 |
|
|
|
 |
|
| |
Prof Eugene Cloete, Director of the UP Water Institute. |
SERA started off 2008 with a topical Networking event featuring a presentation by Prof Eugene Cloete - Director of the University of Pretoria Water Institute (UPWI) and Co-leader of the SERA Water Focus Area team, and held at the CSIR Convention Centre.
Titled "Success Factors for Initiating and Forming the UP Water Institute", Prof Cloete's presentation touched on the steps involved in forming the Institute, its key focus areas and the specific factors that have contributed to its success thus far.
Celebrating its first anniversary in January this year, the UPWI has had unprecedented success in realising its aim of providing a sustainable research and education platform for meeting the water challenges facing South Africa and the African continent. Through the development of multi-disciplinary research activities within an African context to focus on the effective utilisation of water as a scarce resource, and the implementation of various capacity building initiatives, the Institute is making significant inroads to wards becoming a leading research and education organisation, and an asset to South Africa and the continent as a whole.
According to Prof Cloete, it was no mean feat to get the UPWI to where it is today. "Setting up an institute is very similar to setting up a new business. The same elements are involved", he said. These elements include leadership, personnel, products, finances, administration, marketing, external relations and physical facilities. The process followed within the UPWI in terms of setting up leadership began with the identification of the key players - both internal and external, next was the identification of an appropriate structure, which in this case comprised of a management board and an advisory board. Cloete says that in addition to the 'people' elements of the Institute's leadership, they had to simultaneously draw up a constitution and business plans.
The University of Pretoria's (UP) status as an institution that is recognised internationally for the significance of its water research and its expertise in this area, which is also regarded as the most prominent in South Africa enabled the Institute to attract some of the foremost water professionals in the country to its multi-disciplinary team that includes members of the SERA Water focus area.
Cloete says that a major benefit of this was the ability to attract three international representatives to the UPWI advisory board - Dr David Garman, President of the International Water Association; Dr Aris Georgakakos of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, USA; and Dr Frans Schulting, former chair of the Global Water Research Coalition. "We decided to include these outstanding water professionals in the Advisory Board in order to bring the Institute to the attention of the international community", he added.
The strength of UPWI's high level of human capital is affirmed by the appointments of Prof Cloete to the Board of the International Water Association and of Dr Jaqui Goldin as the Head of the African Water Issues Research Unit (AWIRU). In addition, AWIRU's recent incorporation into UPWI bodes well for the Institute's vision of building high-level networks and alliances. In addition, there have been a number of extraordinary professors appointed to the institute, including Prof Willie Grabow, SERA Water Focus Area member - Dr Anthony Turton, and Prof Hamath Kasan of Rand Water.
One of the most factors to look at in the establishment of any venture is its product. In answering the question of what is the UPWI's product, Prof Cloete says that the core focus is on research and capacity building. In the first instance, the Institute has produced 50 research papers in just its first year of operation. There are also 20 PhD and 15 MSc students enrolled, with a significant 4 PhD and 6 MSc degrees having been awarded since 2007. "In terms of building water research capacity in South Africa, this is significant, and I have no doubt that this will continue into 2008", said Cloete.
In relation to the operational set-up, Cloete explained that the start-up financing for the Institute was provided by the University of Pretoria, while addition funding is provided by contract research and consultative services provided through the UPWI. The National Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has also contributed 15 scholarships to students to the value of R70 000 a year. Cloete went on to demonstrate the administrative structure of the Institute and explain how it functions as a virtual institute. "This allows us to tap into the resources of every department where each participant is located. For the moment will operate on the basis of regular interaction and meetings between participants and continue to run as a virtual institute", he said.
In only a year since its inception, the UPWI has clearly demonstrated its potential to be a sustainable and influential mechanism for the continuous development of related professionals. With the introduction of short courses, and the launch this year of a joint MSc degree with Georgia Institute for Technology, the Institute looks set to continue to grow from strength to strength.
View Prof Cloete's presentation
|
|
 |
