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From the first internet protocol connection in SA, to producing some of the country’s greatest academics and journalists, Rhodes University has cemented itself as a place where leaders learn.
To celebrate 120 years of excellence, Rhodes University is honouring its rich academic history by launching RU120 - a year-long celebration of its status as one of the country’s top institutions of higher learning.
“This milestone year presents opportunities for all of us united behind a singular resolve to pursue growth and sustainability, reinvigorate our mutual connections for deeper collaboration and draw from our collective energies to reimagine a new future for our institution and its purposes,” said Rhodes University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sizwe Mabizela.
Over the course of 2024’s four quarters, the university will be hosting a number of events to mark the major milestone. These will include the flagship Journalism Summit hosted in April and the historic National Arts Festival in June.
Out the blocks
Kicking things off in January, Rhodes hosted the Makhanda Education Summit. The summit looked at innovative education strategies that could benefit the local education sector in Makhanda, previously Grahamstown, and improve overall educational outcomes.
In March, Rhodes University’s intellectual history, including South Africa’s internet origin story, was explored by Emeritus History Professor and the university’s longest-serving orator, Paul Maylam. Rhodes University received the first South African IP address in the late 1980s, and in 1991, a team of Rhodes University students made the country’s first IP connection between the university’s computing centre and the home of early internet pioneer Randy Bush in Portland USA.
Thereafter, the university will be looking to the future of science with the grand opening of the R90million Institute for Nanotechnology building. The building will be home to the research being conducted by renowned scientist Professor Tebello Nyokong and her students. Among Tebello’s many awards in the National Order of Mapungubwe in Bronze for outstanding contributions in the field of science.
A calendar of celebrations:
- The 2024 Journalism Summit at Rhodes University: This year’s summit is themed Seeds of Change: Cultivating the Future of Journalism in Africa, and will look at solution-based ways journalists can tackle the challenges faced in the present day.
- Seasoned pianist and Rhodes University honorary doctorate recipient, Abdullah Ibrahim (‘Dollar Brand’) is expected to headline a musical celebration event during the year.
- A string of various social and entertainment events planned throughout the year. From sports festivals to parades and art exhibitions, celebrants will not be short on cultural options to explore.
Another key educational element the university will be looking to tackle is historical debt through fundraising efforts and scholarships. Professor Peter Clayton, the former Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation and the Project Sponsor for RU120, emphasised the importance of drawing attention and addressing some of the challenges within the national educational landscape.
Festivities will wrap up towards the final quarter of 2024 with a reunion of some of the oldest alumni, who jokingly refer to themselves as "Knocking on Heaven's Door". The alumni, who remember clearly the demonstrations they staged in the early 1970s to demand that black students be admitted to Rhodes University, have appropriately dubbed this poignant event "The Final Countdown."
We will be capturing it all for you here on News24’s RU120 hub. For further information around the festivities and dialogues planned around RU120 visit the regularly updated official RU120 website.
This post was sponsored by Rhodes University and produced by Studio24.
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