Reifying our collective social purpose

Foreword by Luzuko Jacobs

The world economy is undergoing unpredictable transformations.

Projections, sometimes foreboding, about a “lasting impact” of the ongoing changes continue to be sounded from many quarters. Community relations will not be left unscathed.
It is, however, our reaction to adversity and inevitable challenges that matter more. It is in our response that we could influence what is to come.

This book is about Rhodes 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网’s (RU) social commitment and institutional engagement. It presents opportunities for strategic collaborations for corporates, trusts, foundations, government and individuals with cutting edge scholarship to strengthen a progressive social compact and shared social purposes.

Among them is an ambitious project to build a world-class Centre for Postgraduate Studies. One in three students at RU is a postgraduate student. A centre such as this would be a crowning jewel for the only research-intensive 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 outside of a metropolitan area in South Africa. With the highest proportion of doctoral academic staff per student and a cohort of high-calibre scholar-practitioners overseeing our research, we are not about satisfying ‘credentialing’ demands. Our scholarship is a model of excellence.

Another social investment project aims to house our decorated, world-renowned Institute for Nanotechnology Innovation. The breath-taking success of this Institute in international research belies the infrastructural challenges it faces. Under Distinguished Professor Tebello Nyokong,an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute is at the heart of a global network of researchers and product developers. It is a hub for international collaborations involving leading institutes and universities in Africa, America, Europe, and China.

In a locality, province and country facing water shortages threatening development, the case for water research addresses pioneering work taking place in the field of hydrology. Our Institute for Water Research is the standard-bearer for the 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网’s commitment to the continent through the African Research 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网’s Alliance. The Institute champions big-picture solutions. This requires scholars to operate across disciplines and with communities to integrate context-specific knowledge to produce solutions that can be implemented at scale.

We also share information about opportunities for partnerships in the transformation space. Our thinking characteristically reaches beyond campus. We believe that an Indigenous Languages Centre could respond to concerns that are relevant not just in the complex African context, but in the Global South broadly.

The vision to elevate the unique scholarly pedigree of RU even higher, cannot happen without wholesome on-campus life experience. Sports and wellness are key. Our 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网’s location “at the centre” of the Eastern Cape holds numerous additional advantages for integrated regional sports development in a province renowned for producing many South Africa’s rugby greats. State of the art facilities in a safe, secure and accessible environment hold incalculable benefits for the region.

Our value proposition for an exclusive yet accessible, educational centre of excellence in the south of the continent lies in the vision represented in this book. See the picture and partner with us.

Last Modified: Thu, 06 May 2021 12:24:16 SAST