The University of Free State (UFS) in September hosted its annual Learning and Teaching Conference, under the theme Innovating the future of higher education: Sustainability and quality in learning and teaching. The first two days of the conference were presented in a hybrid format, combining in-person and online engagement, while the final two days took place fully online.

Prof Anthea Rhoda, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic at the UFS, officially opened the conference with a warm welcome. She highlighted the centrality of the theme, emphasising “three aspects, namely innovation, sustainability, and quality, which are closely aligned with the values of the UFS.” Prof Rhoda encouraged delegates to share their insights and actively engage with one another throughout the event. 

In her opening address, Prof Hester C. Klopper, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS, echoed these sentiments, stressing the importance of reimagining universities as spaces where pedagogy, excellence, and societal well-being converge. “The theme highlights the dual imperative of ensuring that education remains world-class, relevant, and inclusive, while embedding sustainability. This includes environmental, societal, and institutional sustainability, which is at the very heart of teaching and learning,” she said. 

Insights from local and international speakers

The conference programme featured contributions from UFS academics and a distinguished line-up of keynote speakers. 

Prof Melanie Walker, Distinguished Professor at the UFS Centre for Development Support (CDS), delivered a keynote address titled What do we actually mean by ‘sustainability’, and how does this understanding shape quality in our teaching and learning practices? She called for an “ontological reset” in how humanity views its relationship with nature.  

“As a university, we need to understand that eco- justice - or sustainability - has to be grounded in this ontological reset and in how we understand our relationship with nature,” she said.  Prof Walker argued that higher education, as it is currently structured in many contexts, is “probably part of the eco-problem rather than the solution. This is why we need a reset towards imagining a future of co-existence on planet Earth, so that earth and people are brought together.”  

Other keynote speakers included: Prof Mike Perkins,  Associate Professor and Head of the Centre for Research and Innovation at the British University Vietnam (VNM); Ben Brandon, Assistant Vice-President for Student Success Analytics at Georgia State University, USA; and Jana Lamprecht, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the UFS. 

A conversation on enhanced service learning

A highlight of the programme was a panel discussion on Incorporating Service- and Work-Integrated Learning: Preparing students for the future, facilitated by Prof Francois Strydom, Senior Director of the UFS Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL).  

The conversation focused on the concepts and benefits of enhanced service learning. Dr Nikodemus Solitander: Vice-Dean of the Hanken School of Economics and one of the panelists, explained: ‘’Our idea with enhanced service learning is that the students themselves are seen as active knowledge producers in traditional service learning.”

He shared insights from his work on an EU-funded project titled Co-producing knowledge on sustainable growth through service-learning pedagogy between Africa and European higher education institutions (COPAFEU). 

Another panellist, Marinda Avenant, Acting Head of Department at the UFS Centre for Environmental Management, reflected on the practical implementation of enhanced service learning within some of the centre’s modules and on her collaboration with Dr Solitander. 

With its rich programme of discussions and presentations, the conference was described by many attendees as both insightful and timely in addressing some of the key challenges currently faced in higher education.