WITS
21
St
Century
Institutes
OVERVIEW BY THE SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE VICE-CHANCELLOR
PROF. BELINDA BOZZOLI
WITS 21 CENTURY INSTITUTES
ST
A STRATEGIC INITIATIVE OF THE VICE-CHANCELLOR
Wits aims to be a top 100 global University by its 100th anniversary in 2022.
Towards achieving this it has created six prestigious new 21st Century Research
Institutes that build on the principles of intellectual excellence, international
competitiveness and measurable impact. The Institutes will attract the best talent
and build the University’s local, national and international reputation. Each
Institute will aim to have at least 100 academic staff, and teams of researchers
working in local and international networks. They will enjoy substantial funding
through endowments and grants. Key to the success of the Institutes will be longterm collaboration with industrial, social and academic partners who will enable
Wits to build its reputation as an intellectual powerhouse and increase its influence
in South Africa, Africa and the world.
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WITS RESEARCH REPORT 2011
WITS – AN ANCHOR INSTITUTION
The University of the Witwatersrand already makes an
outstanding contribution to the society in which it is
embedded. Its inherent contribution (through the education
of thousands of students at the highest level and in an
extraordinary range of disciplines); its additional research
and outreach work in multiple fields (health, public health,
engineering, the arts, social sciences, science, law, business,
economics and many others); its employment of thousands, its
partly residential nature, its stability and substance; its global
reach; its civic-mindedness and its economic impact, render it
what some might call an “anchor institution” for Johannesburg,
Gauteng, South Africa and Africa.
Anchor institutions, a concept originally developed by
urban economist Michael Porter, are magnets for economic
development: “Their direct impact derives from their
landholdings, their capacity as large employers or revenue
generators, their sway as goods and services purchasers, or
their heft as centres of human capital and economic activity.
Indirectly, they contribute to urban reinvention and civic
pride. They attract coveted knowledge-industry workers and
suburban spenders. They fill important vacuums, as footloose
industries have fled cities to suburban campuses or even out of
the country.”
In order for anchor institutions to have the greatest
possible impact on the societies around them, they need to,
according to David Maurasse of CEOs for Cities “take deep
and imaginative inventories of their assets and their needs,
then take the broadest possible view of how to act in their
own interests and, at the same time, in the interests of their
communities”. Other experts write of how necessary it is
for anchor institutions to decide what it is they can do, and
therefore offer, that which is unique to them. Every anchor
institution has its own specific nature and contribution to
make, and must decide how best to develop and leverage that.
In recent years, Wits has expanded its anchor role
considerably. Its Origins Centre, its Art Museum, the
Reproductive Health and HIV Research Institute’s Hillbrow
project, the Gauteng City-Region Observatory, the new
Parktown Residence development and many others, have not
only enriched and strengthened the University itself, but have
given institutional and physical form to the “anchor” role,
bringing additional capital, employment, development finance,
new ideas, cultural richness and global connectedness.
ORGANISED RESEARCH UNITS AND
UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT
Through an imaginative and forceful programme of developing
Organised Research Units (ORUs) of substance, Wits has
identified the strongest of its strategic research areas, and has
WITS RESEARCH REPORT 2011
plans to build them aggressively, with focus and ambition. The
areas are:
• The Evolutionary Sciences
• Global Change
• Mining, Minerals and Exploration
• Molecular Biosciences
• Wellbeing and Development, and
• The Study of Cities.
SIX PRESTIGIOUS RESEARCH INSTITUTES
The Vice-Chancellor envisages that each Institute will, by
2022:
• Be a major intellectual player in the research field concerned;
• Be generously self-funded by endowments and donations, and
sustained through multiple grants;
• Have at least 100 new academic staff, doctoral students and
postdocs;
• Have its own significant building;
• Have an outstanding local and international research
reputation; and
• Make an impact on the city, the region and the continent.
The Institutes will have as their primary focus the production
of research of the highest quality. The Institutes will seek to
make intellectual advances which address the very character
and contours of the disciplines with which they engage.
Publication of research in the most outstanding journals in
the world will be a sine qua non of each Institute, as would
prominence and respect at international conferences, and the
presence of our work on international recommended reading
lists all over the world.
The Institutes will not be isolated from society, however,
but will also seek to influence the world around them
through undertaking crucial research, spreading knowledge,
influencing policy and engaging with partners.
Just as Johannesburg has become Africa’s gateway city,
so Wits University will become the provider of gateway
knowledge and understanding for the African continent. It will
be difficult for others to engage with African realities without
addressing the intellectual challenges presented by those
working and publishing in our Institutes.
The Institutes contain the following characteristics:
• They are strategic, having emerged from strategic
thinking about the prime strengths of research at Wits;
• They are rooted in the University. All are based upon
the research interests of large numbers of academics.
At least 50 academic researchers (many organised into
smaller research entities) have been involved in the
development of each Institute – 300 are engaged in the
project as a whole;
• They are rooted in the region. All are drawn from
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WITS 2 1 ST C E N T U RY I N S T I T U T E S
•
•
•
areas of work that already have strong networks which
connect them to the region in many ways. These
include connections to: the City of Johannesburg; the
Gauteng Province; several government departments;
major industrial partners; the Wits Rural Facility and
its hinterland; major collections/databases and research
sites; and many others;
They address large-scale multidisciplinary and
complex questions, requiring global as well as local
intellectual engagement;
They lend themselves to the setting up of teams
of researchers together with students and visitors,
embedded in local and international networks and able
to mobilise large international grants; and
Some will require investment in major laboratories and
equipment. All will require investment in facilities for
staff, students and visitors.
The development of these Institutes is likely to further the
interests of Wits as well as the city and region. In order for this
anchor role to be properly fulfilled by the Institutes they will
need to be conceptualised in such a way as to:
• Be institutions of substance, with physical space
dedicated to them and visible branding;
• Be attractive and welcoming places;
• Interface with the City physically – the Institutes should
be on the ‘edges’ of the campus if at all possible, looking
outwards to the City;
• Include an outreach component in their mission; and
• Entail a substantive investment and employment creation
for academics and others.
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PARTNERSHIPS WITH FACULTIES AND
SCHOOLS
All of the Institutes involve more than one Faculty – some
involve all five Faculties – and they will seek to maintain a
University-wide focus.
Institutes will not be degree-awarding and all students
will be registered in Schools, depending on the discipline
within which they are working. However, Institute staff will,
of course, themselves supervise, and this will be undertaken in
partnership with Schools. The relevant Schools and Faculties
will be represented on the Boards of the Institutes.
Full-time Institute staff will contribute to School teaching
primarily at the postgraduate level wherever possible and
desirable. Institutes may also design and offer high level
doctoral training in partnership with Schools.
Affiliated researchers drawn from the existing Wits
community will be able to use space and facilities at the
Institute and work collaboratively with Institute researchers;
and in such cases, publication outputs of Affiliates will be
shared between School and Institute on an agreed basis.
INSTITUTE INTERFACES
The activities of each Institute could be of considerable interest
to those of other Institutes. Each Institute will be able to derive
advantages from and even influence the research agendas
of several others. In addition, situations will arise where
the expertise vested within the Institutes may be harnessed
to drive activities of mutual interest at the interfaces, and
mutually strengthen their respective research endeavours.
The Institutes will enrich the life of the University, add
depth to its research, and nurture excellence. ■
WITS RESEARCH REPORT 2011
RESEARCH INSTITUTES
WITS MINING RESEARCH INSTITUTE (WMRI)
PROF. NIELEN VAN DER MERWE
BREAKING NEW GROUND
MAKING THE BEST USE OF AFRICA’S MINERAL
RESOURCES SUSTAINABLY, SAFELY AND ECONOMICALLY
W
its was born out of the School of Mines in
Kimberley in 1896, establishing in Johannesburg
in 1904. Over the past century Wits has supplied
South Africa, Africa and the world with leading geologists,
mining engineers and metallurgists.
The University’s geographic location gives it a unique
continental advantage in the study of the evolution of,
exploration for and sustainable extraction of Africa’s
phenomenal mineral wealth. It is also well-placed for
developing profound expertise in exploration, economic
geology, deep mining techniques, specialised mining
technologies and the study of earthquakes and rock bursts.
WITS RESEARCH REPORT 2011
At the same time, Wits’ social scientists, environmentalists,
legal researchers and health experts have developed
unparalleled expertise in the resources industry, with
distinction in exploring the deleterious effects of mining and
exploration. They have developed strengths related to this in
multiple disciplines including:
• sustainable mining
• health and safety
• environmental impact
• community development, and
• waste disposal.
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WITS 2 1 ST C E N T U RY I N S T I T U T E S
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MINING INDUSTRY
The importance of the mining industry to the South
African economy is undisputed. Mining directly contributes
substantially to National GDP, while its indirect contribution
is much higher. It provides direct employment to 500 000
workers and earns more than a third of South Africa’s foreign
exchange.
South Africa enjoyed an enviable reputation for mining
research and innovation during the 1970s and 1980s when
there were approximately 800 people engaged full time
in narrowly defined mining research. This participation
in internationally competitive research has dwindled over
the years to the extent that it is doubtful whether there are
currently 80 researchers in mining in South Africa. These are
spread across a number of institutions, including a number
of local mining companies that undertake some research
and development in-house, the two universities with Mining
Schools, the CSIR and a few consultants.
At the same time the commodities boom has stimulated
the unprecedented growth of mining investment across a
host of countries in Africa, where research, training and
development are all in short supply.
In contrast, mining research in Australia and Canada,
both major mining countries, is vibrant and well supported
by mining companies and government. This is reflected in
the increasing sophistication of mining in those countries,
their low and continuously improving levels of occupational
health and safety risk, and a healthy mining services sector
that serves the international mining industry. In fact, Australia
has positioned itself as a leading provider of mining expertise
with exports from the mining technology and services sector
estimated to be more than R21.9 billion per annum.
MINING RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA
Mining accounts for a significant percentage of total exports in
both Australia and South Africa, with the Australian industry
being about four times, by value, larger than South Africa’s.
Australia has at least ten institutions dedicated to mining
research and seven universities that offer degrees in mining
engineering.
By contrast, South Africa has only two universities that
offer four-year mining engineering degrees and the relatively
little mining research that is undertaken in universities is
conducted by academic staff who struggle to maintain an
acceptable research output in the face of an increasing teaching
load. This is clearly a problem for the African mining and
minerals sector, which relies on local understanding for homegrown solutions, particularly for those sectors where mining
at great depths and high geothermal gradients pose great
challenges to our technological capabilities.
Against this background there are several important
factors which point to the urgent need for a substantively
increased and improved Africa-based mining research effort:
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•
•
•
•
While much of the research related to mining that
is carried out in other countries has application to
South African and African conditions, it can seldom be
successfully applied without some modification to take
account of the particular mining environment in South
Africa and the rest of Africa.
There is an urgent need, in a range of African countries
including South Africa itself, for the development of
increasing numbers of University trained individuals
with postgraduate degrees, able to participate at the
highest levels within the sector.
There is an unprecedented push towards the
development of increasingly sophisticated beneficiation
within the industry, which needs research support.
The mining industry all over the world is being reshaped
by the now indisputable pressure on companies to
adhere to sustainability requirements – the triple bottom
line.
SUMMARY OF THE CHALLENGES
IN AFRICAN MINING
•
•
•
Africa is renowned for its extraordinary mineral wealth,
yet limited research in mining, minerals and exploration
has been undertaken in the last two decades.
New methods of mining and exploration; policy
changes; health and safety; environmental impact;
sustainability; and the impact on communities have all
become crucial issues in African mining, and will be
even more significant as the region braces for yet another
commodities boom.
There is an urgent need in Africa to develop increasing
numbers of trained postgraduates in the mining sector.
ADDRESSING THESE CHALLENGES
The Wits Mining Research Institute (WMRI) will address
these challenges at the postgraduate level by producing
doctoral graduates of the highest calibre from a variety of
countries. The extent to which employers and workers stand
to benefit from the knowledge economy will be determined
by the country’s capacity to conduct innovative research and
apply new knowledge in the workplace. The development of
research capacity, particularly research related to building new
knowledge linked to sector and national industrial plans is
urgently required.
The WMRI’s work will complement the research
conducted by the Centre for Sustainability in Mining and
Industry and the Centre for Mechanised Mining Systems
established as a partnership between some of the mining
companies and the School of Mining Engineering at Wits
University in 2004.
WITS RESEARCH REPORT 2011
RESEARCH INSTITUTES
WITS’ UNIQUENESS
The uniqueness of Wits lies in the diversity of
competencies at the University that can collectively
contribute to the activities of the Institute in the following
areas:
• Exploration and the technical aspects of mining
• The production of high level skills
• Beneficiation, and
• Sustainability.
Mining-related activities are a feature of many Schools in
all the Faculties of the University.
Only two institutes globally have similarities to
what the WMRI will become. These are the Sustainable
Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland
in Australia, established in 2001, and the Mining
Innovation, Rehabilitation and Applied Research
Corporation of the Laurentian University in Sudbury,
Ontario, Canada, established in 1998.
AN INCREASINGLY COMPLEX ENDEAVOUR
In synopsis, an Institute for research and postgraduate
training in multiple disciplines is a necessity for mining
in Africa and for mining in South Africa, which has
become an increasingly complex endeavour that involves
many players, each with their own specific mandates and
interests. Apart from the mining industry in the stricter
sense as represented by the Chamber of Mines, these
interests include the various government departments
with their policies and regulatory responsibilities that
impact on mining, their agencies such as the Mine
Health and Safety Council and the Mine Qualifications
Authority, the Council for Geosciences, Mintek and the
CSIR, organised labour, the local authorities, and broader
society affected by mining and beneficiation activities in
one way or the other.
In addition, mining in the wider African context
is breathtaking in its complexity. This highlights the
diversity of stakeholders, each with their respective
sector specific mandate, which by implication limits the
ability of any one of them to transgress their respective
boundaries to see things more holistically and to
conceptualise more comprehensive, interdisciplinary
approaches that face the mining sector.
Wits on the other hand has access to expertise in
all these diverse areas within its own structures and,
as already mentioned, a longstanding tradition of
working on problems related to the mining sector. The
target market for an Institute at Wits is therefore the
entire African mining sector in its broadest diversified
manifestations, as it is only this University on the African
continent that can claim to have the expertise and skills
to bring to bear on the training, research and evidencebased policy advice that fully embraces this diversity. ■
WITS RESEARCH REPORT 2011
37
THE EVOLUTIONARY STUDIES INSTITUTE
(ESI)
PROF. BRUCE RUBIDGE
FROM DINOSAURS TO HOMININS
WITS IS THE EVOLUTIONARY HUB OF AFRICA
T
he evolutionary sciences, which include the
palaeosciences, are the only disciplines able to provide
information on past biodiversity. Accordingly, they are
becoming increasingly important as the world grapples to
understand the development of life on Earth and the causes and
mechanisms which drive biodiversity change.
Southern Africa, which has a rich geological and
palaeontological record covering periods ranging from the
Achaean right to recent time, is one of the few countries in
the world which offers possibilities to understand biodiversity
changes from the earliest evidence of life on Earth 3.5 billion
years ago to the origin of humans and their culture.
South Africa offers:
• The oldest evidence of life on Earth;
• The oldest multi-cellular animals;
• The most primitive land-living plants;
• The most distant ancestors of dinosaurs;
• The most complete record of the more than 80 million
year ancestry of mammals;
• Together with several other African countries, a
remarkable record of human origins and hominin cultural
heritage within the last three million years; and
• A uniquely diverse genetic heritage of human
populations.
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A LONG AND PROUD TRADITION
Wits University has a long and proud tradition of
palaeontological and palaeoanthropological research. Since
1925, with the description of Australopithecus africanus (Taung
child) as an evolutionary link between apes and humans by
Prof. Raymond Dart, Wits has been involved in palaeontological
studies. In 1945 the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological
Research (BPI) was established to research and conserve the
palaeontological heritage of South Africa, and the Institute for
Human Evolution (IHE) was established in 2004. Through the
years Wits has amassed large and internationally important
fossil collections which are utilised by researchers from
around the world for research purposes. For this reason, and
the fact that the University has a diversity of allied scientific
departments, Wits is the ideal institution in southern Africa to
host an Evolutionary Studies Institute (ESI) that will consolidate
its existing research thrust in Evolution of Species and Natural
Heritage as well as map a future growth path in this field of
endeavour.
The ESI will combine the existing Bernard Price Institute
for Palaeontological Research (BPI) and the Institute for Human
Evolution (IHE) and incorporate other relevant disciplines such
as genetics, biology, geosciences, and archaeology.
WITS RESEARCH REPORT 2011
W I T S 2 1 ST C E N T U RY I N S T I T U T E S
The ESI will be the hub of multidisciplinary research
programmes which will explore the driving mechanisms
of biodiversity changes through time, as well as exploring
the distant evolution of humans and their culture. The ESI
will run an extensive public outreach programme and assist
government in providing the storyline for palaeotourism
initiatives in an effort to provide employment opportunities in
rural parts of the country.
RATIONALE FOR THE ESI
•
•
•
Researchers at Wits have generated significant
international prestige in the evolutionary sciences and
there is much more to be accomplished.
There is a need for palaeontologists and
palaeoanthropologists to work together more closely and
to better interact with scientists in related disciplines.
The broader field of the evolutionary sciences needs to
be developed upon the firm base of palaeontological
work. There is a need to move from the palaeosciences
to the evolutionary sciences – from understanding the
palaeontological ‘what’ of evolution to exploring the
genetic ‘how’.
WITS’ STRENGTHS
Wits is internationally renowned for its contribution to the
evolutionary sciences.
Wits scientists and others played a critical role in having
the Cradle of Humankind declared a World Heritage Site, and
this fossil-rich site continues to be managed through a Witsgovernment partnership. The Cradle hosts significant fossil
sites, including Sterkfontein and Malapa, some of which are
owned by Wits, making the University a key target for local
and international researchers in this field.
Wits hosts a prestigious South African Research Chair
in the Origins of Modern Human Behaviour, and offers
considerable expertise in related disciplines such as Genetics,
Geology, Zoology, Botany and Archaeology.
The Origins Centre and the Kitching Fossil Exploration
Centre are two museums on campus that host a range of public
outreach programmes related to palaeontology, human origins
and San Rock Art.
GOVERNMENT AND THE UNIVERSITY
Government and the University share a common vision – to
make South Africa a world leader in the palaeosciences.
The government initiative as a whole will entail a variety
of programmes, involving the Department of Science
WITS RESEARCH REPORT 2011
RESEARCH INSTITUTES
and Technology, the National Research Foundation, the
Palaeontological Scientific Trust and Wits.
SIMILAR INSTITUTES
Among the leading palaeontological and palaeoanthropological
institutes in the world is the Institute for Vertebrate
Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing,
China, founded in 1929. The Institute employs 124 staff of
whom about 40 are research staff who undertake research in
morphology, taxonomy, phylogeny, palaeoecology, and spatial
and temporal distribution of the various vertebrate groups, as
well as other relevant biogeographical, palaeoclimatological
and molecular biological problems. Currently the IVPP is
involved in the training of about 15 postgraduate students.
The ESI will complement this and other leading global
institutes, but will have much broader focus across the
biological and geological age spectrum with a focus on the
African origins of diversity of species. This will relate not
only to the early diversification of plants, the distant origins
of tortoises, dinosaurs, mammals, and humans, but also to a
broad interdisciplinary range of evolutionary sciences.
CONSIDERABLE CAPACITY
Wits is the only university in South Africa that offers
both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in
palaeoanthropology and palaeontology. It has considerable
capacity for human resource development through these
teaching programmes. The University is committed to
increasing its number of postgraduate students in the
palaeosciences. Palaeontology is taught to more than 400
undergraduate students annually, 85% of whom are from
previously disadvantaged communities.
The ESI will initially build from its existing strengths.
The ESI would attract additional researchers, from around the
world, including palaeontologists and palaeoanthropologists
with a special interest in African heritage as part of world
heritage.
THE ADVANCEMENT OF KNOWLEDGE OVER
EVOLUTIONARY TIME
Together with African and international partners, the Institute
will be built on the foundation of more than eight decades
of research by Wits based on the exceptional fossil and
archaeological resources available in South Africa. It will
expand to embrace all forms of academic endeavour for
the advancement and dissemination of knowledge of the
development of life over evolutionary time. ■
39
Prof. Scott Hazelhurst (left) and Prof. Michèle Ramsay
SYDNEY BRENNER INSTITUTE FOR
MOLECULAR BIOSCIENCE (SBIMB)
PROF. MICHÈLE RAMSAY
A WORLD-CLASS FACILITY
FOR THE RESEARCH
OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES IN AFRICA
N
amed after the 2002 Nobel Laureate for physiology/
medicine who started his research career at Wits, the
Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience
(SBIMB) will provide a worldclass research environment that
will focus on the rising problem of non-communicable diseases
amongst African populations.
It will conduct biomedical molecular and genomic
research, addressing some of the crucial African health
priorities (e.g. cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and
other disorders with a heritable component) in the context
of an infectious disease epidemic. By unifying research
groups under a common research theme and by enhancing
meaningful research collaboration in state-of-the-art research
facilities, the SBIMB will provide the critical mass required for
multidisciplinary research.
Researchers at the SBIMB will strive to understand the
molecular basis of disease and conduct basic health research
relevant to the various southern African populations in order
40
to ‘translate’ research findings, in collaboration with strategic
partners, into effective therapies and diagnostics for southern
African populations.
As a centre of learning, the SBIMB will train the next
generation of scientists while the knowledge generated will be
invaluable in educating the public and informing government
policy.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
•
•
•
•
To understand the genetic, epigenetic and environmental
contribution to non-communicable diseases prevalent in
southern Africa;
To understand the unique genetic make-up and
characteristics of various southern African ethnic groups;
To understand the molecular basis and mechanisms
underpinning various diseases;
To enhance biomedical knowledge - improved disease
WITS RESEARCH REPORT 2011
W I T S 2 1 ST C E N T U RY I N S T I T U T E S
•
•
diagnosis and disease prevention; improved treatment
relevant to specific populations; cost effective diagnosis
and treatment;
To train a new generation of scientists for a viable and
fulfilling career; and
To educate the public and to inform government policy
on appropriate health management.
STRATEGIC FOCUS
The strategic research focus for the SBIMB was informed by a
number of key observations and priorities:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The WHO has predicted that by 2030 noncommunicable diseases will significantly overtake
communicable disease as the major disease burden
of developing countries. Molecular research of noncommunicable disease has largely been ignored in
South Africa as the available research funding has been
streamed towards the challenges of an infectious disease
epidemic. In southern Africa, the relative prevalence of
non-communicable diseases is set to increase further
due to the impact of infectious diseases and infectious
disease treatment on chronic disease manifestation and
severity. Building research capacity in the area of noncommunicable diseases is a critical approach to contend
with the future health challenges of the southern African
region.
Research collaboration between Wits’ research scientists
and clinicians can create unique research opportunities
in southern Africa.
The need for a research centre that will facilitate the
proper integration between molecular and clinical
research efforts, in order to achieve an unprecedented
understanding of disease processes in African
populations.
The necessity for developing countries to protect their
intellectual property and genetic sovereignty.
The potential social and economic benefits of molecular
bioscience research to the local population and
economy.
AN INSTITUTION BUILDING INITIATIVE
The SBIMB is an institution building initiative that will
benefit the broader scientific community through access
to its technical platforms, access to worldclass expertise,
and excellent opportunities for research collaboration. This
dynamic research environment will attract research students
and will enhance collaboration with the Wits research thrusts
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RESEARCH INSTITUTES
‘Molecular Bioscience – Health for Africa’ and ‘Diseases of
Lifestyle - An Emerging African Problem’.
The cross-disciplinary research conducted at the
SBIMB will require enhanced collaboration and cooperation
between basic and clinical scientists. The SBIMB, focusing
on the molecular understanding of disease, will comprise
five research areas namely – Genomics, Epigenetics and
Developmental Biology, Molecular and Cell Biology,
Computational and Structural Biology, Applied Clinical
Research and Epidemiology. Principal investigators who strive
to understand the molecular basis of non-communicable
disease in their research, have demonstrated research
excellence, and have a track record of acquiring research
funding, will be recruited from within the Wits environment,
nationally and internationally.
ACTIVE RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES
Critical to the success of the SBIMB is the ability to attract and
retain its research staff and to attract worldclass researchers.
The Institute will accommodate scientists and medical
practitioners and will be able to draw on the resources that
exist within eight academic hospitals to which Wits has access
as well as substantial national and international networks.
It is envisaged that the Institute will be located in the
University’s Parktown precinct, next to the planned Nelson
Mandela Children’s Hospital.
The cost of a worldclass molecular research facility,
modelled on the refurbishment of an existing building,
together with the required core laboratory infrastructure, has
been estimated at R292 million. Annual running costs have
been estimated at R33 million. The required funding will
be sought from international, national, public and private
funding sources.
COMMERCIALISATION OPPORTUNITIES
Although the primary function of the SBIMB is to
conduct basic research, a long-term aim is to facilitate
commercial spin-offs from basic research findings. Realistic
commercialisation opportunities will include health
intervention strategies (personalised medicine, novel
treatments, and diagnostics) and the identification of new
drug targets, drug development and drug delivery. The
required infrastructure for taking research spin-offs to market
already exists at Wits. The long-term benefits of having a
commercialisation function at the SBIMB is that the southern
Africa community will benefit from improvements in health
management and health products while any revenue generated
can be ‘ploughed’ back to support further basic research. ■
41
THE INSTITUTE FOR WELLBEING
AND DEVELOPMENT (IWD)
PROF. STEPHEN TOLLMAN
THE GLOBAL IN THE LOCAL
T
he Institute for Wellbeing and Development will
address rapid and complex changes in health,
wellbeing and development, and establish how poor,
marginalised and vulnerable people can realise their potential
in transitioning societies.
Wits is already the hub of international research networks
looking at poverty, health and disease, migration, livelihoods
and the family in rural and urban settings. The Institute
will study the causes and consequences of vulnerability
and resilience – among individuals, their households and
communities – and how to intervene most effectively. It will
cast new light on social challenges with global dimensions, and
will help governments to get the best return on investments in
health, education and related sectors.
The Institute builds on the capabilities and reputation
of Wits in public health, child health and clinical medicine,
42
social and political science including population and
migration studies, policy and management sciences, molecular
biosciences, computing and statistics, applied mathematics,
and environmental sciences.
Addressing the challenges of health, wellbeing and
development, the IWD will approach its work on three levels
that:
• Span from population level to the cellular and molecular
level;
• Span a continuum from the strongest quantitative
measurements and analytic and modelling sciences
through to the most insightful and explanatory social
sciences; and
• Draw on the strength of modern communication systems
and networks, and modern data systems.
Towards achieving this, a breadth of disciplines is required
WITS RESEARCH REPORT 2011
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and the links between disciplines needs to be emphasised in
obvious and less obvious ways. The connection between health
and wellbeing for economic and social productivity is one
example; the effect of developments in the sphere of water or
agriculture on health and economic wellbeing is another.
The IWD’s approach requires a profound articulation
between theory, practice and lived experience from people
with special insight. Fortunately, Wits offers many strengths on
which the Institute can draw.
BROAD DIMENSIONS
Among the broad dimensions the IWD will be engaging:
1) Strong urban and rural platforms
The Institute will draw on Wits’ longstanding, well recognised
population research platforms, both urban and rural, that
offer unique and comparative perspectives on change in these
settings, as well as insights on the links and contrasts between
them.
An urban population example is the Birth to Twenty (BTT)
Study in Soweto initiated by Wits in 1990. It is Africa’s largest
and longest running study of child and adolescent health and
development.
A high-functioning rural research platform is the Wits-led
Agincourt health and socio-demographic surveillance system
covering the Agincourt sub-district in north-eastern South
Africa near Mozambique, dating back to the early 1990s.
Both of these major community-based research initiatives
are entering their third decade and offer strong, internationally
recognised platforms from which to engage in critical local,
regional and global issues around human development and
sustainability.
2) Research networks and partnerships
The Institute will collaborate with research networks and
partnerships in countries of the global south, particularly in
sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in Asia and South America.
Given the nature and scale of the issues that need to be
addressed, collaborations with the best minds in networks and
institutes that share equity-oriented value systems will facilitate
the highest achieving scientific and development partnerships.
The IWD is fortunate to have strong African-AsianSouth American collaborations through the COHORTS1 and
INDEPTH2 Networks (among the world’s leading southernled health research networks where Professors Shane Norris
and Steve Tollman are scientific leaders), as well as strong
collaborations with institutions in the United States, the United
Kingdom and Europe.
1. COHORTS: Consortium of Health Orientated Research in Transitioning Societies
2. INDEPTH: International Network for the Demographic Evaluation of Populations and
Their Health www.indepth-network.org
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RESEARCH INSTITUTES
3) Scientific frameworks
The scientific framing and long-term tracking of programmes
of research and intervention is essential to address the
dynamics of change, why change happens and the impacts that
follow.
THE DYNAMICS OF CHANGE
The extent of socio-political, environmental and macro
economic change in all settings (lower income, higher income
and industrialised countries) is having a major impact on
populations, health and society.
The capability to scientifically track complex and changing
dynamics over time, in both marginalised societies (which are
least understood) and middle income environments, offers
invaluable insights as well as surprises.
An example is the powerful relationship between natural
resources, communities, health and development in poorer,
rural societies. Households which lose a breadwinner become
increasingly dependent on natural resources such as wood for
fuel and no-cost nutritional resources such as wild fruit, insects
and animals. This speaks as much to their vulnerability as it
does to their resilience.
WHY CHANGE HAPPENS
Can we untangle cause and effect? For example, in South
African settings, rural as much as urban, we have to address
the challenge of colliding epidemics - chronic infections on
the one hand (notably HIV/AIDS and TB) - and chronic noncommunicable conditions on the other (heart disease, stroke,
diabetes, cancers, respiratory conditions, mental health). In
South Africa and the region, these present an unprecedented
challenge to society given that they exist concurrently.
Self-evidently we will need new solutions because the
consequences are very high – to individuals, to society and in
terms of economic productivity – both in the workplace and
at home.
TRACKING THE LIFE COURSE
These conditions in many ways have their roots in earliest
childhood which is why an understanding of health and
wellbeing across the life course – from in-utero to infancy,
childhood, adolescence, adulthood and older – is fundamental
if we hope to start untangling cause and effect.
A lethal combination is malnutrition in-utero and in the
youngest years, combined with poor nutrition or over-nutrition
in childhood and adolescent years – depending on the
changing fortunes of the family. The major consequences here
are heart conditions, diabetes, impaired thinking, functioning
and performance, and persisting infectious diseases.
A major part of the Institute’s work will be to seek
solutions – to shape and mould the most effective
interventions at opportune and sensitive times along the life
course. ■
43
GLOBAL CHANGE AND SUSTAINABILITY
RESEARCH INSTITUTE (GCSRI)
PROF. ANDREW CROUCH (ACTING DIRECTOR GCSRI)
TOWARDS GLOBAL CHANGE
AND SUSTAINABILITY
T
he R28-million Global Change and Sustainability
Research Institute was launched ahead of COP17 in
November 2011.
The Institute aims to stimulate a new kind of
interdisciplinary thinking and an approach to global change
that combines the skills and knowledge of multiple academic
disciplines to create resources and policy, which have a
practical effect outside of the University.
The GCSRI research seeks to understand and address
resource depletion, habitat destruction and climate change in
the context of human behaviour and development, and the
social, economic and political changes required to adapt to
global change.
It studies the impact of global change on Africa and its
people, and how the continent can respond to it.
THE COMPLEX ISSUES BEHIND
GLOBAL CHANGE
The complex issues behind global change and Africa’s critical
environmental challenges are tackled by the distinct but related
academic capabilities of environmentalists, social scientists,
climate and energy experts and economists, all working with
government, industry and civil society.
44
The Institute is characterised by a strong focus on
environmental science, social science and business studies. It
looks at issues of migration, vulnerability and risk, resource
extraction and human behaviour related to global change, and
will work closely with environmental science, law and policy
researchers.
It studies pollution and the health of ecosystems, as well as
the building of resilient cities and communities for sustainable
urban living.
The Institute is developing a new generation of academics
and leaders to address the challenges of global change.
DISCIPLINARY TUNNEL VISION
The challenges in dealing with global change in the broader
context of sustainable development stem, in part, from
approaching the challenge from the perspective of disciplinary
tunnel vision.
Problems are too often narrowed down to an emphasis
on a single, major approach (e.g. an appropriate economic
instrument, a magic bullet technology, replanting forests),
depending on the disciplinary expertise of the proponent.
Instead, the climate change problem, among other global
change problems, should be understood in terms of physical,
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W I T S 2 1 ST C E N T U RY I N S T I T U T E S
biological, psychological, socio-economic and cultural
processes.
Meeting such a challenge will require more tightly
coordinated activities and measures, backed by highly
integrated knowledge systems and a much more effective,
interdisciplinary, interactive coupling between knowledge and
policy.
RESEARCH PROGRAMME
The research programme seeks to:
• Innovatively develop new knowledge pathways
recognising that historical knowledge may not be
adequate;
• Identify a robust agenda of high relevance to decision
and policy makers;
• Develop an agenda that is driven by and responsive to
sustainable local development needs;
• Tightly link the outputs of research to the intended end
users; and
• Plan research processes founded on partnerships rather
than the activities of individual units.
Four key research areas will not only incorporate the current
areas of research strength at Wits but will also advance
research at the interface between disciplines which are relevant
to society.
KEY RESEARCH AREAS
1) Vulnerability: adaptation and mitigation
•
•
•
•
•
•
Diagnosing vulnerability and analysing opportunities
Adaptation pathways based on managing current global
change using historical information to inform points of
intervention
Adaptation pathways under progressive climate change
Defining new indices of vulnerability which include
global change
Poverty alleviation through global change adaptation and
mitigation, and
Risks and opportunities for innovation in rural
communities.
2) Coupling ecosystems and human health
•
•
•
•
•
Land use change, food security and nutritional status of
rural communities
Biodiversity, human health and reliance on the natural
resource base
Long term trajectories in public health and ecosystem
goods and services
Pollution, extraction and ecosystem health, and
Learning from the past, using palaeoclimatic and other
long term data records to improve predictive capacity.
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RESEARCH INSTITUTES
3) People, Practice and Policies
•
•
•
•
•
•
Action research on environmental policies and whether
they make development more (or less) stable
Life cycle analyses and the nature of business models
National development initiatives and environmental
justice
Societal willingness to change and access to resources
(including housing, education and natural resources)
Gender, history and decision making, and
Unlocking the potential of macro-level policies.
4) Building resilient cities
•
•
•
•
Sustainable urban living through improved water, waste
and energy management
Ex situ and in situ restoration and conservation within an
urban context (including the ecological footprint of the
city, the urban periphery and the ecosystem goods and
services supply chain and source areas)
The vulnerability (including aspects such as health)
and adaptation of urban populations (including
transportation systems and urban planning and design),
and
Urban migration and integration.
RESEARCH THRUST
Many of the above research areas overlap in concept and
content, which is to be expected given the nature of the
challenges. The research thrust will provide the integrative
platform for the research, and in addition, it will develop
an overall conceptual framework which will facilitate an
analysis of the trade-offs necessary to identify approaches that
holistically integrate natural and socio-economic systems and
which will provide the best foundation for effective actions.
THE NEXT GENERATION OF
AFRICAN SCHOLARS
A strong focus for the GCSRI is to develop young academics
and to attract students, emerging researchers, and
distinguished scholars from South Africa and other African
countries for training and scholarly exchanges.
With generous funding from the Carnegie Corporation,
Wits has identified two focus areas in which it will take the
lead for developing the next generation of academics. These
are Global Change and Academic Medicine.
Consistent with the multidisciplinary ethos of the GCSRI,
PhD students and postdocs will participate in seminars and
workshops that foster multidisciplinary approaches to the
Global Change challenge. This approach will prove to be a key
strength of this Institute that could not have been established
at a more appropriate time in the history of the world. ■
45
THE CITY INSTITUTE (CITY)
PROF. ALAN MABIN
CITIES AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION
TO DEMOCRACY
W
its’ location in Johannesburg, Gauteng, situates
it in the economic and commercial heartland of
Africa, and the gateway to sub-Saharan Africa.
The University has, over the decades, developed significant
expertise related to the study of Cities in a range of fields
including architecture and planning; law; environmental
studies; arts; public health; social sciences; geography;
archaeology; civil and environmental engineering; economics;
business sciences and public and development management.
OUR LOCATION IN JOHANNESBURG
The nature of the city of Johannesburg is changing rapidly.
Urban inequalities are highly visible and the attraction
of Johannesburg as a financial, cultural and political hub
contrasts with its global reputation as an unequal and
dangerous place. Yet the dynamism of the City and its region
and its access to places beyond, gives Wits its own living
laboratory on its doorstep. It also provides an extraordinarily
rich site for researchers from elsewhere; and acts as a base
from which excellent access to research possibilities beyond
Johannesburg may be obtained.
Our objective is to grow a still stronger research
environment around an identified common focus: the City and
its complexities.
46
THE FRAGMENTED NATURE OF CITY STUDIES
“City studies” is an immense and difficult field to capture.
Firstly, the city is not the property of any single discipline or
profession and the study of the city tends to be fragmented and
unsatisfactory as a result. Every sphere of intellectual enquiry
has made, and can make, contributions to the knowledge
of cities. But advances in city understandings depend on
successful interactions between researchers in diverse
disciplines, and between researchers and practitioners.
A second point is that city studies are suspended
everywhere in tension between the urgency of informing
contemporary action (public and otherwise) and advancing
knowledge through longer term, deeper and more considered
enquiry. A successful research entity has to manage these
tensions as well as many others associated with the academic
environment – such as that between deep disciplinary
grounding and wide knowledge of the concerns, methods and
literatures of diverse disciplines.
SETTING OUR SIGHTS HIGH
The key responsibilities of the University are to enable the
development and dissemination of profound and complex
knowledge and to provide for the training of high-level
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W I T S 2 1 ST C E N T U RY I N S T I T U T E S
researchers able to address both conceptual and practical
problems. Our response to these complexities is to set our
sights high – we intend to develop a broad, interdisciplinary
institute to provide a vehicle to address them.
Our City Institute project is learning from historical and
present-day parallels elsewhere, such as the Harvard-MIT
joint centre for urban studies in the 60s; the Berkeley Centre
for Metropolitan Studies in recent years; the University
of Amsterdam’s new Centre for Urban Studies; the York
University (Canada) City Institute; and more.
GOING BEYOND
The City Institute will seek to consolidate and go beyond what
is now happening in city studies at the University to reach
many different international audiences. It will:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Provide real links between existing and new areas of
strength;
Provide a platform for enriching and rewarding
collaboration;
Reach better and wider audiences, making a higher
impact globally;
Facilitate a focus on research on key issues in the global
environment;
Improve our ability to better inform local development;
Act as a destination for researchers seeking to contribute
to city studies globally; and
House unique interdisciplinary postgraduate training
programmes based on strong disciplines – thus
thoroughly equipping research candidates in the highly
diverse field of city studies.
CITIES AND DEMOCRACY
Among the many areas we intend to explore, we include two
particular areas of interest that we seek to develop first. They
are areas in which the University already possesses enormous
potential to advance research in the next ten years. They are
Cities in democratic emerging economies and Designing democratic
space.
CITIES IN DEMOCRATIC
EMERGING ECONOMIES
The experiences of the cities of southern democratising
countries have been neglected in the global literature. Some
work has been done, but not on the kind of scale and level
that would lead to new perspectives and conceptualisations,
or which could contain the potential to contribute to the
deepening of democracy.
At Wits there is already a developing core of researchers
working in this terrain, exploring concepts and connections
on different continents. We intend to undertake comparative
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RESEARCH INSTITUTES
research into recent histories and present events in the
development of democracy, with all its setbacks and limitations
as well as successes and celebrations, in some of the cities of
democratic emerging economies (Brazil, India and South Africa
and potentially some other African cities). The overarching
research question is How do cities both nurture and undermine
democratic life?
DESIGNING DEMOCRATIC CITY SPACES
The growth of democracy has created opportunities for
new approaches to design and building, and considerable
experience has been accumulated across countries of the
south. Past and present members of the School of Architecture
and Planning at Wits and its associated research entity, the
Centre for Urbanism and Built Environment Studies, have
built a tradition of work across this field, a trajectory which
the City Institute project will pursue and tightly link to other
disciplines.
This work includes cities and their spaces from Brazil,
South Africa and India and potentially other centres, as well
as the burgeoning creation of new spaces in many booming
African cities (Luanda, Dar es Salaam and many more).
A research programme tied to new design practice is an
exciting prospect which would be a first in Africa - bringing
architecture, other design disciplines, politics, cultural studies
and other professional fields into collaboration and generating
answers to the overarching question: How can the design of city
space at all scales be better related to democracy? The Institute
will provide the scale and durability required to turn this arena
of Wits prowess into global leadership.
THE PRACTICALITIES OF A CITY INSTITUTE
The Institute hopes to obtain its initial impetus through the
provision of new Chairs designed to fill particular intellectual
niches within the broad field of enquiry. These Chairs will
contribute to enriching, drawing together and building
further on the University’s strengths. The Chairs will be filled
by globally recognised scholars with the capacity to build
linkages, maintain awareness of global enquiry and ensure
dissemination of results locally and across the world.
The Institute will add to, and not subtract from, the
capacities of existing entities at Wits. Each Chair-holder
will work closely with colleagues in the appropriate existing
entities, and will contribute to high-level research training,
(possibly through the development of a new City Studies
Masters degree) and high quality doctoral training and
supervision.
With existing links to researchers and institutions in other
cities – particularly in India and Brazil – the basis already exists
for a new form of intellectual collaboration. Such collaboration
across cities in democratising countries in the ‘emerging
economy’ group will be a founding and distinct principle of
the Wits City Institute. ■
47
A REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURE
NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org.
21 ST CENTURY ASTRONOMY
Astronomy has been an integral part of
Wits University’s research profile and
will continue to be in the 21st Century as
South Africa embarks on the largest radio
astronomy project ever undertaken: the
Square Kilometre Array (SKA).
Being a research-intense University,
Wits has established two new DST/
NRF Research Chairs in the School of
Physics: the SKA Research Chair in Radio
Astronomy and the Research Chair in
Theoretical Particle Cosmology.
PROF. SERGIO COLAFRANCESCO
DST/NRF Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Research Chair
in Radio Astronomy in the School of Physics
Prof. Sergio Colafrancesco who joined Wits in August 2011,
regards the Chair as “a fantastic challenge” to serve the multiwavelength scientific community and to get something very
important and revolutionary out of the SKA.
He has no doubt that southern Africa is the preferred
geographical site for astronomy this century: “The Karoo is
widely recognised as the best astronomical site in the world
for radio astronomy. South Africa offers excellent astronomy
conditions, infrastructure, technology, a commitment by the
government to promote astronomy research and opportunities
to grow scientific and business communities around projects
like the SKA.”
He explains that the SKA will not only allow us to
understand the physics and evolution of the Universe and its
structures, but also new aspects of astrophysics, such as the
origin of extremely high-energy particles, cosmic jets, black
holes, and the structure and evolution of magnetic fields in
cosmic structures, addressed for the very first time.
“Radio astronomy is the ‘new window’ to understanding
the early days of the Universe,” he explains. “The frequency
range available to radio observations, in which we can probe
the most distant objects, will help us to study how and where
the very first structures in the Universe were formed.
“As the most powerful machine to study dark matter, the
SKA will allow us to explore and increase our understanding
of dark matter – that we know exists in the Universe but we
48
do not yet know its nature, nor its constraints. We will then
be able to study the most energetic events in the Universe, the
origin of cosmic rays, and the pervading magnetic fields in
which they diffuse and interact,” he adds.
“The Chair at Wits is a unique initiative that will help to
generate cutting edge research for the country and support
local research projects. This is in line with the University’s push
to be even more visible and present in the research arena.”
Before joining Wits, Colafrancesco was a professor in
Astrophysics at the University of Rome and a senior scientist
with the Italian Institute for Astrophysics.
“In addition to the exciting research facilitated by the SKA
Chair, being in South Africa and at Wits also enables me to
experience the cultural diversity and richness that adds spice
to life!”
WITS RESEARCH REPORT 2011
PROF. VISHNU JEJJALA
DST/NRF Research Chair in Theoretical Particle
Cosmology in the School of Physics
The Universe is more than 13 billion years old. Modern
cosmology traces history back in time to the first
microsecond after the Big Bang.
This is the world of Professor Vishnu Jejjala who joined
Wits in October 2011 and intends to increase the research
profile of the University in his field through the Chair.
“The central enigmas of cosmology remain unanswered.
These questions are so challenging precisely because they are
also so basic. Unlike most other problems in physics, they
reside at the crossroads of quantum theory and gravitation.
In order to address them, we require a foundational
understanding of fundamental aspects of cosmology,”
explains Jejjala, adding that the Chair allows him “the luxury
of devoting most of my time to research and to increasing my
output.”
His research concentrates on non-perturbative issues
in quantum gravity, and strives to develop the language
in which these rudimentary and ancient mysteries may be
WITS RESEARCH REPORT 2011
resolved. Jejjala says string theory is the leading candidate for
a theory of quantum gravity.
“My interests are broad, but focus on bringing string
theory into contact with the real world. In particular,
motivated by the AdS/CFT correspondence and the principle
of holography, I strive to formulate the theory of statistical
mechanics that underlies gravitational thermodynamics.”
Black holes supply an important theoretical laboratory
for this research. Jejjala wants to apply the technology
developed in the black hole context to the resolution of space
time singularities, especially in time dependent, cosmological
backgrounds. He aims to understand holography and the
emergence of space time in general settings.
“The sort of things we are discovering now, makes it
such an exciting time for cosmology,” says Jejjala adding
that he is “very impressed” with the number and calibre of
students undertaking postdoctoral studies at Wits.
Jejjala undertook postdoctoral work at Virginia Tech
from 2002 to 2004, Durham University from 2004 to
2007, and the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques from
2007 to 2009. He worked at the Queen Mary, University of
London from 2009 to 2011, prior to joining Wits.
49
PROF. DAVID BLOCK
Prof. David Block believes that the next Einstein will not
be driven by technology, but will be someone with a highly
intuitive mindset. “I would not be surprised if the next
Einstein will be a scientist with an intense interest in art,” says
Block who is renowned for his intuitive mind.
“Over the years art has become a great impetus in the
way I approach astronomical problems. I am fascinated
by the Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte’s well-known
work, Ceci n’est pas une pipe (This is not a pipe). It depicts a
pipe, but it is not an actual pipe. My specific interest is the
morphology and symmetries found in spiral galaxies. Galaxies
are the building blocks of the Universe. If I had not been
fascinated by Magritte’s works, I would never ask questions
such as: What is a galaxy? The truth is, nobody knows. We
see representations of a galaxy, but never the galaxy itself.
Multitudes of galaxies contain dark matter, but nobody
knows what it is. The Universe is filled with dark energy. No
one knows what that is either. Magritte is truly a great master
in helping my team and I approach such subjects with a
mindset so far removed from traditional ones.”
Block says that these are the kinds of critical questions
that other disciplines such as the Arts, Literature and
Humanities contribute to scientific thinking.
The year 2009 marked the International Year of
Astronomy, and there has been a significant resurgence in
research and interest to better understand the Universe.
Applied mathematics is included here, because of the
different research areas to which it can be linked. “Applied
mathematics can be applied to a plethora of different
disciplines, such as engineering, medicine, finance and
astronomy, of course,” says Block who has been shaping
young minds and leaders of the future at Wits for more than
25 years. Block himself was only 19 when he was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society of London. His first
research paper, on relativistic astrophysics, was published in
London by the Royal Astronomical Society when he was 20
years old.
His research has twice been featured on the cover
of the prestigious scientific journal, Nature. He was the
Principal Investigator of a team of astronomers from Harvard
University, the Observatoire de Paris and Wits University, who
used the Spitzer Space Telescope to solve a 200 million-yearold riddle in our neighbouring spiral galaxy, the Andromeda
Galaxy. He is a recipient of the Vice-Chancellor’s Research
Award and he has been a guest researcher at observatories
around the world.
“It is wondrous to study the night sky. There is something
very creative about studying the Universe,” says Block. ■
50
NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org.
Director of the Cosmic Dust Laboratory sponsored by
AECI and AVENG
School of Computational and Applied Mathematics
WITS RESEARCH REPORT 2011
Wits is home to leading physicists, mathematicians, engineers and
string theorists who make a significant contribution to the field. The
University has tremendous expertise in astronomy and related areas,
including many eminent academics, such as Prof. Robert de Mello
Koch. Also of note is the Johannesburg Planetarium on the University’s
campus where Dr Claire Flanagan conducts science education
outreach programmes for over 70 000 learners annually.
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