and networks in the nursing field.

“Wits is a member of Fundisa and there are projects run under the Fundisa umbrella at the University, for example the screening for cervical cancer run by Professor Lize Maree, the current head of the Wits Department of Nursing.  I have also been involved in the development of research capacity development at a postdoctoral level and over the last 18 months I have worked with 17 postdoctoral students at different universities, including Wits, in this regard.”

In the future, she would like to see some more research nursing units established that are led by nurses – in hospitals and universities. “If you are in a clinical situation, your focus is quality patient care and not research. Nursing researchers should get involved in the practical side. It is not difficult to find funding for the research if your focus is right and you are part of multidisciplinary teams. The world is waiting for South African nurses to step up and take that space. There are so many opportunities for collaboration,” Klopper explains.

Her advice for nurses today is simple:  “Do it if your heart is in it and if you have the compassion and care for people. Don’t think that nursing is one-dimensional and you will only be delivering bedside nursing – there are many disciplines and leadership options. You can be based where you are, and work with the world.”

We wish Professor Klopper good luck in her new position!

Read more about Professor Klopper

Wits hosts WC2 network conference

20 March 2014 - By Wits University

Wits University, the only African university to be part of the World Universities World Class University (WC2) Network, hosts the WC2 Network Conference on 24 and 25 March 2014, bringing together top universities located in the heart of major world cities to address culture, environment and political issues of common interest to world cities. The WC2 network creates a forum where universities can be more responsive to the needs of their audiences in the context of world cities.

Speakers include Johannesburg Mayor Parks Tau; Trevor Fowler, Johannesburg City Manager; Rashid Seedat from the Gauteng Planning Commission; and Professor David Everatt, Director of the Gauteng City-region Observatory. Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Adam Habib will welcome the guests.

The WC2 network aims to advance understanding and recognition of the role of universities in world cities and the matters that are of common interest to them, not only locally, but internationally through collaboration. Established in 2010, the WC2 network currently has 11 member institutions. For more information visit http://www.wc2network.org/ or . 

Bringing food security to the fore

6 March 2014 - By Wits University

The Wits Siyakhana Initiative at the School of Geography and Environmental Sciences (GAES) has been awarded a grant as part of the Edulink II ACP-EU funding programme to develop masters courses in food security and social development.

Siyakhana was selected as a lead partner with four other academic institutions: the Centre for Health Education and Appropriate Health Technologies (Bologna) (CESTAS); the Euro-Mediterranean University (Slovenia) (EMUNI); the University of Namibia (UNAM); and the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Malawi) (LUANAR).

Wits’ involvement in this project is unique because it provides an innovative platform for the Wits 2022 vision to be achieved in a project which serves a fundamental social need. The University has carved out clear objectives for its 2022 vision: to strengthen the research capability and research outputs of academic staff; to increase postgraduate intake and improve post-graduate success rate; to champion intellectual renewal within Schools and Faculties; and to further research directions and enhance curricula thus widening partnerships and engagement.

The overall objective of the Edulink II project is to strengthen the capacity of African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) higher education institutions at academic level, fostering capacity building and regional integration. Specific attention will be given to improving access to quality information and labour market opportunities for women focusing on agriculture and food security interventions and policies.

In South Africa where 54% of the population are food insecure, both urban and rural populations are affected. Transformations in our food system are necessary, requiring leadership capable of collaborating towards healing this health and social crisis. The Edulink II Food Security Programme, which aims to build leadership capacity and networks promoting sustainable agriculture, food processing and markets based on agro-ecological principles, is a positive step towards this goal.

Wits recently hosted a two day ’kick off’ workshop that laid out the foundational model of and strategic plan for the project. Representatives from all five institutions included Nada Karaivanova and Mario Bacchiocchi from CESTAS, Danny Simatele (GAES), Michael Rudolph, Florian Kroll, Nikki Richard (Wits Siyakhana Initiative) and Barbara Herweg from Wits Enterprise (WE), Martha Nambabi from the University of Namibia, Daimon Kambewa from Luanar University and Dejan Hribar from EMUNI University.

The meeting also established the Central Management Committee, comprised of all meeting representatives. The committee will be responsible for the development of the programme, the updating of curricula and promoting strategies and interventions that improve access to higher education, with particular emphasis on women.

Adopting a trans-disciplinary approach to research and project implementation is a method with which WSI and GAES are familiar, and the Committee intends to draw on current and new linkages, partnerships and relationships within the Wits community to ensure that the Edulink II project is a success for all stakeholders.

When the first phase of the programme is concluded, 24 lecturers from the three partner universities will have been trained to deliver this trans-disciplinary course on food security using an innovative web-based learning platform. The course is expected to equip a growing number of young leaders rising to tackle the tricky issues of food insecurity and sustainable food systems.

Citizens of all ages are building Tata's dream

24 March 2014 - By Buhle Zuma

It is taking South Africans of all ages to realise Tata Madiba’s dream to build a hospital that will secure the lives of African children.

The construction of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital is due to start after the breaking of ground during a ceremony held at Wits’ Education Campus in Parktown on Thursday, 20 March 2014.

Among the donors who have contributed to the R570 million raised so far for the construction of the hospital are children of varying ages some as young as six years.

Sam Harding began donating his pocket money to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust in 2009 as a nine-year-old. His effort led to the birth of the For Kids By Kids campaign, an initiative which has seen the adoption of piggy banks at schools to which all children can contribute for the benefit of children.

Harding who was present at the sod turning ceremony told guest and donors that the idea behind the campaign “is to show that fundraising is not just for grown-ups. Children of all ages can take part in building this new hospital.”

Seven-year-old Michai’ah Simons is another young ambassador of the hospital. Simons was only two years old when the picture of her sitting on Madiba’s lap was taken at the launch of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital and fundraising campaign in 2009. The picture of her with a laughing Madiba captured the hearts of many. She has since become one of the ambassadors of the hospital contributing to the legacy project.

Simons has embraced her role in full and impressed the audience with her speech at the launch which contained a Madiba quote: “It always seems impossible until it is done” and her own personal punch line: “let’s do this”. 

Sibongile Mkhabela, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust, commended the efforts of young children adding that they are part of the sustainability plan who will see the vision to the future.

Wits Professor Keith Bolton, a Paediatrics and Child Health specialist is among the Wits staff who have been instrumental in garnering donor support for the hospital. Mkhabela joked that he may have to wear many hats in the future as a result of his father Christmas-like beard.

Outlining the University’s role in the hospital, Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Adam Habib said: “Wits University will ensure that we have various academic and clinical synergies for the operation of the hospital and for the training and education of high level clinical paediatric skills in the Southern African region.

“Not only will we serve and provide care for children here. This will become the cutting edge of research on children’s health globally. That is what Madiba stood for.”

Fundraising by the Hospital Trust will continue until the target of R1 billion is reached for building and equipping the hospital, as well as training medical professionals who work within it.

It is envisaged that the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital will open in March 2016.

Images:courtesy of Mike Turner and the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital Trust.

Oscar Pistorius media resource

3 March 2014 - By Wits University

Wits Communications and the Wits Justice Project co-hosted a media workshop on 26 February 2014, to facilitate a conversation between members of the media and experts on various aspects of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial. Speakers included Professor Stephen Tuson from the Wits School of Law; Dr David Klatzow, forensic science expert; Dr Patrick Randolph-Quinney, forensic anthropologist and archaeologist; and Lisa Vetten, gender activist and research associate at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research.		Listen to Professor Stephen Tuson Listen to Dr David Klatzow Listen to Dr Patrick Randolph-Quinney Listen to Lisa Vetten Lisa Vetten's presentation  Wits Communications contacts Visit the Wits Justice Project page

Pyper brings Karoo charm back to Wits

26 March 2014 - By Vivienne Rowland

A Witsie who exchanged the bright lights of the city for a small Karoo town six years ago, has returned to head up the Wits School of Arts.

Professor Brett Pyper, who reported to Wits on 1 January 2014 as the new Head of the Wits School of Arts (WSOA), was the chief executive officer of the ABSA Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK) in Oudtshoorn for the last six years.

This puts him in good stead to have an appreciation for all art forms in the School, something he says is quite unique to Wits.

“What is really challenging, is that all the disciplines in the School - which consist of digital arts, film and television, visual arts, cultural and heritage management, music and drama - are all lumped together, and is accessible to both undergraduate and postgraduate students,” says Pyper.

Pyper recently acquired his PhD in Jazz in the South African Community from the University of New York. “I have had the pleasure of working with the wonderful grassroots jazz community that exists across this country, and in many ways have been on the margins of the industry. Given the place that jazz has played in our history, I was very interested to read what role it has played in the post-apartheid moment with particular reference to this community,” says Pyper.

He also has a Masters degree from Emory University in public management; and another from the University of New York in ethnomusicology and popular music studies, which he obtained during the six years he stayed in the USA.

It was after this stint that the former Fulbright Scholar joined Wits in 2004 where he designed and taught the first masters level in musicology and popular music studies course work here. “During this time, the position for the Head of the Arts, Culture and Heritage Management postgraduate programme became available. I stayed in that position until 2007, when I got a call from the Karoo to assist with leadership transition in the KKNK team in Oudtshoorn,” he says.

His experience as the CEO of one of the most well-known and successful arts festivals in South Africa has taught him many things which he would like to incorporate into his new role at the WSOA.

“I think you really get a sense of what Johannesburg has to offer in terms of cultural and intellectual life once you have been away for so long, but Oudtshoorn is fascinating. During the time I was there, the ostrich industry went through a major crisis with the avian flu epidemic, and it coincided with a downturn in the tourism economy.

“It was at that point that I realised that the festival represented the economic hope of a whole town and navigated the competing interests in a place like Oudtshoorn which often had very little to do with the arts. It really forced me to think about the place of the arts in society, economic development and rural development. I am bringing that sense of awareness back with me to the big city,” he says.

Pyper says the changes to the University and its immediate surroundings are remarkable.

“Braamfontein has become the de facto cultural precinct in Johannesburg. It has turned into a pretty pulsing place and I think the arts can play a central role in being the face of the University in the city.”

He says he is truly stunned by the wonderful exhibitions and productions that Wits churns out every day. “I have been blown away by the exhibitions at Wits. Coming back from a festival context where you are always very aware of serving particular audiences and stakeholders, there is work that is happening in the University environment that is self-evidently understood to be valuable. That is not to be taken for granted.”

Pyper’s plans for the School of Arts are ambitious, but achievable. He says that the WSOA has plans in the pipeline for a new building and the development of a cultural precinct and this will give the different disciplines the space to broaden their scope in the next five years.

“At the same time, I think the School offers a unique opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration in the arts. I don’t know of another school or academic unit that compares with the WSOA, certainly not in South Africa, that brings so many art forms together in a single academic project.”

He says he is also struck by how Wits has played a pioneering role in creating very senior creative qualifications, including creative PhD’s over the last few years.

“There is a certain kind of work that is coming out of the School now where the arts is a vehicle for different and unique forms of research, such as Drama for Life. We also recently received funding to initiate a journal of creative practice. I think that the interface between research and the arts is reaching a very interesting tipping point and our contribution to the overall intellectual project of the University is being given a new form in the role that creative research does,” says Pyper.

“We also have the opportunity to build new publics for the art and I would like to start on campus where there are many young people who have never been part of the arts. I would like them to be our audience of the future even as we are working on training our performers of the future. I think that we have new opportunities to build new diverse publics, who are more inclusive and cosmopolitan than the ones I have had the privilege of working with in the last six years.”

Pyper says in his free time he likes to take frequent breaks to the Karoo, where he still has a house, but also spends a lot of time in galleries and theatres. “I have the privilege of combining my passions and my professional research interests – so some of my work time is also my most creative time,” he says.

An audience with the Queen

11 March 2014 - By Wits University

Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, lecturer in the Wits School of Arts, performed for Queen Elizabeth II at the Commonwealth Celebrations.

Yaa de Villiers, a creative writing lecture in the Wits School of Arts, performed her poem titled: Courage – it takes more on Monday, 10 March 2014, in front of members of the royal family and 2 000 representatives of the Commonwealth at Westminster Abbey. 

The poem was specially commissioned by the Royal Commonwealth Society to be performed in observance of the Commonwealth Day Celebrations.

The Commonwealth Day celebrations are held annually every second Monday in March with the aim of promoting understanding on global issues, international co-operation and the work of the Commonwealth in improving the lives of its two billion citizens.

The renowned poet’s new piece calls on individuals to “beat your heart into a home for all humanity” and realise their service to humanity, as did our heroes – the Bikos, the Mandelas and the Slovos.  the poem. 

Yaa de Villiers attributes her invitation to her involvement in ZAPP, the Southern African Poetry Project. ZAPP is a collaboration between Cambridge University and Wits University and its objective is to promote and reinvigorate the teaching of Southern African poetry in schools. The project will run from 2014 to 2017. 

“It's exciting to be part of making poetry more accessible,” says Yaa de Villiers of ZAPP. Read more about the ZAPP launch at Wits.

Part of her itinerary in the UK includes meeting poets and educators, and learning about a previous ZAPP project that took place in the Caribbean.  

Yaa de Villiers is a poet and performance artist and has published her work in two collections, Taller than Buildings and The Everyday Wife, the latter of which won the Poetry Award at the 2011 South African Literary Awards.

Ethical leadership key in rooting out cartels

7 March 2014 - By Wits University

The Mandela Institute in the Wits School of Law hosted a seminar entitled Competition, corruption and damages: aftermath of the cartel cases, to reflect on recent collusion cases investigated by the Competition Commission.

Collusive tendering in the construction sector and price-fixing by bread producers are some of the major cases that have rocked South Africa and were scrutinised by the Commission.

Fifteen construction firms were collectively fined R1.46 billion for collusive tendering by the Competition Commission last year after investigations into the conduct and practices of companies in the sector proved that unlawful practices took place.

The investigations were prompted by concerns from municipality officials after noting the rapidly rising costs in building infrastructure for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. The initial costs by government were projected at R2.3 billion however the total cost amounted to R39.3 billion.

Acting Deputy Commissioner at the Competition Commission and one of the seminar presenters Oliver Josie said the investigations uncovered numerous cartels across the country operating at national and provincial level.

What was most startling from a corporate governance perspective, according to Josie, is the discovery that “participants of the cartels were senior members from firms” and implicated CEOs, senior directors and managers.

Corporate governance received a strong focus during the tribunal with leadership from the sector facing some tough questions from the tribunal’s panel members and chairperson.

Leadership came into criticism for failing to question abnormal profits, which Josie says should have been a clear indication of collusive behaviour.

Profit margins in large building projects generally range around 5-6% but for the World Cup infrastructure projects, profits were up to 16%.

The Commission also uncovered that it was not only government that fell victim to collusive behaviour and bid-rigging. 

Private clients who had building projects for business offices and residential property were also duped by the cartels.

Having concluded some of their own investigations and acted against the implicated firms, Josie says the door is now open for “private clients and stakeholders to pursue civil claims against the firms provided that they satisfy the requirements of the law”.

According to Josie, a number of civil litigants have acquired certificates for class action and that South Africa can expect a “lot of claims for civil damages in the coming months and years.”

Charles Abrahams from Abrahams Kiewitz Attorneys said that they had acquired a certificate against bread producers Tiger Brands, Premier Foods and Pioneer Foods. The case has however been delayed because one of the producers has challenged the process.

In 2009 the Competition Tribunal found Tiger Brands, Pioneer Foods and Foodcorp guilty of price fixing when they colluded to raise the price of bread and reduce the discounts offered to independent distributors.

Josie and Abrahams were joined on the panel by Millard Arnold, the former group legal counsel of construction and engineering group Murray & Roberts.

“What occurred was unacceptable, regrettable and the companies that were involved have come right,” said Arnold.

He gave a chronology of how the company, under the leadership of Brian Bruce, the new CEO appointed in 2000, had acted to rid itself of corrupt and unfair practices.

These changes resulted in a number of senior managers leaving the company. Supporting the view that collusion was deeply entrenched and almost a culture in the sector, Millard says the company continued to receive calls from competitors seeking to fix deals years after Bruce had issued a clarion call to end all collusive behaviour.

“People are driven by self-interest. It is unfortunately done in the name of the company and it is the company that has to pay the penalty,” said Millard, explaining why compliance is sometimes difficult.

The Commission is about to embark on phase two of the tribunal looking at small firms involved in cartels which surfaced during the investigations.

Listen to Arnold contest the issued against the company and how Muray & Roberts .

Listen to Josie on how the assisted in getting full disclosure and cooperation from implicated companies.

8 Naledi Award nominations for DFL

7 March 2014 - By Wits University

Drama for Life at Wits has received no less than eight Naledi Award theatre nominations for two of its productions and one for one of its new scholars.

The productions Hayani and Through Positive Eyes, directed by Warren Nebe, Director of Drama for Life, received seven Naledi Theatre Award nominations and one Fleur du Cap Award nomination.

The nominations include the categories Best Ensemble/Cutting Edge Production; Best Male Performer; Best Performance by a Newcomer; Best Musical Score; and Best New SA Script.

Click here for a list of nominations.

Drama for Life also celebrated the nomination for Nomzamo in the category Best Community Theatre, which was directed by Gcebile Dlamini, one of its new scholars.

"Drama for Life is a multi-faceted academic, research and community engagement department in the Wits School of Arts. Our commitment to develop a creative research space for postgraduate students and alumni through the DFL Company Laboratory has birthed a number of new, original South African productions. We are all delighted with the national recognition for our creative research, particularly in the category of Best Ensemble/Cutting Edge Productions, through the Naledi and Fleur du Cap nomination," says Nebe.

The award ceremony takes place on Monday, 17 March 2014 at the Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City. 

Couper recognised for rural health education

4 March 2014 - By Wits University

A Wits academic, known for his outstanding work in rural health research, has been internationally rewarded for his visionary leadership in rural medical education.

Professor Ian Couper, Director of the Wits Centre for Rural Health, was awarded one of seven Special Awards for Outstanding Health Professional Educators at the closing ceremony of the annual Prince Mahidol Award Conference (PMAC), held in Pattaya, Thailand.

Couper was one of only two awardees from Africa, the other being Professor Nelson Sewankambo, Dean of the Makerere University School of Medicine in Uganda.

Professor Couper was nominated for the award for visionary leadership in rural medical education nationally and internationally and for his commitment to delivering training in rural and remote areas and developing innovative approaches to health professions education.

“I could not have done it without the team and the award is a reflection on the people I am privileged to work with,” said Couper.

Other recipients of the award included Dr Roger Strasser, Dean of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and Dr Fortunato L. Cristobal, Dean of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University School of Medicine. Strasser and Cristobal are no strangers to Wits: both have visited Wits during the annual Centre for Rural Health Seminar in 2012 and 2013.

This year’s PMAC, themed Transformative Learning for Health Equity, was held from 27 to 31 January 2104 and focused on health issues of global significance in order to inspire positive policy reform. About 550 participants from more than 60 countries attended the conference. 

"Right to quality healthcare is for all”

19 March 2014 - By Vivienne Rowland

The right to quality healthcare and the role that the newly established Office of Health Standards Compliance can play in making it a reality came under the spotlight at the sixth Ethics Alive Symposium last week.

The symposium held under the theme The Right to Quality Healthcare and hosted by the Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics at Wits and the Faculty of Health Sciences as part of the annual Ethics Alive week, took place in a packed auditorium at the School of Public Health in Parktown.

Presentations were delivered by Professor Bonita Meyersfeld, Director of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies on The Right to Quality Health Care and Professor Laetitia Rispel, Head of the School of Public Health on How will (should) the Office of Health Standards Compliance ensure the right to quality healthcare?

Dr Carol Marshall from the Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC) in the National Department of Health was part of the panel and responded to the discussion.

Rispel said the general lack of accountability; power struggles between patients and healthcare professionals; gaps between policy, implementation, monitoring and evaluation; and lack of or insufficient resources and resourcing are some of the grave obstacles hindering the delivery of quality healthcare in the country and the contribution of the OHSC.

“We need to ask whether the Office of Health Standards Compliance will tip the scales. It could and should ensure that the right to quality healthcare in its mandate is implemented successfully; ensure that the identified constraints and problems are addressed; it ensures an active and aware citizenship; it experiences stewardship and leadership from the academy and health professionals; it has strong accountability mechanisms; and it has ongoing monitoring and evaluation,” said Rispel. .

Meyersfeld discussed three issues that she considered to be important with regards to the right to quality health care: non-South Africans’ right to healthcare, mental illness and sexual violence. She said that each person in South Africa, whether a citizen or not, is entitled to quality healthcare. .

New Director for the Centre for Sustainability in Mining and Industry

1 March 2014 - By Wits University

Professor Caroline Digby has been appointed as the Director of the Centre for Sustainability in Mining and Industry (CSMI) at Wits.

With a career spanning over 20 years in the fields of mining, sustainability, education and regeneration, Digby has a wealth of international experience working in partnership with industry, the academic sector and non-profit organisations. Before joining the CSMI in January 2014, she was Sustainability Director at the well-known Eden Project in the United Kingdom for nine years.

She also ran the Post-Mining Alliance, promoting better practice in post-mining regeneration, and has held posts at the International Council on Mining and Metals, the International Institute for Environment and Development, and at consulting group CRU International.

Professor Digby holds degrees in economics from Trinity College, Dublin, and the University of British Columbia, as well as an MSc (Environmental Assessment and Evaluation) from the London School of Economics.