Dr Samantha Gildenhuys

Dr Samantha Gildenhuys received a research award at the Research and Innovation gala dinner held on the 14th March 2013. She was honoured for obtaining Y2 NRF rating at the end of 2012.

Dr. Gildenhuys is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Life & Consumer Sciences in the College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences. She obtained her PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand in the field of protien biochemistry. To date she has published 7 research articles and has an h-index of 3. Publications in the international journal Biochemistry resulted in her being invited to join the American Chemical Society as a member. Her current research focuses on  proteins and specifically the expression, characterization and folding of  various proteins of interest. Proteins are critical to life and therefore her studies have focused on them. Her research involves the use of a variety of up to date techniques ranging from chromatography, spectroscopy and electrophoresis to elucidate protein characteristic such as ionic character, structure and dynamics. These studies allow biochemists to dissect out intricate macromolecular mechanisms and functionality essential to life and health.

Dr Samantha Gildenhuys flanked by Prof. Mandla Makhanya (Principal and Vice-Chancellor) and Prof. Mamokgethi Phakeng (Vice-Principal: Research and Innovation) appreciate Prof Linington’s (not pictured) enthusiastic recognition and pride the achievement of one of her colleges researchers

Dr Samantha Gildenhuys pictured here receiving her award from Prof. Mandla Makhanya (Principal and Vice-Chancellor) and Prof. Mamokgethi Phakeng (Vice-Principal: Research and Innovation)

The Roots Driven Rural Development Community Engagement project of the Unisa Department of Geography and the Greater Rustenburg Community Forum was so to speak “placed on the map” on 8 March 2013 when a regional round of the International Barbara Petchenik children’s map drawing competition was held at the Thlolego Ecovillage. The Barbara Petchenik Award was created by the International Cartographic Association in 1993 in honour of a past Vice president of the ICA and cartographer who worked through her life with maps related to children. The international competition takes place every two years according to a predetermined theme. The theme of the 2013 competition is: My place in today’s world (This will also be the theme for the 2015 competition).

The meaning of the theme of the competition was enhanced by the location of the round of the competition, at the ecovillage. According to the website (http://gen.ecovillage.org/) “Thlolego is a small rural-based living and learning community that offers certification courses in permaculture, sustainable building technology, and ecovillage design incorporating local African traditions. In order to respond to the growing challenge of prosperity and poverty living side by side, programmes are being developed to train trainers in science, solar technology, biology, sanitation, herbals, ecology and household food security. “  This is indeed a very interesting place in today’s world and the maps from rural schools make a valuable unique contribution to the variety of perspectives of children from different contexts.
The aims of the competition were certainly met as we received many creative representations of the world; and cartographic awareness and consciousness of their environment were enhanced.  We were honored in that Prof Elri Liebenberg, former head of the Department of Geography at Unisa , and the national coordinator of the map drawing competition could join us for the event.

Melanie Nicolau, currently the head of the Geography Department at Unisa, created a fun mapping exercise with the learners. They were divided in four groups, named Africa, America, Asia and Europe.  With the assistance of facilitators they firstly had to find their continent on a globe and a flat map of the world and then identify a country and city on their continent. They had to share with the bigger group their answers and also indicate what is special about their continent – of course Africa has the “big five” and other animals, friendly people and the Amarula tree.
Anna de Jager from the Geography Department at Unisa shared some technical background on the importance of maps after which the prizes of the categories were handed out by Bonolo  and Alma from the CRCF. Learners who attended the event not only had much fun, they also learnt a lot and could go home with a beautiful T-shirt with a printed image of one of the entries of a previous competition. Six maps will eventually be selected to represent South Africa at the ICA International Cartographic Conference in Dresden, Germany where an international winner will be selected in each category. More information about the competition can be found on their website (http://icaci.org)

Author: Anna de Jager, Department of Geography

Prof. Patrick FitzGerald (University of Witwatersrand) and Prof. Rita Maré (Unisa Vice-Principal Academic: Teaching and Learning) sign the memorandum of understanding at Unisa’s Florida Campus.

Collaborations, particularly those related to research production, are the game of the 21st century information society, knowledge economy, and the 21st century university, said Professor Patrick FitzGerald from the University of Witwatersrand (Wits).

“As a single university, no matter what comparative advantages you have, no matter what intellectual talent or particular strengths you may have, you are not really going to go forward and perform optimally, and leverage and exploit your resources, unless you are able to use those resources to enter into fruitful collaborative partnerships. Because one institution cannot have the critical mass; it cannot have all the equipment, and all the energies to actually achieve optimally.”

FitzGerald was speaking to staff from Unisa and Wits on 12 November, when the two universities confirmed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and launched their research collaboration plans.

Both universities have agreed to develop initiatives with special focus on identified niche areas and sharing of resources towards the advancement of each other’s research cultures; jointly organise and host public lectures, seminars, policy dialogue, symposia, and conferences; collaborate in joint research and development initiatives, with particular focus on the biosciences, plant and animal health, natural resources, and engineering; participate in joint projects including the development of joint research and publications, exchange of academic materials as well as the sharing of technical expertise and resources; provide opportunities for exchange of post-doctoral fellowship at either university; and cooperate in supervision, tuition, and assessment of postgraduate students.

The way forward, said FitzGerald, is to strategically pick the right partnerships in the right fields, with the right people.  He said universities should have the requisite commitment to design effective partnerships to take forward a whole series of complexities and yield effective results in how they respond to what is occurring in the country.

He added that Wits’s commitment to Unisa in lab-based research is a sustained one. “…We are happy to join you since you are a new player, who brings new investments, who is possibly going to have equipment that we don’t have or more recent versions of the equipment. You are going to have a cadre of academics, you are going to have postdoctoral and postgraduate students, who can relate to us, and with all the technologies at our disposal in terms of ICT, I think there is every opportunity, and that this is something that Wits needs to do.”

FitzGerald said Wits is known asa  research-intensive university, and therefore they are focused on going forward and contributing not only to science and lab-based research, but to society. “We need the hard research, we need the research outputs, but we also need the socialisation and commercialisation of intellectual capital based on good science. This is one of the things that South African universities have generally under-achieved in. We need to be more resolute in order to achieve according to our potential. We probably need a lot more partnerships of this kind. It’s difficult for a single university to drive it forward without affirming partnerships, and networks of innovation. It is sometimes those relationships with colleagues from other universities that drive and spark innovative thinking … The document (MoU) must be taken forward in the real world,” he said.

Executive Dean of Unisa’s College of Graduate Studies, Professor Greg Cuthbertson, also addressed the importance of partnerships, but spoke on the policy changes relating to sustainable development, higher education and research, as well.

“…What has interested me quite a lot is the CHE (Council on Higher Education) document on new formats for doctoral research … and I think this project has a lot to do with those configurations which break out of universities being the custodians of advanced degrees on their own. And Unisa has not explored these things enough, and I congratulate this college (CAES) for being the leaders in establishing this kind of contact.”

Cuthbertson was impressed with the MoU, and said one of the aspects that stood out was the conscious focus on postdoctoral exchange. “It’s a thing that we all struggle with as universities and to have a reciprocal relationship where Wits postdoctoral students come to work at Unisa for career advancement, and vice-versa, is a fantastic arrangement, because I know how universities do struggle to find places, and in a competitive environment, give people career options, which I think are immeasurable in terms of promoting research. So the postdoctoral exchange concept in your memorandum is a very fertile region for research in the future.”

Professor Maggie Linington, Executive Dean of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES), said given Unisa’s geographical reach across Africa, the university’s success in enhancing innovative research and postgraduate studies had the potential to influence the future of research in South Africa and on the continent.

She said that, amongst other things, the science laboratories currently being built at Unisa’s Florida Campus demonstrate Unisa’s commitment to becoming a research-intensive university, a university dedicated to enhancing research and innovation and the production of postgraduates.

Linington said Unisa’s Research and Innovation Portfolio supports research partnerships and collaborations across disciplines and universities. “…We recognise that through collaborations we can create critical maths and science research, and research on focus areas critical to the country, and produce a new generation of scientists for the nation … The university sees a competitive advantage in research through the collaborative approach that attracts top researchers. Therefore both Wits and Unisa will benefit hugely from this collaboration.”

Linington added: “We believe that there is expertise across the science sector and if you want to actually benefit from the expertise in South Africa, collaborations and partnerships are pivotal to it … We need to collaborate across disciplines if we want to fix problems. We need multi-disciplinary research, and we need multi-disciplinary teams, and we can only be strengthened from each other’s expertise.”

Dr Monde Ntwasa from the School of Molecular and Cell Biology at Wits presented a brief context of the MoU. Click here to view his presentation.

Unisa Vice-Principal Academic: Teaching and Learning, Professor Rita Maré, said both institutions would benefit from the sharing of expertise and resources in the interest of science. “The collaboration with the Wits is an important milestone for Unisa. Working closely with a neighbouring university with a strong research culture will have mutual benefits for postgraduate students, researchers and for the creation of new knowledge. The possibility of developing a joint qualification is another exciting possibility to share resources.”

Professor Fhatuwani Mudau from Unisa’s Department of Agriculture and Animal Health said the challenge moving forward would be ensuring that the MoU was more than just a piece of paper. Words needed to be put into action, he said, if both universities were to ensure the collaboration bore fruit.

Staff from the University of Witwatersrand and Unisa listen to a presentation by Dr Monde Ntwasa (School of Molecular and Cell Biology: University of Witwatersrand)

* Written by Rivonia Naidu-Hoffmeester

Dr Christy Boylan (Ireland), Prof Richard Hendrick (Director: School of Environmental Sciences), Dr Gregory Moore (University of Melbourne, Australia) and Prof Willie Nel (CoD: Environmental Sciences)

The Department of Environmental Sciences (DES)  in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) held a very successful colloquium on 1 November 2012 at the Florida Campus, focusing on the value of urban green spaces and greening. Papers were submitted by two international speakers and academics from the department.

The presentations included the following:

• The real value of urban trees and landscapes by Dr Gregory Moore, University of Melbourne, Australia

• The arboriculture and economic benefits of formative pruning of street trees by Dr Gregory Moore, University of Melbourne, Australia
• The diverse values and uses of parks by Dr Christy Boylan, Ireland
• Management of parks and open spaces – strategies and models by Dr Christy Boylan, Ireland
• Estimates of carbon storage by jacaranda street trees in the City of Tshwane by    Professor Hennie Stoffberg, DES, Unisa

Dr Moore highlighted and discussed in detail the variety of benefits, both socioeconomic as well as environmental, that urban greening and trees have within an urban environment. The presentation was especially apt in the light of climate change and global warming. The most important aspects are summarised below:

Dr Moore concluded that it was concerning that, at a time when urban trees and public open space were being appreciated as urban infrastructure assets, they were being threatened and neglected in many major cities. This will have a serious impact on the capacity of cities and regions to mitigate at least some of the effects of global climate change. Also, this will have a deleterious effect on human health, social structures and the economic components of our society as well as the environment.

Dr Boylan highlighted the various and diverse values and uses of parks. He outlined a dazzling array of benefits including human health and well-being, economic in terms of tourism, visual impacts and biodiversity, engineering values, education and research values, heritage values, social interaction and community development.

In his follow-up presentation, Dr Moore focused on professional street tree pruning, highlighting the environmental and economic benefits if these practices were implemented scientifically and correctly by city parks departments, which is seldom the case.

In his follow-up presentation on parks management strategies and models, Dr Boylan highlighted the benefits and risks of four options of private-public management models for the management of urban green spaces as well as seven ingredients required to do so successfully.

Unisa’s own Professor Hennie Stoffberg presented findings of a study published in 2012 by Unisa Press which indicated that about 17% (33 300) of the City of Pretoria’s urban street tree forests (195 000 trees) consisted of jacaranda trees. This research indicated that these trees stored more than 41 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents in their wood and roots. Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas and it thus places great emphasis on the critical necessity of street tree urban infrastructure to reduce global climate change impacts.

* Written by Professor Willie Nel

Dr Agricola Odoi

The College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) hosted their African Visiting Scholar of the month lecture series on 25 June 2012. The lecture sought to analyse the relationship between where people reside and the possible health risks this might pose.

The lecture was presented by Dr Agricola Odoi, Associate Professor of epidemiology at the University of Tennessee and an adjunct faculty at East Tennessee State University. His lecture was entitled “Does where you live affect your health & that of your animals?” GIS technology in health and veterinary research.

He said that based on the research he has done, it shows that the places where people or animals live does have an impact on their health, especially people who live far from health care facilities. He added that those who suffer from strokes might not get immediate help if they live far from hospitals. “Stroke and heart attack are conditions that need immediate attention and if patients are not treated quickly, they might not survive.”

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are used to gather and store data, and analyse that data. He explained that the GIS uses a method of network analysis that calculates the travelling time from different neighbourhoods to the nearest health facilities. The results are also displayed in a map format providing easy access for all people. He said that the maps on display help health practitioners to respond to the outbreaks of any disease.

Responding to the paper, Dr Godfrey Netswera (Director: Research Administration, Unisa) agreed that where people or animals live affects their health. “This is not a simplistic response and it should not be. Scholars should try their best to provide thought through responses and be backed by empirical evidence.” He added that as a sociologist, he was tempted, upfront, before listening to the scholarship of Dr Odio, to size up the matter and “look at the question from a social and economic reference point.”

Dr Agricola Odoi earned his veterinary degree in 1993 from Makerere University (Uganda), MSc in epidemiology from University of Nairobi (Kenya) in 1998 and PhD in epidemiology from the University of Guelph (Canada) in 2002. Before joining the University of Tennessee, Dr Odoi taught epidemiology and public health at Makerere University (Uganda) and was a public health epidemiologist in Ontario (Canada). He is a director and awards chair of the Association of Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (AVEPM). Dr Odoi also serves as a senior staff member of the National Institute of Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS). His research interest is in health disparities and especially the effect of where people live on the health of people and animals. Dr Odoi serves as an expert scientific reviewer for a number of research grant funding agencies including the National Institute of Health (USA), the American Heart Association (USA), Ontario Ministry of Agriculture (Canada), and Innovational Research Incentives Programme (The Netherlands). He is also an Associate Editor of the African Journal of Agricultural Research and is an editorial board member of several international scientific journals.

Mrs Fransa Ferreira, Dr Alice Barlow-Zambodla (SAIDE) and Prof Maggie Linington (Executive Dean: CAES) congratulating students receiving their certificates

Unisa’s Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental Sciences under the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES), hosted a certification ceremony event in East London in the Eastern Cape Province on 31 May 2012. The programme came about as a result of the partnership between Unisa and the South African Institute of Distance Education in the design, development and implementation of the study programme. The intention was to promote the Centre’s Programme in Household Food Security (PHFS).

CAES is offering the PHFS as a short learning programme (NQF level 5). The programme is targeting community development advocates and trains them in household food security facilitation as community-based workers and is designed to ensure that the enrolled personnel such as community development workers, community health workers, peer educators, etc. receive practical community-based experiential training to facilitate change and empower communities towards sustainable practices.

The programme was founded because the livelihood of many communities in rural areas struggle with access to adequate and nutritious food. Villagers have to travel long distances to buy food and in the event that there is no money, poverty is rife.

Two hundred and sixteen students, seventeen with distinctions, from twenty learning venues all over the Eastern Cape completed this programme during the 2011 academic year. This certificate ceremony event served to congratulate them on their achievement and exposed them to the outside world for potential future placements and considerations.

The Executive Manager, Mr Maxegwana, from the Community Development & Research Programme of the Department of Social Development, Eastern Cape, was invited to deliver the keynote address at the Certificate Ceremony.

The two pilot phases of the Programme in Household Food Security have been successfully concluded and special thanks are conveyed to the Executive Dean of CAES, Prof Maggie Linington for her determined leadership. The delivery of the programme would not have been possible without the regional based support to the Regional Coordinator of the PHFS in CAES, including publicity, from Mr Motale Nkgoang as the Manager of the Eastern Cape Region.  The formal partnership for design development and implementation with the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) under Mrs Jennie Glennie and project Leader Dr Alice Barlow –Zambodla are also acknowledged. The entire HFS under Mrs Fransa Ferreira have made the programme one of the most considered programmes when fundamental community development aspects are to be realised.

From left: Mr V Mququ, Mr Somhlahlo, Mrs K.A Kikine, Ms Ellen Mokoena, Mrs Liphapang, Ms Poppie Khoza(CAES), Mr L Ndlovu, Ms N Sopodi and Ms NK Mkhathsane

Corporate Communication and Marketing (CC&M) and the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) in partnership with the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform visited nine schools from six local areas namely; Lusikisiki, Ntabankulu, Mt Frere, Mt Fletcher, Lady Frere and Motherwell. These are adopted schools in the programme of the MEC of the Department. The school visits took place from 21 to 25 May 2012.

The primary objective of the visits was to expose learners from adopted schools to the qualifications offered in the areas of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. The Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform is making an effort to attract learners to study in the field of Animal Health and Veterinary Sciences because they have been identified as scarce skills in that area.

Learners had an opportunity to ask questions about Unisa as an ODL institution, student funding and admission requirements. 

The visits were well planned and well coordinated. Each school was assigned to a senior official from the Department.

Prof Neil Eccles (Acting Chair of the Institute for Corporate Citizenship), considers a remark from an audience member during the question and answer session

World Environment Day was observed on 5 June 2012 with the aim of educating global citizens about the dangers that threaten natural environments. To this end, the Department of Geography hosted a discussion based on this year’s theme, The green economy – Does it include you, which focuses on creating a low-carbon, resource efficient model for countries.

In 1972, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly established World Environment Day to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the programme which creates awareness on environmental issues such as global warming. 2012 also celebrates 20 years since the first UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Earth Summit) in Brazil.

Prof Neil Eccles, Acting Chair of the Institute for Corporate Citizenship, discussed what the World Environment Day theme really means and the possible avenues for achieving a global green economy.

His presentation included the countries he felt were the closest to sustainability, those who were not, and nations that were completely unsustainable. There were several theories he outlined to maintain an equilibrium including depopulation, growing technology and lowering a country’s growth rate. Prof Eccles says the world needs to start asking some tough questions to become serious about solving the environmental perils of our time. “We knew 40 years ago that we would eventually need a green economy, so the question is, ‘do we have the time?’ Are we actually smart enough to solve this and do we actually have the will to want to change things?” Click here to view Prof Eccles’ full presentation.

Front row, from left: Melanie Nicolau (Head of the Geography Department), Ernestina Nkooe (Department of Geography), Anna De Jager (Department of Geography). 2nd row: Anisa Khotoo (Department of Geography), Prof Neil Eccles (Acting Chair of the Institute for Corporate Citizenship), Prof Maggi Linington (Executive Director: College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences); 3rd row: Laura Steyn (Department of Geography), Jaco Immelman (Department of Geography), Chris Vlok (Department of Geography). Back row, Schalk Van Heerden (Department of Geography), Rhett Calvert (Department of Geography), Prof Jimmy Hendrick (Director: School of Environmental Sciences), David Hedding (Department of Geography), Hellene Steenkamp (Department of Geography), Prof Simphiwe Mini (Department of Geography)

Prof Maggi Linington, Executive Director: College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, drew attention to the fact that South Africa needs a sound green economy. “The question of sustainability is a fundamental one. We should try to care for the earth now,” she said.

As one of the largest universities in the country, Unisa is also playing a critical role in reducing unsustainable practices. According to Prof Divya Singh, Vice-Principal: Advisory and Assurance Services, Unisa has been a signatory to the UN Global Compact since 2007, a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. “We subscribe to the Green agenda because of the sustainability obligations imposed by the King III Code, but also, more importantly, because it is the ethical thing to do. As a University, the Vice Chancellor has made ethics an institutional priority and he is driving the initiatives directly from his office.”

Unisa will also be rolling out a carbon footprint report and environmental policy from 2012-2013.

Prof Maggi Linington (Executive Director: College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences), revealed that Unisa would be one of 29 universities, signing a sustainability pledge	Melanie Nicolau (Head of the Geography Department), facilitated the discussion
Prof Eccles’ presentation focused on three key aspects; Problems, Solutions and Elliot	The audience listened to a presentation that was enlightening and informative

The main purpose of the project is to assist educators with their teaching skills, and empower them, especially in the fields of science.

In addition, the Department advises the educators on how to set up short experiments in practical learning areas. The main learning areas identified were Mathematics, Mathematics Literacy, Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, English and Tourism.  Each Unisa staff member is assigned an educator to assist throughout the academic year.

On 4 May 2012, the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, together with other higher learning institutions, participated at an open day at Diepsloot Combined Full Service School.

The information sessions were organised to encourage matric learners to register for programmes in Life and Consumer Sciences, Agriculture and Animal Health, Geography, and Hospitality Management.

The programme was designed so that the Grades 10 and 11learners were challenged to broaden their nutritional knowledge in order to present a poster presentation to their fellow learners, educators, Unisa lecturers, the visiting officials and dignitaries.  The students had prior notice and had ample time to research the theme using the internet, books, magazines and speaking  to subject specialists such as the educators and Unisa researchers.  The learners were very creative and succeeded to promote a healthy lifestyle  and living that contributes to longevity.  Their posters and presentations were judged by a panel of Unisa lecturers from the department together with some of the educators from Diepsloot Combined Full Service School.

Diepsloot Combined Full Service School accentuate their appreciation of Unisa’s involvement with the school and is looking forward to an even superior upcoming partnership.  Furthermore, several speeches were given in order to encourage good health practices.  Individuals such as Mr. M Ledwaba from the GDE,  Mrs. B. Motubatse from the Student Government Body Representative (SGB); the School Director (Unisa) Prof. Modise; and the Principal of Diepsloot Combined Full Service School, Mr. N. Maringa together with the Deputy Principal gave their word of motivation.

Prof. SR Magano (CoD, Life and Consumer Sciences), took a step back into the good old days, encouraging students to give attention to the decisions they make in their lives and emphasizing the importance of education.  Winning groups and participants were awarded.

The Department of Life and Consumer Sciences would like to thank our sponsor, Whitehead Scientific Pty (Ltd) for their contribution.