Deafness on campus brought to the fore on International Ear Care Day.
In South Africa, 20% of the population is reported to have significant and permanent hearing loss, with studies suggesting that about 3 to 6 babies in every thousand babies born develop hearing loss or have major hearing difficulties.
Children are the focus of the 2016 International Ear Care Day themed: The day commemorated annually on 3 March aims to draw attention to the fact that the majority of causes which lead to hearing loss in children can be prevented through public health measures.
Further, those who have hearing loss can benefit greatly from early identification and suitable, timely interventions. The day aims to raise awareness about public health strategies to reduce the prevalence and impact of hearing loss.
To mark this day, the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, housed in the School of Human and Community Development at Wits gathered students today, 3 March 2016 on the Great Hall steps, arranged them into the word "HEAR" and took a photo of the gathering, to highlight the issue of deafness on campus. Students also handed out flyers and carrying posters highlighting the need for ear care.
The event also forms part of the celebrations of the Wits Department of Speech Pathology, which marks its 80th anniversary this year. The Department offers services to the public through the Wits Speech and Hearing Clinic.
“This year, people are encouraged to consider deafness and related issues. People who are deaf may be excluded from many social, political, educational, cultural and economic circles because hearing people may find communicating with them difficult. It is through advocacy campaigns such as International Ear Care Day that we hope to change mindsets and invite people to think about services and how they empower themselves. ,” says Dr Victor De Andrade, Speech Pathologist, Audiologist and Lecturer at Wits.
It is through advocacy campaigns such as International Ear Care Day that we hope to change mind sets and invite people to think about services and how they empower themselves,” says Dr Victor De Andrade, Speech Pathologist, Audiologist and Lecturer at Wits.
Wits University offers a range of services in this area ranging from hearing tests to deaf baby support services and sign language lessons. For more on these, visit:
Statement: Events on the Wits Library Lawns pertaining to Israeli Apartheid Week
- Wits University
Wits' Senior Executive Team explains the University's decisions and actions taken in demonstrations.
This week, some students held an event on the Library Lawns which highlighted the Palestinian plight. This led to a temporary standoff with security until Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, intervened and negotiated a truce.
The Wits Management’s concern was not with this unsanctioned event, but with the duplicitous way in which it was undertaken and the potential consequences thereof.
Members of the Wits Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSC) decided to host a series of events in the week before Israeli Apartheid Week. To do this without alerting anyone, they resorted to using members of the Wits Orienteering Club to book the lawns for the week under the pretence of other activities. Yet, they essentially planned to host a series of events that would normally be associated with Israeli Apartheid Week.
In these actions, these student leaders deliberately misled the management of the University. This was particularly irresponsible for it meant the University was not forewarned to put in place the appropriate security measures, which we deem important given that violence has broken out at Wits during previous events associated with the Palestinian/Israeli issues.
This is why for over two years, Wits has instated a rule that any Palestinian/Israeli event on campus must be brought to the attention of the Vice-Chancellor’s Office so that appropriate precautions taken. Moreover, the decision to mislead management about this event was particularly dangerous, given the current climate in the higher education sector and the deliberate attempt by some forces to bring academic programmes to a close. Wits has experienced acts of violence, arson, vandalism and malicious damage to property on our campuses in recent weeks.
There are some student leaders (and others) who deride the threat of violence, but they of course have no responsibility to protect the lives of 34 000 students and thousands of others in the university community.
As we have said before, rights come with responsibilities. Too often some demand rights but never accept the responsibilities that should accompany those rights.
There are also concerns about the administrative and organisational implications of this kind of behaviour. If clubs and societies are allowed to mislead university management about their activities, it would create administrative and organisational mayhem within the University.
Our University establishes rules so that we can coordinate the various activities of the University community. All must be held accountable to these rules, or we risk the rights of various sections of our community being violated by others who believe that their rights should take precedence. Our Constitution insists that all are equal before the law, and all of us must abide by this fundamental principle of the human community.
Wits management decided not to forcibly remove the exhibition that was on display on Tuesday as we felt that it had the potential to heighten political temperatures and threaten the uneasy peace and stability that we have established in recent days. However, we were forced again to bring in additional security to ensure the safety and security of all.
Going forward, we expect all students to follow the University’s correct channels, processes and procedures for their events to be considered and approved. We will, in the coming days, decide on whether restrictions should be placed on the activities of organisations during Israeli Apartheid Week. We will also place on Council’s agenda the surreptitious way in which decisions and actions were undertaken concerning these events, the risks to which the University community were exposed and whether any actions should be taken against individuals and/or clubs and societies.
This kind of disruptive, deceitful action cannot be dealt with through security. We, as a University, must hold members of our community to account when they deliberately transgress our rules, policies and procedures. We urge all sections of the University community to remember that rights come with responsibilities. We also urge them to pursue their rights without compromising the safety and security of our community.
We will also continue to keep the University community informed on developments in this regard.
SENIOR EXECUTIVE TEAM
Wits and Erasmus University launch new PhD in law
- Buhle Zuma
The joint programme departs from traditional studies that simply examine the content and implementation.
The University of the Witwatersrand and Erasmus University Rotterdam (The Netherlands) will offer a new programme in law that will allow candidates to obtain a joint PhD degree from both institutions.
The research programme offered through the Wits Oliver Schreiner School of Law and the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) at Erasmus University will focus on a range of topics in international law, society and development.
Through the ISS-Wits joint programme, Wits and Erasmus want to champion a socio-legal approach that critiques the social working of law over studies that simply examine the content and implementation of legal norms.
Applications to the programme close on 31 March 2016.
Professor Vinodh Jaichand, Head of the Wits Law School who was instrumental in the partnership says the introduction of the programme is a culmination of work that began in 2014.
“The programme draws on the strengths of interdisciplinary research undertaken by the two academic institutions.”
Wits has a strong record in international law and development research while ISS is recognised for its excellence in the areas of politics, public administration, public policy and international law.
The programme bridges gaps of similar programme which tend to follow the traditional research model.
“A pure legal approach to research tends to fall short of interrogating the socioeconomic challenges facing our society. Furthermore, the international dimension of the partnership research may lead to a comparative approach, especially by reviewing how other African states are addressing similar issues,” says Jaichand.
Professor Lawrence Hamilton has been recently awarded a SARChI chair.
Hamilton will use his South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) chair in Political Theory to increase the prominence of the discipline in South Africa and to pursue a transformation agenda.
Hamilton, recently awarded the National Research Foundation/British Academy Research Chair in Political Theory, said political theory is a marginalised and poorly supported area of political studies in South Africa but the plan is to change that as soon as possible.
One of the reasons this discipline remains underdeveloped can be linked to apartheid. Hamilton explained that the then government did not want theorists discussing value-laden concepts such as justice, democracy, freedom and racial and economic equality and part of his job is to undo that.
Transformation agenda
The Chair will also aim to grow the number of graduate students researching in political theory.
“Most of my students are African, Indian and Coloured and this is really important for the transformation of universities and also political studies departments. Having more PhD students from these groups can go a long way in making political theory more prominent and relevant,” Hamilton said.
“I will be offering quite a few scholarships at Honours, Masters and Doctoral levels and I am also starting an exchange programme with Wits University, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, the School of Oriental and African Studies and Queen Mary University of London,” Hamilton said.
Partnerships
Hamilton added that this is quite an unusual SARChI chair in that it is funded by the NRF and the British Academy and will require him to spend six months at Wits and the other six months at Cambridge.
“In the application process, because of my links to Cambridge, I organised to be there for six months. At both Wits and Cambridge I will supervise postgraduate students and conduct research,” he said.
Initially the exchange will be between Cambridge and Wits. In research terms, the goal is for Hamilton, his students and colleagues to offer novel political theory perspectives and arguments from the global South.
Hamilton will no longer teach undergraduate classes as the first five-year term as Chair begins immediately. The Chair is eligible for renewal twice.
Hamilton started at Wits in mid-2014 and is currently supervising nine Masters and PhD students at the University. He is the author of several books including The Political Philosophy of Needs; Puzzles in contemporary political philosophy: An introduction to South African students; Intellectual Traditions in South Africa: Ideas, Institutions and Individuals, Are South Africans Free? and Freedom is Power: Liberty Through Political Representation.
Application process
The two month application process comprised of institutional input and Hamilton’s portion of the application contained his rationale for the Chair, research outputs and output in terms of human capital, exactly what he will be doing for the first five years and the budget for this duration.
He was trained in the UK where his discipline is more prominent. His research interests include various topics in contemporary political theory, such as states, power, representation, freedom, needs, rights, markets and political judgement, as informed by real world politics, particularly in the global South, the history of political thought, and South African politics, political economy and intellectual history.
“The way I do political theory is to contextualise it. Most of my books develop political theory out of a specific context and that context is obviously South Africa,” he said.
He has received more than 10 awards for research excellence, including the TOFAC Award (2014), the University of Johannesburg’s Research Excellence Award (2013-2014), the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) Presidents Award (2007-11), a Mandela Cambridge Bursary (1998-2001) and the Gladstone Memorial Prize (1996); and he is now rated B1 by the NRF (2012-17).
Some of the human capital developments associated with this Chair will go to the University of Western Cape (UWC). For example, the Chair will fund one of his PhD students to teach a graduate course at the UWC.
Structured Light Laboratory launched at Wits
- Kemantha Govender
People from business and industry were treated to the fascinating work undertaken at the Structured Light Laboratory which was launched on 4 March 2016.
Professor Andrew Forbes, a Distinguished Professor and Head of the laboratory together with the 15- member team explained the purpose of the laboratory at Wits University and some of the latest research that is being conducted to over 50 interested stakeholders.
The laboratory, which started off has an empty room with old wooden tables, now offers equipment and space to carry out work at both the classical and quantum levels and includes topics that range from purely theoretical to purely experimental.
Growth in photonics
Forbes joined Wits University last year. During his presentation, he said he has a strong team that comprises post graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and visiting academics.
Forbes spoke about photonics, one of the fastest growing technology fields. He said South Africa doesn’t have an electronics nor photonics industry to speak of but small groups are starting to make a dent in this field and branching out into new technology.
“We can structure light and tailor and customize it to be almost anything that we want.” Structured Light relates to the creation of arbitrarily complex light patterns, for example, accelerating light, non-diffracting light, vector light fields and light carrying optical vortices and orbital angular momentum.
Applications
Forbes explained on their website that they create these fields by a range of techniques, but primarily using digital holograms written to spatial light modulators.
“We then apply such Structured Light in applications such as optical trapping and tweezing of single cells, increased optical bandwidth in free space and in fibre optical communication systems using spatial modes of light, and increased security in quantum links. In many cases our detection schemes are also digital holograms – it is our aim to demonstrate the all-digital control of light,” Forbes explained.
Our research builds competency in mathematical algorithms applied in optics, both theoretically and computationally, non-linear optics, diffractive optical elements, micro optics, adaptive optics, refractive beam shapers, digital holograms, spatial light modulators and wavefront sensing.
Accolades
In 2015, which was declared the Year of Light by UNESCO, Forbes and his team produced 17 journal papers, won seven prizes and produced four popular articles. Team members attended 13 international conference proceedings and Forbes delivered 14 invited talks to speak at various events around the globe. This team’s work also generated significant media interest, having featured in at least 20 news stories. This unit has numerous national and international collaborators and several industry partners.
Thus far in 2016, there are four notable achievements: the creation of a vector microchip laser; the first demonstration of quantum interference in high dimensions; a new approach to packing information into light, which the group sent over free space (air) and optical fibre (glass) , as well as bringing this cutting edge science back into teaching through the use of digital holograms to demonstrate some very basic physics and mathematics in a laboratory.
Forbes said there are more projects in the pipeline for this year.
Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, DVC: Research & Postgraduate Affairs said for those people that follow global trends, the fourth revolution, based on light and photonics is about to unleashed. He added that the only way for South Africa to not miss out on this revolution is to invest in this science. Vilakazi said that he feels there will be lots of investment in physics partially because it responds to some of our global challenges.
Main projects presently include:
Classical entanglement with vector vortex beams;
Quantum imaging;
Secure quantum communication with high-dimensional entangled states;
Propagation of spatial modes in free space and fibres for high bandwidth communication;
Optical imaging and control of nanostructures; and
Novel lasers using both the dynamic and geometric phase of light.
Deaf babies given hope through the Cape Cycle Race fundraising initiative.
Wits staff members, Dr Johan Swanepoel from Wits Plus and Dr Alex Schoeman of the School Of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, were part of the group that cycled in support of HI HOPES.
Thirty-six brave women and men, who supported HI Hopes participated in the Cape Cycle Race on Sunday, 6 March 2016, three days after the International Hearing Day.
The group cycled in their orange regalia in support of Team HI HOPES, to help raise funds for deaf and hard-of-hearing babies in South Africa.
HI HOPES is the community outreach arm of the Centre for Deaf Studies with the objective to give deaf and hard of hearing babies and children every opportunity to develop normally and enjoy the same opportunities as their hearing peers.
“I am proud to have cycled my first Cape Town cycle race for HI HOPES, which does very important work with deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their families.
“HI HOPES helps these children to navigate their conditions and to reach their full potential. I really enjoyed the ride. The scenery on the 109km route was spectacular, and the camaraderie amongst the cyclists was uplifting. I am definitely doing it again!”, says Schoeman.
With approximately R36000 which was raised for Wits at the Cape Cycle Race, compassionate runners are now urged to participate in both the Two Oceans and the Comrades marathon which are underway as an opportunity to raise more funds for HI HOPES to give deaf children the chance of a normal, happy and productive life.
“This kind of fundraising ensures that our service is freely available to any parent, regardless of their ability to pay – providing them with comfort and support, says HI HOPES Development Fundraising Coordinator, Eunice Sediti. According to Sediti, common questions parents ask include: Will my baby ever hear my voice? Will he or she learn to speak? Will he have to wear a hearing aid? ... go to a special school? Will we need to learn sign language? And what does the future hold?”
Any form of support through these ways will be greatly appreciated:
Make a cash donation– by credit card or EFT – towards the cost of training or sponsoring a Deaf child in the programme
Get a MySchool/MyVillage cardwithHI HOPESas the beneficiary. It costs you nothing, and you can help Deaf kids every time you swipe the card at Woolworths and other participating stores.
Sir Martyn Poliakoff explains why he loves making videos of chemistry.
It looks as if he walked into the barber and said: “Give me an Einstein … and make it wild!”
There are many intellectual comments on Sir Martyn Poliakoff’s YouTube channel, Periodic Videos, but the one above is one of his favourites.
Where scientists are concerned, Sir Martyn Poliakoff is rated one of the best. He regularly rubs shoulders with Nobel Prize winners and has been knighted as a Commander of the British Empire, for his contribution to science. He is the foreign secretary of the Royal Society and has a job description that originates from 1663. It states: “To enjoy mutual intelligence and affairs with all manner of strangers and foreigners”.
Poliakoff, however, has shortened this to: “sort of an ambassador for science”. He also has awarded himself the title of “Research Professor”. However, he willingly admits, “it means nothing. I just made it up.”
But what Poliakoff is most famous for – except for the fact that he holds a Guinness World Record for having the smallest Periodic Table in the world engraved on one of his hair – is for his YouTube videos on the Periodic Table.
Together with video journalist, Brady Haran, Poliakoff has made a series of 180 videos on each element of the Periodic Table (one for each of the 118 elements, as well as an introductory video and a trailer). These videos have 718 274 subscribers on YouTube, and have made him a major star among young and old, from all walks of life, and have inspired a large number of people into following science as a career.
“I got an email from a Brazilian, who said that he was a physics graduate, but now working in finance and that he had realised that this was a big mistake and that he would like to come and do a Ph.D. at Nottingham.”
Poliakoff forwarded this message on to the university’s physics department, and not long afterwards ran into the ex-banker in the canteen.
“He came up to me, and said ‘look, I’m here, doing a Ph.D.’,” said Poliakoff.
In a different message, a janitor at a high school in the US contacted Poliakoff and said that while he had never taken chemistry at school, he had liked Poliakoff’s videos so much, that he has given it to his school’s science department, and told them to use it.
“This is one of my favourite comments,” said Poliakoff. “I feel that if the janitor is telling the science teachers what to do, then it is good.”
Poliakoff however, is foremost a scientist, and academic and a teacher. His research is mainly on Green Chemistry, which are cleaner approaches to making chemicals and materials, and he works on finding cleaner solvents.
However, he feels that it is important to share his love for science, and found that YouTube is a great medium for it.
“I think it (his science work and YouTube videos) compliments each other. We make some videos about our research papers, and we sometimes get questions from high school pupils about our research papers,” he says.
“It (producing the YouTube videos) doesn’t really take that much of my time, from doing research, and it is enormously useful in my role as foreign secretary of the royal society. It often helps as an ice breaker with sometimes rather serious scientists from around the world.”
Gravitational Waves: What? Why? How?
- Wits University
Wits physicists to explain the significance, relevance and impact of the discovery of Gravitational Waves.
About 100 years after Albert Einstein's prediction – based on his Theory of General Relativity – Gravitational Waves were detected for the first time on September 14, 2015 by the international LIGO collaboration. The discovery was announced on the 11th of February 2016 and was immediately celebrated as a groundbreaking achievement in the field of Physics.
This is a major achievement combining advanced detection technology and theoretical predictions, which will have a profound impact on future astronomical research.
Three Wits experts in physics, Professors Andreas Faltenbacher, Andrew Forbes and Kevin Goldstein will give a public talk, illuminating this discovery from different perspectives. They will explain the relevance, importance and impact of the discovery of Gravitational Waves, and what it means for South Africa. This lecture is expected to be a highly informative, educational and interactive.
What are Gravitational Waves?
Gravitational Waves are ripples in the curvature of spacetime, which propagate aswaves, travelling outward from the source (massive events such as the collisions of black holes). Gravitational Waves were predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916 and the announcement of the discovery was made in February 2016. The announcement caused a social ripple effect with roughly 17 million tweets that followed it.
The waves came from two black holes that spent aeons circling each other, hurtling closer and closer, before they eventually collided, releasing great shudders of gravitational energy. Those waves — whose power output briefly exceeded that of all the visible stars in the universe combined — traveled for 1.3 billion years until they washed over the Earth, changing the length of the 4km arms of the LIGO detector by just one-ten-thousandth the diameter of a proton. Scientists believe that this discovery will open a whole new field of study in astronomy and physics.
The talk will be held on 16 March at 17:30 at the Wits Science Stadium, Auditorium 2.
Facial reconstruction: What skulls can tell us
- Kemantha Govender
British anthropologist Professor Caroline Wilkinson had South African audiences at the edges of their seats with her fascinating work in facial reconstruction.
Wilkinson, a professor from Liverpool John Moores University, visited South Africa as a guest of the School of Anatomical Sciences at Wits University, with support from a National Research Foundation grant, to present various events, including a workshop for members of the South African Police Service.
While known for her expertise in forensic identification, Wilkinson is equally renowned for her contributions to archaeological investigations. Arguably her most famous case was her creation of a reconstruction of King Richard III's head.
All-rounder
With a background in art and science and her research of art-science fusion, Wilkinson was appointed Director of the School of Art & Design at Liverpool John Moores University in October 2014. Her knowledge is diverse and extends to forensic art, human anatomy, medical art, face recognition, forensic science, anthropology, 3D visualisation, digital art and craniofacial identification.
She combines the latest medical and digital-imaging techniques to recreate faces from the past. Aside from King Richard III, her other famous facial reconstructions include Mary Queen of Scots (Queen of Scotland), Rameses II (ancient Egyptian), St Nicholas (historic 4th-century Christian saint) and Robert Burns (Scottish poet and lyricist).
What the skull reveals
During her talk at the Origins Centre at Wits, titled: Depicting the Dead: Facial depiction for forensic identification and archaeological investigations, she told a packed audience that the interesting thing for her in the anthropological world is the amount of information a skull can reveal about a person.
“We can tell from an adult skull whether someone is male or female with 90% accuracy. We can make an estimation of the age of the individual when they died.
“As anthropologists we can put people into four different ancestry groups with about 70 - 80% accuracy. We may get a health status of an individual based on their skull and the bones,” explained Wilkinson.
She said that trauma and disease to the face may tell us about how a person lived and in rare cases it is possible to get insights into the person’s culture. For example, if the skull is changed by the use of a head band, that could lead to clues into the religious or cultural practice of a person.
Technology
Wilkinson said facial reconstructions are nowadays being done on a computer, although manual reconstructions with clay or plasticine still occur in some cases.
“With the advances in three dimensional (3D) technology, it is possible for us to take CT data or the latest scan of the skull in 3D to model the anatomical structure of the face directly onto the 3D model in a digital format,” she explained.
Police Collaboration
Wilkinson is also called to work on cases with the police. She said on rare occasions (because records of people in the UK are well documented) police will find human remains that is a challenge to identify. When they have no clues about the identity of the individual police would then ask Wilkinson and her team to produce a facial depiction to show what the individual may have looked like when they were alive, in the hope that someone will recognise the body and this could lead to identifying them.
She stressed that this is not a form of identification but an investigate tool to allow for recognition of a person. Once that happens, the person will be identified through DNA or dental records.
There was quite a bit of interest from South African media in Wilkinson’s work. On the Talk Radio 702 she told presenter John Robbie that her work is both art and science.
She has both art students with an interest in science as well as science students with art skills. She also has students from fields such as dentistry, anatomy, anthropology and sculpture.
“Tall Stories” writer wins investigative journalism award
- Wits University
Winner of richest investigative journalism award announced.
Pieter-Louis Myburgh from Afrikaans Sunday newspaper, Rapport, won this year’s Taco Kuiper investigative journalism award.
Myburgh, who exposed the story that the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) had spent R600 million on railway carriages that were too tall for the SA railway network, won the R200 000 in prize money for the richest award for investigative journalism in South Africa.
“This was an exemplar of great investigative journalism, based on good sources, solid documentation, guts, and determination,” said Caxton Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Wits University, Anton Harber, who handed out the prize on Friday, 18 March.
Myburgh got the story from a tip-off and followed up with investigative work that led him to publish his first story exposing the incompatibility of the trains to the SA rail network.
“When the story was denied, Myburgh had cleverly kept the evidence up his sleeve to force an admission that there had been a blunder of massive proportions. The story had an immediate impact, in bringing change to Prasa, and long-term repercussions in ensuring that crooks and frauds are brought to book,” said Harber.
Siphe Macanda of the Eastern Cape newspaper, Daily Dispatch, was the runner up for his article on the Siyenza Toilet Scandal.
Macanda exposed the tender scandal in which family members of national ANC leaders elbowed their way into an R631-million toilet tender. The story resulted in the contract being canceled, saving R400-million.
The third finalist for this year’s competition was the team from the online title, the Daily Maverick; Diana Neille, Richard Poplak, Shaun Swingler and Sumeya Gasa of Daily Maverick, for their story Chronicle for Casualties of Cola.
The Taco Kuiper awards has been running for the past 10 years. This year’s competition attracted 43 entries of which 13 came from television-based media; three from radio; two from websites and the rest from newspapers.
“It was notable that the amounts of money involved in financial scandals (reported on in the entries0 seems to have gone from millions to billions. If you add up the amounts of which have been the subject of investigation in this year’s entries, it totals trillions of rands, literally – a sign of the escalation of not just the extent but the scale of abuse of public funds,” said Harber.
Meet Tapiwa Shendelane: 15 year old Engineering Student
- Refilwe Mabula
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.”
This famous quote by the wordsmith Mark Twain has proved to be true for 15-year-old Tapiwa Shendelane, who is said to be the youngest Industrial Engineering student at Wits. She is one of three 15-year-olds enrolled at Wits this year.
The teen from Thulamahashe near Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga matriculated with six distinctions last year at Orhovelani High School.
Tapiwa does not mind being the youngest amongst her classmates at Wits.
“Somehow I feel like we are the same age. I really do not feel 15. I only think about it once in a while. It is almost like it’s been programmed that I am 18 or 19 because I have always had older classmates.”
She laughs, adding that “nobody knows that I am 15.”
When asked about accepting such a young person into engineering, Professor Ian Jandrell, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment says that “readiness for university is a state of mind, not age.”
“A university must always challenge the status-quo, and we often conflate age with maturity and preparedness,” he adds.
Tapiwa’s excellent grades in school saw her getting promoted twice in Grade 5 and Grade 8 where she only completed the first quarter of both grades before progressing to the next grades – which she also completed with ease.
Academic excellence is the norm in her family, with all her siblings performing well in school and an eight-year-old sister who is already in Grade four, two grades above the average eight-year-old.
She chose to study Industrial Engineering after exploring a number of careers.
“I was not sure of what I wanted to be, sometimes I wanted to be a chartered accountant, sometimes I wanted to be a medical doctor. I wanted to be everything. I wanted to be an astronaut, pilot, presenter, doctor, advocate etc.”
“I had a lot of ideas going through my head,” she says.
Her key to excellence is to understand the work in class first before studying for exams. She advises other students to “work smart and not hard”.
Although she is only 15 years old, the transition from high school to university has not been a challenge. The mature youngster has adjusted quite quickly to the academic demands and is coping well within the new environment.
Tapiwa talks to John Robbie on TalkRadio 702
Scientists fight to save Canteen Kopje
- Wits University
Urgent High Court interdict obtained to stop unlawful mining at heritage site.
South African scientists, including archaeologists from Wits University, were granted an urgent court interdict in the Northern Cape High Court in Kimberley on Saturday night, 19 March 2016, to stop unlawful mining operations at Canteen Kopje.
This follows the commencement of illegal large scale mining by a mining company that began earlier this month at this key archaeological and historic heritage site near Barkly West in the Northern Cape, South Africa.
Researchers from the Wits University’s School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies are mounting efforts with the key stakeholders at the McGregor Museum, Sol Plaatje University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Pennsylvania to save this important research and tourism site.
A website has been set up to help with the scientists call for action against this threat: http://www.canteenkopje.com/
Important archaeological site
“Various locations excavated over the years at this site preserve a lengthy archaeological sequence, including the earliest stone tools in southern Africa suggested to be 2.3 million years old, at least three phases of the Acheulean hand axe culture, the Middle and Later Stone Ages, and historic deposits that document the first contact between local inhabitants and the earliest miners in South Africa,” says Kathleen Kuman, Professor Emeritus from the Archaeological Department at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
Illegal operations
This month a private diamond mining company began work in a very sensitive area of the site and has been erecting fencing that not only includes the current excavations by the team of Wits scientists and by the University of Toronto but also part of the site developed for tourism, thus blocking access to the public as well as to the archaeologists.
The scientists say the mining company has been operating without a permit from the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA), a direct contravention of the National Heritage Resources Act (NHRA) (Act 25 of 1999).
“All gazetted heritage sites in this country require a permit from SAHRA if they are to be disturbed in any way; hence this mining company is in contravention of an Act of the Republic of South Africa,” says Kuman.
Education and tourism suffer
Professor David Morris of the McGregor Museum in Kimberley has been dealing with the situation on the ground. He is the co-permit holder with Dr George Leader for the excavations in which Wits University staff and students have participated since 2007.
Kuman, who has supervised a number of students on the Canteen Kopje project, says: “This continued threat of mining and the activities of illegal miners over the years threaten to destroy both the ancient and more recent heritage of our country, along with the opportunity for our local students to further develop our knowledge of this important heritage.”
Morris has begun a funding application that will protect the site in future and further develop its tourism potential.
“For the sake of short-term financial gain in diamond mining, the long-term, more sustainable benefits to heritage tourism and to the archaeological research of much international importance are being jeopardised”, says Kuman.
One Day Leaders at Wits
- Wits University
Two Wits students, Zareef Minty and Thamsanqa Pooe, are contestants in the fourth season of One Day Leader.
The University of the Witwatersrand has always been an incubator for world-class leaders, producing leaders who are continuously thriving to make a significant difference in their respective fields.
The calibre of students that Wits produces is evident in the number of world leaders that the University produces.
Two Wits students, Zareef Minty and Thamsanqa Pooe are honing and showcasing their leadership skills by tackling social, economic and political issues affecting South Africa, as contestants in the fourth season of One Day Leader, a television reality series that looks at youth leadership and the role they play in the development of the country.
The show challenges young people from around the country to put their leadership skills and abilities to the test and garner the support of the nation on their journey as future leaders.
Minty is a final year LLB student and author of motivational book Empire. In 2014, he was recognised by Mail and Guardian as one of the Top 200 Young South Africans under the age of 35.
With ambitions to be the Minister of Education in the future, Minty is currently building a school in Limpopo under the Zareef Minty Build a School Foundation and plans to build three more schools in Limpopo by the end of 2017.
“I envision a country where we create a more equal education for all citizens through the development of educational institutions in rural/semi-urban areas,” says Minty.
Pooe, like season two contestant Seadimo, is an Allan Gray Orbis Candidate Fellow, currently studying towards a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics and International Relations. He is also a member of the 2015/2016 SRC, holding the Social and Community Development portfolio.
The two students will put their leadership skills to test through a series of debates and implementation of practical projects addressing issues facing the country over a period of 13 weeks. A big part requires each member to galvanise public support for their vison.
At the end of each debate, a panel of judges will interrogate their visions and viewers will vote for their chosen leader. To vote for Pooe SMS "Leader 3" and for Minty SMS "Leader 1" to 33121.
You can catch Minty and Pooe, every Monday from 16:30 to 17:30 on SABC 1.
Our boys are back in the Varsity Cup
- Wits University
Wits University rugby team soars to victory in Varsity Shield tournament.
With this superb performance the team has secured automatic qualification for the 2017 Edition of Varsity Cup, guaranteed for the next two years.
In a make-or-break Shield game on Easter Monday, the Witsies thrashed the University of the Western Cape by a massive score of 60 – 13. This followed another huge win on Saturday for Wits coach Hugo van As when his team beat the University of Fort Hare by 64 points to 13.
To end on top of the Shield log and secure a place in the Varsity Cup, the Witsies had to beat rugby legend Chester Williams’ UWC team by 39 points and secure a bonus point in the process.
With only eight minutes remaining on Monday at the FNB Stadium in Soweto, Wits captain Warren Gilbert and his team had their work cut out for them. Kwanele Ngema flew across the field in a moment of inspired magic to score a try followed shortly afterwards by another superb converted try from Gilbert which proved decisive.
In the end, the Witsies earned a winning margin of 47 points that was sufficient to end top of the log and ensure automatic Varsity Cup qualification from 2017.
“We are ecstatic that after two tough years for the team, as well as a difficult season in the 2016 Varsity Shield tournament (due to the student protests), the Wits rugby team has performed brilliantly,” said Adrian Carter, Director of Wits Sport.
“Our sincere congratulations go out to the coaching staff, management, Alumni (WOBS) and off course, the players. We really have a group of special human beings coaching, leading and mentoring our lads,” Carter added.
The Wits team is now preparing for the final match in the Shield tournament; however, this would only serve as a victory lap. Carter says the team is hoping it will be a home final at the Wits Rugby Stadium where the Witsies can then support the champions in full force. (Match details still to be announced.)
Wits debating team displays the edge again
- Wits University
Debating team reached semi-finals in top international tournament.
In their first appearance at international competitions this year, the Wits Debating Union proceeded all the way to the semi-finals.
Second year law student Nonhlanhla Masanabo and Jamie Mithi, a final year law student, are currently in the United States of America attending two debating competitions.
Over the Easter weekend, the pair displayed their brilliant debating skills when they reached the semi-final of the prestigious annual Colgate Open hosted by the Colgate University in New York.
The highly competitive students from Cornell University, University of Vermont and Cambridge University were among those in attendance. The quality of debating at this level of international competition is unparalleled and is reflected in the breadth of the motions debated.
Motions tested students understanding of current global events as well as their intellectual mastery of abstract concepts, philosophical questions as well as hypothetical scenarios.
The Wits Debating Union was invited to attend this tournament by virtue of their victory in the Pan African championships held in December 2015, where they were crowned overall champions and best speakers.
The next stage of their American tour is attending the World Top Sixteen Tournament, known to debaters as the HWS Round Robin. This competition is hosted by Hobart and William Smith Colleges and pits the top sixteen teams from around the world against each other.
The Wits team is hopeful for an even better result in this competition and will be refining their training to learn from their experiences at the Colgate Open to enhance their chances in this challenge. The HWS round robin will be held this weekend on 1 – 2 April 2016.
![Wits' Rhyno Herbst in action against UWC during a Varsity Shield match. [Image courtesy of Saspa]](/media/wits-university/news-and-events/images/all-news/Wits-Rhyno-Herbst-in-action_Image-courtesy-of-Saspa_870x500px.jpg "Wits' Rhyno Herbst in action against UWC during a Varsity Shield match. [Image courtesy of Saspa]")