100 years of innovation for good
Wits University and Witsies – the affectionate term for its students, staff and alumni – have undoubtably changed the world for good over the past 100 years, be it through research and innovation, teaching and learning or civic action.
It was at Wits where engineers developed and tested the first radar set. Fast forward 70 years and researchers are now testing the safe encryption and transmission of data through light on the same spot. Wits was the first South African university to own an IBM mainframe computer. By 2019 Wits, in partnership with IBM, became the first African university to access a quantum computer.
Witsies took to the streets to oppose apartheid and other atrocities, resulting in campus raids, violence, imprisonment and even death for people like David Webster. Fast forward to the 21st century and Witsies continue to demand access to higher education, and engage in civic activities, whether it be insisting for the treatment of HIV/Aids, speaking out against xenophobia or advocating for measures to mitigate climate change.
Teaching and learning at Wits started in 1922 in response to a need from industry and the City of Johannesburg.
A century later, Wits’ response to the coronavirus pandemic can be felt at both the local and global levels through its innovative research (including vaccine development), blended teaching and learning programmes, community initiatives, and social activism.
Today, we are confronted with a myriad of complex planetary problems including inequality, erratic energy supply and crime, lack of governance and ethics, the intersection of communicable and non-communicable diseases and pandemics.
It is at Wits where the best intellectual talent and resources are brought to bear, across disciplines, institutions, sectors and geographic boundaries to find solutions to these challenges, some of which are still unknown.
The university continues to make a positive impact on society from its locale in the Global South as it remains true to its values, which include searching for and standing up for the truth, holding those in power to account, acting with integrity, entrenching proper governance systems, guarding academic freedom and institutional autonomy, tolerating differences of opinion, and standing up for democracy, justice, equality and freedom.
The university is cognisant that it must continue to promote freedom of enquiry and the search for knowledge and truth, foster a culturally diverse, intellectually stimulating and harmonious environment within which there is vigorous critical exchange and communication, and encourage freedom of speech and public debate, through facilitating dialogue and interaction between different parties, with the goal of increasing mutual respect and trust.
Wits remains a beacon of hope in society — a national treasure that has developed with the City of Johannesburg and industry, an institution that will continue to impact on society for good, for the next 100 years.
We will continue to strive for excellence in all that we do and use our knowledge for the advancement of our community, city, country, continent, and the globe. For Good.