FoundingCampuses Edgewood Howard College Medical School Pietermaritzburg Westville

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Ins ide2 Supporting economic development 3 Student Viewpoint 6 UKZN achievers 8 Remembering Kenya

Opening of new buildingThe Minister of

Education, MrsNaledi Pandorofficially openedthe R90-millionBiological and

Conservation Sciences Building onthe Westville campus on 20 March.

Spanning 12 000 square metres andfive levels the new buildingfeatures a triple volume atriumleading to four glass-frontedseminar rooms, and a commonroom.

Mrs Pandor also visited other newfacilities on the campus. She metstudents at the new residences – aR110-million project comprising885 rooms – and toured the up-graded Science facilities, wherefour new laboratories cater foraround 1 000 first year studentsevery week. She also visited theNuclear Magnetic Resonance(NMR) spectrometers and instru-ment. facilities where she was “sur-prised” by the level of infrastruc-ture in terms of analytical instru-mentation.

The Minister said the new andrefurbished buildings indicate thatfunds allocated towards infra-structure development were beingused “efficiently and effectively”.

“New buildings are usually a signof growth and prosperity. They area sign of an investment in thefuture. “ She congratulated Vice-Chancellor Professor MalegapuruMakgoba on the way he and histeam had handled the mergerchallenges. “The leadership ofUKZN has executed their mandatevery well,” she said.

Professor Jenny Lamb, DeputyHead of the School of Biologicaland Conservation Sciences says thenew facility aims to promote“Science in Action” throughresearch taking place throughglass-fronted labs and interactionbetween staff and students.

Professor Lamb said: “The newbuilding represents for me, thebeginning of a truly unified period,the culmination of the mergerprocess, where components of the

Professor Malegapuru Makgoba and Mrs Naledi Pandor at the Opening Ceremony.

TTTTTackling racismackling racismackling racismackling racismackling racismMORE than 500 people attendedthe UKZN Forum on “The Chal-lenges of Eradicating Racism” onthe Westville campus on 19 March.Staff, students, members of theProvincial Government and repre-sentatives of other South Africanuniversities came together discussthis spectre that still haunts SouthAfrican society.

The forum was organised in theaftermath of the shocking incidentat the University of the Free Statewhich has been widely condemnedin all quarters. The invited speakerswere struggle stalwart Mr MacMaharaj, UKZN Central StudentRepresentative Council President,Mr Sanele Shabalala and ProfessorGerhard Maré, Professor in Socio-

logy and Director of the Centre forCritical Research on Race andIdentity.

In her opening remarks, Chair-person, Dr Debby Bonnin, Head ofthe School of Sociology and Social

Sciences, said: “In the past twoweeks, the news has been loadedwith stories about issues aroundracism. We need to ask ourselveswhat is our role in eradicatingracism.”

Referring to the incident at theUniversity of the Free State, MrMaharaj said: “There is a sense ofshock that such incidents could behappening in South Africa 14 yearsafter democracy”. He added thatmany still deny that racism stillexists and that the most importantthing is for us to recognise that wehave a problem: “The harsh realityis that democracy on its own cannoteradicate racism; it requires us tomake an active effort towarderadicating it.”

Mr Shabalala outlined a cursoryhistory of apartheid. He said:“Racism is alive and well. Studentsstill face issues of racism and theyjust keep quite about them. …inorder for us to engage in the debateof how we will eradicate racism, weneed to be open, honest andpractical about them.”

Professor Maré raised the need forintense conversations to tackleracism. He said that racism issomething that we think, we experi-ence and we construct. Racists arenot constructed through our owndoing, but they exist throughheritage.

- Thembeka Nyaba

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(l-r) Mr Sanele Shabalala, Professor Gerhard Maré, and Mr Mac Maharajat the Forum.

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merged staff are unified in a new,purpose-built building, in whicheverybody belongs equally.” Sheadded that the openness of the new

facility would better enable inter-action between staff and studentsand “a common sense of purposeand unity as the custodian of Bio-

logical and Conservation Sciencesin the region.”

- Neesha Maharaj

See pages 4-5 for more photos ofthe new infrastructure on theWestville campus.

2

The ukzndaba team

Send your news to news@ukzn.ac.za

Professor Dasarath ChettyPro-Vice-Chancellor: Corporate Relations

Editorial

Dasarath Chetty Deanne Collins Fikisile Mabaso Neesha Maharaj Thembeka Nyaba Vidhya SinghPro-Vice-Chancellor Publications Manager Distribution Journalist Journalist Layout & Design

The Happy Valley Clinic atKwaNqetho in the Hillcrestarea was established in the

early 1960s by a group of studentsfrom the Medical School under thesupervision of qualified medicaldoctors.

These students realised that therewas a lack of medical care indisadvantaged communities wheremany people suffered from seriousillnesses.

Medical students bringMedical students bringMedical students bringMedical students bringMedical students bringhope to communitieshope to communitieshope to communitieshope to communitieshope to communities

Students consulting with patients at the Happy Valley Clinic.

DIRECTOR of the Enriched ManagementStudies Programme in UKZN’s Faculty ofManagement Studies Mr Jabulani Zikhaliaddressed the Regional Economic Develop-ment and Broad-Based Black EconomicEmpowerment (B-BBEE) Summit hosted bythe UMngeni Municipality from 12-14 March.His input focussed on the role of local tertiaryinstitutions in local economic development.

Mr Zikhali noted that “Tertiary institutions … offer skills and servicesthat can be utilised by local communities to improve socio-economicconditions. Local municipalities will, … benefit a great deal by linkingup with these tertiary institutions to jointly devise strategies for localeconomic development initiatives.”

He stressed that “Skills development and training is central to BEE andinvestment because if [people] enter into BEE ventures without thenecessary skills, they will not add any value… BEE will become a welfareinstrument instead of a meaningful economic redistribution tool.” Hereminded delegates that local economic development requires multi-sectoral involvement.

The Faculty’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and the Graduate School ofBusiness Studies are both involved in skills training in local communities.An Incubation Centre at Umlazi provides ongoing training and supportfor local entrepreneurs, while the Business Development Programme,developed by The Graduate School of Business in partnership with IthalaBank and Business Partners, provides previously disadvantagedentrepreneurs with skills that will enable them to develop and grow theirbusiness.

- Hazel Langa

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Nearly 50 years later the clinic isstill providing a vital service –primary health care which involvestreating minor illnesses, providinghealth education and conductingHIV and AIDS campaigns in dif-ferent communities.

In addition to these services,medical students participate in aproject called Khayalethu (‘OurHome’) in conjunction with theCommunity Committee. Students

Supporting economicSupporting economicSupporting economicSupporting economicSupporting economicdevelopmentdevelopmentdevelopmentdevelopmentdevelopment

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provide support by buying schooluniforms and food and providingmedical services to those in need.

The students also run HIV andAIDS community interventionprogrammes. “In our most recentworkshop, we had an interactivesession where community memberscould ask questions related to thecondition,” said Mr Frans Maruma,who is the Medical School SRCPresident and former Chairpersonof the Happy Valley Clinic. “Thisis all part of our attempt to help stopthe spread of HIV and AIDS.”

There is an emphasis on child careeducation. Topics covered includegrowth monitoring, oral rehyd-ration, the importance of breast-feeding and family planning.

In addition to all of these servicesthe students also do home visits todisabled patients who cannot maketheir way to the clinic and tobedridden community members.

- Thembeka Nyaba

Mr Jabulani Zikhali.

UKZN’s Pollution Research Group(PRG) is taking an active role inadvancing sustainable sanitation inAfrica for the benefit of its peopleand the environment. It comprisesmembers from Chemical Engin-eering, and the Biological andConservation Sciences.

The recent Launch of the AfricanSanitation Knowledge Network(ASKNet) by Dr Nicola Rodda

from the School of Biological and Conservation Sciences represented amajor step towards translating concepts into practice. Dr Rodda is thefounding Chair of the southern African section of ASKNet. ASKNet seeksto “enhance the ability of academics and professionals across the disci-plines to contribute to the mainstreaming and up-scaling of sustainablesanitation in Africa”. Emanating from a meeting of leading African andEuropean academics and practitioners in the field of sustainable sani-tation, the Network will concentrate on education, research and outreach.

The launch took place at the AfricaSan Conference held at the ICC inDurban. Attended by approximately 35 African ministers, NGOs andpolicy making bodies involved in water and sanitation, the conferenceprovided the ideal opportunity for raising the profile of the network. DrRodda was pleased with the level of interest and support for the initiative.She said that a number of national and international bodies such as theWater Research Commission and the Stockholm Environmental Institutehad expressed interest in being associated with the Network. Dr Roddaconfirmed that the Network would be legally registered through theUniversity and that the secretariat would be based here.

As part of the AfricaSan Conference, delegates participated in severaltours of the water and sanitation facilities in the eThekwini Municipality.One of the technical tours included a visit to the PRG Test site located atthe Howard College campus. Students and members of the PRG presentedtheir research findings and guided the visitors around the site that includesvarious experiments such as the use of grey water for the irrigation offood crops and the operation of urine-diversion toilets.

Overall, Dr Rodda and her team are confident that ASKNet and itsassociated activities will contribute to “fast tracking sustainable sani-tation policy in Africa”.

- Vicky Crookes

Sustainable sanitationSustainable sanitationSustainable sanitationSustainable sanitationSustainable sanitation

Dr Nicola Rodda.

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THE scourge of racism is alive andwell in South African society – the legacy of a painful,

oppressive and divisive past. As seen at UFS, universities arenot exempt from societal tendencies, replicating race-thinking, prejudice

and discrimination albeit in sometimes more subtle and less visible ways. AtUFS it was at its most crass and vulgar.

The Forum on Racism convened by Corporate Relations at UKZN to begin a series ofconversations aimed at contributing towards eradicating racism in both university and society

revealed that students experience racism in our institution.

The challenge to the university community as producers of knowledge, knowledge that issupposedly relevant and that impacts on society, is how do we best deploy our intellectual resourcesto tackle the racialised conceptions of reality that afflict our communities. Such stereotyping,marginalisation and even racialised violence is the product of generations of socialisation andthe inequitable distribution of rewards in our society. It may only be undermined through

legislation, the implementation of concrete nation-building programmes at a national level,diversity management and training initiatives at all levels, and importantly, in the long

term the construction of a society in which poverty has been eradicated and thegap between rich and poor narrowed significantly. Given that income

inequality in South Africa reached a world high in 2006 competitionfor scare resources is set to continue and will manifest in

racial forms. The challenges in this regard arestark.

Challenges in Eradicating Racism

3

THIS year has seen the long awaitedopening of the new residence on theWestville campus. While the finish-ing touches are not yet done, stu-dents are by and large happy withtheir new accommodation.

The residence consists of fiveblocks – A, B, C, D and E. A and Eblocks are for women only and Band D are for men. C Block ismixed. Every room is equippedwith a new bed and mattress, asmall desk and chair, cupboardspace and a basin with a mirror. Thebed is movable so students canrearrange their room.

Each floor has two open plankitchens with an adjacent lounge.The lounges have couches, whichare a first for Westville and the envyof other residences, and a TV setwith yet to be installed DSTV. Thenumber of TVs is also cause forenvy on the part of residents of theold residences, which only haveone TV per residence. In thekitchen each room has lockable

Student ViewpointStudent ViewpointStudent ViewpointStudent ViewpointStudent ViewpointStudent Correspondent, Densu Moseti, puts the spotlight on issues of concern to UKZN students

The new residenceThe new residenceThe new residenceThe new residenceThe new residencecupboard space; there is a micro-wave, a washing machine and atumble dryer. A communal fridgecompletes the set-up.

Each floor has two bathrooms andeach bathroom has four showers,two toilets and two basins.

The fact that the residence is still aconstruction site is a distressingfactor. There are complaints aboutthe frequent water and electricitycuts in the blocks that are still beingcompleted. Some female studentsare concerned about security; therehave been complaints that thesecurity guards allow people en-trance without them signing in.

There are also complaints about theshowers being too see-through. Itis just as well that in the mixedresidence each floor is occupied byonly one gender. A big complaintis the thin partitioned walls. Stu-dents report that they can hear whatis happening in their neighbours’room a couple of doors down.

There are mixed responses to therushed nature of the construction.Some students say it was a goodthing because a lot of studentsneeded accommodation. Othersfeel that this meant that things werenot done properly. One studentnoted a corner room where thebasin is so close to the door thatgetting into the room is a hassle.Others felt that the toilets are toosmall and that the communalfridges were not sufficient. “It isridiculous to have one fridgeservicing 17 people,” said astudent. There were also com-plaints about the size of the micro-waves, the lack of washing linesand the fact that the residence is notat all disabled-friendly. Studentsstaying in the D and E blockscomplain about the lack of park-ing.

All in all, though, the students arelooking forward to the day when allthe construction paraphernalia iscleared away and a garden is inplace.

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‘Durban in MotionDurban in MotionDurban in MotionDurban in MotionDurban in Motion’DOCUMENTING the history oftransport in a way that will neverfade with time, a group of moversand shakers have successfullylaunched ‘Durban in Motion’, afirst of it’s kind, virtual exhibitionand digital archive of photographsdating from the 1800s.

With financial backing and in-spiration from leaders in the auto-motive industry, McCarthy Ltd, thetechnical skills of DISA (DigitalInnovation South Africa), theroving eye and in-depth knowledgeof renowned photographers PaulWeinberg and Jeeva Rajgopaul and

insight from UKZN ResearchFellow, Professor Bill Freund,‘Durban in Motion’ was launchedat the Campbell Collections on 4March.

The launch was a tribute to the lateMr Brian McCarthy, who served asan inspiration to the project.

This pilot ‘virtual exhibition’ wasconceived by Dale Peters of DISAand Paul Weinberg as a result ofmany discussions about the ‘digitalmoment’, preservation and makingour historical photographic re-sources accessible. It documents

how people use transport in the city,how that has changed over theyears, and the social impact oftransport on its people, its environ-ment and the local economy.

CEO of McCarthy Ltd, Mr BrandPretorius said he was confident that‘Durban in Motion’ would be aresounding success, “The story ofthe broader development of trans-port in Durban is fascinating.Fantastic and sensitively arrangedphotographic and historical infor-mation, made all the more powerfuland fascinating being collected inone place and made easily ac-cessible to all. Unique!”

This project stands as a legacy forall future generations to benefit.Professor Freund said he wasexcited about the use of a differentmedium to portray history and thathe had learned a lot along the way,“I tried to highlight the works ofhistorians trained at UKZN as theirresearch was fundamental to thisproject”.

The exhibition can be viewed byall at: http://www.disa.ukzn.ac.za:8080/disa/DIM/slideshow/index.html

- Sejal Desai

UKZN research fellow, Professor Bill Freund, Mr Brand Pretorius, CEOof McCarthy Limited and Mr John McCarthy at the Launch of ‘Durban inMotion’.

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CartographyCartographyCartographyCartographyCartographyof AIDS andof AIDS andof AIDS andof AIDS andof AIDS andreligionreligionreligionreligionreligionRELIGION plays a significant role in the fight against HIVand AIDS in Africa but the religious factor is often ignoredin the academic literature. To fill this gap, the Collaborativefor HIV and AIDS, Religion and Theology (CHART), aresearch network established in 2007 by the School ofReligion and Theology, has launched a research project called“Cartography of HIV and AIDS, Religion and Theology”.

A team of researchers from South Africa, Mozambique,Kenya, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UnitedStates, co-ordinated by CHART Director Dr BeverleyHaddad, has been tasked to compile an annotated biblio-graphy on religion, theology and HIV and AIDS in Africaand to network with the many scholars in the field. Morethan 300 bibliographical annotations have already beencaptured.

The preliminary results of this research project will bepresented and discussed, with input from local andinternational AIDS activists, at a week-long seminar inOctober in Durban. This will prepare the way for aninternational conference to be held in 2009. The issuesaddressed in the cartography include the Bible, religioushistory, culture, stigma, prevention, poverty, migration,children and gender.

- Philippe Denis

The new residence.

4

Opening of Biological and ConservationOpening of Biological and ConservationOpening of Biological and ConservationOpening of Biological and ConservationOpening of Biological and ConservationSciences BuildingSciences BuildingSciences BuildingSciences BuildingSciences Building

Biological and Conservation Sciences staff with Mrs Pandor.

The new state-of-the-art building.

Professor Jenny Lamb, Deputy Head of the School of Biological and Conservation Sciencesaddresses guests.

An interior view of the new building.

Mrs Pandor gets into the swing of things with local musicians at the opening.

Post-graduate students in the School of Biological and Conservation Sciences.

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RRRRRefurbished Science Block on theefurbished Science Block on theefurbished Science Block on theefurbished Science Block on theefurbished Science Block on theWWWWWestville campusestville campusestville campusestville campusestville campus

New residence on the WNew residence on the WNew residence on the WNew residence on the WNew residence on the Westville campusestville campusestville campusestville campusestville campus

The old prep room. Demolition of old structures.

Building in progress. Mrs Pandor views the new laboratories with Professor Pete Zacharias, Deputy Vice-Chancellorand Head of the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science and Professor AndrewKindness, Head of the School of Chemistry.

An aerial view of the residence under construction. Dean of Students, Mr Trevor Wills, Mrs Vasanthie Naidoo, Head of Student Housing, Mr MacMia, Deputy Chair of the UKZN Council, Mrs Pandor, and Professor Fikele Mazibuko, DeputyVice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Humanities in one of the new lounges at the residence.

Pictures: Anand Govender and Andrew Kindness

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UKZN achievers

Professor Ari Sitas has beenawarded a fellowship fromthe Jawaharlal Nehru Uni-

versity in New Delhi, India, tofurther his research on “issues ofreconciliation”. He leaves for Indiain October.

About 120 000 applications aremade each year to study at thispost-graduate university but only afew thousand postgraduate studentsare accepted and they had to writean entrance exam!

His fellowship comes at a timewhen many fruitful partnerships arebeing established between SouthAfrica and India.

Professor Sitas, has served as Deanof the Faculty of Social Sciencesand Head of the School of Socio-logy and Social Studies. He looksforward to now concentrating onresearch and writing.

Professor Sitas is passionate aboutSociology and endlessly curious

Delhi FellowshipDelhi FellowshipDelhi FellowshipDelhi FellowshipDelhi Fellowship

Professor Ari Sitas.

about social developments. Lastyear, he was named one of threekey global thinkers by the journalGlobal Sociology, alongsideBrazil’s (previous President andSociologist) Cardoso and India’sfather of Sociology, Srinivas.

He has written many books, in-cluding poetry collections – which

FOR the Sake of Silence, the latestnovel by Professor Michael Green,was launched at the 2008 Time ofthe Writer festival. Set against thehistory of the Mariannhill Monas-tery outside Durban, the work is ofgreat local and general interest.

Professor JM Coetzee, winner ofthe 2003 Nobel Prize in Literaturewrites, “Of the Trappist enterprisein nineteenth-century South Africa,with all its passionate personalrivalries and Byzantine internalpolitics, Michael Cawood Greenhas made a work of history cumfiction that will grip and sometimesamaze the reader.”

Professor Green of the EnglishDepartment was recently appointedHead of the School of LiteraryStudies, Media and Creative Arts.He was given his second Distin-guished Teaching Award last yearon the basis of the undergraduateand postgraduate Creative Writingcourses he introduced and de-veloped at UKZN.

For the Sake of Silence is basedupon the founding of the Trappistmonastery of Mariannhill. Deeplyresearched, it follows the monas-

New novelNew novelNew novelNew novelNew novel

he describes as his “secret life”away from his Sociology col-leagues. The book with the bestsales was his first poetry collectionTropical Scars which was pub-lished during the late 1980s by theCongress of South African Writers.

- Thembeka Nyaba

tery’s inexorable slide into themissionary work forbidden toTrappists, and the storm that breaksas the monks’ silent life drifts intothe world of words.

It is a book developed out of travelas much as of time. The journeysnecessary for its writing took insome of the more obscure cornersof southern Africa and includeequally obscure corners inGermany, Austria, Italy, the CzechRepublic, Ireland, and Britain.

Professor Green’s previous publi-cations include a book-length studyon the uses of history in fiction,Novel Histories, and his own firstwork of historical fiction, Sinking,both published in 1997.

TTTTTop studentsop studentsop studentsop studentsop studentsTHE Discipline of Dietetics andHuman Nutrition presented severalawards to their best students at theirannual Discipline Cocktail Partyand Awards Ceremony on thePietermaritzburg campus.

Sponsored by African MedicalCatering & Allied Equipment(AMCA), the Food Systems AfricaScholarship for the best first-yearBSc Dietetics student was awardedto Miss Ursula Wittig.

The Roussel Floating Trophyawarded to the best second-yearBSc Dietetics student went to MissNatalie Harrison, and Mr RenoGordon received the Professor

Winner of the Professor Elma Nel Award, Mr Reno Gordon with ProfessorsElma Nel (left) and Eleni Maunder (right).

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Elma Nel Award for the most im-proved second-year Nutritionstudent. Director of AMCA, MrVincent Meagher, and the formerHead of the Discipline of Dieteticsand Human Nutrition, ProfessorElma Nel were on hand to presentthe prizes.

Professor Nel said it was very“gratifying” to see so many stu-dents studying Dietetics andHuman Nutrition and said that onlyfive students registered for theprogramme when it first started inthe 1970s.

- Vicky Crookes

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HER proposal to enhance thecapacity of lecturers within theSchool of Nursing has resulted inProfessor Fikile Mtshali receivingthe FAIMER (Foundation for theAdvancement of InternationalMedical Education and Research)Fellowship, making her the firstSouth African lecturer in the field ofnursing to be awarded this honour.

The two-year FAIMER Fellowshipgranted to Professor Mtshali in

Fellowship forFellowship forFellowship forFellowship forFellowship forNursing ProfessorNursing ProfessorNursing ProfessorNursing ProfessorNursing Professor

Professor Fikile Mtshali.

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January will allow her to embarkon a project titled: “Enhancing theQuality of Nurse Education in aProblem-Based/ Community-Based Programme.”

Her project is aimed at building thecapacity of lecturers within thenursing discipline.

The programme comprises threecomponents – developing inno-vative teaching skills, improving

teaching practice through researchand developing leaders.

Professor Mtshali, who has lec-tured at UKZN’s School of Nursingfor the past nine years, said the needfor capacity development withinher own School had motivated herto submit a proposal to FAIMER.

“Academic staff employed at theSchool in 1994 have since movedon. The new academic staff are notadequately equipped with the skillsto facilitate learning in a problembased/ community based edu-cation programme and they findthemselves working on a trial anderror basis.

“I took a chance and submitted aproposal to FAIMER in Novemberlast year with low expectationsbecause nurse educators have notreceived such a Fellowship pre-viously. It’s exciting because I amthe first nursing lecturer in SouthAfrica to have received such anopportunity. I’m now strategicallyplaced to influence change innursing education,” said ProfessorMtshali.

- Neesha Maharaj

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UKZN achievers

Committed coupleCommitted coupleCommitted coupleCommitted coupleCommitted coupleSTUDYING towards an MBA(Masters in Business Adminis-tration) is no easy task.

However, this has not stoppedBallito couple, Natasha andPradeep Sharma from coming topof their class since 2006 when theyregistered for this degree.

Both Chemical Engineers by pro-fession, the Sharmas decided to doan MBA to help them achievemanagerial positions.

The first two years were particu-larly stressful as they lived inPietermaritzburg and had to com-mute to Durban for lectures. Some-times they even had to return towork after finishing lectures are20h30. But despite these diffi-culties, Mr Sharma was the topstudent in both 2006 and 2007,

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and Mrs Sharma was placedsecond.

As this is their final year the coupledoes not have to attend lectures butwork on their dissertations. This,Mrs Sharma says require “muchsacrifice and willpower”. She felsthat the experience has made her astrategic and critical thinker: “I nolonger accept things at face value.”

After they complete their MBA inJuly, the couple, who both work forTongaat Hulett, plan to continuestudying.

“My husband plans to study for hisDoctorate in Business Adminis-tration and I plan on studying for aPhD in Chemical Engineering,”said Mrs Sharma.

- Neesha Maharaj

Natasha and Pradeep Sharma.

Horticulture studentHorticulture studentHorticulture studentHorticulture studentHorticulture studentwins top awardwins top awardwins top awardwins top awardwins top awardMR Nhlanhla Mathaba, a Horti-culture Masters student of theSchool of Agricultural Sciencesand Agribusiness, outshone othernational young researchers at therecent Southern African Society forHorticultural Sciences CombinedCongress in Grahamstown.

He won the Best Young ScientistAward for his presentation titled:“Potential use of hot water andmolybdenum dips as methods tomitigate chilling injury in citrusfruits with emphasis on lemons (cvEureka)”.

A product of UKZN’s ScienceFoundation Programme, MrMathaba said it was “unbelievable”to have won the award especiallysince his research was not yetcomplete. He was encouraged byhis success which he says “showsthat people out there appreciate mywork and acknowledge the energyI put into research”.

Mr Mathaba’s research on chillinginjury in citrus fruits focuses onsolving one of the biggest problemsfacing South African citrus farmers.

The South African citrus industryis extremely export-oriented and itshigh-paying customers demandsuperior quality. Chilling injury,resulting from cold storage of fruitsbefore and during exportation,significantly reduces their market-ability. Methods of mitigating thisoccurrence and also understandingthe physiology of chilling injury arethus vital.

Supervised by Professor John Bower,Mr Mathaba aims to complete hisMasters degree by the end of 2008.His future goals include a PhD with afocus on citrus physiology.

- Vicky Crookes

Mr Nhlanhla Mathaba.

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A paper by Professor SabihaEssack and Dr Fatima Sulemanfrom the School of Pharmacy andPharmacology won the SandozBest Presentation by an AcademicAward at the 22nd Annual Con-ference of the South African Asso-ciation of Hospital and InstitutionalPharmacists (SAAHIP) from 6-7March.

ConferenceConferenceConferenceConferenceConferencePresentation WPresentation WPresentation WPresentation WPresentation Winnersinnersinnersinnersinners

South African Hospital andInstitutional Pharmacy not onlyspans the gap between public andprivate sectors, but encompassesmany different practice settings.There is thus much scope forinnovation, and also the bestpossible opportunity to applythe precepts of pharmaceuticalcare.

From left: Professor Sabiha Essack, Dean: Faculty of Health Sciences andDr Fatima Suleman, Discipline Chair of Pharmacy Practice.

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The presentation, titled “TreatmentGuidelines and Nosocomial Infec-tions – the KwaZulu-Natal Experi-ence”, evaluated nationally-devised standard treatment guide-lines (STGs) for nosocomial infec-tions in the context of antibioticresistance within the public healthcare system in Kwazulu-Natal.Nosocomial infections are hospitalacquired infections (a patient entersthe hospital for one condition andends up getting ill with a conditioncaused by organisms in a hospital,and unrelated to the original con-dition).

This study showed that resistanceprofiles amongst bacteria vary toomuch to allow a national antibioticpolicy as proposed in the STGs.Rather such guidelines should bedirected to specific profiles foundin different hospitals and at dif-ferent levels of health care. Regularsurveillance to adjust such guide-lines in combination with stringentinfection control is essential to thecontainment of nosocomial infec-tions.

- Fatima Suleman

INNOVATIVE research into HIVand AIDS which allows out-of-school youth the opportunity to beresearchers is being carried out atUKZN. The research is beingconducted by Professor DennisFrancis, Head of the School ofSocial Science Education in theFaculty of Education.

Innovative HIV/Innovative HIV/Innovative HIV/Innovative HIV/Innovative HIV/AIDS researchAIDS researchAIDS researchAIDS researchAIDS research

Professor Dennis Francis.

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Professor Francis’s research titled:“Towards Understanding the WayOut-of-School Youth Respond toHIV and AIDS” has the support ofthe South African Medical Re-search Council (SAMRC) whichlast year contributed R65 000towards the project while UKZNprovided R35 000.

SAMRC extended the researchgrant earlier this year by a furtherR120 000, making ProfessorFrancis the only Social Scienceresearcher in South Africa to obtainfunding from the Council.

Professor Francis together withthree colleagues – Ms ToniD’Amant, Mr Crispin Hemson andDr Shakila Reddy – as well ashonours graduate, Mr ThaboMsibi, trained eight youngstersfrom the Shongweni and Lamont-ville areas to research how otherout-of-school youth (children whoare of school-going age but notattending school) obtained theirinformation on HIV and AIDS.

“The study is designed to be notjust an investigation into youth’scommunication about friendship,love, sexuality and HIV but also toprovide opportunities for thosewho have often been mere objectsof investigation, to themselvesbecome agents of their own trans-formation,” said Professor Francis.

“When I talk about youth partici-pation in research, I refer to pro-cesses where adults involve youngpeople in research and where youthand adults work together in inter-generational partnerships of in-quiry.”

Professor Francis said informationgathered from this research wouldcontribute towards strengtheningHIV and AIDS campaigns such asLove Life. The findings of thisresearch will be presented byProfessor Francis at the UNESCO-funded Hope 2008 Conference inIndia in October.

- Neesha Maharaj

8

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The School of Music pre-sented an electrifying con-cert on 10 March at the

Howard College Theatre. “Re-membering Kenya”, a tribute to thedisplaced people and victims ofviolence in Kenya was conceivedand produced by Dr PatriciaOpondo Director of UKZN’s Afri-can Music and Dance Programme.

The concert featured staff andstudents of the African Music andDance Programme and includedcompositions by Shiyani Ngcobo(guitar), Perminus Matiure (mbira),Brother Clement Sithole(umakhweyana bow) and theUKZN African Music Ensembleled by Muthoni Njenga.

In her opening remarks Dr Opondoexpressed her grief about theunfortunate incidents that have

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been unfolding in Kenya for thepast two months: “Being fromKenya, and having been homeduring the elections, and alsohaving witnessed the beginnings ofthe unfortunate turn of events mademy return to Durban very painful.”

Miss Muthoni Njenga, a Mastersstudent in Applied Ethno-musicology and a part-time lecturerin the African Music and DanceProgramme, said Kenya has beenseen by the rest of the world in adifferent light. The aim was tohighlight the beautiful things aboutKenya. “We wanted to rememberKenya in positive light, usingmusic, using songs. Let’s see Kenyaas the way it was, not what it hasjust become,” said Miss Njenga.

- Normah Zondo

The African Music Ensemble at the Remembering Kenya concert.

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CORPORATE Relations’ Alumni Affairs Office co-ordinated three very successful and well-attended events in the Eastern and Western Cape during March and met more than 170 alumni.

At each of the dinners in East London, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town alumni were provided withthe opportunity to network, reminisce about their alma mater and to be updated on the developmentstaking place at the University. The Guest Speaker – Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Dasarath Chetty– provided an overview of the developments and projects at the University. Guests were mostimpressed with the content of each talk and the information contained in the information packswhich each graduate received.

Attendees included graduates from the 1940s to the most current. The alumni appreciated theopportunity to receive updates on the University – which reassured them of the international statusof their own qualifications and their alma mater, provided them with the confidence and knowledgeto recommend the University to family and friends as well as of the benefits of supporting theUniversity in a number of ways.

The visits to the Eastern and Western Cape were great successes and the enthusiasm and excellentresponse from alumni very encouraging. The positive feedback received can be summed-up in thefollowing response from a Cape Town-based alumnus:

“Many thanks ….. for a wonderful evening spent at The Showroom (in Cape Town) last Saturdayevening. It is always great to see familiar faces as well as meet new people at these functions andyou certainly know how to select the most enjoyable venues! The evening was a huge successthanks to your efforts – it was also great to hear that the UKZN is right up there when it comes toboth education and research. It makes me proud to be an alumnus.” (Gary Coombe).

- Finn Christensen

Alumni EventsAlumni EventsAlumni EventsAlumni EventsAlumni Events

SOUTH African Library Week wascelebrated at the Nelson R MandelaSchool of Medicine’s MedicalLibrary from 17- 22 March. TheWeek is a time to celebrate thecontributions of our nation’slibraries and librarians and topromote library use and support.This year’s theme was “From localto global @ your library”.

The theme was inspired by the storyof Neal Petersen, the South Africanyachtsman who was the first Blackman to sail solo around the world,who said that he would not bewhere he is today without libraries.Growing up as a young boy on theCape Flats, he discovered sailingand the art of navigation throughbooks in his local public library andfrom there proceeded from local toglobal.

PROFESSOR Alan Whiteside,Director of the Health Economicsand HIV/AIDS Research Division(HEARD) at UKZN, launched hislatest book at Ike’s Books andCollectables on 18 March. HIV/AIDS: A very Short Introductionprovides an overview of HIV andAIDS.

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Professor Alan Whiteside.

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The Library held various eventsduring the week. The fines amnestywas most popular! Displays andcompetitions also drew attention.

The picture shows the winners ofthe Lucky Draw competition at the

The book includes sections on thescience, politics and socio-economics of the pandemic. Thefar-reaching impacts of HIV andAIDS on individuals, communitiesand societies globally are exploredin this work, as are potentialpositive and effective responses toits effects. The book containsserious messages about theprevention of the disease. ProfessorWhiteside believes that strongleadership is needed in SouthAfrica in order to deal with thepandemic. During the launch hepointed out that gender equity alsoplayed an important role as womenwere more likely to be affected bythe pandemic and care for peopleinfected.

The book will be beneficial toresearchers and librarians as it hasan extensive referral section on thebest publications in the field. It isavailable at leading bookstores.

- Hazel Langa

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Nelson R Mandela School ofMedicine’s Medical Librarytogether with staff of the library.

- Sagren Moodley