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UWC is the hub of a National Nanoscience Postgraduate Teaching Platform to offer an MSc Degree in Nanoscience, in partnership with the University of the Free State, University of Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
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ACCESS Workshop: Why it's good to live on Planet Earth What makes Earth such a great place for life – at least as we know it? And how can we ensure that this great planet stays habitable? Those were the questions posed when the Applied Centre for Climate & Earth Systems Science (ACCESS) ran its twelfth ACCESS Habitable Planet Workshop (HPW) at UWC from 4 to 13 December 2012. Fifty 3rd and 4th year students from all over South Africa (and also a few from Botswana and Namibia), speaking 8 different languages and studying everything from Agriculture to Genetics to Physiology and Sociology, flocked to Cape Town for HPW12. The Planeteers, as they are known, attended lectures from former Habitable Planet Workshop alumni. Leading researchers in relevant fields also discussed new and exciting work on a range of topics, focusing on the evolution of Earth's glorious diversity of flora and fauna, and the conditions required to maintain these favourable environments. The host for the HPW at UWC, Prof Lorna Holtman, Director of the Division for Postgraduate Studies at UWC and also President of the Commission for Biology Education, welcomed the Planeteers to the course, outlined what they had in store, and expressed the hope that they would make the most of the learning opportunity afforded them.“You come from different universities; you come from different backgrounds; you have different ideas,” she said. “So take advantage of the networking opportunity, and enjoy your stay.” To kick things off, ACCESS workshop coordinator Dr Carl Palmer gave a short presentation on the history of life on Earth, discussed what makes Earth habitable, and pointed out how an evolutionary view of history can be inspiring. “All your ancestors were attractive enough or cunning enough to survive and find love,” he said. “So at no point in the chain of your lineage was anyone the ugliest or unluckiest person, or ape-person, or small mammal, or fish, or single-celled organism.”
ACCESS consultant Dr Carl Palmer warms up the crowd for some planet-saving Earth Science fun.
Sharing and caring: students get to know each other at HPW12.
Prof Lorna Holtman, Director of the Divsion for Postgraduate Studies, welcomes students to HPW12.
Learners use innovative means – and robots – to help the elderly The Science Learning Centre for Africa at the University of the Western Cape (SLCAUWC) co-hosted one of the biggest science and technology competitions in the world on Saturday 10 November 2012 – the Western Province First Lego League (FLL) Robotics. FLL Robotics introduces younger students to real-world science and engineering challenges, providing them with problems to investigate and affording them the opportunity to design, build and program robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS technology. This year’s challenge was senior solutions – learners had to identify a problem that impacted on the elderly in their communities and find innovative solutions to the problem. They also had to build LEGO robots that could navigate simulated versions of the challenges senior citizens face in daily life. This year's Western Province FLL Robotics competition saw 32teams competing for the big prize of R40 000. SLCA-UWC funded seven of the thirty two teams – SLCA Phakama from Phakama Secondary School in Phillipi; SLCA Zisukhanyo A and B from Zisukhanyo Secondary in Samora Marcel; SLCA Lentegeur from Mitchells Plain; SLCA Cyber and SLCA UWC, both from Gordon High in Somerset West; and Summy Robo Appies, also from Somerset West. Three of the teams funded by SLCA-UWC received accolades for excellence: SLCA Phakama received the Innovative Research Award; UWC-SLCA Lentegeur received the Research Quality Award; and Summy Robo Appies received the Robot Programming Award, as well as the overall main prize.
SLCA-Sumy Robot Appies team operating their robot at the FLL Robotics challenge.