Grocott's Mail
  • NEWS
    • Courts & Crime
    • Features
    • Politics
    • People
    • Health & Well-being
  • SPORT
    • News
    • Results
    • Sports Diary
    • Club Contacts
    • Columns
    • Sport Galleries
    • Sport Videos
  • OPINION
    • Election Connection
    • Makana Voices
    • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
    • Newtown… Old Eyes
    • Incisive View
    • Your Say
  • ARTSLIFE
    • Cue
    • Makana Sharp!
    • Visual Art
    • Literature
    • Food & Fun
    • Festivals
    • Community Arts
    • Going Places
  • OUR TOWN
    • What’s on
    • Spiritual
    • Emergency & Well-being
    • Safety
    • Civic
    • Municipality
    • Weather
    • Properties
      • Grahamstown Properties
    • Your Town, Our Town
  • OUTSIDE
    • Enviro News
    • Gardening
    • Farming
    • Science
    • Conservation
    • Motoring
    • Pets/Animals
  • ECONOMIX
    • Business News
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Personal Finance
  • EDUCATION
    • Education NEWS
    • Education OUR TOWN
    • Education INFO
  • Covid-19
  • EDITORIAL
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • Abalone poacher nabbed in Makhanda
  • Brumbies taste defeat under controversial circumstances
  • Another Makhanda boxing legend passes away
  • Luyolo Matiwane makes the Eastern Cape under-17 team
  • RMR 89.7 FM celebrates radio licence renewal
  • As whistleblowers come forward, it’s our duty to protect them
  • Makhanda Fire Brigade praised by residents
  • Two deaths shock Makhanda
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Grocott's Mail
  • NEWS
    • Courts & Crime
    • Features
    • Politics
    • People
    • Health & Well-being
  • SPORT
    • News
    • Results
    • Sports Diary
    • Club Contacts
    • Columns
    • Sport Galleries
    • Sport Videos
  • OPINION
    • Election Connection
    • Makana Voices
    • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
    • Newtown… Old Eyes
    • Incisive View
    • Your Say
  • ARTSLIFE
    • Cue
    • Makana Sharp!
    • Visual Art
    • Literature
    • Food & Fun
    • Festivals
    • Community Arts
    • Going Places
  • OUR TOWN
    • What’s on
    • Spiritual
    • Emergency & Well-being
    • Safety
    • Civic
    • Municipality
    • Weather
    • Properties
      • Grahamstown Properties
    • Your Town, Our Town
  • OUTSIDE
    • Enviro News
    • Gardening
    • Farming
    • Science
    • Conservation
    • Motoring
    • Pets/Animals
  • ECONOMIX
    • Business News
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Personal Finance
  • EDUCATION
    • Education NEWS
    • Education OUR TOWN
    • Education INFO
  • Covid-19
  • EDITORIAL
Grocott's Mail
You are at:Home»EDUCATION»Rhodes signs up for Green Chemistry
EDUCATION

Rhodes signs up for Green Chemistry

Grocott's Mail ContributorsBy Grocott's Mail ContributorsApril 30, 2021Updated:April 30, 2021No Comments3 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Green Chemistry champions at Rhodes University, Professors Rosalyn Klein and Rui Krause.  Photo supplied

Rhodes University’s Chemistry Department has made history by being the first in any South African university to join the Green Chemistry Commitment programme. In signing this commitment, Rhodes University is joining over 70 signers from 11 other nations (including Kenya and Nigeria) in a commitment to educating the next generation of chemists in Green chemistry.

Green chemistry (GC) is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce and/or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances. This approach requires an open and interdisciplinary view of material and product design. It applies the principle that it is better to consider waste and hazard prevention options during the design and development phase, rather than disposing, treating and handling waste and hazardous chemicals after a process or material has been developed.

As a signatory of the Green Chemistry Commitment, Rhodes University’s Chemistry Department agrees to work towards adopting the Student Learning Objectives in its own unique way. Rhodes University Head of Chemistry, Associate Professor Rosalyn Klein said the Green Chemistry Student Learning Objectives are at the core of the Green Chemistry Commitment. 

Professor Klein said the learning objectives focus on the 12 principles of GC, toxicology, practical application in laboratories, and practical application/engagement beyond the curriculum.

“When I heard about this commitment, through the announcement by the University of Bath, I joined one of the Beyond Benign discussion groups, and I found that we are already doing so many of the things that are aligned with this commitment,” Klein said.

“We already have green chemistry principles embedded in our undergraduate programme; we already have aspects of our practical programme infused with Green chemistry; and we already have Green chemistry education as part of our community engagement activities.” 

By signing this commitment, Rhodes University’s Chemistry Department has committed to an ongoing programme of improving its curriculum with respect to the learning outcomes, and has committed to reviewing its course offering in stages over the next three years. This is to ensure that the department is more conservative in its waste production, water use (although the University already works very hard at this, given the current restrictions on water use), and to incorporate the 12 principles into more aspects of the curriculum.

“One of the things that is so exciting for me is that this is a perspective rather than a curriculum, and so we can commit to this approach at the same time as reviewing our curriculum for the purposes of Rhodes University’s commitment to transformation and implementing the Institutional Development Plan,” Klein said.

“We are preparing our graduates to contribute to sustainable industrial development both locally and globally by teaching them how to do so with the cleanest footprint. I really believe that we are stewards of this earth – and this is one of the ways in which we can do that. I am really proud to do this with my department.”

Previous ArticleJDE 278 by George Euvrard
Next Article School for climate studies to open at Stellenbosch
Grocott's Mail Contributors

Grocott's Mail Contributors includes content submitted by members of the public, and public and private institutions and organisations - regular and occasional, expert and citizen, opinion and analysis.

Comments are closed.

Tweets by Grocotts
Newsletter



Listen

The Rhodes University Community Engagement Division has launched Engagement in Action, a new podcast which aims to bring to life some of the many ways in which the University interacts with communities around it. Check it out below.

Humans of Makhanda

Humans of Makhanda

Weather    |     About     |     Advertise     |     Subscribe     |     Contact     |     Support Grocott’s Mail

© 2023 Maintained by School of Journalism & Media Studies.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.