Always seeking to push the benchmark, UWC has created a TV series to telling human interest stories about its alumni, academics, staff and students.
After two years, “UWC on Air” piloted its first episode this week on Cape Town TV. The series will be broadcast every Tuesday.
The emotional episode focused on Dr Carolina Odman’s and her battle with cancer, as the series endeavours to tells human interest stories as well focus on those making a difference through innovation, breakthroughs, and research.
Since filming the episode Odman’s health has deteriorated and she was unavailable for comment because she was in hospital.
But her husband, Kevin Govender, said it meant the world to her to be featured.
“She knew that things were not looking good for her in terms of her health. Although she is at peace, she wanted something our two boys, Xavier and Cyprian, could have as a nice memory of her,” he said.
Govender said the UWC team did an amazing job with her feature.
“We have since received well wishes and prayers from her global circle of friends. The messages are very moving,” he said.
“The video has been a timeous reflection for all our family and friends as we prepare to face the inevitable.
“The nurses and doctors treating her have watched the video too and are all inspired sometimes to tears. She had so much love around her already, and the show just blew that up exponentially.”
The show was the brainchild of UWC's media and marketing manager and former Cape Argus editor, Gasant Abarder.
“We realised that students and staff were complaining about the amount of email communication we send out,” he said.
“I tried to think of a more engaging platform, like television.
Abarder said his initial idea for the show was to share ten-minute videos with the campus community weekly.
“The video would contain news, information and events. Then Robin Adams came along and imagined this TV show, uniquely showcasing the university,” he said.
“In this version, it showcased our academic endeavour, our notable research and our alumni, with people being at the heart of every story.”
The first season of UWC on Air contains 13 episodes.
Adams said it was important to share the UWC community and its stories with the broader community.
“Community is at the cornerstone of all we do at the university. It had to be on a community channel,” he said.
Adams is a writer for the university and is the project lead, executive producer and host of the pioneering TV show.
Adams said conceptualising the show was a hands-on process.
“We had so much fun bouncing ideas off each other. From the logo to the vision we had for the show, we came up with everything in-house,” he said.
“This is significant for UWC, but we hope it inspires other institutions to create platforms for their student and staff stories,” he said.
“It is an exciting platform to tell stories of the triumph of the human stories, overcoming hardships and flourishing in their academics,” he added.
UWC’s multimedia content producer, Jesi Townsend, was also the camera and video editor responsible for filming, editing and packaging all stories.
“Editing is my happy place. Being part of such a historic project like this has been nothing short of amazing,” she said.
“The first episode sharing Dr Odman’s cancer journey was very impactful, and I think it will leave a lasting effect on our campus community and the public at large,” she added.
“These are stories that need to be shared, and hopefully, we can do that in a great way.”
UWC on Air is available on Cape Town TV, airs nationally on Dstv channel 263 and is available worldwide on the university’s YouTube channel with the same name.
Each new episode airs on a Tuesday at 21.00, with repeats on Thursday morning at 11.30 and Sunday at 1pm.
From episode two, the show will contain a segment called ‘Them and Now’, which is focused on UWC alumni and looking at where their careers have taken them since completing their studies at the institution.