The Passing of Dr Doug Coghlan

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Dr Doug Coghlan at the age of 95.

Dr Coghlan, who was a senior lecturer in the Physical Education Department (currently known as the Department of Human Kinetics and Ergonomics) moved to Makhanda, and joined Rhodes University in 1956.

Outside of lecturing, Dr Coghlan coached athletics at the university from 1956 to 1991. During that period, he also became chairman of Rhodes University Sports Union, a position he occupied for 26 years.

During his time at Rhodes University, Dr Coghlan mentored, trained, and coached many students, who went on to achieve both national and international sports awards. Dr Coghlan also coached Black athletes in the townships of Makhanda during apartheid. Firmly believing in sports as a vehicle of change and against marginalised groups being barred from participating in sports, he began sports at Albany Primary School (which was a non-racial school between 1980 and 1990).

Dr Coghlan also conducted courses for Black teachers/coaches at Fort Hare, Port Elizabeth, UWC, and in the Transkei. Coghlan completed his PhD in 1986, the dissertation titled “The development of athletics in South Africa from 1814 to 1914”. In his dissertation, he studied different parts of South Africa and the different groups within the country, noting that “developments in athletics reflected developments in society; that athletics was considered an important socialising agent [within this period]; and that athletics had become institutionalised before World War One; and that progress was dependent on human endeavour.”

Following his retirement in 1991, he coached the Southern Cape teams, which attained medals at the South African Provincial Championships, and helped the Western Province Under 19 team.

After dedicating much of his life to sports and 35 years to Rhodes University Sports, Dr Douglas Victor Coghlan passed away on the 29th of March 2024.

Our hearts go out to Rita Coghlan, who Dr Coghlan stated was the reason for his success. We thank both of you for the great impact you have made on Rhodes University and the People of Makhanda.

May your soul rest in peace, Dr. Coghlan.

|ISSUED BY THE DIVISION OF COMMUNICATION AND ADVANCEMENT ON BEHALF OF RHODES UNIVERSITY SPORTS|

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Objects of Study

Humans are the central factor in all activities of work life and society. No social, medical, technical or economical progress may take effect without humans being involved. Human health and performance are critical issues for a productive and successful individual and a progressing society.

Human Kinetics and Ergonomics provides knowledge about the function and the reaction of the human body in order to:

optimise human performance

avoid injury and keep healthy in professional activities as well as in private life, and

improve productivity and quality of output in all domains of work life.

This is of essential importance for South African society to further develop and help individuals to a healthy, wealthy and independent lifestyle.

The focus of the study is the Human factor at different activities and different conditions of life. We study human responses and reactions as well as the design of tasks, treatments, objects and environmental conditions according to the needs of the human. The unique approach of HKE is the holistic consideration of biomechanical, physiological, perceptual, mental and psycho-emotional aspects. This is jointly applied to improve human health, human performance and the productivity of human operations.

HKE is an interdisciplinary subject that integrates knowledge from different disciplines, such as anatomy, biomechanics, neurology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, engineering, computer science, management, economics etc. This variety makes it a fascinating subject but also a challenging one.

Fields of study

Application Areas

Knowledge of Human Kinetics and Ergonomics is applied to

improve hazardous working conditions,

optimise fitness and performance of sports people,

enable maximum productivity without harming the human body,

appropriate use of equipment and technology, and

help people live a healthy lifestyle.

Ergonomics in South Africa

HKE Community Engagement

Departmental History

Ergonomics Training

Information on Ergonomics Training Series

The Human Kinetics and Ergonomics Department has been offering short courses in Ergonomics since 2015. These short courses are aimed to equip a range of practitioners, who have to perform ergonomics activities during the course of their work, with the necessary ergonomics knowledge and skills. These practitioners may come from the fields of health and safety, occupational hygiene, occupational medicine, rehabilitation, engineering, just to name a few and work across a large range of sectors.

After 5 years of experience running the "Certificate in Ergonomics" short course, and with the recent promulgation of the Ergonomics Regulations, the HKE Department has embarked on reviewing its ergonomics training programme. We are pleased to announce that from 2021 we will be offering five stand-alone short courses that cover the principles of ergonomics in a variety of situations ranging from offices to various industries in the South African context. The contents covered in all 5 courses are aligned with the educational requirements set out by the Professional Affairs Board of the Ergonomics Society of South Africa at the Certified Ergonomics Associate level. 

Ergonomics Training Overview

Application forms are available at the bottom of this page.

2023 Ergonomic Short Course Dates