SA's first robot-assisted total hysterectomies performed at Tygerberg Hospital
The first robot-assisted total hysterectomy in South Africa was performed successfully by a team of surgical specialists from Tygerberg Hospital and our Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS). This minimally invasive procedure, which was performed on six patients with the assistance of the Da Vinci robotic system that was recently acquired by Tygerberg Hospital, brings hope to the thousands of women who require hysterectomies and other gynaecological surgeries every year, including cancer patients.
According to the surgeons, the procedures were uncomplicated. All six patients were discharged within 48 hours and made good recoveries with excellent outcomes.
The first three robotic hysterectomies in South Africa were performed by Dr Viju Thomas, Head of the FMHS' Minimal Access Gynaecological Surgery (MAGS) programme, with the assistance of Dr Annelize Barnard, an accomplished endoscopic surgeon and a MAGS fellow, as well as Dr Tik Shan Cheung, a recent graduate. Barnard performed the next three surgeries, assisted by Thomas, Cheung and Dr Liesl Muller from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Top quantum scientist joins School for Data Science and Computational Thinking
In what is being hailed as a huge academic scoop for Stellenbosch University, internationally esteemed quantum scientist Prof Francesco Petruccione has been appointed as Professor in Quantum Computing at the University's School for Data Science and Computational Thinking.
The Italian-born Petruccione has relocated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), where he, most recently, held the position of Pro Vice-Chancellor: Big Data and Informatics. He has been appointed as the interim director of the National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences and will also serve as Professor Extraordinary in the Department of Physics at SU. He is an elected member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa and a Fellow of UKZN. He has published about 250 papers in refereed scientific journals. Petruccione also co-chaired the committee which wrote the Framework for Quantum Technology in SA.
SU shines on 2022 TIME 100 list
In a historic achievement, not one, but two scientists associated with Stellenbosch University – Prof Tulio de Oliveira and Dr Sikhulile Moyo – have been selected for this year's TIME 100 Most Influential People list.
This annual list features individuals who have made the most significant contributions to our world, as identified and voted for by TIME magazine's international network of editors, thought leaders and past recipients of this prestigious accolade.
De Oliveira is a professor of Bioinformatics holding a joint appointment at SU's School for Data Science and Computational Thinking, the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Moyo, in turn, is an SU alumnus who obtained his PhD in Medical Virology at the University in 2016, and currently serves as laboratory director at the Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership.
The two scientists are being recognised for their work in the field of genomics and epidemiology. In November 2021, they led the multidisciplinary team who discovered the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, which quickly became the dominant variant of the virus globally.
Prof Sibusiso Moyo to lead Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies
Prof Sibusiso Moyo has been appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies at Stellenbosch University. She will assume office on 1 September 2022, succeeding Prof Eugene Cloete, whose second term comes to an end on 31 July. Moyo, an experienced higher education executive with a background in the mathematical sciences, is currently Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Engagement at the Durban University of Technology.
She says she is "very excited and humbled" to join SU: "I want to thank the University and its Council for giving me this opportunity. I can't wait to become part of the SU family and make a positive contribution to both our standing and our diversity as we move forward together."
SU researchers awarded UNESCO Chair
The UNESCO Chair in Complex Systems and Transformative African Futures has been awarded to two Stellenbosch University researchers, Associate Professor Rika Preiser and Tanja Hichert, who are based at the Centre for Sustainability Transitions (CST).
The Chair, awarded for a four-year period (March 2022 to 2026), forms part of the global UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme. This programme involves a network of over 850 institutions in 117 countries, and promotes international inter-university cooperation and networking to enhance institutional capacities through knowledge-sharing and collaborative work.
The UNESCO Chair in Complex Systems and Transformative African Futures will draw on the expertise of the two co-chairholders to integrate in-depth knowledge of complex systems, combined with the conceptual and practical applications of futures studies. Preiser specialises in theories of complex systems, while Hichert, who is a research fellow at CTS, specialises in the practice of futures studies and foresight.
New research centre to focus on democracy
In light of the growing number of challenges facing democracy in various parts of the world in recent years, Stellenbosch University established the Centre for Research on Democracy (CREDO), which is housed in the Department of Political Science.
CREDO emerged from the work of the Department's former Transformation Research Unit (TRU). "We used to focus almost exclusively on democracy research, which resulted in a globally acknowledged record of comparative study on democracy across all cultural regions," explains former TRU director Prof Ursula van Beek, who is now at the helm of CREDO. "Our ambition is to build on this legacy, continue our high-quality research, while building a national centre for the study of the major challenges facing democracy in South Africa, the region and the rest of the world."
SU leads SA rankings in Agriculture and Forestry, Theology
Stellenbosch University continued its standing as one of Africa's leading universities with the release of the 2022 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject. According to its statement, the QS World University Rankings by Subject "ranks the world's top universities in individual subject areas, covering 51 subjects".
Within the broad subject area category, SU improved its standing in Life Sciences and Medicine from 269 to 265 in the world since last year, and in more specific categories achieved the top ranking of all South African universities in Agriculture and Forestry (76th in the world), as well as Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies (within the top 100 globally). In addition, the University remains in the top 350 in the world in Arts and Humanities, top 400 in Social Sciences and Management, and top 500 in Natural Sciences in the broad subject area category.
