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29 April 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba
Government to enhance PhD production
University Staff Development Programme will capacitate PhD candidates in the tripartite Global Health programme.
Can you complete a PhD in three years? The answer is “yes!” However, a challenge of this magnitude requires a proper plan.The University Staff Doctorate Programme (USDP) will provide the blueprint for that plan to five high-calibre senior staff members at the University of the Free State (UFS) who have taken on the challenge to obtain PhDs.

What is the USDP?
The University of Venda and the University of Virginia in the US have partnered with our university to help transform South African academic expertise in Global Health. Leading the cohort is the UFS Office for International Affairs. This USDP project falls under the broader University Capacity Development Programme funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training.

Candidates will be supported through mechanisms including an annual training school, visits to partner universities abroad, scholarships and reduced fees, interdisciplinary and inter-institutional co-supervision and expert advice, as well as parallel support for supervisors.

Members of the cohort
Chevon Slambee, Chief Internationalisation Officer at the Office for International Affairs, said: “These are established academics and role models in their respective areas of specialisation who have displayed strong leadership skills whilst showing a keen interest to collaborate with institutions in the US in order to advance their academic and professional careers.”

Our cohort comprises of Prof Riaz Seedat, Head: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Dr Steven Matshidza, Head: Orthopaedic Surgery; Prof Shisana Baloyi, Head: Obstetrics and Gynaecology; Dr Edwin Turton, Head of and Senior Lecturer at the Department Anaesthesiology; and Prof Makoali Makotoko, Head: Cardiology, who will be funded by the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Carving changemakers
Three years later, this cohort will fulfil the National Development Plan to have 75% of university academic staff holding PhDs and becoming the dominant drivers of new knowledge production within the higher education science and innovation system by 2030.

News Archive

We show our colours in support of autism awareness
2012-04-11

The Main Building on our Bloemfontein Campus will be illuminated in blue till the end of April to show support for autism awareness.
Photo: René-Jean van der Berg
12 April 2012

The Main Building on our Bloemfontein Campus will be illuminated in blue till the end of April to show our support for autism awareness, together with the rest of the world.

April is Autism Awareness Month and various iconic landmarks worldwide will be lit up in blue to honour those with autism.

Autism is one of only three conditions that are commemorated by the World Health Organisation.

Autism is a neurological condition that can be diagnosed in children as young as three years old. Worldwide one out of every 100 children is diagnosed within the autistic spectrum. This means that in South Africa a child is born with autism every hour and in the Free State some 400 children per year are born with the condition.

“Despite the high prevalence of autism in South Africa, South Africans know very little about it,” says Dr. David Griessel, an autism expert of the UFS’s Department of Paediatrics and Child Health. “Stories and films that attempt to portray autistic characters often create the wrong impression among the public concerning this complex illness. This distorts the reality since every child with autism is unique,” says Dr. Griessel.

He says it is important that all children with signs of autism are referred for evaluation as early intervention can prevent autism from further disrupting normal development.

Therapists and teachers who specialise in autism-specific treatment play an important role in this regard.

“However, there are no well-established services for toddlers in the Free State. Fortunately, there are classes developing in schools such as Lettie Fouché, Willem Postma and Pholoho, as well as in Kroonstad and Welkom. The Free State Autism Association has established a private school that offers a service to seven learners.”

For more information on autism in children or for information on special projects in the Free State, contact Dr. Griessel at +27(0)51 405 53177 or +27(0)51 405 3181.

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