1st Edition 2007 - University of Namibia

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The fi rst half of the year has been quite a busy one for the University of Namibia, with so many activities taking place. These ranged from the fi nalisation of our fi ve year strategic plan, the ongoing curriculum review process, the launch of the superior courts and revamped websites of the university, and the launch of the INNOPAC Millennium library system amongst many others. I am sure for many of you, it at times feels quite tough keeping up with time. The strategic plan of the university contains a number of objectives the university has set for itself, in an effort to stimulate academic excellence and good governance. The Offi ce of the Pro-Vice Chancellor: Academic Affairs & Research will liaise closely with the Department of Communications & Marketing in my offi ce to host a briefi ng session on the implementation of the strategic plan. All directors, deans, and heads of department will be invited to attend this session. The workshop is aimed at getting all managers acquainted with the strategic plan, as well as assessing everyone’s contribution to the strategy. Implementation teams will be set up at the end of the workshop to tackle goals set out in this plan. I thus call on your support and cooperation on this very important exercise. I am equally delighted to report that the University of Namibia actively contributed to the tertiary education and training component of ETSIP. The team identifi ed areas that need strengthening. Among these are postgraduate studies, laboratories, and the foundation programme at our northern campus. The team further focused on areas such as effective teaching methods, human resources, and training with a particular focus on Masters and Ph.D degrees. A full report will be produced in due course. I wish to give each and every staff member a pat on the back, as UNAM has been ranked the 16 th best university on the African continent. This is two places higher than we were last year. This is indeed commendable given the scarce resources at our disposal. Allow me to once again express my sincere appreciation to all the men and women who work tirelessly to make the University of Namibia the successful institution that it is. Let the sky be the limit! Our revamped website has resulted in greater interaction between the university and the outside world. There has been an increasing number of communication from various stakeholders including foreign institutions, academics, and students all over the world. Most academics have expressed interest in joining the university on both full-time basis or sabbatical, while students enquiries have centered around our academic programmes. I urge all of you to please take time to reply to such communications in a friendly and timely fashion when they come to you. As I said in our previous edition, our dealings with external stakeholders have a direct and indirect effect on the image of the university. External stakeholders use these to form opinions on us as a university, and not necessarily as individuals. Despite our achievements, like any other institution we have a number UNAM Forum 2 of challenges to address. These include sending our academic staff members on pedagogical training. Though many of our academics have a wealth of knowledge and experience in their respective fi elds, they are not all trained as teachers. In other words they have not all been trained to train others, which at times makes it diffi cult to transfer their expertise to others. Against this background, I urge staff members to take advantage of the various cooperation agreements we have with universities around the world. These should be used to strengthen capacity building of our academic departments. I am aware that this is hampered by a lack of funds in many instances, but not all. I therefore urge you to take active interest in the university’s bilateral agreements with sister institutions. Having said that, allow me to share with you what I consider as a fruitful trip to Europe recently. I would like to particularly focus on my trip to the University of Oulu in Finland, which was keen to strengthen ties with us. We signed a cooperation agreement with that university which should in future see collaboration in the areas of engineering, education and research amongst others. I treasure these linkages because as a young institution, we stand to benefi t a lot from the wealth of resources, expertise and experience our sister universities possess. Mind you, some of these institutions have been in existence for half a century. On this particular trip, I was accompanied by the Head of Engineering Department, Prof. Frank Kavishe and the Director of Communications & Marketing, Mr. Edwin Tjiramba. I think I have had quite a mouthful. I will spare the rest for the next edition, as I still want you to read the rest of the publication. Warm regards, Prof. Lazarus Hangula Vice Chancellor University of Namibia UNAM FORUM 1/2007 UNAM Forum is published by the Communications and Marketing Offi ce covering news and events of the University of Namibia. UNAM Forum does not necessarily refl ect the offi cial views and opinions of the management of the University of Namibia. Text material may be reprinted or reproduced freely with attribution to UNAM Forum and author, where applicable. All rights to photographs and illustrations are reserved. Permission to reproduce must be obtained from the University of Namibia. © UNAM 2007 Editor: Edwin Tjiramba Compiled By: Utaara Hoveka Layout/DTP and Photography: John Rittmann Administration: Emilia Aniceto-van Wyk Contributions are welcome in the form of articles, news, and comments and can be forwarded to: University of Namibia UNAM Forum Communications and Marketing Private Bag 13301 Windhoek, Namibia (061) 206-3445/3094 Fax: (061) 206-3446 E-mail: eaniceto@unam.na Circulation: 2000 copies Cover photo: Prof Lazarus Hangula, Vice Chancellor of UNAM, and Chief Justice Peter Shivute at the launch of the two institutions’ websites.
It is always so gratifying to share activities, achievements and challenges of the University of Namibia not only with the university community, but also with the public at large. Like the previous edition of the UNAM Forum, this edition contains a wide range of interesting stories. The highlight is of course the annual graduation ceremonies of the university. The edition also highlights honours bestowed on two leading academics of the university, for their outstanding contribution to academic excellence. Further it features a Law Faculty Lecturer who was recently appointed as the World Trade Organisation’s expert for Namibia. All these developments highlight the high esteem in which the university is held by reputable outside organisations and individuals. Stories on diversity also feature prominently in this edition. This is important given that universities are universal by nature, and are therefore enriched by a diverse staff and student population. As human beings, we always display elements of our backgrounds and upbringing in one way or another without necessarily realising this. This sometimes infl uences the way we think, the way we do things and our relationships with others. It is therefore the diversity of nationalities, races, people, and perhaps even characters that make us the rich institution that we are. Some staff members and students are carrying out interesting research work on a number of pertinent topics, such as biodiversity and traditional authorities. You will read more on them later in the edition. I wish to call on staff and students to inform our offi ce about their activities, as we are not always aware of all that is going on in the various academic faculties and departments. In our Alumni corner, we feature a Bachelor’s of Accounting graduate who has worked his way up to the hot position of CEO of a Sanlam subsidiary. I am sure you will have some interesting reading! Edwin N. Tjiramba Editor: UNAM Forum and Director: Communications & Marketing 4 6 7 8 10 11 C 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 President Applauds UNAM Academics Receive Postgraduate Training Websites Launched Vice Chancellor Encourages Diversity New Masters Programme Received Well Research on Lands Boards Legislation Graduation 2007 in Picture... Senior Management Appointments Research on Marama Beans French Government Honours UNAM Academics I-TEC Donates Equipment Catholic Church Supports Students UNAM Law Lecturer Appointed as WTO Expert for Namibia UNAM Graduate, CEO at Sanlam - Student Hearing Ability Restored - MOU with Nanchang University Sponsorships and Donations Pg-8 Pg-17 Pg-23 Pg-6 Pg-12 Pg-20
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Page 6 and 7: 195 UNAM ACADEMICS TRAINED AT LEVEL
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Page 14 and 15: SENIOR MANAGEMENT Appointments Prof
Page 16 and 17: Prof André Du Pisani FRENCH Govern
Page 18 and 19: CATHOLIC CHURCH Supports Students T
Page 20 and 21: Photo: Utaara Hoveka NEWLY APPOINTE
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1st Edition 2007 - University of Namibia

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