Discover the road André P Brink travelled · 2012. 11. 27. · again publish letters that alumni...

U&as alumni Volume 4 no 2 2012 A

LUM

NIm

agaz

ine

Discover the road André P Brink

travelled

Serious about games

Laduuuma! Soccer Instituteshines

3026

Index

Message from the vice-chancellor Anybody can be somebody at the NWU

Make the road that you travel asignificantone

2012 was a vintage year for alumni Messages from afar

Outstanding alumni to be acknowledged

Campus news

NWU experts know their stuff

4 8

5

106

9

12

14

Editorial Articles

Front pageProf André P Brink, one of South Africa’s most celebrated authors, with his feline child, Glinka. The cat in his most recent novel, Philida, was actually based on Glinka. Read more about this on p 18 and 19.

FeatherFundgivesdreamsflight7

18

29

34

10

He‘s a global citizen with local roots

With music they touch the hearts of learners

A house full of stories

Aheadforfigures

24

28

26

22

Constructing the future with tenacity and passion

Excellent researchers rewarded

Speaking up fearlessly, in no uncertain terms

It’s the road you travel that counts

The NWU’s best achievements become even better

17

15

20

18

16

Articles

Do you remember Brylcreem, combs and chewing gum?

Learning is a serious game

Scoring goals for soccer in South Africa

Experts receive honorary doctorates

Articles

29

32

30

34

North-West University ALUMNImagazine4

editorial

Dear alumniMessage from the vice-chancellor

Before you start reading another jam-packed NWU & U with news from all over at the North-WestUniversity,wewouldfirstliketoboast a bit with this publication.

At a recent prize-giving event of the annual South African Publication Forum Awards, several of the corporate publications of the NWU was mentioned, and the NWU & U received a special mention for outstanding writing and communication. It was also afinalistintheBest External Magazine category.

For the rest, everything is well with the NWU! Despite the fact that four other uni-versities in South Africa are under adminis-tration and another is entangled in a lawsuit with the Minister of Higher Education and Training, the NWU is still going from strength to strength.

Our core business is stable and healthy. Each of the campuses of the university is in a stronger position now than nine years ago before the merger: student numbers have grown on all the campuses, their infrastructurehasimprovedsignificantly,research output has increased dramatically, andthefinancialpositionofthecampusesis improving every year.

We are grateful for this boom period, but of course it has taken hard work and a lot of dedication to reach this point. We are seeing a low and healthy staff turnover rate across all three campuses and the Institutional Office,yetthereisahealthyinfluxofnewtalent so that new ways are being devised all the time for getting things done.

Equally important is the contribution of our management model towards stimulating healthy competition between the various campuses, without losing synergy in encour-aging continuous growth and improvement. Even though this type of management model may seem a little unusual in the university landscape, it is based on sound business principles.

Other universities in South Africa are now starting to consider it as a possibility for managing multicampus institutions.

All indications are that 2012 is going to be the most successful year yet. I intend to provide more detailed feedback in the next edition in 2013.

Thank you for the very important role you are playing in the existence of the NWU. Without a growing alumni base that is ac-tively and critically involved in the affairs of the university, we could not do our work.

The alumni and convocation are formal stakeholder groups that are becoming increasingly prominent, which is a good thing. There are some exciting developments in this regard about which we will say more next time.

May you experience peace and joy dur-ingtheend-of-the-yearvacation,andfindenough time to recharge your batteries before 2013 becomes a reality! Enjoy the time with your loved ones.

Best wishes!

Dr Theuns Eloff recently received an award from the International Association of Busi-ness Com municators (IABC). More about this on p 5.

“

North-West University ALUMNImagazine 5

editorial

Editorial team: StafffromCorporateAffairsandRelations,andcommunicationofficersonthecampuses.Language editing: Clairwyn van der Merwe.

Layout: Graphikos. Printing: Ivyline Technologies. Photography: NWU colleagues and service providers. For further enquiries/correspondence: Nelia

Engelbrecht - Tel 018 299 4937, fax 086 614 3222. The NWU & U is produced and published in English and Afrikaans by the Corporate Affairs and Relations

DepartmentintheInstitutionalOfficeoftheNWU.Shouldyouneedextracopies,pleasecontactNeliaEngelbrecht.ToreceivetheNWU&Uinelectronic

format, please send an email to [email protected].

Dr Theuns Eloff, vice-chancellor of the NWU, was announced the 2012 recipient of the International Association of Business Com-municators (IABC) Africa Excellence in Com-munication Leadership (EXCEL) Award.

The award was formally handed over on 18 October at the gala dinner of the IABC Africa 2012 Annual Conference held at the Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town, from 17 to 19 October 2012. The award is one of the high-est honours bestowed by IABC Africa and is giventoaseniorfigurewhohasprovenhisor her ability to lead through effective com-munication.

“I am honoured by the fact that the IABC with its outstanding reputation, expertise in business communication and interna-tional footprint chose to make this award,” Dr Eloff said. The fact that this tribute has been bestowed upon a vice-chancellor and a university – an environment normally not renowned for excellent business commu-nication – made the award all the more noteworthy.

This award is made to a person who is not an IABC member but is a captain of industry and spends time speaking with stakeholders around the world. It recognises active en-gagement and genuine interest in listening to and learning from all people as well as being engaged in real-time announcements and discussions.

One of the main requirements for selection as an Excel Award winner is a personal, humorousandselflesscommunicationstylethat resonates with diverse groups within broader audiences.

Dr Eloff has received a number of awards in recognition of his leadership, management and communication skills, and the IABC awardconfirmshiscommitmenttomean-ingful communication with stakeholders.

Vice-chancellor receives 2012 IABC

EXCEL award

Nelia and Marelize

InthisissueyouwillfindanarticleaboutProf André P Brink, an internationally renowned writer whose books are read in more than 30 countries.

In the interview with the NWU & U, he said that the road you travel is what counts, not necessarily the ultimate destination. That is so true. When we look at our alumni it is clear that they live lives that really make a difference to others.

In this edition we chat to various alumni who still apply what they gained at the NWUtoexcelintheirfieldsandgivebackto the community. Ms Malebo Magasa, the managing director of a company that builds homes and community halls, holds her own in the male-dominated construction industry (article on p 17).

Mr Eric Ntumba Bukasa always takes the lead wherever he is involved (article on p 20). Prof Mamokgethi Setati, accomplished mathemati-cian and researcher, inspires young people, and on grass-roots level her “adopt-a-learner” project helps children with an aptitude for mathematics (article on p 22).

Mr Maans Pretorius keeps the NWU’s col-oursflyinginOhio,whereheispresidentof

Seadrift Coke, the world’s second largest supplier of needle coke (article on p 24).

It is no wonder that the executive com-mittee of the Convocation of the NWU recently decided to establish two awards.

Through these awards the NWU wants to recognise its outstanding alumni. As Adv Jan Henning, the president of the Convo-cation, says in the article on p 9, the NWU wants to use these individuals as role models to inspire its current students.

The success stories of our alumni also link up well with our new branding manifesto (article on p 8). The new course that we are taking with our branding develop-ment involves the idea that the NWU is the place where people’s dreams start and their future success is developed.

When one looks at the NWU’s achieve-ments over the past few years (article on p 16), it is also clear that the institution itself is on the road to more and more success. However, it is not only the NWU’s best achievements that are becoming even better. The achievements of its students are also going from good to even better.

Who would have thought many dec-ades ago on the campus of the former Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education that the talented young student, André Philippus Brink, would one day become a world-famous writer?

There are probably many students on the campuses of the NWU today who will some day receive national and even inter-national fame in one area or another. The NWU is after all the place where people visualise their dreams … the place where people are taught that every step you take really matters.

Happy reading,

Make the road that you travel a significant one

It remains a pleasure to hear from NWU alumni. In this edition of NWU & U we again publish letters that alumni have sent us from near and far.

Dear Editors, I greatly enjoyed reading the Alumni pub-lication. It makes you feel positive to learn that everything is still going well with an institution like the NWU. (It is a ray of light in a world where so many things are deterio-rating or breaking up.)

I look forward to the next edition.

Puk greetings, Antonie Hanvinga, Klerksdorp

We also share emails received from two Vaal Triangle Campus alumni, Mr Hein Gelden-huis and Prof Marius Stander:

Dear Editors, The magazine is really great! I don’t know whether I am barking up the right tree, but how can one go about correcting the residence history of the Rivierpukke? If I remember correctly, the history starts with the residences on the new campus, while there was a residence (in fact, a house) on the Goodyear Campus.

Regards, Hein Geldenhuis, Lydenburg

Prof Marius replied as follows:

Hein’s facts are accurate. The first resi-dence was started on the Goodyear Campus in 1982. A set of offices was converted into a residence. In fact, Hein and his two snakes (Rinkhals and Pofadder) were among the first residents – I think he was the very first. Prof Tom van Dyk (campus head) and Prof

Stephen Kruger (house parent) almost had heart attacks when they saw the snakes.

Regards, Prof Marius Stander, Vaal Triangle Campus, NWU

Dear Editors Thank you for your email and the links

to the newsletters. I greatly enjoyed pag-ing through the letters and reading all the news.

It makes you proud to see the university growing and remaining a dynamic institu-

tion. I was particularly surprised to read about the new library on the Vaal Triangle Campus, as I had a major interest in it. I was the first full-time librarian of the former PU for CHE, Vaal Triangle, and started out there in January 1977.

At the time, 13 families were transferred from Potchefstroom to Vanderbijlpark to form the first full-time staff complement for the university, and I have wonderful memo-ries of that period in the institution’s history. The university was housed in the buildings in

Shakespeare Street and the library was right across the street in a smaller building. Prof Tom van Dyk was the first vice-rector, and his successor, Prof Piet Prinsloo, was also part of the group of academics who helped to establish the Vaal Triangle Campus.

There are many other well-known names, and as far as I know most of them are still alive, although Prof Van Dyk has passed away, as has his secretary, Ms Elsa de Wet. A few others may have too. Other names I remember are Mr Chris Windell (public rela-tions officer) and, among others, Prof Louis Venter, Prof Daan Gouws and Prof Hennie Weber.

The few people who were in Vanderbijl park on a full-time basis could not teach all the classes, therefore many lecturers had to drive from Potchefstroom to Vanderbijlpark in the afternoons to assist with the classes, and then drive back to Potchefstroom late at night. They commuted between the two centres like this for quite a number of years.

Shouldn’t the current Vaal Triangle Campus perhaps arrange a reunion of that 1977 group of staff members? Someone could then also write down all the recollections and perhaps document them properly at a later stage.

Things being what they are, this happened all of 35 years ago – in another 15 years it will be 50 years, and by then most of the recollections will be gone. The current vice-chancellor, Dr Theuns Eloff, will also have many recollections of those days.

At the time, he was a student doing holiday work in the Ferdinand Postma Library, and we had to make numerous trips by truck to Vanderbijlpark to deliver the furniture, books, etc. for the library.

This is purely a thought and probably of importance just to me. However, experi-ence has taught me that you are later very sorry that certain important moments in the history of an institution were not better

6 North-West University ALUMNImagazine

Messages from afar

Please write and tell us where you are and how your careers and families are doing. Send your letters to [email protected], fax them to 086 614 3222, or mail them to Nelia Engelbrecht, Institutional Office, North-West University, Private Bag X1290, Potchefstroom, 2520.

WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

FeatherFundgivesdreamsflight

Mr Heinrich Kriel, the chairperson of the Alumni Advisory Committee, pledges his support to the Feather Fund.

What better way to celebrate your academic heritage than by contributing towards the ac-

complishment of someone else’s dream?

With this in mind, the alumni of the NWU’s Vaal Triangle Campus launched the Alumni Feather Fund during the campus’s annual alumni reunion in September 2012.

The fund is the result of a collaborative endeavourbythealumniofficeandthefundraisingofficeonthecampus.Itsaim is to help less fortunate students to achieve their dreams and by doing so strengthen the bond between the differ-ent generations of alumni and help build a sustainable future for the campus and the community it serves.

Members of the campus senior manage-ment and the Alumni Advisory Committee

have already pledged their support to the Feather Fund venture by publicly signing up to join during the alumni reunion.

According to Ms Lydia Mokgatle, head of the fundraisingoffice,thisfundwillhelpbuilda united and uplifted society in which all people are treated with dignity and respect.

All members of the alumni fraternity are in-vited to contribute to the newly established fund.

“By signing up to contribute towards the fund,alumniwillpositivelyinfluencethelives of others and make the world a better place,” says Lydia.

Alumni who would like to contribute to the fund can contact Lydia at [email protected] or at tel 016 910 3104.

recorded, as more questions are then asked than there are answers to.

Thank you once again for the e-publications – it is incredible what technology can ac-complish!

Regards,

George de Bruin, Vanderbijlpark

Ms Alwa Naudé, alumni coordinator on the Vaal Triangle Campus, replied as follows:

Dear George,Thank you for your email with the valuable information and suggestions.

At an alumni breakfast on Wednesday, 17 October, Prof Joppie van Graan, Prof Marius Stander and Prof Johann Coetzee requested me to arrange, amongst others, a reunion for staff associated with the campus from 1970 and onwards – many of them are of course also alumni.

We would appreciate it very much if anyone could in the meantime provide us with names and contact details.

So, George, watch this space!

Alwa Naudé, Vaal Triangle Campus

Dear Editor,My name is Matsebe Lucas Lekalakala. I am currently based at IB Damons Combined School (approximately 10 km east of Brits town), where I am the deputy principal.

I am a member of the school management team and I am the staff development team coordinator; I am also a board member of the Brits district hospital.

In 2008 I completed the ACE – Curricu-lum and Professional Development course through your Potchefstroom Campus, which was followed up by my completing the ACE – School leadership course at the same campus this year.

I find your publications very informative, educative and interesting. Keep up the good work. I am looking forward to more alumni publications in future so that I can update myself with the latest information.

I will always keep in touch.

Kind regards,

Matsebe Lucas Lekalakala, Brits

Dear Editor,I am a newly appointed staff member in the Academic Development and Support

department on the Vaal Triangle Campus. I am really interested in contributing to the newly established Alumni Feather Fund. I understand the goals of this fund very well, as I was once in a situation where I couldn’t go to class because of hunger.

I am proud to stand tall today because this institution made me the person I am now. I was part of the Ikateleng project in 2004.

I was doing my matric and this campus provided transportation, food and academic assistance for impoverished students. I was one of them and today, six years later, I am employed by the same institution.

Regards, Lebo Kumalo, Vaal Triangle Campus, NWU



IT ALL STARTS HERE.This new pay-off line for the North-West

University speaks of a place where dreams are born – a place where you can visualise your aspirations and future success.

Approved by the Institutional Management on 29 August 2012, the new pay-off line re-flectstheNWUasaninstitutionthatenablespeople and makes things possible for them.

Ms Lindi Cameron, the brand manager of the NWU, explains that instead of being institution-focused, the NWU now focuses on its stakeholders.

These stakeholders include students, parents, alumni, donors, businesspeople, staff members, research institutions and the government. The NWU is now moving closer to its stakeholders, exchanging “the sage on the stage” approach for “the guide on the side”.

In other words, this new approach involves engaging with our stakeholders, instead of merely talking to them. Market research revealed that the previous pay-off line (In-novation through diversity) had a functional, internal focus.

What was needed was an external, posi-tioning-focused pay-off line. The feeling is that the new pay-off line encapsulates the benefitforstakeholdersmoreclearly.

NEW MANIFESTOIn addition to the new pay-off line, a brand manifesto has been developed to inform the

university’s marketing and communications. (See text box.)

From the manifesto, it is clear that the ap-proach is now much more consumer-centric.

In essence, we are more interested in the achievements, dreams and life stories of our stakeholders, than in talking about ours.

The NWU provides the perfect enabling environment for students to become what theywanttobe,foremployerstofindtheemployeestheywanttofindandforgovern-ment to see that we address the needs of the country through relevant teaching-learn-ing and research.

BE SOMEBODYThe visual application of the new brand positioning taps into the idea that ‘anybody can be somebody’ – in other words, the NWU enables ordinary people to do extraor-dinary things.

“We want to say to students and staff that they can be somebody great in the world of science, or music, or whatever their chosen fieldis,andthattheyhavetheabilitytoempower others,” says Lindi.

NURTURING YOUR POTENTIALSo, whether you are looking for a better future, or looking to make a difference in people’s lives, or you simply want a solid foundation for your future, the NWU is the place where potential is nurtured, where or-dinary becomes extraordinary and anybody can be somebody.

Brand Manifesto

This is a place... where anything is possible. A place where imagination has no boundaries, and dreams are born.

A place that gives a voice to who you dare to be. Where every new day is an opportunity to be the next greatest, fastest, loudest, proudest... the next first.

This is a place where voices are amplified, aspirations are visualised, and future success is incubated.

Behind its doors our destinies lie... In its pages, our new legacies are written; and in its diversity, our unity flourishes. This is the place where “what if” becomes “what is”; Where “if” becomes “when”; and “could” becomes “can”.

The NWU is the place where your best has the platform to become better.IT ALL STARTS HERE.

The NWU is very proud of its alumni and has decided to publicly recognise them

for their personal and career accomplish-ments and for exemplary contributions to society.

This decision was taken at a meeting of the executive committee of the NWU’s Convoca-tion on 21 September 2012.

“For many years now, alumni from the NWU have made their mark – not only in South Africa, but also internationally,” says Adv Jan Henning, the president of the NWU’s Convocation.

“The NWU is privileged to boast such a dis-tinguished stakeholder group. NWU alumni excel in all areas – from teaching-learning, research and community engagement to thesportsfield.Itisagreatprivilegeaspresident of the Convocation to invite you to participate in the nomination process, so as to ensure that we acknowledge our ambas-sadors for their high-level achievements.”

Two awards for excellent alumniTwo awards will be made: the Alumni Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award. To qualify for the Alumni Award, alumni must meet the following criteria:

• They must have obtained a degree or a diploma from the NWU.

• They must have achieved distinguished personal and career accomplishments.

• They must have made exemplary contri-butions to society.

• Theymusthaveshownsignificantlead-ership in the above-mentioned areas.

• They must demonstrate ongoing com-mitment to the NWU.

From the nominations received for the Alumni Award, the Convocation might choose to award the Lifetime Achievement Award to an exceptional nominee.

Lifetime contributionsThe Lifetime Achievement Award honours distinguished individuals whose extraordi-

nary lifetime achievements, personally and professionally, make them inspirational role models for the future.

This award will only be made on rare oc-casions where the candidate(s) have truly demonstrated exceptional and meritorious service to society.

The criteria alumni must meet are the fol-lowing:

• They must have obtained a degree or a diploma from the NWU.

• They must have achieved outstanding success in professional, academic or researchfields.

• They must be committed to public and community service.

• They must be exemplary role models for current and future students.

• They must show ongoing commitment to the NWU.

• They must be recognised nationally or internationally (for instance through ap-pointments or awards received).

• They must have made an exceptional contribution to society nationally or internationally.

Current members of the executive commit-tees of the NWU’s Council and Convoca-tion, as well as members of the Institutional Management, may not be nominated for the awards.

This is how it’s doneOffice-bearersoftheNWU,alumni,perma-nent staff members and members of Council and the Board of Donors may now submit nominations for the Alumni Award.

Nominations are not made for the Lifetime Achievement Award, as the adjudicators themselves will decide if they would like to make this award to one or more persons nominated for the Alumni Award.

You can use the nomination form in the NWU&U–allfieldsmustbecompleted.Also keep the criteria in mind, and sup-

ply a proper motivation where requested. All nominations should be submitted to the institutional registrar in his capacity as secretary to the Convocation on or before 31 March 2013.

The nominations will be evaluated by the ex-ecutive committee of the Convocation who will announce the recipients during a gala alumni event in September 2013.

Enquiries about the nomination process can be directed to Ms Therina du Pisani in theofficeoftheDirector:DevelopmentandAlumni Relations at tel 018 299 4156 or [email protected].

Completed nomination forms and support-ing documents can be sent to Ms Therina du Pisani,Internalbox612,InstitutionalOffice,North-West University, Private Bag X1290, Potchefstroom, 2520, or faxed to 018 299 4605.

Go to the NWU’s website to complete the form online – click on Alumni under “In-formation for” and then on the link to the nomination form.

Since the NWU’s alumni call centre was established on 1 March 2012, they have contacted more than 7 000 alumni.

This achievement is due to the efforts of the centre’s four full-time and two part-time staff members.

The full-time staff are Mr Stef and Ms Magda Van der Linde and Ms Thandi Ralekgetho, who phone the alumni, and Ms Louisa Vermeulen who captures the alumni information in the data base.

The part-time staff are Mr Jaap and Ms Annatjie Verhoef, who call alumni in the afternoon.

Outstanding alumni to be acknowledged

7 000 reached


2012: A vintage year for alumni

Some of the alumni who attended the gala evening are, from the left, Mr Dumile Mlambo, Mr Ntshekang Sekane, Prof Dan Kgwadi (campus rector) and Mr Oscar Sele.

The annual gala evening for alumni on 31 August in the Great Hall on theMafikengCampuscreatedthe

opportunity for more than 100 alumni from different industry and business sectors to network.

During his speech the campus rector, Prof Dan Kgwadi, said the gala evening is a celebration of the excellence of inspiring alumni achievers who work in the business sectorandingovernmentforthebenefitofSouth Africa and its future generations.

Dr Theuns Eloff, the vice-chancellor, said it is always important to see what the corporate world needs, and compare these needs with what we as universities can offer.

Prof Johann Coetzee, a leader in the field of wellness, addresses alumni of the Vaal Triangle Campus during a breakfast session.

Good music, good food and wine and even better company were the order of the day when NWU alumni gathered at various functions in 2012. The

NWU & U dropped in at these festive occasions.

Alumni of the Vaal Triangle Campus donned their dancing shoes in Sep-tember for a theatre tribute to the

legendary Freddie Mercury and the music group Queen.

Soon afterwards, in October, they attended a breakfast session with Prof Johann Coetzee to reflectonthebalancebetweenworkandlife.

Music pleasure“The show must go on” was the theme of the music production at the elegant eve ning function in Vanderbijlpark.

In his speech Prof Thanyani Mariba, the campus rector, said that their alumni per-form particularly well in different positions in the world.

“Our alumni are talented and competent professionals who share their expertise and experience and thus develop a progressive

legacy for their alma mater.” Members of the firstAlumniAdvisoryCommitteeforthecam-pus were also introduced. The chairperson of the committee, Mr Heinrich Kriel, explained the role the committee plays in promoting mutuallybeneficiallong-termrelationshipsbetween the alumni and the campus.

Breakfast inspirationDuring the alumni breakfast in October the guest speaker, Prof Johann Coetzee, pointed out to the alumni that managers and leaders actually“become”theirqualificationsandprofessional titles.

He said that in the course of a professional career, individuals can work up to 10 years of overtime without compensation, and in the process become lost between “living and being lived”. Prof Johann, himself an alum-nus, is a practising industrial and organisa-tionalpsychologistandanexpertinthefieldof work-life integration.

Dance late into the night and eat an early breakfast

Gala evening makes alumni nostalgic

“Events like these must provide the answers,” he said. After an excellent meal with the smooth sounds of the campus jazz orchestra

in the background, the alumni danced their way into the night to the rhythm of the songs sung by the campus choir.


lecture”) that will be delivered by a prominent alumnus.

ThealumniofficeofthePotchefstroom Campus is planning residence reunions for Eikenhof (20 years), Oosterhof (50 years) and Vergeet-my-nie (40 years), as well as a number of regional events.

Areunionforthefirst-yearstudentsof1963will be held at the end of the year. Golf enthusi asts will tee off on different courses and the wine guild will meet every month in Potchefstroom as they always do. An exciting possibility that is being investigated is to hold a reunion in South Korea in 2013. Alumni of the Potchefstroom Campus can

watch the E-PUKaner and and NWU-PUK AlumniFacebookgroupforthefinaldatesof all these activities.

The Vaal Triangle Campus plans three and possibly four breakfast sessions where prominent alumni will address their fellow alumni. Reunions for former students from the 70s and 80s are also on the cards.

The Alumni Advisory Committee will still play a prominent role in alumni activities, andespeciallyinfinalisingtheconstitutionfor alumni. Mr Heinrich Kriel, the chairper-son of the committee, will act as ambas-sador for the Feather Fund. (Read more about the Feather Fund on p 7.)

2013, here we come!

They meet so often because they enjoy it so much.

It could also be a sense of loyalty and social responsibility that motivates alumni of the Potchefstroom Campus to come together, but their sheer enthusiasm says that total delight MUST be a factor. Read here what happened during 2012:

• Groups of between 50 and 120 people attended regional get-togethers in the Cape, Rustenburg, Johannesburg/Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Windhoek and Swakopmund.

Among the 80 former students who gathered in Bloemfontein on 31 August 2012 are, from the left, Ms Cornel de Klerk, Ms Chantelle van der Merwe, Mr Albert Hendriks, Ms Marilize le Roux, Mr Riaan Kramer and Mr Nicolaas Esterhuyzen.

• Student council members of the past 10 yearsandthefirst-yearstudentsof1962held reunions.

• Alumni attended the annual Pukki talent show and enjoyed it enormously.

• Alumni of De Wilgers held their 20-year reunion, Patria their 30-year reunion and Over de Voor their 50-year reunion.

• Approximately 850 departing students enjoyedtheannualjollificationheldatthe end of each year to welcome them as new alumni.

• Golfers across the country challenged one another over nine golf days. Alumni who want to join the golf club can contact Mr Frik Prinsloo at [email protected] or at tel 018 299 2770.

• Members of the wine guild gathered once a month to taste wines from Saronsberg, Knorhoek, 10 Chapters, Solms-Delta, Wildekrans, Kanu and Nitida, among other places. Those who want to join the tasting next year can contact Ms Yolandi Yssel at [email protected] or at 018 299 2768.

All three campuses of the NWU have great plans for their alumni for 2013.

Inthefirsthalfof2013thealumniofficeofthe Mafikeng Campus is arranging visits across South Africa and will forge links with prominent alumni.

The annual gala evening for alumni will again be held in October. For this event, a special programme featuring campus talent will be prepared in conjunction with the cultural of-ficeofthecampus.

Early in the morning on the same day, the alumni will undertake a campus tour and attend a special lecture (a so-called “prestige

They are enjoying themselves

Dance late into the night and eat an early breakfast

North-West University ALUMNImagazine North-West University ALUMNImagazine 11

Premature babies that do not have accesstobreastmilkcannowbenefitfrom a breast milk bank that recently opened in Potchefstroom.

Thisbreastmilkbankisthefirstofitskindin the province and is a joint initiative of the NWU and the provincial government of North West, according to Dr Welma Lubbe from the School of Nursing on the Potchef-stroom Campus.

“The bank is situated at the Potchefstroom Hospital and will render a service that entails collecting mother’s milk from women who have breast milk in excess and donating it hospitals where premature babies do not have access to breast milk.”

Dr Welma says it often happens that moth-ers of premature babies are not yet able to lactate, or are ill and cannot breast-feed im-mediately.“Itishugelybeneficialforbabieswhen they can be fed with breast milk. It

All systems go for River fm

Tuning in: Mr Itumeleng Bahetane, radio sta-tion manager, is looking forward to fill the air

waves with the sound of River fm.

The Vaal Triangle Campus is one step closer to realising its dream to have an operational radio sta-tion on campus.

ThisfollowswrittenconfirmationfromtheIndependent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) that the proposed name for the station, River fm, has been approved, as has the application to reg-ister for a Community Low Power Sound Broadcasting Service licence.

According to Mr Itumeleng Bahetane, the radio station manager, it is important to note that although the licence has been granted, it will only be formally issued after the station has complied with certain signal distribution requirements.

Sentech, the national signal distributor, will provide technical assistance for the necessary network-based infrastructure.

“After we address the issue of compliance, wecanstartrecruitingstudentstofillthevarious positions within the station,” says Itumeleng, adding that River fm will be a vital link in the student communication framework on the campus.

The radio station, together with the stu-dent e-newspaper, Student 24/7, will team up to ensure that the campus community is informed about happenings on the campus and elsewhere in the world.

OnceRiverfmhasbeenfinalised,allthree NWU campuses will have their own student radio station. PUKfm is the radio station on the Potchefstroom Campus and NWUfmisbroadcastingontheMafikengCampus.

TheMafikengCampusrecentlyappoint-ed Prof Mashudu Maselesele as Vice- Rector: Teaching and Learning. Prof

Maselesele, who has been the dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Science and Technol-ogy (FAST) since 2008, took over the reins at the beginning of October this year.

Having joined the university in 2007, Prof Maselesele, a Venda princess born in the Balangani Village in Limpopo, has made a phenomenal contribution to the campus both as an academic and a leader.

Affectionately known to students and staff as “Prof Mashudu”, she was also instrumental in thesettingupofthefaculty’sfirstnichearea,Food Safety and Security, which was recently approved.

Also during her tenure as dean of the big-gest faculty on campus, the research output improved from 5,58 units in 2007 to 16,1 in 2008 and to a further overwhelming increase of 105,84 units in 2011.

New vice-rector appointed forMafikengCampus

Blazing trails: Prof Mashudu Maselesele is the first female vice-rector on the Mafikeng Campus.

Prof Eno Ebenso will act as dean of the Fac-ulty of Agriculture, Science and Technology until the new dean is appointed.

could even save their lives,” she says. With the opening of the breast milk bank, parents can now offer their babies only the best. The women donating their milk will store it in plastic bottles and freeze it.

The breast milk bank will then collect and pasteurise it and do the necessary tests for HIV/Aids and tuberculosis, among others.

Once it meets all the requirements, it is fro-zen at the breast milk bank and distributed to hospitals in the province.

“For the fact that especially premature babies’ intestines can be easily perforated and diseases absorbed in the blood stream, breast milk acts as a lubricant that seals the stomach wall and keeps out toxins,” says Dr Welma.

Onlyprematurebabieswillbenefitfromthe breast milk bank due to the scarcity of mother’s milk.


campus news

Free breast milk for premature babies in North West

As part of its transformation agenda, theMafikengCampusisplanningtohave three new engineering pro-

grammesinitsqualificationmix.

The three programmes – Agricultural Engi-neering, Transport Engineering and Computer Engineering – will form part of the Faculty of Agriculture, Science and Technology (FAST).

Central to its strategic plans, the faculty focus-es on responding effectively to the challenges of a semi-arid rural environment, as well as to the broad challenges facing rural communities in the province, country and SADC region.

A substantial amount of work has already gone into preparing for the Agricultural Engi-neering programme.

In 2010 the faculty, led by the former dean, Prof Mashudu Maselesele (now the Vice-Rector: Teaching-Learning), was invited to the University of Naples where strong collabora-tive links were cemented between the two universities.

Out of this collaboration a memorandum of understanding was signed in which the Uni-versity of Naples committed to give support in capacity development through exchange programmes.

Most of the campus’s existing agriculture courses will feature prominently in the new Agricultural Engineering programme.

The campus already has Transport Economics as a programme and is currently producing strong master’s and PhD students in Com-puter Science, although more focus needs to be on the engineering side.

“We consider this as a meaningful trans-formation endeavour in widening access to rareacademicfields,”saysProfDanKgwadi,MafikengCampusrector.

By including these programmes in the cam-pus curriculum, the campus aims to develop a critical mass of engineers who will be famil-iar with a rural environment.

MafikengCampus plans

for engineering programmes

The Vaal Triangle Campus has added yet another prestigious accolade to its tro-

phy cabinet. The campus was recently pre-sented with a Global Business Roundtable (GBR) Excellence Award and subsequently joined the GBR’s global network of busi-ness people and industry professionals.

According to Dr John Maloma, the direc-tor of Marketing and Communication on the campus, the award is yet another indication of the campus’ commitment to the pursuit of excellence – be it lo-cally, nationally or internationally. The GBR highlights several main objectives, and according to Dr John the campus, as a representative entity of the NWU, is excited about the potential for global collaboration and development.

Agroup of engineering students from the Potchefstroom Campus made historywhentheirveryfirstsolar-

powered vehicle showed the world who’s the boss.

These eight students were part of the team who competed against 12 other teams – from South Africa, Japan and India, among other places – in the Sasol Solar Challenge.The competition involved an epic 5 200 km, 11-day trip across a large part of South Africa in vehicles that used only solar power and maintained an average speed of 60 km/h.

After an exciting and surely gruelling jour-ney,theNWUsharedtheoverallfirstplacewith the Tokai University from Japan. The NWUteamalsotookthefirstplaceintheir

Award for excellence receivedThe GBR acknowledged the campus in the category for academic institutions of higher learning. The award was handed over by Mr Sipho Sseleku, convenor of the GBR and president of the Pan African Chambers of Commerce and Industry (PACCI) at a gala dinner at the Sandton Convention Centre. Guests from around the world attended the event.

“The award supports the Vaal Triangle Campus’s vision to be locally engaged, nationally relevant and internationally recognised,” says Dr John. The objectives of the GBR include intellectual and skills development, business development and opportunities, networking, mentorship programmes,financialdevelopmentandrelationship development.

The NWU’s “batmobile” showed the world who’s the boss.

Solar-powered vehicle breaks recordsclass, and broke two national records and one international record – one for the longest distance travelled in one day and one for the longest distance travelled overall using solar power only.

In addition, the team won the gold medal for their safety report, and walked away with the Africa Spirit award.

The so-called “batmobile” – as the partici-pants called the NWU vehicle – is driven by an amount of solar power equalling the en-ergy of a radio-controlled airplane’s engine, and can reach a speed of up to 100 km/h. Alarge,flatsurfacehousesthesolarpanels,which are not much thicker than a sheet of paper and in bright daylight store about 1,2 kW of energy in a battery, which in turn drives the two hub engines.

13North-West University ALUMNImagazine

campus news

NWU-experts know their subjects

The NWU’s experts are often quoted in the media, which promotes the public image of the university as an enabler of

possibilities and an institution that focuses on its stakeholders. In this article we share a few comments by our experts that

were published in the media over the past year.

A central application centre (that has to assist students in getting their applica-tions to universities to eliminate walk-in applications) should be controlled and managed by the sector and not by the government. Political interference in the placement of and decision as to which student has to go where is un-acceptable. This will also undermine autonomy, quality teaching and the student’s right to free association.

Dr Theuns Eloff, Vice-Chancellor, NWU Beeld, 22 October 2012

Eco tourism and the Big Five in particular are invaluable to South Africa. Hunt-ers know exactly what a wild animal is worth to them, but until now the value of that same animal in a national park has not been determined. Our study found that tourists are prepared to pay more than R3 500 to see the Big Five in the Kruger Park.

Prof Melville Saayman, Research focus area: Tourism Research in Economic Environs and Society (TREES), Potchefstroom Campus Beeld, 1 October 2012

Although much research is being done in South Africa on nuclear medical applications such as radio-isotope production and proton and neutron therapy, very little research is being conducted on nuclear en-gineering applications in South Africa.

Prof Pieter Rousseau, School of Mechanical and Nu-clear Engineering, Potchefstroom Campus

Engineering News, 24 August 2012

Mines’ reluctance to clean up their acts could stem from ‘political pollution’ – a situation where high-profile politicians or their families serve on the boards of mining companies. Politicians were more likely to act in the interests of shareholders than to favour their constituents when pressured to make a choice.

Prof David van Wyk, School of Social and Gov-ernment Studies, Potchefstroom Campus City Press, 20 Augustus 2012

There are various reasons why a child suddenly becomes stubborn after he initially went to school without complaints. If it was easy for them to go to school at first, and now suddenly they don’t want to go, it usually means that something is wrong. There may have been a traumatic event at home like a divorce or death. Often things that parents experience as ‘not too bad’, children experience as far worse.

Prof Esmé van Rensburg, School of Psychosocial Behavioural Sciences, Potchefstroom Campus Baba & Kleuter, 1 September 2012


Commitment does not go unnoticed – that much was clear when more than 50 NWU staff members were

acknowledged for excellence in research, innovation, community involvement and creativity.

These awards were made at a gala event in Potchefstroom on Friday, 26 October 2012.

Guest speaker at the event, Mr Derek Hanekom, Minister of Science and Technology, congratulated the NWU for the great strides it has made in increasing its research output over the past three years. “The NWU is well placed to support my department’s mission of promoting internationally competitive re-search as a basis for South Africa’s knowledge economy, and the creation of a representative science and technology workforce,” he said.

Twice crownedThe highlight of the evening was undoubt-edly when Prof Melville Saayman, director of the research focus area Tourism Research in Economic Environs and Society on the Potchefstroom Campus, was announced Most Productive NWU Researcher for the second year in a row.

His main research aim is to increase under-standing of the tourism economy, with a special focus on events and conservation tourism. The events under the spotlight include sport, arts and wine festivals.

Young researcher excelsProf Karina Mostert from the School of Human Resource Sciences on the Potch-efstroom Campus received the award for Most Productive Junior Researcher of the

Year. In her research, Prof Karina investigates the effect of work-home-interference in the relationship between job characteristics and work-related well-being among South African construction workers.

Productivity pays offThe award for the Most Productive Research Entity was shared by the research focus area Social Transformation on the Potchefstroom Campus under the leadership of Prof André Duvenhage, and the WorkWell Research Unit for Economic and Management Sciences under the leadership of Prof Jaco Pienaar, also on the Potchefstroom Campus.

They stand out Prof Esté Vorster from the Centre of Excel-lence for Nutrition on the Potchefstroom Campus and Prof Eno Ebenso from the School for Mathematical and Physical Sci-encesontheMafikengCampusreceivedawards for international leadership in research.

Dr Christo Venter from the School for Physical and Chemical Sciences on the Potchefstroom Campus was announced Most Cited Researcher.

Creativity in the spotlightAwards were also made for creative output. Here Prof Hans du Plessis was acknowledged for his writing, Dr Martinus Botha for his con-tributions as pianist, and Prof Paul Schutte for his textile work.

Prof Franci Greyling, Mr Ian Marley and Ms Louisemarie Combrink received this award for their creative project, “Beyond the horizon of the page” which was a trans-disciplinary inquiry into artists’ books.

All recipients of the awards for creative out-put are from the Potchefstroom Campus.

Putting community firstThe Child Justice Unit, which is part of the Law Clinic on the Potchefstroom Campus, and the Environmental Impact Assessment ProBonoOfficeonthesamecampus,re-ceived awards for community engagement.

Twice rewarded: Prof Melville Saayman (left) was announced Most Productive NWU Researcher and Prof Karina Mostert Most Productive Junior Researcher. Both are from the Potchefstroom Campus.

Excellent researchers rewarded



2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Total student enrolment 44 726 47 008 50 589 55 732 56 641

- Contact 26 075 25 740 26 853 29 243 31 663

- Distance 18 651 21 268 23 736 26 489 24 978

Undergraduate pass rate(contact and distance)

79,5% 81,2% 83,6% 83,5% 85,2%

Graduation rate 25% 26% 27% 27% 27%

Degrees and diplomas awarded 11 345 12 337 13 445 15 083 15 093

Master’s degrees awarded 618 583 659 633 639

PhDs awarded 124 100 123 129 115

Article equivalents published (total)

376 513 452,5 578,2 772,6

NRF-rated researchers 95 103 116 117 125

Total research output 1 061 1 083 1 190 1 318 1 483

Total income R1 436m R1 671m R1 827m R2 002m R2 318m

Surplus (recurrent items) R66m R82m R58m R37m R63m

Staff cost / total cost 50,1% 48,8% 50,7% 52,8% 52,4%

Self-generated income R542m R644m R647m R642m R751m

% of income from government 39,8% 40% 41,5% 44,6% 43,1%

% income from tuition fees 21,4% 20,3% 22,4% 23,6% 24,7%

Capital expenditure on upgradings

R51m R69,2m R81,9m R60,5m R53,2m

When looking back at what the NWU has achieved during the past few years, it is clear that

this institution is a place where anything is possible – a place where everybody gets the opportunity to make their best achievements even better.

The table on the right shows the NWU’s achievements in teaching-learning and re-search. It also gives a very favourable picture ofthefinancialstabilityandgrowthattheuniversity.

From the table below, it is clear that the NWU provides a good return on the invest-ment from government (in the form of a subsidy).

For instance, the NWU only received the seventh-most money from government in 2010, but produced the second-highest number of graduates out of all 23 higher education institutions.

For teaching output, the NWU rated second (unweighted) and third (weighted) in the country. For total research output and the total number of master’s degrees awarded, theuniversityratedsixth,andfifthwithregard to PhDs.

* Weighted teaching output refers to the figures after a prescribed formula (as required for government subsidy) has been applied to them, and the unweighted output refers to the figures without the formula applied.

2008 2009 2010

Percentage of sector

NWU’sposition


NWU’sposition


NWU’sposition

Subsidy from government 5,17% 7 5,5% 7 5,8% 7

Graduates produced 9,3% 3 9,3% 2 9,8% 2

Unweighted teaching output 9,3% 2 9,4% 2 10% 2

Weighted teaching output 7,5% 5 7,5% 4 7,85% 3

Total research output 6,9% 6 6,8% 6 7,1% 6

Master’s degrees awarded 7,7% 6 8,1% 6 7,3% 6

PhDs awarded 8,5% 6 8,9% 6 9,1% 5

Articles published 6% 7 4,9% 9 6% 8

People’s best achievements become even better here

What’s a female accountant doing building houses and commu-nity halls? Ms Malebo Magasa’s

award-winning track record in the male-dom-inated construction industry speaks for itself.

“Give me any project and I will deliver on time and within budget,” says Malebo, man-aging director of Tawana Business Projects and winner of two national awards.

Her company won the national Women in Construction Awards of the Construction In-dustry Development Board in 2010. Then, in the 2012 Govan Mbeki Human Settlements Awards, Malebo was named best woman contractor, both in the North West Province and nationally.

“The Department of Human Settlements is sitting with R50 billion of construction work not properly done because of unscrupulous contractors,” she says. “I go the extra mile to get projects done on time. We are usually thefirsttohandoverthekeys.”

Laying a solid foundationConstruction wasn’t in Malebo’s sights when she completed her BCom degree at the University of the North West in the 1980s. Accounting was what she had in mind, and after graduating, she worked as a bookkeep-er,accountantandthenfinancialmanager.

Entrepreneurship beckoned and she left in 2003 to start Tawana Business Projects. She providedaccountingandfinancialmanage-ment services before branching out into buying and selling anything and everything, from furniture to scrap metal.

“That slowed my business down because I was not focused, but I also gained knowl-edge of the rules of business, where to get what,andhowtomakeaprofit.”

Malebo laid the foundation for her construc-tion career in 2009 when she won a tender from the Department of Agriculture to build hydroponic systems and chicken broiler in-frastructure for emerging farmers. With her foot in the door of the construction industry, she went on to specialise in building homes and carving out her place as a woman in a man’s world.

Self-discipline makes the differenceSomehow, Malebo has made the time to run four Comrades Marathons and complete her Master of Business Leadership through Unisa.

“That MBL was one of the hardest things I ever did – not because the course was dif-ficultbutbecauseIwaslivinginMafikengand had to drive to Johannesburg every week for group sessions. It was hard but I didn’t drop out.”

Her steely self-discipline was learnt in child-hood, as one of seven children, all with at least one university degree. “Both my parents were teachers,” she explains. “My mother’s motto was, ‘If you want good things in life, you must do them for your-self’. My father’s philosophy was, ‘Don’t ask people for money, make your own money’.”

Her greatest achievementsThose lessons have placed her in good stead as an entrepreneur but Malebo says her biggest success to date is not necessarily her business prowess.

“Studying right now at the NWU is a student called Sindy Mosoane. She is 19 and an or-phan who was living with 12 other children. Although she got distinctions in matric, there was no way she was going to university.”

When Malebo heard this sad story from Sindy’s maths teacher, she sprang into ac-tion. “I got Sindy into the NWU and applied for a bursary from the university to pay for her registration fee and another bursary from the National Youth Development Agen-cy to pay for her tuition.”

Malebo also found accommodation for Sindy with a friend in Mmabatho. “Now Sindy is studying BCom Chartered Accountancy and in June this year, she got three distinctions.”

Malebo sees this as one of her biggest achievements but there is more to come as she has high hopes for the future. “My dream is to house the nation, to contribute to skills development and job creation for the youth, and to live my passion for education.”

Constructing the future with tenacity and passion

With the soft touch of a woman, Ms Malebo Magasa makes her mark in the male-dominat-

ed construction industry of South Africa.



It’s the road you travel that counts

Many of our alumni probably know that Prof André P Brink, one of South Africa’s most celebrated authors, is an alumnus of the former Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (PU for CHE). However, not everyone knows that he wrote his first novel in Potchefstroom. The NWU & U spoke to him about his student days, his career as a writer and his most recent book, Philida.

19

Philida, published by Human & Rousseau, tells the story of Philida, a slave who lived on the farm Zandvliet in the period 1820 to 1835. She had a number of children with Frans, the son of the owner, but then his father, Cornelis Brink, decides that Frans has to marry the daughter of a rich Cape family and that it would be better if he sold Philida and her children… In an interview on LitNet, Prof André said that he wanted to write Phi-

Slave novel goes straight to the heart

As novelist, playwright, translator, lit-erary critic and academic, Prof André P Brink continues to make his mark

in the South African literary world.

His road as writer started in Potchefstroom, at the then PU for CHE, where he found his feetacademicallyandalsowrotehisfirstnovel, Meul teen die hang, in 1958.

Prof André registered for his BA degree in Afrikaans-Dutch, English and History in 1953. Later he added French. In the end, he spent seven years at university and obtained master’s degrees in English and in Afrikaans.

He has fond memories of his student years, duringwhichheusuallyattendedhisfirstclasses in the cold Potchefstroom winters enfolded in his blanket.

Valuable friendshipsHeformedfirmfriendshipsduringthattime. “The best memories of those years still involve friendships and various forms of student fun. I am still in contact with many good friends, particularly Christie Roode. Some of the biggest moments through the years involved intervarsity, particularly against the Free Staters,” he recalls.

Prof André and his friends established the Thalia drama group, the music association and the literature association, Estrarte.

He lived in residences for a major part of his student years, including in Dawie Doep, Vleuel (Uitspan) and in Gatland (Ons Huis). He boarded privately in his last two years.

Today’s youthHaving lectured at several universities, including the University of Cape Town, Prof André enjoys the continued contact with young people. He encourages students to have an open mind for everything outside theirimmediatefieldofstudy.“Itisjustimpossible to think today that anyone is self-sufficientorcangetalongwithoutothers.”

He hates the “instant” era in which we live. He believes young people do not read nearly enough, and also not in depth. “Instant so-lutions are just as bad (and as unappetising) as instant food.”

His most recent novel, Philida, is not his last. “I am not a whole person if I don’t write,” he says. He took three years to complete the book – “longer than any previous novel” – and feels another one moving already.

lida’s story because her story was his too. “An ancestor of mine was involved and is one of the characters. I can’t know myself unless I also understand Philida and acknowledge her through my own blood and bones.”

Falling in loveHe confesses that he falls in love with most of his female characters. “But in the end I prefer those who backchat – Elizabeth in ‘n Oomblik in die wind (An instant in the wind) wasamongthefirst.IthinkPhilida’s voice is the clearest at the moment – that is why I prefer to listen to her.”

He likes writing in the afternoons the best, and confesses that he is not a morning person “because I sleep best then”.

He no longer plans ahead when writing a novel. “I used to plan the entire story before-hand, but these days I like to surprise myself. When I have the opening situation, I like to jump in and see what happens – and to place the characters in situations that catch them and me unawares. Then I can sit back and say, okay, try and get out of this now!”

Writer of great statureProf André is the author of more than 30 novels and has received several awards, both in South Africa and overseas.

He has been awarded the Hertzog Prize twice, for example, was on the shortlist for the Booker Prize twice and has made the shortlist for the Nobel Prize three times.

His book A Dry, White Season was turned intoafilmstarring,amongothers,MarlonBrando (who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance) and Donald Sutherland.

In 2005 Prof André played himself in the soap opera 7de Laan, of which he is a great fan.

His novels have been translated into 30 lan-guages, including Serbo-Croatian, Japanese, Xhosa and Vietnamese. He speaks eight languages, “although they are becoming ragged at the edges”. He would like to learn Russian so that he can read Dostoyevsky in

the original text. “I’m putting that on my bucket list,” he says.

He says that this wish list is “naturally” get-ting shorter. Something he would really like to do is to visit Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the biggest Hindu temple complex in the world.

Books remain the bestHe does not like digital or e-books, and will never buy a Kindle. “Reading is a total experience, which includes feeling and smelling a book. And I can’t read without a pen in my hand.”

The book closest to his heart is usually the one on which he is working at the time. And for each one there will be a different reason why it’s his favourite. “But if I had to choose today, I would probably still – after 40 years – be tempted to say: An instant in the wind.”

A few good friendsHe is happiest with his wife and their three cats. Silence, music, a few good friends, a book and travelling also make him happy. He says that he has loved cats since child-hood, and their three cats – all street cats – have been named after composers: Mozart, Salieri and Glinka.

Philida, which was on the long list for the 2012 Man Booker Prize in Britain this year, is receiving considerable praise. But this type of recognition is not important to him, “even though it naturally makes you feel good”.

“I am content as long as I feel inside myself that a piece of work has been done well. But does this ever really happen? Or do you keep on trying because you feel every time that you haven’t yet reached that goal? The main thing is to persevere with whatever you are doing. It is the road you travel that matters, not the arrival somewhere.”

North-West University ALUMNImagazine

A born leader

Success is where opportunity meets preparation. For Mr Eric Ntumba Bukasa, Corpo-rate Manager at the Commercial Bank of Congo, the NWU’s Vaal Triangle Campus was

where he learnt to be a leader with the courage of his convictions.

Elected against all odds Shortly after he was chosen as Student Representative Council (SRC) president of the Vaal Triangle Campus in August 2003, the merger process began in earnest. Eric was a second-year student in Information Technology and had already raised eyebrows when,asafirst-yearstudent,hestoodforthe SRC and against all odds was elected as itsCulturalOfficer.

HewasinstrumentalinlaunchingthefirstCulturalFestivalin2002andtheveryfirstGumba sokkie where Afrikaans music and kwaitowereplayedonthesamedancefloor.

“Everyonewasexpectingaflop;peoplethought it could never work. The begin-ning was shy but as the songs in Afrikaans followed kwaito bits and vice versa, we came to a point where everyone started to enjoy the music for what it was: a universal language that brought people closer,” he remembers.

This paved the way to more challenging pastures when talks to merge the PU for CHE and the University of the North West into one institutionintensified.AspresidentoftheSRCof the then Vaal Triangle Campus, Eric was a black student leader negotiating on behalf of a former white university. Other black student leaders saw him as “the perfect sell-out” and labelled him a “foreign agent”.

“To them, I was there to do the dirty work. I was indeed in an awkward position,” he recalls. “I had to earn the trust of the rep-resentatives of the main campus who were not 100% sure I was on their side.”

Dancing to the same tunesLooking back Eric is proud of his achieve-ments. By the time he left campus, a new culture was established on campus, seeing black and white students “dancing to the same tunes”.

Not surprisingly, he received the university Council’s award for outstanding leadership and services rendered to the Vaal Triangle Campus community.

At the end of his term as SRC president he was extremely popular and while he refused to stand for a second term as president (something he regrets) he is proud to see that the legacy of his leadership lives on.

Eric now lives and works in Kinshasa in the DRC and stays in touch with friends he met on campus. “Facebook has helped me to keep contact with many former students who came after I left. I am surprised to see how much they know about me and

Speaking up fearlessly, in no uncertain terms

Eric is the third born of a family of six children, a position he feels turned him into a natural consensual leader.

“I could not dictate anything to my el-der brothers, they had to be convinced and I had to ensure the backing of the younger ones who had to be charmed.

“You hardly find a better mix in leader-ship style.” His younger sister, Allegria,

also holds a BCom degree from the NWU’s Vaal Triangle Campus. Eric married the love of his life in 2010 in a traditional ceremony in Cape Town. He met Leatitia in Brussels and the couple welcomed their first born, Johan, in March this year.

The family lives in Kinshasa where Eric works at the Commercial Bank. In his spare time he plays tennis and is busy writing his first novel. He also authored

“A degree from the NWU will prepare you to tackle

any job in the future.”

Eric cut his leadership teeth at the NWU’s Vaal Triangle Campus where he says he developed the qualities that give him a

competitive advantage in his work today.

“The corporate world relies on networks where you ought to use human interaction skills in order to be successful. I shaped my leadership skills at the Vaal Triangle Campus and that allowed me to follow the right track later on,” he says.

Eric says we have to realise that we live in a world of possibilities and that only the sky is the limit. “Believe in yourself and learn to take risks without fear, after having gone through the necessary effort. I can boldly attest that a degree from the NWU will prepare you to tackle any job in the future,” he says.

He speaks from experience: with barely a few months of student life behind him, this young French-speaking student from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was at the forefront of negotiations when the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (PU for CHE) merged with the University of the North West.

a book on the Great Lakes regional crisis that was published last year. Eric’s sights are set on politics where he plans to fol-low in his father’s footsteps.

“My father contributed a lot to my infor-mal education through reading, travel-ling, debating and the development of my open spirit. He taught me to respect people for who they were with no consid-eration of colour, social status or power.’’


Mr Eric Bukasa, currently living in Kinshasa, was the last president of the SRC of the Vaal Triangle Cam-

pus of the former PU for CHE, and the first president of the SRC of the Vaal Triangle Campus of the NWU.

Speaking up fearlessly, in no uncertain termsthe depth of the impact our leadership had on that campus. It is a pleasure to see that it is still appreciated.”

He shares a special mentorship relation-ship with Mr Harm Stavast, director of Student Affairs at the Vaal Triangle Cam-pus, and plans to visit his alma mater

early next year.

Ready for any challengeEric doesn’t shy away from a chal-lenge. This is a trait he already

displayed in high school where he wasexpelledtwoyearsbeforehisfinal

school year because he spoke up about the way the principal was handling his

so-called “ill-disciplined behaviour”, which Eric calls “my inextin-

guishable energy”.

As a result he completed high school in an all-boys boarding school a few kilometres from Kinshasa where in less than a year he had become deputy head boy and a year later head boy. He was almost expelled there too for organising a strike to complain about the living conditions in the dormitory.

“Looking back, I must admit that the ingre-dients of what made it possible for me to handle the student leadership of Vaal Triangle Campus at a testing time were already present.”

He describes these qualities as the ability to see things differently and stand up boldly, fearlessly pointing out problems. Another enduring characteristic is his conviction that change is possible, it just requires action, and that no action is without consequences, calling for a well-developed sense of respon-sibility.

After his studies in South Africa, Eric went on to complete his diploma and master’s

degree in public administration at a prestigious French school called ENA (National Administration School).

Former students include Francois Hollande, current French president, Jacques Chirac, the former presi-dent, and most of the French prime ministers. While there, Eric was also elected to represent students on the administrative council of the school.

“ThefirsttimeIservedonaboardwas at the Vaal Triangle Campus of the then PU for CHE, so when the members of other boards appreci-ated my contribution, I used to smile while letting them know that I had learned from the very best on a small South African campus.”


A head for figures

Work hard, stay positive and never do anything to excess: this is the formula that algebra-loving alumnus Prof Mamokgethi (Kgethi) Setati applies to everything she does. The facts, and especially the figures, confirm this is a winning approach.


Although she was only 16 when she matriculated, Prof Kgethi, now vice-principal of Research and Innovation at Unisa, was sec-

ond to none when it came to university-level mathematics.

In the fourth year of her BSc degree in pure mathematics at the University of the North West,shescored74%forherfinalmark.

Those of us who struggled with mathemat-ics in high school know that this kind of performance is an almost impossible feat, achievable only by those who are truly pas-sionate about the subject.

“I didn’t think it was so special. Maths was always my highest mark,” says Prof Kgethi. “I’ve always loved maths and I especially love algebra because it makes such sense as a way of communicating. All real-world problems come down to an equation.”

Few of her female peers shared her passion, though. In fact, she was the only female studentinherfinal-yearmathematicsclassinMafikengbackin1987.“Thereweretwoofusinmythirdyearbutinmyfinalyear,itwas only me.”

That was not the only time she has been eithertheonlyorthefirstwomantobreaknew ground.

First things firstIn June 2002, Prof Kgethi, then a mathemat-ics education lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand,becamethefirstblackSouthAfrican woman to obtain a PhD in math-ematics education.

Sixyearslater,shewasthefirstfemaleandfirstblackAfricantobeappointedexecutivedean of Unisa’s College of Science, Engi-neering and Technology.

Anotherfirstfollowedlastyearwhenshewaspromoted to her current position at the helm of Unisa’s research and innovation portfolio.

Here, her role is essentially to strengthen the university – by far the largest in South Africa – as a research institution where innovative thinkersflourish.

Withherownprolificresearchrecord,sheclearly practises what she preaches. So far, she has published over 45 articles (one for every year of her life), which have received more than 400 citations.

What’s more, she currently holds two pro-fessorships: in addition to her full-time posi-tion at Unisa, she is an honorary professor at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Focus, focus, focusProf Kgethi is also one of only three black women researchers in the country with a B2 rating from the National Research Founda-tion. “That is such an honour for me,” she says.

The secret of her research success is simple: “I don’t think I’m the brightest person ever. All I did was work hard; I still do. The big thing is that I’m very focused – some say structured. When I do research, I pursue a question and keep going at it until I reach the solution. Focus makes the difference because I don’t try to do too many things at once.”

That focus carries through to the rest of her life, as does her insistence on doing every-thing in moderation, from exercise to eating. “I don’t do anything to excess,” she says.

The possible exception is the number of hours she puts in on the average working day.“I’mattheofficeby05:30andleaveatabout 19:00. I’m not a highly gifted person so I need more time to get things done. If I put in more hours, it gives me a leg up.”

She’s certainly climbed up South Africa’s researchladderswiftlyandefficiently,asherB2ratingshows.Whilejustifiablyproudofthat achievement, the accomplishment of which Prof Kgethi is proudest was being the firstblackSouthAfricanwomantocompleteaPhDinherfield.

“That was huge for me. If a book is ever written on the history of mathematics edu-cationinSouthAfrica,Iwilldefinitelyfea-ture in it,” she says. “I knew my PhD would change my life and the history of my whole familyandclan.Inmyfamily,Iwasthefirstto get a PhD, so I feel that I have created a legacy for everyone coming after me. In a sense, I am a trailblazer for other women and for my family.”

The power of a university educationHer family, particularly her father (one of the firstblackradioannouncersattheSABC),have strong convictions about the necessity of a university education.

“My dad was a visionary and his rule was that everyone in his house had to go to university,” she says. Interestingly enough,

that rule included Prof Kgethi’s mother.“ My mother was a domestic helper and a factory worker who had completed grade seven. After marrying and having three kids, she went back to school to do grade eight. Then she worked her way up to grade nine. My mother went to school with us – literally.“

After completing grade nine, Prof Kgethi’s mother studied to become a primary school teacher and then, while teaching, completed her matric through night school. Finally, at the age of 58, she obtained her BA degree through Vista University, in the same year that Prof Kgethi obtained her PhD.

It’s easy to see why her mother is Prof Kgethi’s role model and where her work ethic comes from. “My mother inspired me throughout her life. She was very resilient and always positive, an eternal optimist. My philosophy of life is to work hard, be opti-mistic and leave the rest to God.”

Proudly South African, Prof Kgethi Setati was raised in GaRankuwa near Pretoria and completed her schooling and her university studies in this country. “The fact that I ob-tained all my university education in South Africa – and basic education in rural and township schools – serves as evidence that it can be done,” she says.

“My passion for mathematics was nurtured by my parents because they believed that education is the only way out of poverty, the only way out of oppression.” Prof Kgethi, who completed matric at a rural boarding school, has not forgotten her roots. The empowerment of women in rural areas is close to her heart, and in 1997 she won a national prize for the best women empowerment project in the country.

In 2004, she started an adopt-a-learner project to support township learners who showed potential in mathematics. In the same year, she won an award from the National Science and Technology Forum as most outstanding female researcher for 2003. She is an honorary member of the Golden Key International Honour Society and an honorary life member of the As-sociation for Mathematics Education of South Africa.

Made in South Africa


He has lived in the heartland of America’s country music world, and learnt to ski in the French Alps. He calls Cleveland in Ohio home, and

yet speaks Afrikaans as if he is still studying this side of the Mooi River or the Vaal River.

Mr Maans Pretorius is the president of Seadrift Coke, the world’s second biggest supplier of petroleum-based needle coke,

which is used in the manufacturing of graph-ite electrodes. (See text box.) He is also a vice-president of GrafTech, an electrode manufac-turer, where he started out 35 years ago.

His academic career at the PU for CHE start-ed in 1970 when he enrolled with a teach-ing bursary for a BSc degree with Chemistry and Botany as majors. In 1975 he obtained his honours degree in Plant Biochemistry,

and then worked as a junior researcher in the Botany Department for two years.

Student yearsMaans says he was a “gepukte poot” be-cause he was one of the students studying with a teaching bursary who were permit-ted to attend classes at the university. (The teacher’s college was fondly known as “Pote” and the university as “Puk”).

He was also on the house committee of House Izak Meyer at the teacher’s training college and remembers his student years with nostalgia – especially those lecturers who moulded him at the time to become the man he is now.

According to him the university with its Chris-tian foundations had a major impact on the establishment of the core values of students in general, but it also gave the students an opportunity to be a student in all respects.

Maans remembers the subject of Interfaculty Philosophy as one that was not attended very enthusiastically. “However, with Prof Wimpie de Klerk, Prof Carools Reynecke and Prof Piet Botha (Botany) presenting it, the value did become clear to me in later years. I also cannot fail to mention Prof Johan Coetzee as friend, mentor and – naturally – as lecturer. He made a major contribution to my development and success,” he says.

World travellerMaans says that he dreamed of becoming a teacher, but his career followed a completely

Step by step: The Pretorius couple, Maans and Magda (front right in the photo) have four daughters, plus their sons-in-law and five grandchildren.

Global citizen Mr Maans Pretorius completed his undergraduate studies at the former Potchefstroom Teacher’s Training College and the Potchefstroom

University for Christian Higher Education (PU for CHE), and his MBA at the Vaal Triangle Campus of the then PU for CHE.

He‘s a global citizen with local roots


different route when he was appointed at GrafTech in 1977.

He worked at the plant in Meyerton, and in the 1980s he obtained his MBA at the Vaal Triangle Campus.

In the late 1980s he and his family moved to America and lived in Columbia, Tennes-see, south of Nashville, in the heartland of the American country music world. “It was a special experience for us as a young family. Three of our daughters attended American schools for a year, and this is an experience they will always remember,” he says.

In the course of his career he had opportuni-ties to be involved with GrafTech’s facilities in Europe, Russia, South Africa, China, Brazil, Mexico and various locations in the USA. The family lived near Geneva, Switzerland, for seven years, and his two youngest daughters completed their school careers there.

In 2006 the family moved to Albertville in the Savoie province in the the French Alps. “We enjoyed our time in the Alps in France a lot. Both Switzerland and France gave us the opportunity to learn to ski, which is a special experience for South Africans, and one which we all enjoyed considerably.” He also learnt to speak French there, “but just enough to be dangerous”.

Always a South African In 2007 they moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where Maans and his wife still live. “It is very easy to live and work in the USA – the languagemakesiteasytofitinwithsociety,and ordinary Americans have much the same values as those we believe in and are used to.”

At heart he is still a South African. The Pretorius couple visit South Africa at least twice a year: in winter, during the hunting season, and at Christmas. “And usually we can’t wait to get there.” The four grand-children in South Africa are naturally also a major draw card. Two of their daughters and their brothers and sisters live in South Africa. Maans also says that the South Afri-can climate is the best of all the places they have lived.

Mister presidentAs the president of Seadrift Coke he is used to a 60-hour working week. He arrives at theofficeveryearlyinthemorning,andhisnormal day can last up to 18:00, or until all his work is done.

After 35 years with the same company, his work is still exciting and he does not have one boring day.

“I am privileged that variety is part of every aspect of my work. Throughout my career, GrafTech has offered me numerous oppor-tunities to assume new responsibilities, or to become involved in new aspects of the busi-ness. This places you in a position where you continually have to learn new things.

“I also had the opportunity to work with colleagues and direct heads who mentored and guided me on the road to success. Here I can think of Dr Pieter Barnard, a colleague and friend, and Mr Craig Shular, our execu-tive manager.”

Maans’s employer, Graftech, took over Seadrift Coke in 2010. Seadrift Coke manufactures needle coke, which is used by electrode manufacturers such as GrafTech to manufacture graphite electrodes.

Graphite electrodes are supplied to steel manufacturers such as Mittal, and are used in electric arc furnaces to manufacture steel from scrap metal. “The manufacturing of steel through the electric arc furnace process is regarded as the biggest recycling process in the world, as this process annually sup-plies more than 400 million tons of steel,” says Maans.

Behind every manMaans is a born Free Stater who grew up on the banks of the Vaal River in Vanderbijlpark. He has been married for almost 38 years to Magda, whom he calls the love of his life.

“We met when we were still at school, and her support, trust, help and love are the pillars on which my life has been built.” The couple’s eldest daughter, Anél, is a radiog-rapher in Vereeniging, and studied at the University of Pretoria. Yolanda studied at the Vaal Triangle Campus of the former PU for CHEandisafinancialmanageratabusinessin the area.

Minette studied in the USA and lives in Co-lumbus, Ohio, working in the intensive-care unit of the hospital associated with the Ohio State University. Ida studied music at the University of Sussex and currently lives just outside Eastbourne in the south of England.

Even though the family live all over the world, they have mastered the art of com-municating cost-effectively. “Email and

Needle coke is a form of carbon and is made from decant oil – the heavy, thick oil that remains when fuel and other pe-troleum products are manufactured from crude oil.

Needle coke is just as black and shiny as coal, but is lighter in weight. If you lookcarefully,itseemstoconsistoffineneedles lying next to each other, hence the name needle coke.Needle coke serves as the raw material for manufacturing graphite electrodes.

What is needle coke?

Graphite electrodes look like large, grey cylinders, up to 2,8 metres long and 750 millimetres in diameter. (See photograph be-low.) They are used to conduct electricity in gigantic furnaces with scrap iron. When the electrodes almost touch the scrap iron in the furnace, an electric arc forms and generates intense heat to melt the scrap iron.

Graphite electrodes?

Skype are part of our lives. Even though we are not together, our family is the centre of who and what we are, and our relationships are naturally built around the core of our existence – our Creator.”

Maans likes to play golf and hunt to relax, and enjoys photography as a hobby. How-ever, the highlight of his day is being with his family.


The leaves rustle in the evening breeze, and from the garden, the smell of gar-denias and the sound of piano music

waft in. When you continue in the direction ofthedancefloorontheothersideofthehouse, you can hear the happy voices of young people and the dance music.

The Calderbanks are entertaining, and the big house near the Potchefstroom Dam rings with joy. This is the picture that Ms Anne van Zyl paints of the elegance and gracefulness of a bygone era when her parents, Hughie and Betty Calderbank, lived there.

Her father was a prosperous and eminent businessman and city councillor, and was

the mayor of Potchefstroom in 1941. Decades later, when

Anne visited Potchef-stroom again, a friend

arranged with theofficeof

the vice-chancellor

If the big old Tudor house that has been known for years as the rector’s residence could speak, it would be able to tell many stories about the people who have lived there. One such

story is that of Ms Anne van Zyl, formerly Calderbank, who grew up there and came to visit again after an absence of decades. The NWU & U listened while she told her story.

(Dr Theuns Eloff) for her to visit the house. “Can you please go and take some photos?” requeststhevice-chancellor’soffice.Halfanhour later the large gates of the residence of the NWU’s vice-chancellor slide open in front of me.

A house alive with memoriesAnne is waiting at the front door – small and upright, eyes sparkling with memories.

In the sitting room – the former billiards room – she shows me the large wooden door frames. “This is solid teak,” she says, “and allegedly some of these frames were once beams on ships.”

Theelegantceilingwithitsdelicateflowerpattern is nearly unique – according to Anne she has seen something similar only in the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town.

Here is where the large old Steinway piano stood, gestures Anne. It is believed that this was the last Steinway imported to

South Africa before World War II. Her par-ents loved to entertain and someone usu-ally played this piano. “On Sundays we and our guests played croquet in the garden, and my father and the male guests later played a round of billiards in the billiards room,” she says.

She remembers the elegance of red velvet curtainsandredcarpets,fineblueporcelainand luxurious Sanderson’s linen. Outside was a sunken garden with two willow trees nexttotheoutdoordancefloor.

Shortly after the house was built in 1942, Anne’s father brought a number of Ital-ian prisoners of war from the Zonderwater prison to prepare the grounds around the house for a garden.

(According to other sources these prisoners were also responsible for all the stonework in the garden, and the circular wall around the property which they built under supervi-sion of a Mr Minnie of Potchefstroom.)

A house full of stories


Melon thieves strikeAtfirsttheyplantedwheatandthenextyearthey planted large vegetable gardens. At onestagetherewerealsomelonfields–amajor temptation for the students of the former Potchefstroom University for Chris-tian Higher Education (PU for CHE).

“The students regularly stole the melons. My father became exasperated and gave the instruction that all the melons had to be uprooted.”

This spoilt the students’ fun, and one night some intoxicated students loudly com-plained outside the house. Only after an angryHughiehadfiredafewshotsfromthebalconydidthestudentsflee.

Anne also remembers how the students and soldiers in the local military base were on op-posite sides during the war, because so many students opposed South Africa’s participation in the war on the side of the Allied forces.

Luckily the recollections of the war years are not only bad – she also remembers how she delivered messages on her bicycle to people living along the dam.

Her reward was a slice of homemade white bread with jam – a delicacy that was taboo in those years of food shortages, when ev-eryonewasforbiddentousewhiteflour.

Another good recollection about the war years is the fanfare with which soldiers were sent off to the “North” from the Cachet Station. “It was wonderful growing up in this house.” Anne laughs merrily when she tells about the time when she and her sister, Avis,floatedontheirrigationcanal(then

Ms Anne van Zyl was two years old when her father built the house in which the NWU’s vice-chancellor, Dr Theuns Eloff, now lives. She only left in her twenties after getting mar-

ried in the large garden in front of the house.

known as the Dorpsvoor) in a tin bath, and how they swam in the Mooi River.

End of an eraHer mother sold the house to the univer-sity in 1964 and moved to the Cape. Anne also lives in the Cape now and very seldom comes to Potchefstroom.

While we are chatting, Ms Suzette Eloff, Dr Theuns’s wife, joins us. She brings a com-memorative album published in 2003 about

the “rector’s residence” (as the house was known for a long time). “We would appreci-ate it if you could sign this book,” she says. Nostalgia silences Anne while she pages through the book and then signs her name.

For the last time Anne poses for a photo and then the visit is something of the past. I leave through the gate and turn towards the university. Behind me the house stands mo-tionless, with all the stories of many people safely between its walls.

Not just anyone has the privilege of living in a stately 30-roomed house built in the Tudor style.

However, the rectors of the former PU for CHE had this privilege, and today the vice-chancellor Dr Theuns Eloff, and his wife Suzette enjoy the same privilege. The house, situated near the Potchefstroom Dam, was designed by architect Hugh Roberts.

Hugh and Betty Calderbank had it built for 30 000 pounds (then worth R60 000).

Tudor house has been home to many rectorsWhen the house and the circular wall around the property were completed, it had cost R66 000, which was a small fortune in those times. Fortunately, the PU for CHE bought this up-market house from the Calderbanks for “only” R50 000.

The motivation was that the university needed a meeting place for its Senate, as well as entertainment facilities for the rector. The billiards room in the Tudor house, which could accommodate 70 people, was ideal for this purpose, and the transaction was closed.Thefirstrectorwhomovedthere

was Prof Hennie Bingle and his wife, Santjie, who lived there from 1965 to 1973. They were followed by Prof Tjaart van der Walt and Babie, his wife, who were there until 1989, when Prof Carools and Ms Drienie Reinecke moved in.

Dr Theuns and Suzette moved there in 2001 and after 10 years they are still liv-ing there. Among the well-known people whom rectors entertained there through the years were politicians, writers such as Audrey Blignault, and the actress Anna Neethling-Pohl.


The South African Music Outreach Project (SAMOP) has positively affected hundreds of disadvantaged learners

from around the country by providing them with musical instruments and opportunities to perform in music ensembles.

This outreach project was brought to life in 2008 by Prof Karendra Devroop, currently the director of the School of Music on the Potchefstroom Campus, while he was living in the United States and completing his doctorate as part of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship awarded to him.

“The project is my way of giving back to my community and my country by afford-ing public school students the opportunity to study and play a musical instrument,” explains Prof Karendra. “The heart of this project is to use music as an intervention to impact students who are affected by pov-erty, crime, drugs, Aids and lack of parental support.”

It’sbeenfiveyearssinceProfKarendraandhis team, comprising faculty members from Elizabethtown College, the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Unisa, established the project.

With music they touch the hearts of learners

To date, hundreds of learners around South Africahavebenefitedfromit.

The team’s achievements include setting up a concert band programme of approximately 47 students at Northbury Park Secondary, as well as a similar programme at the East-wood Secondary School in Pietermaritzburg.

Together with staff and students of the School of Music, Prof Karendra recently started another project at Die Wilge High School in Potchefstroom. This time, they have established a wind ensemble of ap-proximately 50 learners at the school.

“Through this project we are hoping to empower the learners and to improve their sense of happiness in life. These learners are then encouraged to give back to their own community and therefore contribute to posi-tive change,” says Prof Karendra.

He and his team also conduct intensive re-search to determine the impact the project has on the learners. The goal of the research is to assess the impact of the music inter-vention and to determine ways to improve the project over time. Several studies have been conducted so far and some have been

published in internationally peer-reviewed journals.

AngloGold Ashanti and the Rupert Music Foundationhaveprovidedfinancialas-sistance for the 2012 Outreach Project. However, acquiring the necessary funding, instruments, books, supplies and equipment is an ongoing challenge and Prof Karendra hopes to solve this problem by appealing to larger companies and organisations to sup-port his project.

“I believe music has the ability to change a society,” he says. “We just need to give these students a chance.”

For more information or to donate to the South African Outreach Project, please contact Prof Karendra Devroop at 076 109 9059 or [email protected].

Music maven: Prof Karendra Devroop is a formidable and talented musician. He is a jazz saxophonist and jazz pianist with several recordings and a CD to his credit and he is also the founder of the Karén Devroop Jazz Quartet.

Learners empowered: Learners from Die Wilge High School in Potchefstroom actively partici-pating in Prof Karendra Devroop’s wind ensemble.


The Potchefstroom Campus recently conferred three honorary doctorates and the Chancellor’s Medal on deserv-

ing academics for their contributions over theyearstothefieldsofbiokinetics,Bibletranslation, international law and art music.

These awards were made during the Spring graduation ceremony on the campus.

The recipients of the honorary doctorates were Prof Gert Strydom (health sciences), Prof Jaap Helberg (theology) and Prof Willem van Genugten (law).

Prof Stefans Grové (art music) received the Chancellor’s Medal for his work as composer and innovator in South African art music.

The “father” of biokineticsIn academic circles Prof Gert Strydom is known as the “father” of biokinetics. He was involved in academics at the NWU for 30 years and was responsible for the devel-opment of biokinetics as an independent health discipline.

Through his efforts, biokinetics was also rec-ognised as a separate health discipline at the former SA Medical and Dental Council, and the Biokinetics Association of South Africa was established.

He also conducted pioneering research in the South African Defence Force on the rehabili-tation of injured war veterans in the 1980s.

Translating the BibleProf Jaap Helberg was recognised for his involvement in Bible translation and the completion of the New Translation in Afri-kaans of 1983/1992.

He also made major contributions to studies of the Old Testament and to the establish-ment of international contacts at a time of political and religious isolation.

From 1961 to 1991 he held positions such as rector of the Theological School and dean of the Faculty of Theology at the former Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education.

Prestigious man of the lawProf Willem van Genugten of the Nether-lands received recognition for the leading role he plays in a number of academic and professional bodies, his contribution toresearchandpublicationinthefieldofinternationallawandhisselflesspromo-tion of postgraduate students from South Africa.

Prof Willem is a professor of international law at the University of Tilburg, visiting professor at the University of Minnesota, and extraordi-nary professor at the NWU since 2008.

He has lectured worldwide at different uni-versities and has addressed representatives

from the United Nations in New York, Chile, Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Nigeria, Belgium, Switzerland and Hongkong.

Never too old for musicProf Stefans Grové, recipient of the Chancel-lor’s Medal, celebrates his 90th birthday this year and is still one of South Africa’s most prominent composers of art music.

He was honoured for his special contribu-tion as composer and as one of the innova-tors of South African art music. He was also recognised for his contribution towards establishing an African dialect in Western music and for promoting the African Renais-sance at an aesthetic level.

Experts receive honorary doctorates

The 90-year-old Prof Stefans Grové received the Chancellor’s Medal for his lifelong contri-bution to art music.

Prof Jaap Helberg was honoured for his involvement in Bible translation.

Prof Gert Strydom’s name is synonymous with biokinetics and his contribution to this discipline earned him an honorary doctorate.

Prof Willem van Genugten from the Nether-lands is recognised worldwide for his contri-bution to international law.


Stop playing and go and learn! This was the refrain of the parents of many alumni. Great would be the surprise of these concerned

parents if they were able to see the serious light in which games are viewed today, and how, in this era of modern technology, games

are sometimes used to assist with training. The NWU & U spoke to Prof Herman van der Merwe, dean of the Faculty of

Economic Sciences and Information Technology on the Vaal Triangle Campus, to find out what these

present-day “Serious Games” involve.

Mr Werner Ravyse (in front, left) is the coordinator of the Serious Games Institute. With him is Prof Herman van der Merwe, the dean of the Faculty of Economic Sci-ences and Information Technology.


Learning is a serious game

“SeriousGames”aredefinitelynotchild’s play – they are digital computer or cellphone games that

are used worldwide to train and entertain, among other things.

Since November 2011 the NWU’s Vaal Trian-gleCampushashousedSouthAfrica’sfirstinstitute for such games, known as the Seri-ous Games Institute – South Africa (SGI-SA).

The institute is involved in pioneering work inthefieldofSeriousGamesinSouthAfrica,particularly with respect to mobile apps and games programming for commercial purposes.

TheinstituteisaffiliatedwiththeInterna-tional Serious Games Institute at Coventry University in the United Kingdom. This institute was established in 2007.

“This cooperation gives us access to Coven-try University’s pool of skills and expertise,” says Prof Herman.

Academia and industry benefitThe NWU institute’s objective is twofold: one part is aimed at the academic world, and the other at industry.

As far as the academic side is concerned, the design of basic elements of Serious Games forms part of the projects of third-year BSc IT students.

From next year, two Serious Games mod-ules will be included in the expanded BSc IT curriculum, while a Serious Games project will form part of the honours level of this qualification.

A master’s degree in Serious Games is also in the pipeline for the near future, and as far asweknowitwillbethefirstinAfrica.

As far as the commercialisation of Serious Games is concerned, the institute supplies games or elements of games to organisa-tions, thus generating additional income for the university.

They also try to introduce industry to the manybenefitsofSeriousGames.Thesegames offer training possibilities to organi-sations in the private and public sector and in this way also contribute indirectly to the economic development of the country.

The institute is already involved in numer-ous projects, including “mind games” and

gamesforfinancialmanagement,riskman-agement and safety training.

These include the following:

• A life skills game played on MXiT, with soccer as the theme

• A game known as TASK (Teen/Adult Survival Kit), also for MXiT

• That’s Life, a board game for tablets • Royalopoly, a game about team work in

businesses, for tablets, PCs and cell-phones

• A safety game for risk management in factories, among other work settings, for tablets, PCs and cellphones.

These projects also create opportunities for research, which in turn contributes to the promotion of Serious Games in South Africa.

This is how it worksSerious Games create the same feeling of “playing” as ordinary computer games, and often also offer the participant the opportu-nitytoprogresstomoredifficultlevelsand/or to win eventually.

However, in contrast to ordinary computer games, the primary aim of Serious Games is not to entertain (although they can be en-tertaining too), but to pose challenges that the users have to overcome.

“Without realising that they are learning, they start to acquire the concepts or abstract ideas and use them within the context of the game,” says Prof Herman.

Real-life situations or processes are simu-lated on the computer or cellphone screen so that people can learn new skills (such as piloting an airplane) or renew existing skills (for example, military personnel who im-prove their strategic skills through simulated war situations).

Serious Games can also be used to transfer people skills. Situations or conditions in the workplace can, for example, be simulated on the screen so that the participant can learn certain effective behaviour or management techniques.

Games create geniusesAt a conference in Finland in October this year, Prof Herman learnt how Angry Birds, one of the most successful cellphone games, teaches children about planets or body cells without their realising it.

“In one instance a little girl of six explained in detail to conference attendees what a lymphocyte (a type of white blood cell) and a macrophage (a type of cell found in con-nective tissue) were. And this just because she had played one of the Angry Bird games,” says Prof Herman.

The institute arranged a “Winter GAME-shop” for students, lecturers and rep-resentatives from the corporate sector, among others, from 27 June to 3 July this year.

The presenters of the workshop showed them how the tangle of complicated codes can be interpreted into under-standable games programming. They also emphasised the commercial and training potential of Serious Games in South Africa. At the end of September, the institute presented a 24-hour games marathon where learners, students and people from as far as Johannesburg and Pretoria participated in this so-called “LAN party”.

Institute holds games marathon

The institute uses Blender, a software program, to develop their games. Here they are creating an avatar.


Do you remember Brylcreem, combs and chewing gum??

“Tell us more,” the four fellow T-Birds urge the stud Danny Zuko (John Travolta) in the movie Grease in the scene where they

mock the football players from Rydell High’s bleachers. “We want to know what happened on the beach.”

Then the action shifts to Sandy Dumbrowski (Olivia Newton-John) where she has

lunch with the Pink Ladies outside Rydell High’s cafeteria.

“What did you do this summer?” Frenchie asks.

“I spent most of the time at the beach,” she says. “I met a boy there ... he was sort of special …

he was very romantic.” Then before you know it, Zuko starts singing: “Summer loving, had me a blast”,

and Sandy starts with “Summer loving, happened so fast”.


• Thank you so much for an unbeliev-able experience! To each and every person who was part of this, I appre-ciate you all – I will never forget this show! – Nadia Reyneke

• Grease was absolutely wonderful! The vocals, choreography, music, the crew … everything absolutely perfect and of exceptional quality! Congratu-lations! It was a privilege as a former Puk to be able to see this show. You can definitely be proud of yourselves with an excellent professional pro-duction! – Danie Pretorius

• Great show, and even cooler, Puk fm’s selection of one of the Grease songs after the show. Legend! Best univer-sity ever! – Mbali Thanjekwayo

• My honourables, what a privilege it was for me and the honourable Minis-ter of Camouflage, Special Agent J.A.N., to have found our way from

This is only one of the iconic scenes from Grease - the 1978 hit movie - that was

brought to vivid life in the Grease production presented from 29 August to 1 September at the Sanlam Auditorium on the Potchefstroom Campus of the NWU.

Grease isthestoryof10seniorsintheirfinalyear of high school in 1958, with all the joys and sorrows, metamorphoses and motor races in aqueducts.

For those familiar with the staff of the NWU, thecastwasdefinitelystar-studded.

The former rector of the Potchefstroom Campus, Prof Annette Combrink, portrayed the strict headmistress of Rydell, Miss Lynch; the School of Communication Studies’ own clown, Mr GP van Rheede van Oudtshoorn, was responsible for the character Vince Fontaine, and Ms Tammy Aslett, the house mother of the Veritas men’s hostel, was swept off her feet as Sandy, the female lead role.

The production, directed by Ms Nacia Kruger, was presented by NWU-Puk Arts and the Institute for Arts Management and Develop-ment (Artéma).

According to Mr Chris de Bruyn, manager of Artéma, the production was a huge success. “We had four shows with tickets sales of more than 91% for each performance. We received a standing ovation every night – quite clearly this was one of our most popular shows to date!”

our incubators this past Saturday night to the wonderful musical, Grease, that you staged at the Sanlam Auditorium.

This immediately took us back to our days in the Alabama Boer-orchestra – where the President played the bass and J.A.N. the “fool”! A hearty word of con-gratulations on this great production!

And then finally my speckled ones, a special word of congratulations to my lifelong friend, the former head civil servant, head drum majorette, your mother, our mother , Annette Com-brink … “quiet brothers (and sisters), there goes a woman, look after her, there are only a few like her …” Pukke, give me a P … Thank you, – The President of the Republic of Tarentaal

Go to the GREASE! NWU PUKKE Facebook page to see more comments and photo-graphs of this great event.

Grease is the word!The NWU production of the musical Grease was a huge success. This is what some of the people who attended the shows had to say:


The Soccer Institute on the Mafikeng Campus is a sterling example of how the NWU enables ordinary people to become extraordinary. The NWU & U takes a look at the

achievements and contributions of the institute since its launch in April 2007.

As a double winner of the Univer-sity Sports South Africa (USSA) soccer title, the Soccer Institute has proved its value as a place

where new stars are born and existing stars shine even brighter.

Since it was established in 2007, the insti-tute has produced various players for profes-sional league teams, delivered well-rounded graduates in Sport Sciences and other related degrees, and coached managers and young players from the community.

Teaming up to winThe institute won the USSA championship forthefirsttimein2009,playinginthefinalagainst a team from Venda who won the previous year’s championship.

The following year, 2010, the team once again rose to the occasion when they suc-cessfully defended their USSA title, becom-ingthefirstteamtowinthistournamentconsecutively.

“Thisyear,bothourteamsqualifiedfortheUSSA championship that will take place in CapeTownduringthefirstweekofDecem-ber,” says Mr Richard Bokveldt, the manager

of the Soccer Institute. “Our objective is to setanotherrecordbybeingthefirstuniver-sity to win the trophy three times.”

Joining the big leagueTo top it all, six players have been signed by well-known soccer teams during the pastfiveyears–fourinthePremierSoccerLeague(PSL)andtwointhefirstdivisionleague.

In 2010, Andile Khumalo made history by becomingthefirstplayertoberecruitedby a PSL team directly from the institute. Andile,thena20-yearoldmidfielder,signeda three-year contract with the Durban-based Amazulu Football Club (FC).

In 2011, the institute did it again, this time with the signing of goalkeeper Boalefa Marvin Pule by the PSL team SuperSport United. This year, Thabo Rakhale – an attack-ingmidfielder–becamethethirdSoccerIn-stitute player to join the PSL when he signed a three-year contract with Orlando Pirates.

Another former Soccer Institute player recruited in 2012 by a professional team is Luvolwethu Mpeta. This winger joined the Platinum Stars. The two players recruited by

teamsinthefirstdivisionleaguearePhaladiMofokeng, who was signed by the football club FCAK, and Xolani Qunta, who joined Blackburn Rovers FC.

Scoring goals in the classroom However, not all players will be recruited by professional teams, and those who are recruited can’t play professional soccer indefinitely.Thisiswhytheirsoccerabilityneeds to be matched by academic ability.

To achieve this, soccer players at the institute can enroll for a three-year diploma in Sports Science. So far, more than 30 players from the institute have completed this course. 24 students are currently enrolled for the programme which is offered in tandem with other recognised academic courses at the university.

The diploma opens doors to sport coach-ing, management or administration. “To my knowledge, our institute is the only one that has managed to deliver a considerable number of football players who have not only been thoroughly trained by professional coaches, but also have a formal education,” says Richard.

The knowledge gameSports Sciences also provides many research possibilities. Some of the research topics be-ing explored include performance enhance-ment, soccer injuries and training regimen analysis.

In 2010, the Free University of Amsterdam, in collaboration with the National Research Foundation, launched three research pro-jects at the Soccer Institute. These projects were aimed at developing a new method to analyse soccer matches and help coaches and teams perform better.

Passing on the ball Skills transfer and the implementation of soccer-related expertise are not limited to

Scoring goals for soccer in South Africa


seas club in Switzerland and spent seven seasons playing for FC Zurich.

Mthakathi, as he is affectionately known, hasqualificationsinSportsScienceandteaching.

He was head coach at the Vaal University of Technology and the University of Johan-nesburg, as well as the coach instructor for SAFA’s coaching education programme.

Lifelong experienceAnother soccer guru sharing his vast knowl-edge with the Soccer Institute is Ted, the current Technical Director of Mamelodi Sundowns in the Premier Soccer League and a former coach of the South African national team.

The 72-year-old expert’s vast experience includes coaching positions in Romania,

the world of academia and research; they are also part of community development.

Right from the start, one of the goals of the Soccer Institute was to use soccer as a cata-lyst for growth and development. The insti-tute plays an important role in grassroots soccer development around the country and especially in the North West Province.

As part of its social responsibility emphasis, the institute has put 150 school teachers through a programme focusing on coach-ing, refereeing, managing soccer teams and running a soccer league. Another example of their involvement in the community is a soccer coach workshop the institute pre-sented in conjunction with the South African Football Association (SAFA) in the North West Province in August this year.

Some 60 soccer coaches attended the workshop, which was facilitated by Mr Ted Dumitru, who recently joined the institute as a technical consultant.

“Players from our institute also help to coach residence teams competing in the univer-sity’s internal league,” says Richard. “Others are referees for league games, which gives them the chance to apply the knowledge they acquire in the classroom.”

Some of South Africa’s most skillful soccer experts are on the staff of the Soccer Institute. Just look at the

credentials of the coach, Mr Augustine ”Mthakathi” Makalakalane, technical con-sultant and advisor Mr Ted Dumitru, and manager Richard Bokveldt.

Bafana and BanyanaAugustine, who has coached the team since 2011, is a former Bafana Bafana play-er and head coach of the Senior Women’s National team, Banyana Banyana.

He made his debut against Cameroon in July 1992 and subsequently gained 14 more caps for Bafana Bafana. He was also part of the triumphant team that won the African Cup of Nations in 1996.

Inaddition,hewasoneofthefirstplay-ers in the country to play for an over-

Turkey, the USA, Zambia and several South-ern African countries.

At the helmRichard, the manager of the institute, was appointed in March 2012. In that time, he has established a campus residence league with more than 26 teams.

Before joining the institute, Richard was the manager of soccer development on the NWU’s Potchefstroom Campus, whose resi-dence league had approximately 56 teams. Under his guidance, some young players went on to play in PSL and South African national teams, and took part in interna-tional tournaments in Spain and Brazil.

“I am highly impressed with the perfor-mance of the Soccer Institute since its launch in 2007 and am proud to be associ-ated with it,” says Richard.

Institutebenefitsfromsoccergurus’experience


It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here It all starts here

It all starts

here

Discover the road André P Brink travelled · 2012. 11. 27. · again publish letters that alumni...

Documents

Transcript of Discover the road André P Brink travelled · 2012. 11. 27. · again publish letters that alumni...