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Three coveted ‘Science Oscars’ for SU
Author: Corporate Communication & Marketing / Korporatiewe Kommunikasie & Bemarking [Alec Basson]
Published: 14/07/2023

​​Stellenbosch University (SU) bagged three sought-after prizes at the 2022/2023 National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF)/South32 Awards on Thursday (13 July 2023). These annual awards, also known as South Africa's 'Science Oscars', recognise, celebrate and reward the outstanding contributions of individuals, teams and organisations to science, engineering and technology (SET) in the country.

Renowned education expert and thought leader Prof Jonathan Jansen received a Lifetime Award, eminent Tuberculosis (TB) scientist Prof Novel Chegou won a TW Kambule-NSTF Award in the category for researchers, and Gerrit Laning walked away with the NGO Award.

Jansen, who is a Distinguished Professor in Education at SU, was honoured for his outstanding contribution to the advancement of education scholarship through advanced research and publication, scholarly teaching, science leadership and advocacy, school improvement, educational innovation, capacity development, public engagement and innovative university management.

Commenting on the award, Jansen said “exciting and encouraging all at once, this wonderful validation of one's research and its applications over time in that never-ending quest to improve education in our country and on our continent."

He has devoted his life to advancing education and development in South Africa and the Southern African region and has been at the forefront of the restructuring of higher education in the aftermath of apartheid.

Jansen is a prolific writer with numerous books and articles to his name and has won multiple international and national awards for his research outputs and public work.

He leads the Future Professors Programme, a R65 million project funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training to prepare mainly young black and women scholars for the professoriate. Jansen is also the president of the Academy of Science of South Africa and a member of the esteemed American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Prof Novel Chegou, from the Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, received a TW Kambule-NSTF Award for identifying biomarkers that can help to diagnose TB and monitor the response to treatment.

Chegou has been conducting research on new tests that can assist in the rapid diagnosis of TB, especially in rural areas, as obtained in most African countries. He developed tests that measure multiple proteins in finger-prick blood and cerebrospinal fluid at once. The finger-prick blood test is presently undergoing field trials in African and Asian countries. Chegou's work has so far resulted in nine patent applications. His innovative research has been recognised nationally and internationally with the latest award being the United Kingdom's Royal Society Africa Prize.

Chegou said the award is not just special to him, but also to the rest of his team.

“The kind of work that we do is not possible without a lot of people – I had a group that works on developing new tools for diagnosing TB. We have a team of medical doctors, paediatric neurologists, engineers and other kinds of people who are working with me on developing new tools for TB diagnosis."

Gerrit Laning, CEO of Community Keepers, won the NGO Award for the work his organisation is doing to enhance resilience and promote mental health and well-being amongst South African learners, their parents, teachers and the community. Community Keepers was nominated by SU because it has a strong affiliation with the University's Department of Psychology. Laning, who is also an SU alumnus, said he dedicates the award to his colleagues and amazing academic partners. “We have a truly beautiful relationship with Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town, and we are really excited about additional partnerships."

  • Photo: From the left; Prof Novel Chegou, Prof Jonathan Jansen and Gerrit Laning show off their NSTF Awards. Photo: Supplied.