Marketing as a means to share knowledge

The research that we conduct here is of vital importance to the development of the greater South African society. For this reason, we aim to incorporate the scholarship of research, teaching and learning, and community interaction in all the work that we do in this Faculty. Examples of where this has happened can be seen in the projects and initiatives which both our staff and students are involved in. In 2011, a group of 12 Honours students and staff members of the Sociology and Social Anthropology Department as well as 10 volunteers from Avian Park in Worcester spent one week conducting a socio-economic survey amongst 220 households. Thanks to this initiative, the Department was able to determine the exact socio-economic and health challenges facing this community and determine who were most affected by it. The data revealed that the youth in Avian Park was hardest hit by these challenges. This information is important as it can be used by existing projects in the community - some of them University projects such as the Ukwanda Rural Clinical School  - or form the basis for new projects focused on specific community needs. 

Sharing data regarding these kinds of projects - be it through the media, with our peers, government or non-governmental organisations - we are able to benefit South Africans living in underprivileged and impoverished communities. By remaining visible in the general media, we gain access to a public platform which provides our academic experts with opportunities to comment on important regional, national and international issues. This exposure indirectly benefits our Faculty as prospective undergraduate and postgraduate students are able to determine what fields of specialisation can be pursued through our degree programmes by what they read about our experts in the media. This in turn helps us to draw some of the best undergraduate and postgraduate students in South Africa, the rest of Africa and abroad.

These are just some of the reasons why communicating about what we do here is more than just an exercise in marketing, it's about changing lives and impacting on South African society.

How to load information on the Faculty's seminar / workshop calendar

If you wish to advertise any seminars, workshops or short courses on offer to the public, fellow staff and students, and alumni, please first load the information in English and Afrikaans on the University website. Once you have done this, send the English and Afrikaans URL addresses to lynnr@sun.ac.za so that she can create a link to the Seminar / Workshop calendar to the more detailed information.

Typically, a notice on the University website should include the following: 

Event name / Title of seminar / workshop: Infanticide in an era of slavery - Yvette Christiansë discusses her novel, Unconfessed 
Date: 17 March 2012 
Time: 12:00 to 13:30 
Venue: Room 427, 4th floor, Arts Faculty building 
Enquiries: For more details or to reserve a seat, contact Ms Lynne Rippenaar-Moses at 021 808 2017 or lynnr@sun.ac.za.

Media and marketing enquiries

​For any media and marketing enquiries or if you are looking for a specific expert in our Faculty, please contact: