Good News

BULLETIN 30 April

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# Four Unisa students are in the final round of the Spencer-RIMS Risk Management Challenge and will be heading to Chicago. Millicent Mathoho, Kgothatso Phetla, Letta Tsholofelo Matlakala, and Nombuso Fortunate Sibeko have earned a place among the top eight university teams worldwide. They will present their research on climate risk at the prestigious RISKWORLD Conference next week. Unisa principal and vice-chancellor, professor Puleng LenkaBula, says the participation of the four students reflects the strength of the institution and its academic community.

# MultiChoice South Africa and the University of Pretoria have renewed their MultiChoice Chair in Machine Learning partnership for another five years. First launched in 2018, the initiative seeks to address global skills shortages in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Students work on real-world projects, including content analysis, scene skipping, and service delivery forecasting. Several graduates secured roles at MultiChoice, highlighting the partnership’s success in nurturing South African talent in this specialised field.

# The 22nd edition of the Suidoosterfees gets underway at the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town from today until Sunday. This year’s theme, Kuns is Alles (Art is Everything), highlights the vital role of the arts in inspiring hope, creating jobs, and strengthening communities. Western Cape MEC of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Ricardo Mackenzie, says that through partnerships with organisations like the National Youth Music Foundation, the Suidoosterfees plays an important role in developing the next generation of artists:

# Five South African filmmakers will have their independent short films showcased at the 29th annual American Black Film Festival in Miami in June. Ayanda Halimana, Kopedi Aphane, Donna Sibande, Chris Djuma, and Nondumiso Buthelezi-Masache have been picked as the winners of the inaugural South African Stories Short Film Showcase, a new programme introduced for this year’s festival. The festival’s founder, Jeff Friday, says they were blown away by the quality, originality, and emotional power of the submissions they received from South Africa this year.

# And finally, Ellen Pompeo has cemented her status as one of the defining television actors of the 21st century by receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The award-winning actress and producer is best known for her role as Meredith Grey on the hit ABC series Grey’s Anatomy. The 55-year-old also serves as an executive producer for the show, which is currently on its 21st season. Pompeo says this recognition is special:

Stay tuned for more news………….