Latest News Archive
Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
20 December 2019
|
Story Thabo Kessah
|
Photo Thabo Kessah
Dr Deidré van Rooyen from the Centre for Development Support, Dr Jared McDonald (Department of History), Moodi Matsoso, and Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele with the mobile device.
In an effort to broaden the storytelling horizons and to answer to the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Community Engagement on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus recently launched the Digital Storytelling project, aimed at broadening access to good community stories.
“We have partnered with the Common Good First initiative to enhance the service that we provide as a department,” said Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele, Director: Community Engagement.
“We challenge all academics, support staff, the SRC and students in general, to take advantage of this channel to communicate their stories to the world,” he said.
Histories of royal families
“The digital documentation of the histories of the royal families in the Qwaqwa area is in the pipeline and will be conducted in partnership with the Department of History. We have come to realise that with times changing, the younger generation loses track of the precious histories, and this platform will help in preserving that,” he added.
Community Engagement coordinator, Moodi Matsoso, also revealed that space has been identified for the lab. “At the moment, we are operating on mobile digital storytelling devices, with all the necessary equipment such as tablets and cameras. However, we will soon have a fully-fledged lab on campus,” she said.
This project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.
Andrew Mellon Foundation renews ongoing support for UFS projects
2017-04-10
Dr Saleem Badat and Annemia van der Heever.The University of the Free State (UFS) was first awarded a grant by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation (AWMF) in 2015 to fund several projects between 2015 and 2016 under the International Higher Education Strategic projects fund. The programme’s director, Dr Saleem Badat, visited the UFS on 23 March 2017 as part of his annual first-quarter feedback sessions, with not only the UFS but other universities around the country that benefited from the programme. Top of the agenda was a meeting with principal investigators of projects funded by the foundation, to discuss the UFS’s institutional priorities for funding, alongside the university’s management, to discuss possible intra-institutional projects to be undertaken with other universities.
During his visit, Dr Badat met with Prof Nicky Morgan, UFS Acting Vice-Chancellor and Rector, as well as the AWMF representative, Annamia van der Heever, Director: Institutional Advancement. He discussed future plans with managers of the Programme for Innovation in the Artform Development, #Movements project, Inclusive Professoriate Grant and the Curriculum reform programme which involved seven other universities.
The AWMF, through its projects, is instrumental in developing and maintaining strong higher education institutions that produce knowledge and high-quality graduates, and advances social justice. The projects further aim to deepen and broaden public understanding and support for the arts and humanities, diversity and inclusion. “The Foundation each year presents universities with wonderful opportunities to improve teaching, learning and research in the humanities. We are working hard with the Faculty of Humanities on possible submissions for 2017,” said Van der Heever.
During 2017 between $10.8 million and $12 million will be available for grants by the Foundation’s International Higher Education and Strategic Projects programme. The Vice-Chancellor’s Office will continue to serve as a contact point and administrative support for UFS projects currently funded by AWMF. Institutional Advancement will assist project leaders to draft submissions to the Foundation this year and in the future. In 2018 AWMF will celebrate 30 years of involvement in supporting higher education in South Africa.