Mandela Dayactivities Benefit Communities
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
eish! VOLUME 8 No 6 October 2014 Staff newsletter for the NWU Tell the world about our research Mandela Dayactivities benefit communities Prof Manie is synonymous with open distance learning A how-to Contents web to-do 2 A how-to web to-do he Institutional Web Office recently hosted their first ever how-to web to-do, 3 Message from the vice-chancellor T where industry experts shared some Eish, we have lots of stories! insights about the online world. 4 Selling science and research to the media The aim of the event was to expose NWU publishers, graphic designers, journalists and other interested parties to the latest trends and NWU makes 67 minutes count on Madiba Day 6 thought patterns around social media (more specifically social business integration), blog- 8 Focus on – Offenders will be prosecuted ging and creating quality web content. 9 Ready, steady... Kuali! Many members of senior management also took the time to attend. 10 Success is the reward for hard work This was particularly important, as managers 12 Campus news: Mafikeng are major decision makers when it comes to uploading new content on university web pag- es, and they were also made aware of some of Campus news: Potchefstroom 13 the pitfalls associated with social media and blogging. 14 Campus news: Vaal Triangle The influx of positive feedback afterwards was 15 NWU experts know their stuff indicative of a very well received event. 16 Our people – Do, re, me, fa... Zaan sings near and far The audience represented all three campuses and members of the Institutional Office, and 17 My favourite childhood memory is... although fields of interest were very varied, most people seemed to take something away from the day. 18 And the winners are... One of the speakers, Ms Dinesh Balliah, a new 19 Researchers pour oil on troubled waters and social media lecturer at Wits University said a web presence is important to a university to: 20 Cinderella plant: adapt or die • provide information and resources • share research output • engage with stakeholders PLEASE NOTE: • increase the reputation of staff and students In order to decrease our carbon footprint, the Eish! will now be distributed electroni- She said social media should be used because: Front page: Read on the cally to all NWU staff members. Only those • online content is about a conversation back cover of Eish! about without access to computers will receive • conversations can’t happen on static web- the interesting research printed copies. You are welcome to contact sites that Prof Oziniel Ruzvidzo our Eish! journalist, Willie du • social media make these conversations pos- of the Mafikeng Campus is Plessis, should you have any sible conducting. news tips or enquiries. You • social media also “markets” your content can contact him at x99 4915 for you or [email protected]. Editorial team: Staff from Institutional Advancement, and communication officers on the campuses. Language editing: Clairwyn van der Merwe. Design and layout: Graphikos. Printing: Ivyline Technologies. Photography: NWU colleagues and service providers. Cartoon: Mynderd Vosloo. For further enquir- ies/correspondence: Nelia Engelbrecht - Tel x99 4937 or Internal box 260. Eish! is produced and published in English, Setswana and Afrikaans by the Institu- tional Advancement department in the Institutional Office of the NWU. 2 EDITORIAL MESSAGE FROM THE VICE-CHANCELLOR Dear colleagues, Ten years into the merger, it is making good progress during various “bos- • Employment equity in general and particu- time for us to reflect on the beraad” sessions, which started in July and larly in senior management. extent to which we have re- continued in August. • Ensuring that the research mission is in line alised our vision since 2004, with the context of regional and national and – most importantly – to The compass we have been using during these needs. develop a new vision, mission sessions is the report of the international re- and strategy for the next view panel (amongst other reviews and our However, we realise that the strategic process 10 years, 2015 to own internal insight) that recently looked into would not be complete without input from 2025. our progress towards fulfilling the goals set in the significant stakeholders of the university. our mission over the last 10 years. We are therefore committed to consulting To accomplish with you as one of these important groups. this, an expanded We considered the following strengths point- institutional man- ed out by the panel: More information about the consultation pro- agement team cess will follow shortly. (including the • Strong development of research capacity campus vice- and outputs. We, as the management team, invite you to rectors), have • Local and regional community engagement. join us on this exciting journey to find a new been doing the • Financial management and stability. guiding light for the next decade. With your groundwork input and your continued enthusiasm, loyalty for the devel- We also looked at the recommendations the and support, we will be well on our way opment of panel made, namely: towards building an even brighter future. a strategic agenda for • Issues of transformation, especially access the NWU. and social integration. Kind regards • Structural issues about our business and This team management model to achieve an integrat- Prof Dan Kgwadi has been ed institutional culture and identity. Vice-Chancellor Eish, we have lots of stories! he NWU has a treasure chest filled Ms Emmerentia Nel, an expert in the field of change to research on drugs that combat with research stories; but these stories online content development (especially in the malaria and tuberculosis. T should be thoroughly explored and academic sphere), explained how researchers presented in a reader-friendly way so as to could tell their research stories to the world In the past 10 years the achieve broader appeal. by means of blogs. Read more about this NWU has produced re- training session in the article on page 2. search of superior qual- In this edition of Eish! pages 4 and 5 de- ity – let’s not hesitate to scribe how the NWU trains its researchers On page 19 and the back page of this edi- share it with the world to successfully communicate their research tion of Eish! we briefly relate the stories of by telling the stories that stories to the media. two research projects. One is about how re- emanate from it. search is addressing water issues in commu- Big names in the world of media, amongst nities, while the other tells us what we can Happy reading, others Ms Ruda Landman, helped present learn from the so-called “Cinderella” plant’s the training on 19 and 20 August and ex- extraordinary abilities to adapt to extreme Nelia and the plained how researchers should approach environmental challenges. Eish! team the media and communicate their research message so a wider audience will under- At the end of these two short articles you stand it. will find links to the full stories – in the NWU’s first research magazine, Soon afterwards, in a web training session Research Dynamics. on 4 September, experts educated NWU staff members on everything related to online This publication brims with interesting stories information. ranging from space research and climate 3 Selling science and research to the media Media expertise in action: Ms Yolandi Groenewald, Ms Ruda Landman and Ms Lizette Labuschagne give NWU researchers and scientists advice on how to engage with the media. Scientists and researchers of the university learned the art of selling their research to the media during a skills workshop on 19 and 20 August at the Institutional Office. The aim of the workshop was to empower academics to get the message of their unique research and expertise across to a wider audience. very scientist and researcher will tell you together with NWU spokesperson Mr Louis • Who will this research affect and how? that there is nothing more satisfying Jacobs, spoke to NWU scientists and research- Ethan when hard work pays off. ers on a host of topics. THE POWER OF MEDIA RELEASES The NWU scientists learned that a media re- They will also tell you how excited they get These included the media policy of the NWU, lease is one of the most effective ways to tell when they make new discoveries or prove the- making friends with the media, science com- the story of their research. ories during the course of their work, but what munication as a strategic tool in a research good is unshared excitement and expertise? university and best practice media tips. One of the advantages of media releases is that This is why it is so important for our hard- they ensure all the people with an interest in the working academics to spread the word about GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS story have agreed on how it should be told and their groundbreaking discoveries. One of the biggest challenges for scientists who is to do the telling. It also allows scientists and researchers is finding funding for their to reach a lot of media simultaneously with the The skills workshop gathered the cream of the research. Involving the media does not only aid same version of the story and helps journalists crop of the media industry to give scientists in getting people interested but also (hope- spell names and get the details correct. and researchers expert advice and guidance. fully) encourages them to give funding. THE STEPS IN COMPILING A The workshop was presented by award-win- It also gives academics feedback on their ideas MEDIA RELEASE ARE: ning investigative journalist Ms Ruda Landman, and stimulates public interest in research. This • Keep the aims of the release in mind when researcher and lecturer Ms Marina Joubert, and is why it is so important for researchers to you compose your message.