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12 June 2018 Photo Thabo Kessah
Young researcher to jet out to UK
Mamosa Ngcala who leaving for the United Kingdom on 31 July 2018.
When Mamosa Ngcala jets out to the United Kingdom (UK) on 31 July 2018, she will not only be doing research and improving herself academically at the Durham University, but she will also put yet another feather in the growing research profile cap of the Qwaqwa Campus.

“I am looking forward to my study visit under the mentorship of Dr Steve Chivasa, my supervisor’s co-researcher in the Department of Biosciences at the renowned Durham University. This will enable me to grow academically as much as it will get me closer to concluding my research on climate change and food security,” said Mamosa, a master’s student in Science (Botany). Her supervisor is Dr Rudo Ngara.

“Going there will fast-track my research that looks at how food security can be enhanced in as far as growing sorghum is concerned. This study in Plant Biotechnology aims to identify heat responsive genes in sorghum, which is the fifth most important cereal crop in the world. The information obtained in this study will serve as fundamental knowledge regarding molecular responses of plants to heat stress and will be used in breeding programmes to develop crops that can tolerate high temperature stress conditions caused by climate change, thus resulting in high crop yield in agriculture as well as food security,” she said. She will be in the UK until 12 September 2018.

Mamosa has recently won the 3-Minute thesis competition for graduates that was part of the ‘Sorghum in the 21st Century’ international conference held in Cape Town.

Talking about this achievement, she said: “Going head-to-head with PhD students from all over the world gave me extra motivation and drive to do well, and I did. This goes to show that we can achieve whatever we put our minds to. Having to summarise my entire study in three minutes for a non-specialist audience, using one PowerPoint slide, was a challenge that had to be overcome,” said Mamosa. The conference was organised by the Collaborative Research on Sorghum and Millet and the University of Pretoria.

Mamosa graduated with distinction in Botany for her honours degree. She is a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society and Chairperson of the Postgraduate Student Council and is looking forward to advancing her studies to PhD level.

News Archive

Anchen Froneman selected for NY post-grad programme
2015-04-29

Anchen Froneman

Anchen Froneman, PhD-student at the UFS Odeion School of Music (OSM), has been accepted into the Modular Certification Programme in Laban Movement Studies at the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS), in New York (USA). 

This programme is a postgraduate certificate that is considered the equivalent of a master’s degree programme. Successful completion earns the title of Certified Movement Analyst (CMA).  Anchen’s attendance at the first module of the programme from 1 to 17 June 2015 has been made possible by a Postgraduate Scholarship granted by the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust.

Participation in the CMA Programme stems from her multidisciplinary doctoral research project as well as a personal interest in the ways that body movement contributes to a holistic musical performance.  In her research project, she investigates the application of Laban Movement Studies to obtaining embodied, integrative piano performances.  Laban Movement Studies is an approach whereby both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of body movement is analysed, codified, and developed, using specific considerations. This somatic approach uses a framework based on the personal uniqueness and complexity embedded in human movement, explaining and developing the organisation of the body, the position and relation of the body to itself, space, and other objects as well as the dynamic range of body movement. 

CMAs contribute to various areas of human development, including leadership development, cross-cultural communications and management, interpersonal skills and conflict management, team development, self-awareness and performance improvement, performing arts as well  as movement therapies.

Anchen uses the foundation of the Laban approach in her hypothesis that the development of both functional and expressive movement will enhance musical performance.  She also centres this on the literature findings on body movement in the disciplines of music performance, neuroscience, psychology, and physiology. With this project, she aims to make a scholarly contribution towards raising awareness of the importance of integrating functional and expressive movements in performance.

Anchen completed her previous music qualifications at the OSM.

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