Visiting scholars sharing knowledge at GCI
GCI hosted three specialists in their respective field to assist with key GCI projects.?
It's been a bumper year for GCI thus far in terms of new and ongoing projects. To help assist on some projects, GCI hosted Professor Michel Verstraete, Dr Mutizwa Mukute and Dr Matthew Rich-Tolsma in 2017.
Dr Mutizwa Mukute
Mutizwa is a specialist in learning approaches in environmental education and sustainable agriculture.
Mutizwa from Rhodes University is consulting with Professor Coleen Vogel on the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) project.
He worked on the review (phase 1) conducted by GCI of the CoJ 2009 Adaptation Plan last year (2016).
This year phase 2 of the CoJ project kicked-off at GCI which relates to the development of a Climate Change Adaptation Framework for the City. Mutizwa has assisted Coleen on the development of this document, and has played a key role in engagement session workshops arranged by GCI with the City regarding climate change adaptation.
Professor Michel Verstraete
The GCI hosted Visiting Professor Michel Verstraete. A highly accomplished academic in the field of earth observation and satellite technology, Michel has over 250 contributions published.
Michel has extensive expertise pertaining to the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument that measures the reflectance of the planet in four spectral bands from nine different directions. The data gathered by MISR is highly useful in climatological studies. During his visit to GCI, Michel worked on updating MISR manuals in addition to giving various talks at Wits.
Michel presented a Geospatial Science Seminar where he spoke about the MISR instrument in relation to earth observation. He further elaborated on how a processing system was designed and implemented at GCI to derive advanced biogeophysical products to quantitatively describe terrestrial environments at the spatial resolution of 275 m.
In addition, Michel with his wealth of experience, provided invaluable guidance to GCI postdocs who work with MISR data.
During his visit, Michel was also elected as a guest speaker at the Faculty of Science graduation this year. His speech can be found here.
Dr Matthew Rich-Tolsma
Matthew works with organisations, multi-stakeholder teams, and individuals, to design and deliver transformative learning solutions that develop adaptive 21st century skills for tackling complex problems.
Matthew was hosted by the GCI for his speciaist skills pertaining to transformation. He is assisting on two key projects, namely the Wits Sustainability Strategy and the City of Johannesburg Climate Change Adaptation Framework.
While at GCI, Matthew presented a seminar on transdisciplinarity entitled: "Being Pragmatic: Examining the Foundations of Transdisciplinarity as an Approach to Complex Global Challenges in the University". The seminar explored philosophical perspectives on transdisciplinarity and also looked at implications for research, pedagogy, and curriculum in the university.
The GCI is working on engaging Wits academics with regard to formulating a Wits Sustainability Strategy. Matthew facilitated the first Wits Sustainability Workshop at GCI (findings of this workshop to be shared).
In addition to the above, Matthew has assisted Professor Coleen Vogel with the draft of the City of Johannesburg Climate Change Adaptation Framework document, where he focused on the utilisation of the Cynefin Framework. The Cynefin Framework is described as being a being a tool to assist in making decisions.