Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
25 April 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Jolandi Griesel
Dr Whitty Green, Dr Engela van Staden and Prof Francois Strydom
Dr Whitty Green, Dr Engela van Staden and Prof Francois Strydom, Senior Director of CTL.

Data, quality, and capacity building were among the main topics of discussion at the third annual Teaching and Learning Conference hosted by the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Dr Engela van Staden, Vice-Rector: Academic, welcomed delegates on the first day of the conference. The three themes of the conference were quality, capacity and excellence. “These three constructs have never been more relevant in South African higher education than now,’ said Dr Van Staden. “The quality of education, globally, and specifically in SA, is being questioned. Both public and private sectors are demanding graduates that need to meet the challenges of the 21st Century.” 

The aim of the teaching and learning conference is to foster more collaboration between academics at the UFS. A total of 14 academics from across all seven faculties presented during the two-day conference. Dr Whitty Green from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) delivered the keynote on the first day and Prof Corlia Janse van Vuuren delivered the second day keynote.

The inclusion of technology in the world of work and the use of data analytics are fundamentally confronting our learning and teaching place. “And I hope some of the issues will be addressed in the presentations,” Dr Van Staden said. 

Bringing down silos of research and teaching

Dr Green spoke about the Enacting the National Framework for Enhancing Academics as University Teachers. “Academics are teachers and researchers and they have to engage with the community. There are multiple roles and these roles intersect,” Dr Green said. In order to build capacity in the system it is important to understand the multiple natures of the roles and try to work with them. This is the reason why the teaching development grant and teaching grant have been pulled together to form the University Capacity Grant. “We are trying to break down the silos of research development and teaching development at universities,” he said.

Prof Janse van Vuuren, Head of the UFS School of Allied Health Professionals, delivered her keynote address on Quality, Capacity and Excellence: Dotting the Is and crossing the Ts in a changing, data-driven Higher Education Environment. She shared her story to establish a faculty-based operational framework for teaching and learning.

“I did not know how to bring all of the issues ranging from research, teaching and learning and student success into one framework,” said Prof Janse van Vuuren. She developed a faculty-based operational framework for teaching and learning for the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.

The third annual UFS Teaching and Learning Conference took place from 26 to 27 March 2019.



News Archive

Name it and claim it
2017-02-16

Description:UFS Student Newsletter Tags: UFS Student Newsletter longdesc=

The first edition of the UFS Student Newsletter also
contains a video that is part of the #StayInformed
campaign. The campaign introduces Kovsies to
some of the UFS communication platforms.
Photo: Supplied

Have you seen the new UFS Student Newsletter? It’s your one-stop interactive source of campus news about your fellow Kovsies, events, announcements, and information.

And guess what? We deliver it to you! Just keep an eye on your ufs4life emails for the electronic publication that will keep you in the loop.

First edition

In first edition, we cover many topics, with something for everyone. Read what first-years on the Qwaqwa Campus say, see how the Shimlas started their Varsity Cup campaign, learn how to make the most of a limited food budget, and find out what Mr Rag is up to.

Get in contact

We want to give you news, tailormade for you. That is why you should help us to name this newsletter. Email your ideas (and how you came up with it) to news@ufs.ac.za and stand a chance to win.

We would love to hear from you! Send your thoughts, campus news tips, and student events to news@ufs.ac.za 

  • Take a look at the first edition here: http://bit.ly/2kIIQWQ; also find it under the newsletter tab on KovsieLife.
  • Tell us what you think; name the newsletter and your suggestion might be chosen. Send an email to news@ufs.ac.za

 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept