20
360º PERSPECTIVES | ISSUE 4 | 2015/2016
UWC shapes the future... The University of the Western Cape’s rapid rise to become one of Africa’s top research institutions is a reflection of the quality of staff and students that the University has been able to attract and nurture, and the considerable investment by the Institution, government and stakeholders in developing research capacity. 2015 saw UWC achieve a number of gratifying awards and milestones.
New SARCHI Chairs The NRF awarded three more South African Research Chair Initiative (SARChI) research chairs to UWC. Professor Patricia Hayes is the SARChI Chair in Visual History and Theory, and Prof Helen Schneider is the SARChI Chair in Health Systems Governance. The SA-UK Bilateral Research Chair in Social Protection for Food Security was awarded to Dr Stephen Devereux of UWC’s DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security in 2016. UWC now has a total of 14 SARChI chairs. “We are especially pleased that the University will host two more SARChI chairs filled by leading women researchers,” says Prof Frans Swanepoel, Deputy ViceChancellor: Research & Innovation.
Six academics join ASSAf The Academy of Sciences of South Africa (ASSAf) is the country’s official national academy of science, which invites membership to South Africa’s most outstanding scholars. The six UWC academics who joined ASSAf in 2015 are: Prof Tamara Shefer: Director and Professor of the Women’s and Gender Studies Programme and Deputy Dean: Teaching and
Learning at the Faculty of Arts. Prof Julian May: Director at the Institute for Social Development at the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, and also Director of the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security. Prof Priscilla Baker: An internationally recognised specialist in Analytical Electrochemistry at UWC’s Faculty of Natural Science, she is also co-leader of SensorLab, an electrochemistry research platform focusing on fundamental and applied electrodynamics of materials and sensors. Prof Christopher Stroud: Head of Department at the Centre for Multilingualism and Diversities Research in the Faculty of Arts. Prof Uma Mesthrie: A professor at the Faculty of Arts for nearly two decades, Prof Mesthrie is a leading scholar in the field of India-South Africa connected histories. Prof Ernst Conradie: Senior Professor in the Department of Religion and Theology at UWC, where he teaches systematic theology and ethics.
Knowledge Tree Awards Every year, the Water Research Commission (WRC) recognises excellence in research and innovation in areas affecting the water and