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06 April 2018 Photo Rulanzen Martin
Researchers to represent UFS at BRICS Summit
From the left: Dr Thulisile Mphambukeli, leader of the BRICS research team that is exploring the political economy of water and food security, and her research partner, Dr Victor Okorie.

A Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) delegation is to hold the 10th Annual BRICS Summit in the last week of May 2018 in Johannesburg. Dr Thulisile Mphambukeli, leader of the University of the Free State (UFS) research team alongside Dr Victor Okorie from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, in collaboration with Prof Lere Amusan of North-West University, will ensure that water and food security is a prominent feature on the gathering’s agenda.
 
First, the project titled: “Exploring the political economy of water and food security nexus in BRICS and Africa” will debut at the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences BRICS Think Tank Forum”.

According to Dr Mphambukeli, the key to water security is attitudinal change by means of education and conscientisation. This, she is adamant about, holds the potential to drive behavioural adjustments in the way society interacts with water.
 
Genetic and social approaches
Dr Okorie asserts that if strides towards reducing the demand for water were to be made, research efforts should be geared towards effecting changes at DNA level. Meaning we need to explore waterwise ways that enable crops and animals to thrive optimally. 

The project also looks at social dimensions of water such as flushing a toilet. “Research activities on redesigning toilets, especially the urinal, where more than nine litres of water are used to flush less than one cubic centimetre of urine, are timely in the context of managing water and the food nexus crises,” said Dr Okorie.

Combining the genetic and social approaches would allow us to produce more with a smaller water footprint. This can be made possible by implementing precision agriculture which is about estimating and applying exact quantities of water and nutrients needed for the production of crops or the raising of livestock.

Paradigm shifting policies
Prof Amusan said the team intended to propose functional solutions that take the quality of water into consideration. Equitable production and distribution of water depends on endorsing policies of co-production between citizens, governments and the public sector. BRICS member states mutually consider water and food security as an issue of paramount significance, hence its feature on this prestigious summit’s agenda.

News Archive

PSP allows Dr Thom Wium to develop as an academic
2016-12-26

Description: Matildie PSP Tags: Matildie PSP 

For Dr Matildie Thom Wium, the
rewarding part of teaching is “the
moments of synergy with a group of
students” and when she senses that she
could, for instance, help them to better
understand a music selection.
Photo: Sonia Small

Being part of the Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Scholars Programme (PSP) has opened doors for Dr Matildie Thom Wium. She is able to better plan her research, and the overseas trips she has to undertake for this helps to develop her skills.

The senior lecturer in the Odeion School of Music (OSM) at the University of the Free State (UFS) says these are some of the advantages the PSP holds for her.

She attended two international conferences this year – in London in January, and in New York in August. Furthermore, she is working on musical analysis with Prof Timothy Jackson at the University of North Texas, US from 12 September 2016 to 31 December 2016. Prof Jackson is a research professor and was one of her PhD promoters.

Conferences contribute to her vision
“I think the PSP is a fantastic initiative,” says Dr Thom Wium, whose husband Daniël Wium is a lecturer in Astrophysics at the UFS. She says the reseach support from the PSP is amazing. “In addition, the writing retreats offered by the PSP help to set time aside during the busy semester to work on articles.”

“I think the PSP is a fantastic initiative.”

The conference in London was on operatic practice in the 19th century. In the US, Dr Thom Wium, who has been working at the UFS since 2007, also participated in a panel discussion on this topic. “It means a lot for my vision as an academic to participate in conferences where I have the opportunity to meet and exchange thoughts with the people whose work I read and cite.”

Involvement in SA equally important
However, she believes that it is equally important to stay involved locally. At the conference of the South African Society for Research in Music, which was hosted by the OSM from 25 to 27 August 2016, she presented a paper on composer Arnold van Wyk and performed a song cycle by him. She did research on Van Wyk for her PhD.

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