Page 3 - Thetha Issue 7

VC’S MESSAGE: GLOBAL FOOTPRINT
500+

Research publications are produced
at Mandela University annually

Across the Oceans

It is summer in South Africa, and as I look out from my office over the
Indian Ocean, I think about our alumni across the oceans, stretching
from right here in Gqeberha, South Africa, across every part of the
world. I have had the wonderful opportunity to meet with many of
you in person over the past year – from Uganda and Kenya to the
United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.

e are an exciting, rapidly expanding Mandela family, dating back decades,
and it deeply moves me how interested you all are in how our University
is progressing and what new developments have been made. It is also
Wfascinating to hear about your lives and memories from your student days.
The times we are living in emphasise more than ever before that we share one
precious planet, and I am constantly reminded of this as I look to the north of the
Summerstrand Campus and see the magnificent new Digital Dome on the Ocean
Sciences Campus. We will soon be exploring the heavens, looking deep into our
Milky Way galaxy and other galaxies beyond. We will be looking back to
Earth, the delicate pale blue dot that is our planet, as it was photographed
in 1990 by the Voyager 1 space probe from approximately 6 billion
kilometres away.
It makes so much sense that sustainability and sustainable futures
across every discipline is Mandela University’s cornerstone, guided by the
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African
Union Agenda 2063.
Sustainability Science is a priority area for us and we are working on
an Institute for Sustainable Futures. This includes exciting work in the
green economy, such as research being done through our Department
of Chemistry in a multi-institutional, transdisciplinary German-South
African research partnership called Green QUEST. The aim is to green the
production of of fossil fuel LPG gas in southern Africa, which is widely used
for cooking and heating.
To advance every aspect of sustainability, we are collaborating with an
increasing number of universities and organisations worldwide. Our digitalisation
journey is part of this, connecting us and offering increasing opportunities for
partnerships and networks that can be managed through the virtual domain.
Seeing each other face-to-face can never be replaced, but digitalisation is of
immense value, especially to countries in the developing world that lack financial
resources for extensive physical exchanges. In this regard we are also looking at adding
to the Mandela offering by establishing a Virtual Academy beyond our brick and mortar
campuses. Our focus is on human-centred digital innovation, to prepare Nelson Mandela
University students, graduates and staff for the future world of work.
In conclusion, I want to thank all of you for contributing to the growth of our
University’s stature and reputation, and for contributing to positive change in our world.
We are proud to call you alumni and we are making sure that you are proud to tell the
world that you graduated from the only university in the world to be named after the
inimitable Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sibongile Muthwa

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