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I am employed by Stellenbosch University’s IT division as Director: eBusiness – which is an unusual position in a university but essentially means that my role is to analyse and understand institutional processes and needs and help design information system solutions. In short, I am a “business analyst” but who also initiates and leads development projects. My focus has been on teaching and learning and research support processes (the core academic “business” of the university).

On the Eden to Addo Mega-hike above Soetkraal

Lately, I have led a sustainable IT initiative on campus in line with my convictions about sustainability and environmental protection. Those convictions were also responsible for me being a co-founder of ecoafrica.com – an inbound ecotourism website – way back in 1995 (other web properties included krugersafari.com and ecoAfrica’s Blog).

I have been a member of the Botanical Society of SA and the Wildlife and Environment Society of SA for a number of years and as I enter what I call the “community phase” of life, I have recently become a member of the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve Protected Area Advisory Committee (J-PAAC) and joined Jonkershoek Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) as a volunteer wildfire-fighter.

Originally I graduated with a degree in electronic engineering from Stellenbosch in 1979 and followed it up with an MBA in 1994. I am something of a permanent student, so in line with my “green” interests completed an MPhil in Environmental Management in 2004 and I am currently doing an MPhil in Renewable and Sustainable Energy at Stellenbosch’s Sustainability Institute because I believe that the twin challenges of our time are the depletion of our endowment of energy sources, mainly fossil fuel, and climate change.

On the Galana River, Tsavo National Park, Kenya

I am married to Marion who hails from the Koo, and we have been blessed with two lovely daughters, Leigh and Heather. Leisure time is spent  windsurfing, reading, travelling, a sea kayaking and hiking. The university has generous leave conditions and I work hard at exploiting them optimally. Working myself to death is not an option.

My father is Dutch, from Wassenaar. He emigrated here with his parents and brothers after WWII and settled near Stellenbosch. There is a romantic theory that we are the descendants of Sephardic Jews, so I am interested in tracing the roots of the Pina family. My mom is a Capetonian through and through and I was born on the slopes of Table Mountain as well, but I now call Stellenbosch “home”.

I am a rehabilitating soccer fanatic.  Now that South Africa has the privilege of hosting World Cup 2010, I’ll have to reconsider that status – and yes, I have tickets for some matches at Green Point. I played competitively for almost 30 years, and coached too. I have always followed Ajax Amsterdam, Oranje and FC Barcelona.

I would have loved to have been a virtuoso jazz pianist – or a rock star – but sadly the love of music was never matched by raw talent. So although I took piano lessons late in life for three years, I ended up frustrating myself no end…

Ralph Pina | Create your badge

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