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MICT SETA gives UFS Journalism students a stepping stone

07 October 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin

MICT Seta Grant — The MICT SETA Journalism programme will give addition training to 20 Journalism students from the Department of Communication Science.

Student success is one of the key components in the Integrated Transformation Plan. Facilitated by a grant from the Media Information and Communication Technologies (MICT) SETA, the Department of Communication Science at the University of the Free State (UFS) is providing an additional training opportunity for its students with a programme for second-year journalism students.

The MICT SETA Journalism Short Programme is a prestigious extracurricular opportunity. “The programme will provide additional exposure and training in specialist areas not necessarily covered in depth as part of the BA (Journalism) degree,” says Dr Willemien Marais, Programme Director: Communication Science. “Participation in this programme provides students the opportunity to build a portfolio to enhance their employability.”

The SETA grant was acquired through an application made by the department with the assistance of Juanita Burjins Head: Leadership and Development Unit in the Human Resources Department at the UFS, and was signed earlier this year.

In-depth training

The programme will entail short courses on writing, photojournalism, documentary filmmaking, entrepreneurship and personal development.
“It gives us an opportunity to swim in an ocean where it feels you are drowning. I am very excited to have been chosen to be part of the programme,” says.Rene Robinson, a second-year Journalism student and one of 20 selected for the programme. They were selected based on academic performance as well as on the essay they wrote.

Robinson says: “As a Journalism student you meet a lot of negativity about the degree you are pursuing and this programme offers a chance to elevate yourself.”
Keamogetswe Mosepele, who is also part of the programme, adds: “I am really excited to see what it will deliver.”

The programme specifically targets second-year students so these students, once in their final year, can share their experience through assisting a new cohort of first-year journalism students in various practical exercises, thus reinvesting in the department. They will also work at various media partners of the Department of Communication Science.

From the left; Nkonsinathi Gabuza, from the MICT Seta; Dr Willemien Marais; Prof Collin Chasi, Head of the Department Communication
Science and Juanita Burjins. (Photo: Rulanzen Martin)

News Archive

Internet Broadcast Project grabs attention of Commonwealth – and yet another award

2015-07-28

Learn more about the Internet Broadcast Project and its impact on learners’ lives

The Internet Broadcast Project (IBP) has brought yet another international award to the University of the Free State (UFS). This project – which is changing the lives of Free State school learners – has won second place in the Commonwealth Education Good Practice Awards, a huge achievement considering that the IBP was chosen from 89 submissions entered by a total of 20 countries belonging to the Commonwealth.

This latest award comes close on the heels of another international award that was presented to the IBP recently. In April 2015, the project was the winner of the 2015 Enterprise Video Award (EVA) in the category Video in Education Scholarship. This makes it two in a row, since the IBP also won an EVA in 2014 for Innovation in Pedagogy.

Mr Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, presenting the second-place prize for the Commonwealth Good Practice Awards to Sarietjie Musgrave, Head: ICTISE (ICT in School Education) on behalf of ICTISE.
Photo: Peter Ramsay

Live broadcast at no cost to schools
The IBP – presented from the UFS South Campus – makes use of the best teachers to broadcast lessons to school learners who do not have access to quality education. More than 10 subjects are broadcast live, via VSAT Internet Access, to 70 centres across the province. The technology provided at each school allows learners to communicate with the presenter in the studio during broadcast at no cost to the school or learner.

“Through the IBP,” says Sarietjie Musgrave, Head: ICTISE (ICT in School Education), “we aim to bring quality education to each and every learner, regardless of their socio-economic status or geographical location, while delivering cost-effective continuous teacher professional development directly relevant to the Free State community we serve.”

Making a positive difference
The Commonwealth Education Good Practice Awards honour education programmes that have made a positive difference to the status and condition of school children, teachers, or the education system in their countries. The IBP was lauded for its excellence in six of the Action Areas of Good Practices:

• Relevance
• Measurable impact and effect
• Sustainability
• Efficiency and effectiveness
• Community participation
• Replication

“Receiving this international award,” says Musgrave, “shows that we are having an impact worldwide.”

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