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31 October 2018 Photo Charl Devenish
PhD students compete in three-minute thesis competition
The ten PhD students who participated in the Three-Minute-Thesis Competition.

Ten Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students from five universities across the country were pitted against one another in the robust finals of the annual national Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, held at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Postgraduate School Assistant Officer, Kamogelo Dithebe, said this is a research-communication competition developed by the University of Queensland, whereby PhD students are given three minutes to present a compelling oration on their thesis and its significance.

The competition challenges students to consolidate their ideas and research discoveries to be presented concisely to a non-specialist audience.

Developed in 2008, enthusiasm for the 3MT concept and its adoption in numerous universities has led to the development of an international competition. Students become eligible to participate in the national competition once they have participated in the competition at institutional level.
 
Dithebe stated that the institutional winner and the runner-up become eligible for representation at national level. Institutions that participated in the 2018 national competition were the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the University of Johannesburg, the University of Cape Town, Durban University of Technology, as well as the hosts, the University of the Free State.

Research on water-leakage problems comes out tops

The University of Cape Town’s Civil Engineering student, Rene Nsanzubuhoro, pipped all his counterparts to walk away with a R16 000 prize as well as a People’s Choice prize of R6 000 – this is where the audience were given ballots to vote for their choice. His topic was: Fighting leakage one pipe at a time

The core focus of his research was leakage in water-pipe systems. This is a major concern to water utilities for several reasons, including loss of a limited resource, pumping energy, revenue loss, and increased health risk as leaks are potential entry points for contaminants if a pressure drop occurs in the system. In the study, a novel device for assessing the condition of water-pipe systems was designed, constructed, and tested.

Research on clean water takes a second spot

The runner-up was a Chemical Engineering student from the University of Johannesburg, Oluwademilade Fayemiyo, who won a prize of R11 000. Her topic was: From wine to water: Searching within for clean water.

Two students from the University of the Free State, Trudie Strauss and Nokuthula Tlalajoe, represented the institution.

Strauss, who is a Mathematical Statistics student, talked about: Babelish Confusion: Finding statistical structure in the diversity of language.

Tlalajoe, a Health Professions Education student, presented the topic: Multiple transition for undergraduate first-year students in the MB CHB programme: Expectations, Experiences, and Emotions.

News Archive

“To forgive is not an obligation. It’s a choice.” – Prof Minow during Reconciliation Lecture
2014-03-05

“To forgive is not an obligation. It’s a choice.” – Prof Minow during the Third Annual Reconciliation Lecture entitled Forgiveness, Law and Justice.
Photo: Johan Roux

No one could have anticipated the atmosphere in which Prof Martha Minow would visit the Bloemfontein Campus. And no one could have predicted how apt the timing of her message would be. As this formidable Dean of Harvard University’s Law School stepped behind the podium, a latent tension edged through the crowded audience.

“The issue of getting along after conflict is urgent.”

With these few words, Prof Minow exposed the essence of not only her lecture, but also the central concern of the entire university community.

As an expert on issues surrounding racial justice, Prof Minow has worked across the globe in post-conflict societies. How can we prevent atrocities from happening? she asked. Her answer was an honest, “I don’t know.” What she is certain of, on the other hand, is that the usual practice of either silence or retribution does not work. “I think that silence produces rage – understandably – and retribution produces the cycle of violence. Rather than ignoring what happens, rather than retribution, it would be good to reach for something more.” This is where reconciliation comes in.

Prof Minow put forward the idea that forgiveness should accompany reconciliation efforts. She defined forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to forego rightful grounds of resentment towards those who have committed a wrong. “To forgive then, in this definition, is not an obligation. It’s a choice. And it’s held by the one who was harmed,” she explained.

Letting go of resentment cannot be forced – not even by the law. What the law can do, though, is either to encourage or discourage forgiveness. Prof Minow showed how the law can construct adversarial processes that render forgiveness less likely, when indeed its intention was the opposite. “Or, law can give people chances to meet together in spaces where they may apologise and they may forgive,” she continued. This point introduced some surprising revelations about our Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

Indeed, studies do report ambivalence, disappointment and mixed views about the TRC. Whatever our views are on its success, Prof Minow reported that people across the world wonder how South African did it. “It may not work entirely inside the country; outside the country it’s had a huge effect. It’s a touchstone for transitional justice.”

The TRC “seems to have coincided with, and maybe contributed to, the relatively peaceful political transition to democracy that is, frankly, an absolute miracle.” What came as a surprise to many is this: the fact that the TRC has affected transitional justice efforts in forty jurisdictions, including Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Cambodia and Liberia. It has even inspired the creation of a TRC in Greensborough, North Carolina, in the United States.

There are no blueprints for solving conflict, though. “But the possibility of something other than criminal trials, something other than war, something other than silence – that’s why the TRC, I think, has been such an exemplar to the world,” she commended.

Court decision cannot rebuild a society, though. Only individuals can forgive. Only individuals can start with purposeful, daily decisions to forgive and forge a common future. Forgiveness is rather like kindness, she suggested. It’s a resource without limits. It’s not scarce like water or money. It’s within our reach. But if it’s forced, it’s not forgiveness.

“It is good,” Prof Minow warned, “to be cautious about the use of law to deliberately shape or manipulate the feelings of any individual. But it is no less important to admit that law does affect human beings, not just in its results, but in its process.” And then we must take responsibility for how we use that law.

“A government can judge, but only people can forgive.” As Prof Minow’s words lingered, the air suddenly seemed a bit more buoyant.

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