Guest bloggers

Next week (October 13 to 17) the life@nmmu blog will feature a number of guest bloggers to give you other insights into life at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

The new bloggers are all NMMU staff members or have close ties with the university and will give you – the reader – a better idea of what makes our new generation university tick. I know you’ll be educated, entertained and encouraged.

Yours truly is off to Spain for a communication workshop until 21 October.

Law Faculty’s Town and Gown gala dinner

Mr Z Ngqeza of the Black Lawyers Association, the Deputy Minister of Justice and Correctional Services John Jeffery MP and Executive Dean of Law of NMMU,  Prof Vivienne Lawack, the driving force behind the faculty's first social Town and Gown initiative 

It’s an antiquated term – “town and gown”, but it’s one that perfectly captures Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s Law Faculty great new social initiative.

The coming together of law academics and legal practitioners at a Town and Gown gala dinner is a wonderful idea for so many reasons.

(As an aside, “town and gown”, which dates back to the Middle Ages, identifies two distinct communities within a university town or city – “town” being the non-academic population and “gown” being the academics from the university.)

Last night’s initiative by our go-getting Dean of Law Prof Vivienne Lawack was to bring these two communities together in a less formal environment for the benefit of all involved.

It’s a first for the Law Faculty.

But, from the response, it certainly isn’t going to be the last.

And it may even set a trend for other faculties to follow. Yes, it was that successful.

It was successful because it:

• Met a need
• Brought like-minded, committed individuals together in a relaxed environment
• Had an ideal guest speaker (Deputy Minister of Justice John Jeffery)
• Was well organised
• Was professional and sophisticated
• Was focused on specific objectives
• Was sponsored, thereby removing the usual financial headache
• Is a pro-active initiative to make things better

Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Prof Denise Zinn opened the evening at the Radisson Blu Hotel and set a warm and engaging tone for the evening. She highlighted the university’s values and objectives of the event to “serve, build and regenerate the value of the legal sector” and kick-start “a long collegial engagement” between town and gown.

Paul Geswindt, Quinton Johnson, Wilmon Steyn
 from sponsors Nedbank and Shuaib Rahim attended the function

Guests were strategically placed at tables to ensure that the law academics, law students, sponsor representatives from Nedbank and practicing members of the legal profession mingled, all for each other’s benefit.

After all, reminded Prof Lawack, there’s no such thing as a “free supper”.

After thanking legal practitioners and others who are already supporting NMMU’s Law Faculty in various ventures, she urged the rest to get involved in ensuring the future success of the profession.

Her words echoed those of the minister who, as the keynote speaker, gave his legal eagle audience an overview of recent legal changes and some sobering statistics on the present status of the profession.

These included:

• The majority of law graduates are African women
• Of the 22 476 practicing attorneys in South Africa today, 14 385 are male (the majority of whom are white) and 8 102 females
• Grave concerns about the quality of law graduates by the present profession
• The high dropout rate of law students (only 25% of all students complete their degree in the minimum time, despite various interventions to change this over the past decade)
• That changing the LLB to a five-year programme from the present four-year qualification needs to be seriously debated
• That the legal profession should never be “just another business” but a calling, a vocation.

While there are many negatives, initiatives like the “Town and Gown” gala dinner will go a long way to adding value to our legal fraternity and the future of the profession.

So kudos all round!

The organising committee (from left) Leander Kruger, Anneli van Heerden, Andrea Buchanan, Marc Welgemoed, Adv Shuaib Rahim and David Abrahams

Joining the Deputy Minster of Justice John Jeffery and Executive Dean of Law Prof Vivienne Lawack were Hlomela Bucwa, NMMU's new SRC president and a third-year law student and Nathi Dwayi, Black Lawyer's Association SC Chairperson and the Law Faculty Rep for 2015 

Soapbox … let them vent

Once upon a time (and still today in Hyde Park, London) people would stand in the middle of the village square and have their say amid those willing to listen.

It’s this concept of “having your say” that Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University has adapted to the needs of the 21st century, but with one small change.

NMMU’s SOAPBOX is anonymous.

Whereas yesteryear when you literally stood on a box to be seen by anyone who might be interested and possibly face their abuse too, NMMU’s version allows you to have your say without anyone ever knowing who you are!

Yes, it’s a safe, anonymous online platform for sharing by our staff and students.

You can say what you need to say without fear of prejudice.

Today, far too few people are prepared to publicly blurt out what angers or ails them, and so all their angst, irritations and hurts get swopped in the hushed gossip in office corridors, rarely reaching those who might be able to amend the negatives.

And so enter SOAPBOX, an electronic system that forwards the moans, groans, ideas and praises of staff and students to those who need to hear to them without the individual’s name ever being known. Not even the administrator of our SOAPBOX knows who the sender is.

SOAPBOX is an internal tool that gives people the opportunity to offload, and while we occasional receive a note of praise or suggestion for improving something on our six campuses or for our 27 000 students, the bulk of the contributions are complaints.

Here’s an insight to some of the latest offerings on SOAPBOX (because it’s on view for all to see – just like the individual in the village square of yesteryear).

anon | 07/10/2014 07:31:33
re "What's wrong with the Mr and Ms NMMU 2014/15 communique photo??"

Seriously?! Very "representative" group of students!!
REPLY:
I'm afraid the finalists can only be chosen from among those who enter.

EditDeleteRejectReport abuse


NO TOILET PAPER IN THE LIBRARY.
There was no toilet paper in the gents toilet in the basement in the library. Does the university expect students to use their hands?? This is really bad. Please fix it. We as students expect nothing but superior service our counter parts are receiving

REPLY:
Not sure what you mean. It looks fine to us?

EditDeleteRejectReport abuse


anon | 06/10/2014 11:34:49
Just want to say thanks for replying on the marine drive being closed for entrance in the evenings. Will the gate be available for access in afternoon after the upgrades?

EditDeleteRejectReport abuse


anon | 03/10/2014 09:14:55
Our "new democracy" is perpetuating a "culture" of misplaced self-importance!


We don’t mind that most of the feedback is complaints - about toilets, potholes, lack of packing, slack lecturers, lack of transformation, rude treatment etc – because we have the know-how and ability to channel them to the relevant parties to try to make good.

After all, if someone does not alert you to an issue, how are you supposed to fix it?

Isn't it better to take those moans, groans and rumblings to those responsible and aim for constructive improvement than to see them constantly circulate at the water foundation, tea table or office corridors without possibility of resolution?

And besides, it is also important to give people a place to offload … it makes us feel better just to share something with someone who is listening.

So yes, let’s vent … (but let’s also fix those complaints).

NMMU TV ad a success

A shot from the NMMU TV advert

It’s official. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s national brand building campaign has been a success.

The campaign launched in April to create awareness of the University on a national level included a television commercial – the first by our nine-year-old institution. View here http://ow.ly/Cq3zr

A great deal of money, time, thought and effort was ploughed into the production and distribution of the “Dreamers to doers” campaign for the university using television, magazine, radio, social media and airport billboard advertising to get the good name of NMMU out into the public domain. All our marketing materials were accompanied by the www.nmmu.ac.za as a means of driving listeners, viewers, airport passengers and readers to our website.

The following chart says it all …

Increased interest in the NMMU website correlates with the launch of the NMMU advert

We went from receiving a maximum of 30 000 visitors to the website daily (in December 2013 as students scurried to find place at university) through to almost 80 000 visitors soon as the TV commercial was launched early in April.

But here are so more statistics to confirm that investing in marketing is a worthwhile financial venture:

• NMMU’s internal newsletter, talk@nmmu, on the website saw its visits goes from 12 128 in October 2013 right up to 77 083 for May this year. 
• Up to 19.5m viewers were exposed to the television advert on the DSTV and SABC 1 and 2 channels
• 2m readers were exposed to the adverts in various inflight and other national magazines
• 15m listened to the dulcet tones of NMMU honorary doctorate John Kani on various national and regional radio stations
• 3.6m passengers may have seen the billboards at airports in Johannesburg, Cape Town, George and Port Elizabeth
• 955 000 impressions were received from our online placements

So while we know that our brand building campaign did create a flurry of interest as measured in the increased foot traffic to our website, the real test will come with an increase in applications from students from outside of our province (as an aside, 70% of NMMU’s 27 000 students come from the Eastern Cape, and the majority of those are from the metro).

That we will only be able to ascertain once Admission have input all the data.

What we can share at this stage, however, is that there has been a sizeable increase in the number of applications to NMMU for 2015.

Hot-off-the-desk of our marketing colleagues comes the news that there is …

• A 7.1% increase in applications as at 1 October to study at NMMU in 2015.

So yes, even at a glance, the university’s brand building campaign has been successful.

From the opening scene of the 30-second advert

Mr and Miss NMMU coming up

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University is something of a microcosm of South Africa – a mini version of our Rainbow nation (which reminds me, it’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s birthday today – he’s the man who coined the phrase of South Africa being a Rainbow nation. Happy birthday Arch!)

We have staff and students of all colours (almost 60% of our students are black, 14% are coloured, 2% are Indian and 24% are white); we have a wonderful mix of cultures, including the 8% of students who come from outside our borders; we run the university like a mini town with our own rules, clinics, sports facilities, shops and traffic officers and have a sizeable budget to ensure that everything runs effectively).

In fact, we like to brag that the diversity of our Rainbow campuses (we have six of them, five in Port Elizabeth and one in George) is one of our strengths.

Why then is the annual pageant in search of Mr and Miss NMMU not reflective of this mix?

The competition is happening with much fanfare on Saturday 11 October in our Indoor Sports Centre but is lacking in white entrants (well, that’s if the promotional poster is anything to go by).

• Is it because white students perceive the contest to be for black and coloured students only?
• Is it because white students do not take such contests seriously?
• Is it because it is poorly marketed?
• Is it because of the timing of the competition, less than a month before final examinations? 

I don’t know the answer but am sad that this aspect of university life does not adequately reflect the real picture of the mix of our students.

Even the rugby – once the traditional domain for white students – has attracted large numbers of students from other race groups.

But there again, the support for soccer at NMMU is mainly by black students.

I suppose this is all part of our transforming university. Change is rarely embraced overnight but given the right marketing, the right institutional culture and the right leadership, we’ll soon be able to celebrate the transformation of “Rainbowness” to all areas of university life.

We’ve much to celebrate already …

And let’s not take anything away from the time, effort and talent in this year’s Mr and Miss NMMU contest. You might want to check it all out in the pre-judging video http://ow.ly/CmEEc

All the best for a great show on Saturday hosted by actress and TV presenter Boitumelo Thulo. Tickets at R30 include entry to the after-party.

One of Saturday night's hopefuls. 

Mr and Miss NMMU 2013 Lunathi Bongco and Pache Oranje

Hangout4ubuntu ... thanks Team NMMU!

Hangout4ubuntu was a great team effort

650 metres of clothing, hundreds of contributors, 60 bags for charity, 30 "peggers", seven thrilled recipients and one great value in action – Ubuntu.

That, in short, is the sum total of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s clothing charity drive, Hangout4ubuntu, during which clothing was pegged along the fencing from North to South campuses in a visible show of what happens when people come together to support a worthy venture. Watch a four-minute video to get a better idea...:


It’s called teamwork.

It’s also called Ubuntu.

The project was hugely successful for so many reasons:

• It benefitted seven charities with clothing

• It highlighted what happens when you work together for a cause

• It showcased NMMU’s value of Ubuntu to about 12 000 motorists who visit North and South campuses

• It had great teambuilding benefits (within departments, across departments and between staff and students)

• It’s ability to spread good cheer

All round, Hangout4ubuntu is a winner – and likely to become an annual project for NMMU.

Personally, it was the team aspect that won the day, the coming together of so many individuals to benefit others.

It started with Carmen, a mature BPsych student, who arrived at my office with four black bags of shoes and clothing prior to the actual event. She’d had a clean out and wanted to contribute.

The same sentiment – that of wanting to contribute to something bigger – pervaded NMMU’s airwaves too, as the newly-launched Madibaz Radio mobilized students to spring clean their wardrobes and donate clothing to the initiative.

The team from Madibaz Radio walked their talk delivering a car-full of goodies and “peggers”, as did all NMMU’s student residences, whose contributions filled the back of a bakkie (the transport was provided by NMMU’s Technical Services for free that day).

Then there were the student societies like Golden Key, galvanized into action by NMMU’s Student Governance team, and all the individuals, like Carmen, who took heed of the call to action and donated clothing. Miss NMMU was there too!

It was a joint outpouring of kindness that will benefit the following seven charities:

• Oosterland Child and Youth Care Centre

• Algoa Frail Care Centre

• Cheshire Homes Cleary Park

• Enkuselweni Secure Youth Centre

• Angel Network

• Healing Hands

• Love Story

Originally, there had been five charities, but in a further expression of Ubuntu, we invited Queen V, of Veritas residence, to join the party instead of flying solo in her mission as a PR student to support the charity Healing Hands. Similarly, as the team sorted the clothing contributions, they opted to add Love Story to the mix because of the large number of baby clothing items donated.

So to those who donated, those who pegged, those who rallied others to spring clean, those who collected, those who hooted in support, those who committed to getting involved next time, those who put up posters, those who got involved … we say THANK YOU!

Thank you TEAM NMMU!

Thank you for living out the value of Ubuntu.

Madibaz Radio staff get pegging

Miss NMMU Pache Oranje

MCR's Nicky Willemse (centre) with Maggie and Iqbal of Healing Hands

NMMU's Marketing and Corporate Relations team hand over clothing to Oosterland

Enuf is enuf

“I was raped, but I didn’t even know I’d been raped because it was my boyfriend …”

The words of Zethu chilled me to the bone. Here was an educated young women sharing a personal experience and in doing so, inadvertently captured the horrifying extent of violence-as-the-norm in South Africa.

Raised in a rural environment, Zethu is one of thousands of women for whom violence was part and parcel of everyday life but who is a now champion for the newly-launched Kwanele Enuf campaign against gender-based violence.

This national campaign was launched at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University yesterday by a woman who is dedicating her life to the cause of ending gender-based violence in South Africa.

Both Zethu, a third-year education student, and Andy Kawa, the Johannesburg businesswomen behind the national initiative, are just two of the one in three women who are raped in South Africa.

The hard, cold statistics of the extent of violence in our country is one thing, but the reality of the impact that it has on the everyday lives of individuals is entirely another …

Its stuff that chills us to the bone, and hopefully serves as the shove we need to “be the change we wish to see in the world”, to quote Ghandi.

Yesterday’s launch was the shove I needed to be a voice for the voiceless – for those women who are too terrified, too dependent, too trapped in a violence-as-the-norm scenario – to speak out.

The near-death experience of Andy Kawa, 52, who was raped from 15 hours at Kings Beach on 9 December 2009, was what drove her to commit herself to making a difference.

“I made a pact with God that should I survive I would dedicate my life to ending violence in South Africa,” Andy told dozens of NMMU staff and students who turned out in support of the campaign’s launch in the South Campus Auditorium.

“Our vision is change South Africa from the rape capital of the world to the safest country in the world,” she shared.

It’s a vision, she believes, that can be fulfilled, but only if we all get involved adopting an attitude of zero-tolerance towards violence.

“Ending Apartheid seemed impossible but justice prevailed.”

The campaign starts with you. It starts with accepting and recognising the depth and depravity of the violence …

“I didn’t even know I’d been raped because it was my boyfriend …”

Add your voice of support by visiting the Kwanele Enuf website: http://www.kwanele-enuf.co.za/

Come on NMMU, let’s lead the way!