First prize for poster presentation for Gqeberha groundwater challenges at international congress
Mandela University master’s student in Geosciences Bamanye Takashe won first prize for his poster at the Worldwide Congress of International Association of Hydrogeologists in Cape Town.
The title of Bamanye’s poster presentation at the congress was "Hydrogeological Characterization of the Coastal Aquifer of Gqeberha, South Africa."
The poster is a significant component of his recently submitted thesis for his master’s degree. This project is particularly relevant due to the water challenges we have faced in the Nelson Mandela Bay in recent years.
It focuses on the groundwater aspects of the coastal residential areas and the impact of increased borehole usage during droughts on aquifers.
Read more here: Nelson Mandela University News
Prestigious scholarships for doctoral studies at Oxford University
Luan Staphorst, a Research Associate with Nelson Mandela University’s Chair for Critical Studies in Higher Education Transformation (CriSHET) and University alumnus, has been awarded four scholarships to support his doctoral studies at the University of Oxford, from October.
The scholarships are from the Clarendon Fund (Oxford’s most prestigious internal scholarship programme), the United Kingdom’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (the UK’s most competitive national funding scheme), the Lincoln College Kingsgate Fund, and the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust (one of South Africa’s most competitive funding mechanisms for international study).
Read more here: Nelson Mandela University News
Winning team of master’s students at Wildlife Management conference
Mandela University master’s student in Zoology Ryan Forbes was awarded the prize for the Best MSc Student presentation at the recent Southern African Wildlife Management Association Conference.
From left, Ryan Forbes, Kristen Davis, Nicky Dreyer and Prof Graham Kerley
Ryan, together with Kristen Davis and Nicky Dreyer, was also the best student team in the conference quiz, against 19 other teams of students and wildlife professionals.
The students, all from the University’s Centre for African Conservation Ecology, and under the leadership of its Director Professor Graham Kerley, presented part of their MSc research findings at the annual Southern African Wildlife Management Association Conference, held in the Golden Gate National Park earlier this month.
Read more here: Nelson Mandela University News
Mandela University PhD student receives NRF Research Excellence Award
PhD student in Geosciences Carla Dodd from Nelson Mandela University has recently received an NRF (National Research Foundation) Research Excellence Award for her pioneering research on groundwater resources.
Carla is one of seven recipients of the NRF Research Excellence Award for Next Generation Researchers in recognition of outstanding academic performance by final-year doctoral candidates.
“My research will help answer questions regarding where and when our coastal groundwater resources are replenished and whether anthropogenic activities (i.e., pollution) are affecting the groundwater quality.
“This has direct implications for sustainable groundwater development and management in Nelson Mandela Bay and the adjacent coastal areas, says Carla, whose dream job is “to continue with research - especially related to water quality, resource management and groundwater development in South Africa.”