Rhodes University’s Department of Accounting has achieved an impressive 94% pass rate in this year’s Initial Test of Competence (ITC) set by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

In line with the National Department of Health’s (NDoH) mandate to vaccinate as many eligible people as quickly as possible, the Rhodes University Faculty of Pharmacy has started vaccinating its qualifying students against COVID-19.

A team of three Rhodes University students and two external collaborators have won first prize at the recently concluded nationwide Hackathon challenge.

The Impact of Science conference, which took place online from 23 to 25 June, investigated the transformative nature and role of science in society. PhD scholar in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Biotechnology at Rhodes University, Blessing Mabate, attended this high-profile event.

In an effort to better equip students to cope with the impact the pandemic has had on their mental health, the Psychology Department has implemented a Mental Health and Wellbeing course as part of its first-year psychology curriculum.

Reabetsoe Buys, a Counselling Psychologist and representative from the Tomorrow Trust, recently spent two days at Rhodes University to check in with the organisation’s 19 funded students.

Day three of the Highway Africa virtual conference, which consisted of several academic and research tracks, was launched with a keynote by Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Cape Town, Francis Nyamnjoh.

The afternoon session of the second day of the Highway Africa virtual conference kicked off on 22 June with the highly anticipated panel discussion titled: ‘Big tech and data, disinformation, truth and inertia’.

Journalists worldwide do unpopular work that places them under threat – and this is not just a reality in autocratic states but one faced by journalists around the world. Cyberattacks have become the latest attack method of choice against journalists, with cases continuing to rise exponentially. This was the topic of discussion for the last seminar on the second day of the Highway Africa virtual conference, which ran from 21-23 June 2021.

In today’s digital world, big data is becoming central to society’s functioning, and the media is no exception. Journalists can use data to tell new stories about the world we live in and better understand how people consume them. But as with any technology, the datafication of the media presents both opportunities and threats. This plays out in the African context in unique ways, and local media stands at a precipice in trying to deal with these changes.

On 22 June, Adi Eyal, Founder of OpenUp, a civic tech laboratory that blends data and technology to drive social change, gave a keynote address on Harnessing Big Data by African Media to Improve Journalism Innovation in a well-attended presentation as part of the Highway Africa three-day virtual conference.

On 21 June 2021, Highway Africa started its virtual conference on the perils and promise of platformisation for Africa with an introduction and welcome from Dr Sizwe Mabizela, Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University.

Although 2020’s unexpected COVID-19 pandemic limited Highway Africa to a series of webinars, this year’s virtual conference will see the usual magnitude of this 24-year old event restored to its former glory.

The Rhodes University Council, at its meeting last week, unanimously resolved to extend Dr Sizwe Mabizela’s contract as Vice-Chancellor for a further seven years “to continue the proud academic story of quality of the past seven years,” Council Chairperson Judge Gerald Bloem, said.

On Friday, 11 June 2021, the Rhodes University African Studies Centre hosted a two-session panel colloquium titled “COVID-19 in Retrospect: Drug R&D and Traditional Medicine in Africa”.

On 11 June, the Rhodes University African Studies Centre hosted an online colloquium that focused on COVID-19 drug research & development and the role of traditional medicine in Africa. The webinar saw a total of 64 registered delegates and five panellists in attendance.

Rhodes University honorary doctorate Dr Bernie Fanaroff, and several physicists associated with Rhodes University, have recently revisited the Fanaroff-Riley classification (FRI/FRII morphological classification) in a paper called ‘A new look at old friends. I. Imaging classical radio galaxies with uGMRT and MeerKAT’.

In celebration of Youth Month, the National Research Foundation (NRF) is honouring the Youth of the NRF who are advancing knowledge, transforming lives and inspiring a nation. Rhodes University alumna, Dr Zakeera Docrat, is among these NRF-affiliated young achievers.

The Rhodes University community was saddened by the news of the passing of one of its honorary doctorate recipients, Professor Mahavishnu Padayachee over the weekend.

Rhodes University recently became the first South African university to win top place for the prestigious 2021 MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship for its Nine Tenths Matric Mentoring Programme.