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The Faculty of Science, Engineering and Agriculture of the University of Venda is proud to announce that its own Professor Yoshan Moodley has been awarded a B rating by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of the Republic of South Africa. He is the only B rated academic at the University of Venda. The NRF ranks South Africa’s scientists by a stringent peer review system every five years in their careers. During the rating process, leading experts both locally and abroad are asked to comment on a scientist’s standing in their field of research, based on the quality and impact of their research outputs. The rating a scientist receives is a summary of opinions of at least six peers. Among senior academics the three rating categories are C (established researcher), B (internationally acclaimed researcher) and A (leading international researcher).
Professor Moodley’s achievement adds considerably to the credibility of the university as a research institution at home and abroad. Since Prof Moodley was employed at the university in 2015, UNIVEN’s name made its first ever appearances on the pages of the world’s most prestigious academic journals like Nature, Science and Proceedings of the National Academic of Sciences of the USA (PNAS). Moodley’s research has also been reported extensively in the international media, giving the University of Venda its first exposure in renowned newspapers like the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and
The Guardian. It is in recognition of these and other outstanding achievements that the NRF has awarded Professor Moodley with a B2 rating.
Prof Moodley’s B rating provides hope and encouragement to all our UNIVEN academics, especially those who are yet to become NRF rated. In the time he has been with us, Prof Moodley also developed and established a series of undergraduate and honours teaching modules in evolutionary biology, designed especially for UNIVEN students, to allow our Biological Sciences graduates a deeper and more holistic appreciation of science, life and nature.
UNIVEN Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Dr Bernard Nthambeleni says “It makes us proud and adds invaluably to our research psyche, to have a B rated scientist within our ranks. I congratulate Prof Moodley on this great achievement”, he concluded.
Issued by:
Department of Marketing, Branding & Communication
University of Venda
Tel: (015) 962 8525 /8710
Date: 05 March 2022
