₦airaland Forum

University of Cape Town Orientation


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXXfpaUzJkE

http://www.bdlive.co.za/articles/2012/04/12/south-africans-richer-since-1994---with-more-to-come;jsessionid=6D7252D03DE740221C4F276AB5CDBE70.present2.bdfm


South Africans richer since 1994 - with more to come

BY RON DERBY, AUGUST 08 2012, 08:26


SOUTH Africans have grown wealthier in the 18 years since democracy due to lower population growth and greater social welfare - and wallets will grow over the next five years, a new study shows.

Unemployment remains a huge problem for the country, but falling fertility rates and a healthier population would create greater prosperity in the long run.

Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita - considered an indicator of a country's standard of living - has risen 31% in SA since 1994, from R28536 to R37442, according to an Investec research report released yesterday. Household wealth had grown "significantly" due to social welfare payments such as child support grants and pensions, Investec economist Annabel Bishop said.

A real GDP growth rate above the population growth rate of 1% would cause GDP per capita to rise noticeably further and make South Africans even wealthier, Ms Bishop said, with the bank expecting an average of 4,5% per capita over the next five years.

The South African Institute of Race Relations predicts fertility rates will drop below the replacement level of two children per couple by 2040.

Ms Bishop said there had been a significant downward trend in population growth, to only 1% year on year last year, as fertility levels fell back, while life expectancy declined during the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Achieving a single-digit rate of unemployment would require the proper implementation of the government's R3-trillion infrastructure spend, she said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that governments around the world are failing to prepare adequately for the consequences of healthier populations. In its Global Financial Stability Report released yesterday, the IMF included a chapter on the financial effect of people living longer. It said "few governments or pension providers adequately recognise longevity risk".

If the issue were not addressed soon, it "could have large negative effects on already weakened private-and public-sector balance sheets, making them more vulnerable to other shocks and potentially affecting financial stability", the IMF report says.

South African living standards improve: study
Sapa | 28 August, 2012 11:14

Sound Africans' Living standards are improving according to research by the South African Institute of Race Relations.
Image by: ERIC THAYER / REUTERS
A smaller proportion of South Africans were living at the bottom of the living standards rung in 2011 compared to 10 years ago, according to research released on Tuesday.

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"The improvement can be attributed in part to the increase in the number of people receiving social payments, such as old-age pensions and the child support grant," said researcher at the SA Institute of Race Relations, Georgina Alexander.

In 2001, some 11% of South Africans fell into the category with the lowest living standards. This had improved to 1% in 2011.

"In the same period, the proportion of people with the highest living standards increased from five percent to six percent," Alexander said.

The trends are captured via the Living Standards Measures (LSMs), a marketing tool designed by the SA Advertising Research Foundation.

LSM 1 is the poorest category and LSM 10 the highest.

In 2001, the greatest proportion of adults – 14% – were classified as being in LSM 3.

This proportion dropped to 6% in 2011.

Last year, the greatest proportion of adults were grouped in LSM 6 – at 22%.

"Over the last decade there has been a general migration from the bottom three (1 to 3) to the middle four (4 to 7) LSMs, showing a general increase in living standards," Alexander said.

Government social grants had helped.

The number of recipients of the child grant increased by 1 200% between 2001 and 2010/11.

In 2001, around 8% of South Africans were beneficiaries of grants. This increased to 29% in 2010/11 and accounted for 10% of government expenditure.

According to the Institute, LSMs cut across race, sex, age and other variables to categorise people according to their living standards. People are grouped according to objective criteria, such as whether they are urbanised, own motor vehicles or major appliances, or have running water or a flush toilet in or outside the house.

Income is not used to determine a person's LSM.

Engen employees raise funds for local charities

Monday, 15 April 2013

Employees of Engen’s Cape Town office this year raised more than R270,000 for various local charities by selling goods to the public and their corporate neighbours on Thibault Square.

Held every two years the Engen Market Day has become a tradition for Engen and its employees. Market Day is one of the many Employee Community Partnership initiatives – an Engen employee engagement model. Divisional teams within Engen were tasked to compete to raise funds for preselected non-profit organisations that support the broader community.

This year the employees raised R152,000 and the Corporate Social Investment contributed a further contribution of R120,000 to bring the total to more than R271,000. This is an increase of R32,000 from the 2010 total of R239,000.

This year’s beneficiaries include Community Chest, Reach for a Dream, The League of Friends of the Blind, CANSA, Meals on Wheels, TEARS, NOAH, St Joseph's Home, The Amy Biehl Foundation Trust, The Children’s Hospital Trust, New Kidz on the Block, Cape Town Science Centre and the Sunflower Fund.

“We are very proud of the contribution our employees make in support of Engen’s CSI strategy. South Africa’s social needs are a collective responsibility. We believe it is vital for our employees to get involved in initiatives that contribute to the development of our communities," said Khanyisa Balfour, Group CSI Manager.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM5bsjRfdXQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VLvg-Xbt1Y

Lindiwe Mazibuko - Courage in a connected world.

zeitgeistminds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvE_RREdMoM

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe addresses the Wits Business School

Joburgers flock to the Neighbourgoods Market


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg1x7Ro_Ggc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0NpJkuYCgk

Peace corps to help build better communities

Tuesday, 17 September 2013


The City of Ekurhuleni, in its efforts to build a sense of national identity and foster civic responsibility, has launched a programme aimed at promoting community safety and by-law enforcement using young unemployed residents.

The Peace Corps Volunteer programme has already seen the recruitment of 100 participants who have been trained and placed in wards across the municipality.

Hosted under the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD), the programme will see 1010 volunteers being enlisted as volunteers by the end of 2014. They will be enrolled at the EMPD training academy and receive basic training that will equip them for their duties.

Those duties will, at this point, mainly be scholar patrol, by-law enforcement and educational campaigns.

The programme equips unemployed youth with skills and experience in the area of law enforcement with the aim of enhancing their employability and motivating them to extend their knowledge in pursuing careers in the field.

According to member of the mayoral committee responsible for community safety, Mthuthuzeli Siboza, the fundamental goal of the project is to make Ekurhuleni a safer place to stay in by training young people in the community who will serve as the eyes and ears of law enforcers, thus helping rid the city of various social ills within its communities.

"The EMPD Peace Corps programme not only serves as a community defence mechanism but will also aid the city to make a difference in addressing the alarming unemployment rate," explains Siboza.

The recruitment of the 1010 is ward-based, and 10 youths in each ward will be signed for a period of 24 months. A total of 100 recruits have already been trained and placed in their wards, another 250 will be taken in by the end of September, December and March respectively. The last 150 will join between April and June 2014.

Peace Corps volunteer Johannes Matlabe says the programme has brought about positive changes in his life in a very small space of time. "We are learning how to maintain peace and order in our communities as well as other valuable life skills like how to serve in a respectful manner," said Matlabe.

Isbhanxa


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKCwXByOTU8

Business Acumen enables SA's entrepreneurs

Monday, 09 September 2013

Last week, 20 budding entrepreneurs from Gauteng graduated as part of the thriving IMBIZO Business Acumen Programme which is jointly managed by Nedbank, Old Mutual, Mutual & Federal, Masisizane and Wiphold in support of the national goal of reducing unemployment through supporting entrepreneurship. Two more graduations are scheduled for Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape within the next two months.

Since launching as a pilot project in 2012, the programme has helped over 200 promising entrepreneurs, equipping them with essential training and mentoring to efficiently run micro or small enterprises.

“South Africa needs to move beyond talking about entrepreneurship or creating jobs and actually take concrete steps in actively empowering individuals who are embracing the envisioned entrepreneurial spirit. The IMBIZO Business Acumen programme is a demonstration of our joint commitment to the outcomes which are essential to addressing the country’s challenges such as unemployment and poverty,” said Debra Marsden, Head of Business Transformation & Public Affairs at Wiphold.

Marsden says the Imbizo Business Acumen Programme was launched as a continuation of the IMBIZO concept which is also championed by Nedbank, Old Mutual, Mutual & Federal, Masisizane and Wiphold with the aim of igniting economic activity in poor communities in South Africa. “We piloted the IMBIZO concept at Centane in the Eastern Cape and have since grown to be in 17 sites across four provinces, namely; Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Our commitment to enabling entrepreneurial spirit is what continues to drive the success of the IMBIZO concept which led to the introduction of the IMBIZO Business Acumen Programme.”

Among the budding entrepreneurs who took part in the 2012 programme and saw real value is Jabu Masuku who runs a clothing business in Freedom Park, Johannesburg. “I was initially skeptical of joining the programme because I was worried that it would take-up the time I should have been spending at my business but the lessons were incredible from the start. I’ve learnt about running a small business efficiently, including the fact that I was sabotaging my own business by using every cent that came in,” he says.

Jabu’s sentiments resonate with Nhlanhla Maseko who attended the 2013 phase of the IMBIZO Business Acumen Programme. Nhlanhla says, “The programme has opened my eyes to the opportunities that exist in order to grow my business. Even though economic conditions are still tough, running my business efficiently could form a foundation for future growth.”

Marsden emphasises that there’s a need for more initiatives to boost small business. She says given that two-thirds of the workforce in South Africa is employed within Small Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs), ensuring the sustainability of this market is important to continue enabling sustainable economic growth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIEM-Mdv-bo

More than you.

South African leads Concordia salvage

Wednesday, 18 September 2013

The wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise liner was finally pulled upright off the Italian island of Giglio on Tuesday following a 19-hour salvage operation, the biggest such project ever attempted - led by a South African.

Salvage master Nick Sloane was hired by US firm Titan Salvage and Italy's Micoperi to lead the massive operation to right the 290-metre, 114 000-tonne vessel, which ran aground off Giglio on 13 January 2012, killing 32 people.

The salvage was "the biggest for a passenger ship ever undertaken, and the position of the hulk posed unique challenges to the 500-person international salvage team," news agency AFP reported on Tuesday.

According to AFP, the ship was dragged upright by means of 36 cables strapped across the hull, with giant water-filled tanks "the size of 11-storey buildings" welded onto the side of the Costa Concordia to act as ballast.

"The man who gave the orders from a control room on a barge next to the ship was Nick Sloane, a South African with experience on some of the world's biggest shipwrecks," AFP reported.

The news agency quoted Sloane as saying afterwards: "I'm relieved. It was a bit of a rollercoaster ... The scale of it was something we've never seen before."

According to AFP, Sloane's career - he starting working for South African salvage company Safmarine in 1980, and was promoted to the position of salvage master in 1991 - has taken him to six continents and two warzones.

Barbie Latza Nadeau, a journalist who is working on a novel based on the Costa Concordia disaster, described Sloane, in an article published on Monday by CNN, as "sort of a cross between Russell Crowe and Prince Harry, with the type of red-freckled skin that should never be in the sun".

During their interview, Nadeau wrote, the 52-year-old Sloane "intersperses his salvage war stories with warm family tales about his long-suffering wife of 24 years, who has had to shoulder the responsibility of raising their 17-year-old twins and 10-year-old daughter while he disaster-hops around the globe."

Sloane told CNN that he had hoped to be back home in South Africa by the first week of September, but that a combination of bad weather and bureaucracy had held up the salvage operation.

"I can't leave the island for good until she does," he told CNN, with a nod to the Costa Concordia.

Project overseer Franco Gabrielli told AFP on Tuesday that the newly exposed side of the wreck would need "major repairs" before the vessel could be towed away for scrapping, which would only happen next year at the earliest.

http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/sa_teaching_the_world/sa_boxing_writer_wins_intl_award_3.html


South African sports journalist Mesuli Zifo has been named 2008 Boxing Journalist of the Year by the World Boxing Foundation alongside Australian boxing writer Andy Nobbs.

The WBF, an Australian based body that sanctions championship boxing bouts within the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, chose this year's winners from a shortlist of 12 journalists hailing from countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and South Africa.

Zifo, who writes for the Daily Dispatch, was honoured with the award for his excellent writing and his "fearless commitment to getting the true facts at all times," reports the East London-based daily paper.

After a brief stint as an amateur boxer, 35 year old Zifo has spent the past decade covering the most thrilling bouts in South African boxing history. Speaking of his own boxing days, Zifo says, "I thought I was a good boxer but of course everyone thinks they are a good boxer until they meet a better boxer in the ring.

"But the thing with boxing is that once you are hooked, you are hooked for life. And so I decided to become a writer and still contribute to the sport, but from outside the ring."

The WBF will be presenting Zifo with a special plaque early next month.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnvQ3HX0-pA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5wd5MuLJhI

THE SOIL LIVE IN UK EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/sa_teaching_the_world/world_first_for_young_sa_opera_singer_2.html

World first for young SA opera singer


Monday, 13 July 2009


South African opera singer Pretty Yende has achieved a world first by taking home all the main prizes in the prestigious International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition held in Vienna Austria last week.

SA's sublime soprano: Pretty Yende
The 24 year old UCT School of Music graduate won the first prize awards in the Opera and Operatta categories and took home the Audience Prize as well as the International Media-Jury Prize.

This is the first time in the 25 year history of the competition that one singer has won all first prizes in the main categories.

Yende, a soprano, also won seven special prizes, which are sponsored by the jurors and donors.

"The first time they called my name, I was just so grateful that I had won something,” Yende told The Star. “And then it happened again - 'Pretty Yende, Pretty Yende'. It felt like they just kept calling it so much that at one point I even thought 'Please let this go to someone else'. It is so strange; I have to constantly remind myself that it is not a dream."

Yende’s voice coach Virginia Davids, added "This is a huge achievement. If anyone deserves this, then it is Pretty. She has such a love for the art form and works like a mad woman."

According to the competition organisers, around 3000 young singers from 50 cities around the world took part in this year’s event. The competition’s jury is composed of well respected opera managers, talent agents as well as numerous media representatives from all over the world.

The Competition is one of the most renowned singing competitions in the world, offering young talent a host of opportunities to further their careers.

South African opera lovers can catch Yende performing at this year’s Klein Karoo Kalssique Festival in Oudtshoorn from August 14-16.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMhyZlR-kFo

Sandile Ngcobo makes light work of lasers

http://mg.co.za/article/2013-09-20-00-sandile-ngcobo-makes-light-work-of-lasers


Sandile Ngcobo, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) scientist responsible for developing the world's first digital laser, gave what is probably the shortest speech in the history of press briefings at the announcement of the breakthrough this week. He stood up in the small, swelteringly hot room at the National Laser Centre, thanked the CSIR for giving him the opportunity to undertake the research, said the discovery was exciting, and sat down again, to ­journalists' applause.

Speaking to the Mail & Guardian on Wednesday, he was equally self-effacing. Originally from Pietermaritzburg, where his parents and brothers still live, the 33-year-old Ngcobo is a full-time employee at the National Laser Centre, part of the CSIR since 2003, and works in the mathematical optics unit.

At the same time, he is a doctoral candidate at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he did his undergraduate and honours degrees. He took a brief hiatus from the university to do his MSc at Stellenbosch University. But he notes: "I'm a full-time employee of the CSIR. It's not like I'm just a student."

But the breakthrough - how to control the size and shape of a laser beam using a computer - forms part of his doctorate, which "is on controlling the light inside lasers", he said.

In a traditional laser, the beam is shaped inside a box with two mirrors, the curvature of the mirrors determining the size and shape of the beam. If a researcher, company or manufacturer requires a different beam, they either have to replace one of the mirrors in the laser or manipulate the beam once it comes out of the laser using a spatial light modulator. Lasers cost thousands of rands, and altering them is a lengthy and costly exercise.

Ngcobo's research has shown it is possible to alter the beam from inside the laser by replacing one of the mirrors with a computer interface. The research was published in the journal Nature Communications last month.

The computer interface is "like a television which displays the image you're watching", said Professor Andrew Forbes, the chief scientist and research group leader in the mathematical optics group. "The basic idea is to create the desired hologram digitally," which acts as a spatial light modulator.

To build a laser, you require "a medium that can amplify light, something to excite the medium and a box made of two mirrors that bounces the light backwards and forward. We replaced one of the mirrors with our little ­television set."

Forbes said the intellectual property belonged to the CSIR, although under South African law, part of it belonged to the inventor. Igor Litvin and Liesl Burger of the mathematical optics unit were also involved in the development of the laser.

Ngcobo sounded surprisingly calm about finishing his doctorate, saying he was just going to collect the papers he had previously published. The digital laser is also the second patent he has been responsible for.

Told about the adulation he was receiving about the laser, and the fact that many were saying someone should "give the man a Bell's", he chuckled with embarrassment: "But I don't drink."

Another 'world first' involving CSIR


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLMKuXCKVwY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmn6q5xJqXQ

South Africa in digital laser 'world first'


Wednesday, 18 September 2013

Researchers at South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have developed a world-first digital laser that could be a game-changer in the field, paving the way for new laser applications in areas ranging from medicine to communications.

A team based at the CSIR's National Laser Centre has shown that, instead of resorting to expensive optics or other special mediating devices to control the shape of the light coming out of a laser, laser beams can be digitally controlled from within the laser device itself.

The team's findings were published in the 2 August edition of the prestigious journal Nature Communications.

Announcing the breakthrough at media briefing in Pretoria on Tuesday, Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom said it was evidence of the country's potential for scientific innovation.

"That the world's first digital laser should come from our country is testimony to the calibre of scientists that South Africa has," Hanekom said.

CSIR researcher Sandile Ngcobo, whose experimental work led to the breakthrough, said he believed the digital laser would prove to be a "disruptive" technology. "This is technology which may change the status quo and which could create new markets and value networks within the next few years or decade," Ngcobo said in a statement.

Prof Andrew Forbes, who led the team of researchers, said the digital laser used a liquid crystal display (LCD) placed inside the laser. "Just as with LCD televisions, the LCD inside the laser can [digitally] be sent pictures to display. When the pictures change on the LCD inside, the properties of the laser beams that exit the device change accordingly," Forbes said.

In a ground-breaking experiment at the CSIR's laboratories in Pretoria, the team programmed the LCD to play a video of a selection of images representing a variety of desired laser modes. The result was that the laser output changed in real time from one mode shape to another.

"This is a significant advancement from the traditional approach to laser beam control, which requires costly optics and realignment of the laser device for every beam change," Forbes said. "Since this is all done with pictures, the digital laser represents a paradigm shift for laser resonators."

Laser technology already has widespread applications, in devices ranging from lighting displays to printers, DVD players, barcode scanners, surgical equipment and industrial cutters and welders.

"The dynamic control of laser modes could open up many future applications, from communications to medicine," Forbes said. "Our device represents a new way of thinking about laser technology, and we see it as a new platform on which future technologies may be built."

Forbes' team included Ngcobo and fellow doctoral student Liesl Burger, and post-doctoral fellow Dr Igor Litvin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVsNi6zr7e4

Another 'world first' involving CSIR


Friday, 20 September 2013

CSIR was involved in another ‘world first’ project that is in the process of being launched commercially. Its social impact will be huge, both in South Africa and globally, as it will open up video streaming to mobile devices in the developing world. This technology can revolutionise education, assist in breaking down the digital divide and improve the lives of many in developing countries.

There is a global need to watch video content on mobile devices. However in developing countries the mobile networks low bandwidth infrastructure make video streaming almost impossible, especially over EDGE. Tuluntulu has technology, developed by a CSIR led consortium, which provides a solution to this problem. Tuluntulu’s vision is to become the global leader in video streaming in the developing world.

International technology companies are now focusing on providing technology solutions to the developing world, as this is where growth is predicted to come from in the future. Facebook, for example, has recently announced a partnership with Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera and Qualcomm to launch Internet.org, a project aimed at bringing affordable Internet access to the 5 billion people without it. The companies will work together on data-compression technologies and cheap, high-quality smartphones to make the web cheaper. The companies intend to accomplish their goal in part by simplifying phone applications so they run more efficiently and by improving the components of phones and networks so that they transmit more data while using less battery power.

According to the internet.org website no one should have to choose between access to the Internet and food or medicine. Internet.org partners will join forces to develop technology that decreases the cost of delivering data to people worldwide, and helps expand Internet access in underserved communities. Transmitting data – even a text message or simple web page – requires bandwidth, something that’s scarce in many parts of the world. Partners will invest in tools and software to improve data compression capabilities and make data networks and services run more efficiently.

This is a hugely positive development from Tuluntulu's perspective and it places the developing world, and technology designed for the developing world, in the global spotlight. The two largest and fastest growing mobile markets globally are Asia and Africa respectively. Video consumption and Internet access globally, via online and on mobile devices, is increasing at exponential rates. YouTube now has 6 billion views per month, a quarter of which are on mobile devices. In Southern Africa YouTube aggregate views grew by 90% in the past 12 months, but this was off a very low base. The consumption of video on mobile devices using mobile networks (not Wi-Fi) in developing countries has not grown in line with these global trends as the dominant form of connection is via mobile networks. This is due to video not being suited to the low bandwidth networks that exist in developing countries.

The ARTIST technology can deliver unbroken video at +-30kbps. Tuluntulu’s research has revealed no other company globally who claims to be able to deliver unbroken video streams at below 100kbps. These companies have technology that only work on 3G networks, often at 400kbps or more. As a result they simply do not work in most developing countries. The ARTIST technology provides a solution to this problem.

The technology was developed by a consortium funded by TIA (Technology Innovation Agency) consisting of CSIR South Africa (www.csir.co.za ), University of Cape Town and ECA that started developing the solution to the video distribution problem in 2007. The CSIR’s Dr. Keith Ferguson led the team. The solution was specialised technology known as ARTIST that allows streaming video to be viewed on mobile devices, in low bandwidth or congested environments. ARTIST utilises patented technology to deliver unbroken standards-based live video streams with fully integrated social media interactivity. The solution covers the entire media value chain from video content ingestion to a fully adaptive and scalable service and mobile device applications. Patents have been registered in five countries / regions globally for parts of the ARTIST technology.

The technology is perfectly suited for all developing countries. Users can use existing smart devices and existing cell phone networks. The technology works on 3G and EDGE (low bandwidth), which is the dominant system used in rural areas in South Africa, Africa and other developing countries.

Tuluntulu released its app on the Google Play Store for mobile devices, running Android V 4.0 or later, in the mid 2013. It is available for download by the general public. The focus now is to attract content to the platform.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnlSOm1NKZg

SA institutions rise in QS World University Rankings
Tuesday, 10 September 2013

**

South African universities have improved their rankings in this year's QS World University Rankings, with University of Cape Town rising nine places to joint 145th, its highest ever position in the rankings’ nine-year history.

A total of seven South African institutions are included in the rankings, which compare the world’s top 800 institutions across six criteria covering research, employability, teaching and international outlook.

The top five South African institutions all improve their positions, while Rhodes University (551-600) and University of Johannesburg (601-650) are included in the rankings for the first time.

UCT’s success is driven by a strong performance for research citations, suggesting that it is producing work with a global impact.

South African universities also improved their performance in this year’s academic reputation survey, in which 62,094 academics worldwide identified the strongest institutions within their field of expertise.

“Developing world-class universities will be vital in helping South Africa realise its huge potential for economic growth in the coming years,” says QS head of research Ben Sowter. “This year’s rankings suggest the nation’s leading institutions are beginning to have greater global visibility, and UCT in particular is producing a significant amount of high-impact research.”

MIT tops the table for the second consecutive year, ahead of Harvard and the UK’s University of Cambridge. The US takes 11 of the top 20 positions, but its dominance has eroded since the financial crisis. Of the 83 US universities in the top 400, 64 rank lower than in 2007/8. In contrast, 70% of the 62 Asian institutions in the top 400 rank higher than in 2007, but there is still no Asian institution in the top 20.

South African universities in the top 800

University of Cape Town. Ranked 145= (up from 154 in 2012)
University of The Witwatersrand. Ranked 313= (up from 363 in 2012)
Stellenbosch University. Ranked 387= (up from 401-450 in 2012)
University of Pretoria. Ranked 471-480 (up from 501-550 in 2012)
University of Kwazulu-Natal. Ranked 501-550 (up from 551-600 in 2012)
Rhodes University. Ranked 551-600 (not ranked in 2012)
University of Johannesburg. Ranked 601-650 (not ranked in 2012)

Since 1990, QS has become established as the world’s leading network for top careers and education. Producers of the QS World University Rankings®, QS’s innovative research, events, publications and university solutions provide new ways of bringing universities into contact with the best and brightest students worldwide.

The QS World University Rankings is an annual league table of the top universities in the world and is arguably the best-known and respected ranking of its kind. Compiled by the QS Intelligence Unit in close consultation with an international advisory board of leading academics, the QS World University Rankings ® is widely referenced by prospective and current students, university professionals and governments worldwide. The purpose of the rankings has been to recognise universities as the multi-faceted organisations they are and to provide a global comparison of their success against the notional mission of remaining or becoming world-class.

This year, 62,094 academic and 27,957 employer responses contributed towards the results, making both surveys the largest of their kind in the world.

Abanye banomona.

Val'umlomo. Val'umlomo.

Thina somangaza-ngaza.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYtnIBGYUdQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_4JjOeRVVQ

Izwe lethu
Umhlaba wethu bafwethu.

One mzansi.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Yt-13Wsfs4

We talk about universal leaders. Small minds talk about Ghana's dance. Small minds have nothing to show. Ghana does not need a dance to be recognised. Just like I said: small minds celebrate small things. Things like dance. It's because of the legacy they were given. The legacy of the absence of light.

Small people continue on their path of smallness. We are talking about nations that generate excess electricity. But the small people want to talk about a pipeline. They know nothing about excess and abundance. They are lean in spirit. Lean in vision. Lean in selflessness and therefore, lean in physical things like electricity. No surprising. No one ever led them towards the light. They live in darkness, literally and figuratively.