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Inaugural Lectures

At the University of the Western Cape (UWC), Professorial Inaugural Lectures are a significant academic tradition that celebrate the achievements of newly appointed professors, serving as a formal introduction to the University community. These public lectures mark the professor's official recognition and showcase their academic journey, research interests, and the impact of their work on society, reflecting UWC's commitment to academic excellence and the advancement of knowledge in South Africa and beyond. The primary purpose is to present scholarly work to colleagues, students, and the broader community, fostering engaging discussions on contemporary issues and challenges within their fields. Inaugural lectures promote interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration among different faculties, reinforcing UWC's dedication to a vibrant academic environment where knowledge is shared and celebrated. The Professorial Inaugural Lecture is a cherished tradition at UWC, reflecting the institution's ethos of academic rigor, community engagement, and the pursuit of knowledge. We invite all members of the UWC community and the public to attend these lectures to learn from and engage with our esteemed faculty as they contribute to the rich tapestry of academic life at the University..

Please view this page for updates on the 2025 lecture series.


Professor Marshall Keyster
Faculty of Natural Sciences
7 August 2024

Biography

Marshall Keyster was born and raised in Greenlands (Bellville South). He received his PhD in Plant Biotechnology from the Institute for Plant Biotechnology at Stellenbosch University. Marshall received postdoctoral training in plant molecular biology at UWC and is a co-principal investigator in the Centre of Excellence in Food Security. He often travels to the University of Missouri to conduct collaborative research and is an NRF-C2-rated researcher as well as the Associate Editor of the Plant Molecular Biology Reporter journal.

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Professor Nicolette Roman
Faculty of Community and Health Sciences
28 August 2024

Biography

Professor Nicolette Roman has a PhD in Psychology, is a Senior Professor and South African Research Chair in the study of families. She is the Founder and Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Children, Families and Society (CISCFS) at the UWC and a Visiting Professor at the University of Huddersfield in the UK. She has received numerous awards, including the Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumni Award in Health Sciences, the DVC and Dean’s Research Excellence awards and the winner of the 2023 inaugural HERS-SA award for Women in Humanities and Social Science. Her research focuses on family capabilities and social cohesion for family well-being. She has published and presented her research locally and internationally.

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Professor Desiree Lewis
Faculty of Arts
29 August 2024

Biography

A professor in the Women’s and Gender Studies Department, Desiree Lewis studied at UCT, Wits and the University of York (UK). She is the author of Living on a Horison: Bessie Head and the Politics of Imagining, co-editor of Surfacing: On Being Black and Feminist, and the lead PI of an intra-institutional Programme titled, “Critical Food Studies”. Her work on food has involved collaboration with partners in and beyond South Africa, mentoring postgraduates and young researchers, guest editing journal special issues, and publishing her own writing on this subject.

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Professor Ayub Sheik
Faculty of Education
18 September 2024

Biography

Ayub Sheik is Professor and Head of Department of Language Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of the Western Cape. He was previously at the University of Kwazulu-Natal. He has also lectured at several universities in the United Arab Emirates. In addition, he was an Andrew Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of English Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a visiting DAAD scholar at the University of Essen, Germany. His scholarly predilections are postcolonialism, African literature, poetry and the supervision of postgraduate students in English Education. His book, Wopko Jensma: A Monograph: The Interface between Poetry and Schizophrenia was published in June 2024 by Brill in the African Writer Series.

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Professor Nico Schutte
Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
30 September 2024

Biography

Professor NE Schutte is a distinguished academic and thought leader with a multifaceted research portfolio that intersects Talent Management, Neuropsychology, Strategic Leadership, Public Administration, Local Government, Human Resource Management, Knowledge Management, Online Learning, and Organizational Behavior. His work in these areas reflects a deep commitment to advancing knowledge and practice within both academic and professional contexts.

Professor Schutte has established himself as a prolific researcher, with an extensive body of published work that includes numerous articles in high-impact journals, books, and conference presentations. His research is characterized by its interdisciplinary approach, bridging gaps between traditional academic silos to address complex, real-world challenges. His insights into the interplay between human behavior, organizational dynamics, and leadership strategies have informed and shaped best practices in various sectors, particularly within public administration and human resource management.

In addition to his research, Professor Schutte has made significant contributions to academia through his role as a mentor and supervisor. He has successfully guided a substantial number of master’s and PhD students, helping to cultivate the next generation of scholars and practitioners in his fields of expertise. His mentorship is highly regarded, with many of his students going on to make impactful contributions in academia, industry, and government.

Throughout his career, Professor Schutte has been recognized for his outstanding contributions to research and scholarship. He was honoured as the Most Productive Senior Researcher of the Faculty at North-West University in 2014, a testament to his prolific output and influence in his fields of study. Moreover, his innovative work has earned him multiple awards from the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP), including Best Publication in HR Research in both 2015 and 2018. In 2018, he was also awarded Best Human Resources Consulting Product for his pioneering community outreach initiative, Giftback, which has become a model for integrating academic research with community service.

Professor Schutte continues to push the boundaries of research and practice, with ongoing projects that explore the latest trends and challenges in his areas of specialization. His work remains at the forefront of scholarly and professional discourse, contributing to the development of new theories, methodologies, and practices that enhance organizational effectiveness and societal well-being.

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Professor Karin van Marle
Faculty of Law
24 October 2024

Biography

Prof Karin van Marle currently holds a Research Chair in Gender, Transformation and Worldmaking in the Department of Public Law and Jurisprudence. Before joining the University of the Western Cape in August 2022, she was professor and vice-dean at the Faculty of Law, University of the Free State, and before that, professor and Head of Department of Jurisprudence for two terms at the University of Pretoria. She is currently serving as Director of the Research Unit for Legal and Constitutional Interpretation and Theory. Her research focus is in the field of critical jurisprudence, legal theory and the law and the humanities. She is an ethical feminist and has published widely, nationally and internationally. She has received several awards and fellowships for her research in these areas, including a Commonwealth Fellowship, fellowships at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), and most recently, in June 2024 she was invited to spend time as Writer in Residence at Birkbeck Law Department, University of London.

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Professor Manogari Chetty
Faculty of Dentistry
12 November 2024

Biography

Professor Manogari Chetty is a board certified Oral and Maxillofacial Pathologist, and currently heads the Department of Craniofacial Biology, Pathology & Radiology. She is a full Professor at the Faculty of Dentistry and holds the following qualifications: BSc; BChD; Hons BSc Dental Science: Oral Pathology; PDD: Interceptive Orthodontics; MChD: Oral and Maxillo-Facial Pathology; PhD: Human Genetics.

As director of the African Society of Dental and Craniofacial Genetics, she is recognized nationally and internationally in the fields of Dental (Craniofacial) Genetics, and Non-communicable diseases, in particular Rare Diseases which manifest in the head and neck.

Having been introduced to the world of Human Genetics in 2012, several research projects within the field of genetics and molecular dentistry were initiated. This is the branch of dentistry that focuses on the effects that inherited genetic variation among individuals has on both risk of developing rare (e.g., orofacial clefting) and common (caries, periodontitis and head and neck cancer) dental diseases and disorders. Just as physicians envision a future of “personalized medicine” where the “one size fits all” model of diagnosis and treatment are a thing of the past; this same strategy is also emerging as the new field of “personalized dentistry.”

A dedicated research approach is employed by Prof Chetty which encourages the development of the ‘dentist-scientist’ within South Africa and Africa. Dentist/clinician-scientists are an essential conduit between the laboratory and clinic, who will lead active laboratory research programmes and understand the needs and practical realities of clinical dentistry. The urgent need for those involved in oral health research to participate in translational clinical research that will accelerate targeted scientific breakthroughs in the management of oral diseases in Africa, is being addressed

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