Science Centre practitioners from around the country were hosted by the Cape Peninsula University of Technology for a two-day Science and Technology workshop conducted by Dr Shaheed Hartley, Director of Contract Research in the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Interim Dean of Research.

The South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) asked Dr Hartley to develop this workshop for science centre practitioners to build capacity in science centres. This need becomes more pertinent in light of the fact that the Department of Science and Technology are planning to build more science centres around the country.

The workshop acted as a forum for science centre practitioners to share information and ideas about dealing with members of schools and the public who visit their respective science centres, as well as how to build science clubs.

Dr Hartley says, “We don’t have the numbers of people to do science shows at science centres and through this programme we hope to build critical mass of science centre practitioners.” The training is meant to help science centre practitioners with their presentation skills in physics, chemistry, technology and mathematics.

He says, “We need to get youth enthusiastic and interested in science and we can achieve this through the way we present the topics to them. We need to know our audience and be skilled in how to adapt our message and style of presentation to the people to whom we are presenting. This workshop helped participants adopt these skills.”

As part of the workshop, Dr Hartley explained how to go about organising science shows, what engages the audience, how to ensure the attention of the audience is captured, and how to organise the logistics.

In addition, the skills will enable participants to take the skills and apply it in their own environments. Dr Hartley says, “First we demonstrated different shows and thereafter the participants presented their own hands-on activities to the rest of the group. Participants moved between the lab, where they conducted their experiments, and the classroom where they demonstrated their experiments to the rest of the group.”

There are plans to continue teaching science centre professionals. Dr Hartley said, “This is the start of a series of workshops. I’ve also been asked to do mentorship in the Eastern Cape, and to assist in training in this regard.”

Written by CPUT News
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CPUT academic staff members Dr Shaheed Hartley and Prof Oluwole Makinde, were recently honoured at the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) awards ceremony.

The annual awards celebrate South Africans who have made outstanding contributions to Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation (SETI) in South Africa.

This year’s event took place on 26 May 2009 at Emperor’s Palace, Gauteng , where the winners and finalist in the categories for mentors, science communicators and black researchers were commemorated for their achievements in SETI.

Dr Hartley, Director of the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, received the prestigious “Science Communicator for Public Awareness” award for promoting science and technology as a career in rural schools in the Breederiver-Overberg region of the Western Cape .

Dr Hartley, who holds a Doctoral qualification in Science Education from Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia, has a long history of involvement in community capacity building projects.

He started his career as a Science Teacher at Westridge Senior Secondary School in Mitchells Plain , where he was later appointed to head up the Science Department.

While driving the science agenda at the school, he also taught Adult Education classes and was involved in a number of community activities.

He then took a post as Manager and later Director of the Research Development Division at the University of Stellenbosch .

During his tenure at the university he completed his doctoral studies, which were directed at the evaluation of outreach projects in science and mathematics education in peri-urban and rural schools.

His exemplary work received many accolades over the years, including the University of Stellenbosch Rector’s Award for exemplary service.

Dr Hartley said he was elated “at having received such an auspicious recognition from colleagues in the industry.”

“It is always good to receive recognition by peers in your field and that they acknowledge that you are making a difference,” he said.

“I would encourage graduates that there is a future in education, both as practitioners and as researchers to improve the education system”, he said.

Prof Oluwole Makinde, Senior Professor and Chair of Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of Engineering, was nominated for his vigorous promotion of SETI and careers in SETI to black students.

Prof Makinde has taught, supervised and served as an external examiner and promoted several students at undergraduate and postgraduate level at universities both locally and internationally.

His main area of research is in Computational and Mathematical Modelling of Engineering and Biological Systems.

He has co-authored several textbooks and monographs on a variety of subjects in Applied Mathematics and has had his research articles appear in numerous reputable Scientific and Engineering journals and conference proceedings.

He has received several academic and research excellence awards, honours and grants, and was an associate member of the National Institute for Theoretical Physics (NITheP), an editorial board member and a regular reviewer of numerous international academic journals. Prof Makinde said this achievement has given his research niche area a boost in the right direction.

“My research work will definitely move to a new level of productiveness and I will continue to provide much needed mentorship and support that is necessary for the development of essential research skills,” he said.

By the Marketing and Communication Department

Photo: (left) Dr Shaheed Hartley, Director of the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (right) Prof Oluwole Makinde, Senior Professor and Chair of Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of Engineering.

Written by CPUT News
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