The Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology held its 25th Annual Symposium at the Resolution Circle this November.

Attended by the Executive Dean Faculty of Science, Prof Debra Meyer, symposium guest speaker, Prof Alvaro Viljoen, stressed the significance of capitalising on South Africa’s local biodiversity. The country’s resources continue to attract international pharmaceutical companies, he said, so why should we not focus on boosting our own bio-economy?

The Best Honours Talk and Honours Poster was delivered by Ryan Orton, Dorcas Lekganyane scooped the award for Best Masters Talk and Estherna Pretorius received the award for Best PhD Talk. They were congratulated by the Head of Department, Prof Charles Whitehead at the awards ceremony of the symposium.