The University of the Western Cape (UWC) has become a hub for collaborative research and innovation this week as it hosts the South Africa Sweden University Forum (SASUF).
The forum brings together researchers, teachers, students, and university management representatives from 40 SASUF partner universities.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation, Professor José Frantz, who is also currently the acting Rector, welcomed delegates at a Gala Dinner event on Wednesday. She told delegates: “It is impossible to stand isolated from our communities and society when we talk about finding solutions to the problems they face. The panel discussions are essential in the Higher Education sector because we must recognise that universities are not islands on their own. We need to interact with our society, and our role in society needs to encourage that we learn with, from and about each other. As a research community of 45 universities, we must look at innovative solutions with long term impacts that will lead to a sustainable and fair society,” said Prof Frantz.
UWC Professor Michelle Andipatin is a speaker at a presentation called "Pregnancy issues for women with heart disease - Interventions for support, increased knowledge and self-management" in the theme Health: Understanding the burden of disease. The overall intention of the proposed project is to give women with congenital heart disease (CHD) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in South Africa, and Sweden improved knowledge and awareness of signs and symptoms related to their health condition and a better understanding of the consequences of living with heart disease.
UWC Dr Dominique Anderson is also part of the SASUF presentations and will speak at a presentation, The Use of DNA sequencing technologies and integrated data management to ensure the health security of Sweden and South Africa.
South Africa and Sweden have formulated bioeconomy strategies that harness and expand their respective innovation footprints in human, animal, and agricultural health. These domains have seen local implementation of DNA sequencing technologies to drive improvements in diagnostics and animal and crop breeding programmes. In the context of the recent COVID-19 pandemic both South Africa and Sweden have harnessed genomics capacity to understand and mitigate SARS-COV-2 transmission chains.
SASUF has six main themes:
The forum brings together researchers, teachers, students, and university management representatives from 40 SASUF partner universities.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation, Professor José Frantz, who is also currently the acting Rector, welcomed delegates at a Gala Dinner event on Wednesday. She told delegates: “It is impossible to stand isolated from our communities and society when we talk about finding solutions to the problems they face. The panel discussions are essential in the Higher Education sector because we must recognise that universities are not islands on their own. We need to interact with our society, and our role in society needs to encourage that we learn with, from and about each other. As a research community of 45 universities, we must look at innovative solutions with long term impacts that will lead to a sustainable and fair society,” said Prof Frantz.
UWC Professor Michelle Andipatin is a speaker at a presentation called "Pregnancy issues for women with heart disease - Interventions for support, increased knowledge and self-management" in the theme Health: Understanding the burden of disease. The overall intention of the proposed project is to give women with congenital heart disease (CHD) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in South Africa, and Sweden improved knowledge and awareness of signs and symptoms related to their health condition and a better understanding of the consequences of living with heart disease.
UWC Dr Dominique Anderson is also part of the SASUF presentations and will speak at a presentation, The Use of DNA sequencing technologies and integrated data management to ensure the health security of Sweden and South Africa.
South Africa and Sweden have formulated bioeconomy strategies that harness and expand their respective innovation footprints in human, animal, and agricultural health. These domains have seen local implementation of DNA sequencing technologies to drive improvements in diagnostics and animal and crop breeding programmes. In the context of the recent COVID-19 pandemic both South Africa and Sweden have harnessed genomics capacity to understand and mitigate SARS-COV-2 transmission chains.
SASUF has six main themes:
- Climate change, natural resources, and sustainability
- Education for a sustainable society
- Social transformation through change: Knowledge and social development strategies
- Health – Understanding the burden of disease in Sweden and South Africa
- Sustainable urbanisation, travel, and tourism in the 21st Century
- Digital technologies, big data, and cybersecurity
