IC-Newsletter - DAAD

DAAD IC Johannesburg
newsletter
Close of the German-South African
Year of Science
The German-South African Year of Science ended after exactly 12 months
brimming with research initiatives and public events in both countries. The
event took place at the German Museum of Technology on 16 April in
Berlin.
The science year was closed by the German Federal Minister of Education
and Research, Prof Johanna Wanka and the South African Minister of
Science and Technology, Derek Hanekom. The success of the year has
strengthened the collaborations between South Africa and Germany and
reinforced the slogan of the year ‘Enhancing Science Partnerships for Innovation and Sustainable Development’.
Scientists from both countries were given an opportunity to view their work in an entertaining light through a ‘Science
Slam’ which was moderated by Dr Arnold van Zyl, Rector of Chemnitz University of Technology. The competition was won
by South African Alwyn Bester with his humorous presentation entitled “How to bake a car”.
The DAAD film “More than just scholarships” by Trio Media was also presented at the event. The film portrays DAAD
programmes in South Africa with special reference to the DAAD-NRF In-Country scholarship and the stories of the
scholarship holders who have received the award.
The DAAD South Africa completed its contribution to the German-South African Year of Science with its Research Lecture
Series on Energy Sciences. The total of 7 lectures saw internationally acclaimed researchers from leading institutes in
both Germany and South Africa present and discuss recent developments in energy technologies and policies.
The German-South African Year of Science 2012/2013 was a joint initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education
and Research (BMBF) and its South African counterpart, the Department of Science and Technology.
For more on the German-South African Science Year, please visit: www.germansouthafrican-scienceyear.co.za
To view the DAAD film “More than just scholarships” visit: https://vimeo.com/63673625
DAAD Alumnus Ammiel Bushakevitz wins
the Richard-Wagner Award
Ammiel Bushakevitz received the first Richard-Wagner Award for
upcoming young artists. The prize was conferred at a ceremonial act
in Leipzig on the occasion of the 200th Birthday of Richard Wagner.
Bushakevitz was born in 1986 in Jerusalem, but raised in South
Africa. After his studies at the University Pretoria, he received the
DAAD Scholarship for Artists and studied at the University of Music &
Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” in Leipzig and the Conservatoire
National supérieur de musique in Paris. He performs worldwide
as a soloist, accompanist and chamber musician. As a musicologist
he devotes his activities to Richard Wagner and Franz Schubert.
Photo: Stadt Leipzig/Jens Schlüter