Y oh Y

New signage going up at different stages on the top of the tower block

Why oh why, I ask? The question I pose right now has nothing to do with the topical issue of toppling statues - quite the contrary, I think.

I'm asking a question with respect to new structures and in particular Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University's tower block. Oh, the 18-story edifice is not new. It was built in the early 1970s for one of our predecessor institutions, the University of Port Elizabeth.

The new structure of which I speak is the brand new signage that is presently being placed at the top of the said tower block.

I saw it going up yesterday - a wonderful splash of red in the sky caught my eye, and I thought, wow, our good name is finally up in lights. This is good. This makes me feel proud. This is fitting for our 10th anniversary year.

It’s a sentiment that’s being echoed elsewhere but especially by our students as captured via Facebook. Everyone appears to be very happy about NMMU being in the business of erecting signs, while the rest of the country is pretty intent on tearing things down.

“While other universities are destroying, we're building!” shares Siminikiwe Ncise.

Yes, we are … in fact, R1.1bn has been spent on infrastructure since 2009 at NMMU. (But that’s another story altogether).

I’m none too sure how much the signage being erected on both the North and South side of the building is costing, but it’s impressive. The logistics in getting it all in place before Graduation starts in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday are impressive too.

Here are some of them:

• The sign is 40m x 6m high
• It’s made up of 6m x 3m panels
• The sign weighs about 50kg
• Installation is via workers who are abseiling the panels into position

And if there’s too much dew, any rain or the wind happens to go above 15km/h, and then work has to stop. The noise factor is another challenge – sound travels easily through concrete density.

But challenges can be overcome ... which brings me to the Y oh Y question.

Why oh why, I ask, is the y in the word “university” in our brand new signage a capital letter, as in UniversitY!

Check the upstart Y

Yes, take a look at the signage … a big, fat, awkward Y in an otherwise beautiful sign. The instructions have been checked … there was no BIG Y in the brief. Why would anyone think a big Y was correct (especially at an institution of higher learning) while the rest of the word, bar the U, is in lower case? Why did the company continue to erect the panel? Why wasn’t someone from the installation company paying attention? Why, oh why?

So I guess NMMU isn’t so different, after all?

We’ll be in the removal business ourselves soon enough because that badly-behaved Y will have to go. He needs to be brought down to size …

I suppose we all do from time to time.

PS. That upstart Y was brought back down to size on Saturday 11 April with no protesters or green paint in sight.  

From statues to random acts of kindness

Guest blogger Bev Erickson

Our country is really experiencing a lot of turmoil with what’s happening around the issue of statues and their colonial connections. Everyone has their own opinion on this and I’m certainly not going to go into it here, but it certainly got me thinking about things and about students in particular.

Having worked in the higher education environment for many years – I’ve been exposed to students, lots of students (I guess that’s what keeps me young!). According to our old friend the dictionary “A student is a person who is studying at a university or other place of higher education” and the origin of the word is from Latin - student- 'applying oneself to', from the verb studere, related to studium 'painstaking application'. It’s this painstaking application by our NMMU students that I’m referring to here.

We see it all the time – our students who painstakingly study hard to achieve great results and in the process, not only bring honour to themselves and their families, but to our university family too. Others painstakingly apply themselves to complete their studies and achieve great heights in their chosen sport or other extra-mural activities – and we have lots of them too who fly the fly very high.

Then there are those who are painstakingly apply themselves to helping others. There are so many examples of this taking place at NMMU every day – I think of our Human Resource Management students’ “Pay it Forward” project which they run each year, the Beyond the Classroom students who do so much good for others, the Enactus Society putting service first and now the Random Acts of Kindness group, started by first-year Computing Science students who filmed a video and have started a Facebook page as “a platform for everyone to post and share their random acts of kindness - spreading the love for one another.”

Check out why NMMU students make us proud - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruDlOPx9OzY

So these things got me thinking. Are our students different? Are they special? Do they care more than others?

My answer is YES, I think they are special. We so often see our value of ubuntu being demonstrated and lived by our students and it is so heart-warming and uplifting. Many a time I walk away from a student interaction and think that our future is bright.

So with faeces being flung at statues, riders being flung from horses, our namesake’s likeness in front of the Union Building under threat of being toppled – what I see at NMMU is upliftment, kindness and the building of a great future.

NMMU students – you make me proud!

‘Jumping off planes with parachutes’: attributes for success …

NMMU Vice-Chancellor's Scholars with Chancellor Santie Botha and Vice-Chancellor Prof Derrick Swartz (centre).

An excellent academic record just isn’t going to hack it anymore. That’s as Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) Chancellor Santie Botha* intimated in her address to the university’s chosen few – the 2015 cohort of Vice-Chancellor’s Scholars.

Today’s ever-changing world means what was good enough yesterday is no longer good enough today. Instead, today’s generation must strive far beyond top marks.

Ask the Chancellor herself.

The former South African Business Woman of the Year works in our volatile, uncertain, ever-changing world … a far cry from the one in which she grew up when a degree guaranteed you a decent job.

Now, says Ms Botha, only the fittest, creative out of the box thinkers, entrepreneurs and true innovators are successful.

“You won’t be boarding trains with tickets, you’ll be jumping out of airplanes,” Ms Botha told the 26 Vice-Chancellor’s Scholars, their parents and NMMU staff at the Awards Dinner to recognise their achievement in being selected to the R82 782-a-year bursary.

“Success is no longer about playing it safe.”

Instead, she continued at the prestigious event in the university’s Indoor Sports Centre, it’s about getting involved beyond your books, showing what you can give and by providing solutions to the likes of our ailing global economy, crime, terrorism, climate change, poverty, disease … (no pressure, guys!)

To do this, you need:

1. The ability to add true value

2. The capacity to try new things

3. An appetite for risk and

4. The acceptance of trial and error as a career strategy.

Ultimately, to succeed in a world that is going to bulge to three billion within the two decades with a massive middle class, today’s students are going to have to add real value in whatever field they find themselves in.

Are you up to it?

VC Scholars (back from left) Mylon Jonas, Ruan Olivier, (front) Carla Barnard, Anandi Botha and Sumaiya Moses

*Full transcript of Chancellor’s address at the Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship Awards Dinner

I would like to start by congratulating every one of the students here this evening on being a deserving winner. It is an honour to have students of your calibre at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University to specialise in your chosen fields. I would also like to congratulate you on your excellent choice of university. I can assure you, that wherever you might end up working in the world one day, you will never have to explain where Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University is situated or which country you are from.

Also, as you have chosen the only university in the world that carries the name of the greatest leader of all time, Mr Nelson Mandela … I would like to give you one of his famous quotes…’A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination. There are very few misfortunes in the world that you cannot turn into a personal triumph if you have the iron will and the necessary skill. It is what we make of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another’.

My request to you is that as young achievers and potential leaders in your respective fields and also of our beloved country and beyond…that you don’t only look at what Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University can give to you but also what YOU can give back to the university. What I mean when I say that is that you don’t only excel in your academic studies but that you get involved …. In community work, in sport, in research and truly make a difference to other people’s lives, your own life and ultimately, make NMMU the university where all top achievers want to be. Because this will prepare you even more for the world of work when you leave here.

Because we live in the right-brain society today. Where it is about survival of the fittest, creative out of the box thinkers, entrepreneurs, true innovators. People who question the status quo…irrespective of the kind of discipline that you are in. To always ask the critical questions and improve on the answers. Everybody has a point of view but it’s impossible for everyone to always be right …Think of the global challenges today… an anemic global economy, transnational crime and terrorism, climate change, poverty, disease … and there-in lies the challenge … how to become involved in solving those global challenges and creating a new order..

To succeed in the world to come, you won’t be boarding trains with tickets; you’ll be jumping off planes with parachutes.

We live in fast changing, enormously disruptive times. Success is no longer about playing safe, being predictable, or following schedules. That’s how it was when I was growing up.



There are too many disruptions still afoot to believe in the train metaphor anymore. Digital-mobile-social-technology platforms have already laid waste to a whole range of industries and professions. There are no predictable trains running in media, music, and communication or publishing anymore because the old rules have been overturned by the fact that a billion people now carry connected consumption devices in their pockets.

Watch the heat being turned up even more, as easily used software and mobile hardware takes away a big chunk of what professionals used to see as their bread and butter. Doctors, lawyers, accountants will no longer be able to sell simple processing or basic procedures – they will have to elevate to higher-level advisory roles, or become irrelevant.

In the next two decades, three billion people are expected to be added to the already growing middle class. That’s great for consumption - many sales to be made - but a huge strain on limited resources like food, water, oil. Technological change will have to be even more rapid for the planet to cope with all those extra wallets, mouths and fingers. New forms of energy, synthetic foods and tighter environmental regulation are not just likely – it’s a done deal.

So, you will ask me, what is “safe” in the world of work tomorrow?

The truth is, no one knows. “Safe” work does not exist anymore. In our unpredictable world today, you have to be able to do the following.

1. The ability to add true value, not just simple procedural inputs

2. The capacity to try things out that have never been done before

3. An appetite for risk and

4. The acceptance of trial and error as a career strategy. Thinking out of the box and finding your “own brand and your own way” of doing things in your chosen discipline is a no brainer.

It’s scary stuff, but if it’s any consolation, I am in exactly the same boat. But I know that at the heart of success, it is always about providing genuine, distinctive value to others. And that never changes. What does change, however, is the form and format of delivery with constant re-invention at its core. What is new today is yesterday’s news tomorrow. And that is what I want you to have at the back of your minds as you start your studies.

So in a competitive environment, where you want to win, you always have to push the boundaries. And when you make those big decisions, there is always risk involved. If there is no risk involved, then the decisions are not big enough to start off with. Remember the market today is global…and the war for the best talent is intense. You have to ensure that you become the best that you can ultimately be.

To every parent, teacher and headmaster here this evening, I would like to congratulate and thank you for your support, your love and belief in creating deserving winners and our leaders of tomorrow.

Ndiyabulela nongomso.

Lights, action … & proud to be a NMMU ambassador

Guest blogger Khanyisa Melwa

Those who have known me since my teenage years will remember my longing to become an actor (I did drama from the age of 12). However, owing to many reasons, one of which was financial constraints, I was not able to pursue this career.

But alas, this was no hindrance for me; I enrolled at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University to study towards a BA degree, which I then changed at the end of my first year to pursue a Diploma in Public Relations Management. I am currently in my third year of Public Relations, completing my in-service training and I couldn’t be happier.

“Happy” would be an understatement to describe how I felt when I received an e-mail informing me that I had been selected as one of 20 NMMU ambassadors “actors” for a Vision2020 promotional video. Elated I was, I thought “yes, my dreams of becoming an actor are finally coming true!”

Fast-forward a few weeks later … there I was being pampered with manicures and flying in private jets. I was living the life, I tell you! All lies of course, but I did have a good time on set.

It began with a session of being “prettied up” (this is code for applying make-up). Something I haven’t done since my theatre days, and naturally, nostalgia took over. I was also charged with the challenge of being as natural as possible and not sounding so rehearsed, like the drama king that I am.

After the make-up session, it was show-time!

Yours truly doing his thing

I walked onto the set and boy, was this not theatre?! The only piece of equipment I recognised was the lapel mike they strapped to my clothes. Everything else was foreign to me. I was then shown where to stand, and again, nature took its course and I was now overcome with anxiety and nerves. A feeling every thespian, or rather actor/performer feels before a performance. There I was lights, camera, teleprompter and action!

“Uniquely, our university carries the name of one of the world’s most iconic leaders, Nelson Mandela, whose ideals have inspired NMMU’s values, curriculum and mission.” That was my line.

After about three takes of saying this piece of prose, a few slip-ups here and there and it finally hit me.

After all the theatrics, it was then that I began to heed the significance of being a part of a new generation university that looks to produce students who are well-rounded and capable of success anywhere in the world.

The promotional video is part of our bid to celebrate 10 years as a university but also to forward to achieving Vision2020. One of the objectives of our strategic plan to be a great university is that of “improving business processes, systems and infrastructure to promote a vibrant staff and student life”.

We need only look at the newly erected Business School on Second Avenue Campus, the Engineering Building on North Campus and the Human Movement Science building on South Campus, to name a few, to find evidence of this.

After another reading of prose, my fifteen minutes of fame was officially over. I was now not only an NMMU student and staff member, but an NMMU ambassador too. A title I so proudly carry.

NMMU Media Honours student Jonathan Fryer on set for the new Vision2020 video

NMMU lecturer Kathija Adam

#NMMUWalk - Putting the ‘social’ back into ‘social media’

By guest blogger: Khanyisa Melwa

The advent of social media has completely changed the way we interact and engage with one another. Filters and hashtags have become somewhat of a lingua franca. As millennials, we are often referred to as hyper-taskers and our teenagers are now screenagers. We live in the information age, an age where one chooses to be ignorant as information is readily available with a click of a button.

With this in mind, it was quite refreshing to be a part of an event that puts the ‘social’ back into social media. I’m talking about the first #NMMUWalk that was hosted by Cityofpe together with the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) on Tuesday evening.

The #NMMUWalk is essentially an Instawalk (Instagram Walk) which is about getting the community together to take pictures of our beautiful city/campuses and share them on Instagram. It’s an opportunity for people to get to meet the people behind the Instagram accounts and interact with them on a human level. “It’s about growing the community, that’s our emphasis” says Joshua Terry, one third of Cityofpe. The community in this case, was the NMMU community.

The walk began at Madibaz Café, with some quick treats, because you know – food. Whilst enjoying the delicacies, I couldn’t help but feel like an amateur (which I am) when I heard these guys and girls talk about their lenses and cool cameras. Canon 550D’s, ISO’s and Insta-lenses were the order of the day. Did you guys even know Insta-lenses existed? I didn’t. Apparently some company in Cape Town manufactures these, a pretty nifty gadget for you iPhone users.

Our Instawalkers at the kraal.

We then missioned down to the kraal to begin our expedition, in search for the coolest shots of our beautiful campus. Bar the odd selfie here and there, our Instawalkers achieved this with aplomb, as a plethora of beautiful pictures of the campus can be seen under the hashtag - #NMMUWalk on Instagram.

River Leask doing a 'RiverJump'

What was even more interesting was how 25 completely different students, with everyone studying different courses and from different backgrounds could come together for a new experience and enjoy it so much. We all came to take pictures of a beautiful campus and share these on Instagram but the bi-product of this was that friends and connections were made and for some, followers were gained.

Barriers were transcended at the #NMMUWalk; people you would normally speak to over an app using a smartphone were now standing right next to you taking the very pictures that would leave you awestruck on Instagram. Not only that, but societal barriers were also dismantled, this was evidenced by the diversity of the students present. This goes to show how social media – which is famous for rendering active-users as anti-social can now be used as a socializing agent, which can only bode well for social cohesion in our beautiful country.

It’s really cool to know that we go to a university that encourages creativity, diversity and a vibrant student life. Kudos to the lads from Cityofpe for hosting this event with NMMU, I hope this was the first of many.

Photo: Stuart William Black aka Crazyninja88 on Instagram

A sea of blue - celebrating 10 years

Guest blogger Bev Erickson

To say we were blown away is an understatement! NMMU staff certainly celebrated in style yesterday by wearing their 10-year T-shirts to work and taking photos of themselves.

Forming a ten with their staff, showing ten fingers, jumping in the air and smiling from ear to ear were the order of the day as the photos below will attest.

In recognition of NMMU’s 10th birthday celebrations, staff were asked to don their new NMMU 10th anniversary T-shirts on “T-shirt Tuesday” as we named it – and to capture the moment by taking photographs to be used on the university’s communication channels.

The last ten years has been an interesting journey at NMMU – for some it’s been challenging, for others, all part of a day’s work, but there’s no denying that a great deal has been achieved.

The team from Graduate and Student Placement

While giving some input into a yet-to-be-released celebratory publication commemorating NMMU’s first decade, it struck me just how much we have achieved in this short period of time. From our ground-breaking blended learning initiatives through to extensive community interaction, our comprehensive university is positively impacting on thousands of lives within and beyond the classroom.

We have pretty much cemented our name in the South African higher education landscape, and even internationally to a certain extent. We have empowered students, seen them graduate, built state-of the-art buildings, formed research chairs and worked with industry. We’ve established a set of values to live by, increased our research outputs and continue to work towards our vision of being “a dynamic African university recognised for its leadership in generating cutting-edge knowledge for a sustainable future”.

Science Faculty staff are all fingers!

Colleagues on the 17th floor of the tower block

We’ve had fun together – remember the 2010 Soccer World Cup? And we’ve cried together - saying farewell to our namesake. But all in all, we have stood together in building our new university.

Yes, I know many of you are thinking “what a load of nonsense, she doesn’t work where I work!” – but take a moment to reflect and I have no doubt that you will be proud of what we have done.

So wear that T-shirt with pride and continue to turn dreams into reality.

Faculty of  Engineering, the Built Environment and IT

View the T-Shirt Tuesday photos

Farewell Jacques!

RIP Jacques Wessels - a special NMMU employee

At 6am this morning I received a WhatsApp informing me of the passing of a very special colleague, Jacques Wessels – a special person indeed! Deputy Director of Facilities Planning in the department of ICT Services, former Chairperson of NMMU’s NTEU branch and National President of the same union. But most of all – one helluva guy.

Jacques had fought a long and arduous battle with the dreaded cancer but until very recently, you would never have even known that. When someone passes away, there is always a flood of niceties and condolence messages of how great the person was. In this case – they are 100% deserved.

Guest blogger Bev Erickson

I got to know Jacques back in the day – not quite of the rinderpest era – but a long time ago. He had a work ethic of note, superior intelligence and was so very eloquent (best I make sure there are no spelling errors in this blog as he would not approve!)

To quote his special friend and colleague Grant Abbott, “Jacques was a giant of a man who never shied away from confronting every issue he faced head-on. He put others first before himself even to the very end”.

His ICT colleagues will testify to his dedication and commitment to his work and his NTEU colleagues, to his other work – helping and protecting staff members as National President of the union. There were many hours, days and weeks spent in meetings, negotiating with management about conditions of service, salaries etc. – Jacques always remained a gentleman and earned the absolute respect of the management team

Those damn printers! Sorry Jacques – but I just had to raise it.

A few years back an “imaging landscape” was proposed for NMMU and Jacques was the head honcho of this project. “We need to save the university money by installing shared printers in departments instead of individual ones”. I have cursed you every day since Jacques – every time that printer doesn’t spit out my work – even after five trips to the printing room. But he knew it was the right thing to do. Maybe I’ll look at that printer with a little more respect from now on.

I remember when he was struggling with his health and he built a bar in his home - all by himself. I watched the progress on Facebook and told him that I’d be joining him for a tequila at that bar when it was finished. He finished the bar. I never got to drink the tequila with him. Tonight I drink that tequila – to you my friend – the great man you were – to your wife Heloise, your daughter Inge, your family, your friends, your colleagues and everyone whose life you touched.

The footprints you have left in our hearts will never be washed away.

Rest in peace Jacques – you deserve to be free now.