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From the Dean's desk

As the year draws to a close, we reect with pride, the achievements made
by our staff and students as well as the highs and lows that we had to
overcome as the College of Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET).
As the Executive Dean of CSET, I am personally grateful for the efforts put
forth by our academic and support staff in cooperating with the college and
ensuring that exams are conducted well and completed in time.

COVID-19 is very much still with us, and were still trying to nd a sweet spot.
This year we saw more staff returning to work, particularly our laboratories
returning to their lively state and almost on full operation. While other staff
members decided to continue with the working from home arrangement,
they have done well in attending all meetings hosted virtually, physically or in
a hybrid format. Even through the prevalence of loadshedding in South
Africa, it did not appear as though this was a major challenge as our staff and
students went to lengths of using their personal data and other means of
back up to ensure that the work continues. Through both pandemics, we
have not received reports on staff not pulling their weight.

Within a short space of time, we were able to respond to the call by Unisa's
Vice Chancellor of appointing distinguished professors. The caliber of
candidates interviewed was very impressive and the process was concluded
within the specied time frame. CSET is indeed set up for success and is
consistent in raising the bar. To this end, I wish to thank Mr Titus Masego and
Mr Julius Maano for their role in the HR Advisory. They have made it possible
for CSET to emerge once again as a college active in its recruitment drive
and concluded its necessary appointments within a short period of time.

We are also excited at the fact that all of 7 Advanced Diplomas in
Engineering programmes offered in CSET's School of Engineering were
recommended for ECSA accreditation for the next ve years. We
congratulate the leadership and staff at the School of Engineering, and the
rst Head of Quality at CSET, Prof Corne Van Staden, for ensuring that our
academic programmes have received a clean bill of health, as it were, from
ECSA. Moreover, this year, the globally respected and widely referenced
Times Higher Education World University Rankings, which rates over 1 700
universities across 104 countries and regions, has placed Unisa's
engineering disciplines across the board in joint rst place in South Africa,
with North West University and Stellenbosch University.

This year, we saw the Institute of Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability
(iNanoWS), rise to occasion of being an African institute shaping futures in
the service of humanity, wherein, they embarked on several visits to African
countries including Botswana, Lesotho and Tanzania with the aim to work
collaboratively with institutions located in the mentioned countries. The
institute also hosted a successful 2022 iNanoWS Guvhangano in October,
which attracted attendance and participation of more than 200 key
stakeholders from industry, academia and government: all working in the
eld of water treatment and sustainability. Still on the subject of African
countries, our CSET marketing and communication team was heavily
involved in student recruitment drives organised by the Department of
Institutional Advancement aimed at spreading the message about CSET
and its offering in Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Namibia, Ghana and Ethiopia.
We once again congratulate all staff members who recognized for their
excellence by various awarding bodies including those recognised during
the 2022 Unisa Research and Innovation awards ceremony. Notably, Prof

CSET 2022 HIGHLIGHTS PAGE 01