‘Smart’ to describe a city
THE Stellenbosch Wine and Country Estate has a plan to give innovation a new meaning by introducing an innovation hub. This new hub will cover land that they donated to Stellenbosch University (SU), which makes up 30 of the 253 hectares of land on which the Stellenbosch Smart City will be developed. The donated land is located 17 km away from Stellenbosch Central, in Klapmuts. With the innovation hub residing near the university,
students at SU will not have to travel far for the use of its facilities. There is said to be an agreement between SU and the Stellenbosch Wine and Country Estate, granting SU the capacity to use the donated land for enhancing tertiary education. This may include new sports, recreational, arts and culture, and any other tertiary instruction supporting facilities and infrastructure. Anita Nel, Chief Director: of Innovation and Business Development at SU, and CEO of Innovus, has stated that the establishment of the innovation hub will aim to provide alternative space for expanding theUniversity’s LaunchLab business incubator.Innovus at SU promotes entrepreneurship, job creation, and product development. LaunchLab, an Innovus initiative, offers opportunities and guidance for prospective entrepreneurs from well-equipped personnel in the business world. The future establishment of the innovation hub looks
to advance these platforms, as well as SU commercialisation.
– Lolita de Abreu
US vier die interessante
DIE afgelope week het die Universiteit Stellenbosch (US) meer as 3000 grade en diplomas aan welverdiende studente oorhan-
dig. Agter elke graad is daar ’n storie en talle studente is deur diep waters om hul graad te verwerf.
Eric Atmore, ’n 62-jarige PhD-student, het homself nooit as akademies bestempel nie, maar tog het hy sy doktorsgraad verwerf. Die graad is vir hom ’n vorm van selfvervulling. Atmore is die direkteur van die Centre for Early Childhood Development (ECD), ’n nie-winsgewende organisasie.
Sy tesis is die eerste van dié tipe en het gehandel oor die ECD-beleid in Suid-Afrika. Jessica Fouche het na verskeie uitdagings haar graad in BCom (Bedryfsielkunde) ontvang. Tydens haar studies is Fouche gediagnoseer met ’n rare leerprobleem en sy het gesukkel met angstigheid. In die vyf jaar
wat sy by die US studeer het, het sy twee gewapende rooftogte oorleef. Fouche het in haar derde jaar van kursus verskuif. Boonop het sy in haar finale jaar geboorte gegee en na haar kind omgesien.
Terselfdertyd was sy voorsitter van die Industrial Psychology Society (IPS) en het op die Ekonomiese en Bestuurswetenskappe Studentekomitee gedien. Xander Kritzinger het sy MA (BMus) behaal.
Kritzinger se navorsing het gehandel oor hoe puberteit seuns se sang beïnvloed. Dié unieke onderwerp lê Kritzinger na aan die hart, aangesien hy self tydens puberteit probleme ervaar het met sy sang terwyl hy betrokke was by die bekende Drakensberg Seunskoor.
Kritzinger beplan om volgende jaar sy studies voort te sit met ’n PhD in musiek by die US. Kwame Donkor is afkomstig van Ghana en het vanjaar sy MA (BEng) cum laude verwerf. Op skool was Donkor ’n gemiddelde student totdat sy pa hom gedwing het om na skool drie uur per dag voor die boeke
deur te bring.
Hendri Herbst, die blinde Paralimpiese swemkampioen, het sy MA (Regte) ontvang. Hy is tans besig met sy doktorsgraad aan die Regsfakulteit.
– Dominique Fuchs
No-show not April Fools joke
THE first event planned for the Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW), which was supposed to take place on the Rooiplein from 1-5 April, was cancelled with no reason given and no communication about the cancellation. Because this information session, which was intended to kick off the week’s activities, was scheduled to take place on 1 April, students arriving at the Rooiplein thought that an April Fool’s prank was being played on them.
The Stellenbosch University (SU) Palestinian Solidarity Forum(SU PSF), a newly formed society, held various events on campus from Monday 1 April until Friday 5 April to raise awareness about the international IAW. Simoné Smit, Events Co-ordinator of the SU PSF, shed some light on the situation.
According to Smit, she received a “detailed explanation” from the SRC regarding how to reserve the Rooiplein for an event. Despite following the procedure, she was informed by Nicky Adams, SU Commercial Rentals and Promotions Officer, on the day of the event that the SU PSF “did not follow necessary protocol.”
Martin Viljoen, SU spokesperson, said that the Promotions Office tried their best to still process the application to use the Rooiplein despite it being “very short notice.” “The organisation then decided to withdraw their application to use the Rooiplein,” Viljoen said.
– Amber Paynter
