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23 April 2020
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Story Cornelius Hagenmeier
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Photo Pixabay
The iKudu project, which is an European Union-funded Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) project, has recently launched its blog, which aims to amplify the diverse voices of all iKudu stakeholders. In this space, members of the iKudu team will regularly share their views on the project and related international education topics.
The iKudu project focuses on developing a contextualised South African concept of Internationalisation of the Curriculum (IoC), which integrates Cooperative Online International Learning (COIL) virtual exchanges. The project was launched by the UFS in 2019, together with nine European and South African partner universities. It is funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme with EUR999 881 (approximately R20 million) and is implemented over a three-year period.
The iKudu project is based on the fundamental belief that it is necessary to rethink internationalisation in an uncertain world. First, it is crucial to recognise and transform the power dynamics underlying international academic collaboration. Second, it is essential to develop pedagogies that allow every student to participate in international education, integrating technology where appropriate.
However, while all stakeholders agree on the fundamental tenets of the project and its principal goals, all iKudu stakeholders contribute different perspectives. In the blog, the iKudu stakeholders will provide a space for intellectual discourse on the project and related international education topics, which will allow constructive and critical engagement.
The link to the blog can be found at: https://www.ufs.ac.za/ikudu/ikudu-blogs/Transforming-Curricula-through-Internationalisation-and-Virtual-Exchanges
Free State University Choir wins competition in Prague
2009-12-15
This past weekend, the Free State University Choir, under the directorship of Mr Corné van Pletzen, won the Christmas Music Festival Competition in Prague in the Czech Republic. 25 choirs from amongst others Spain, Hungary, Slovakia and Russia also participated in the competition.
It is the first time in the 10 years that the Christmas Music Festival Competition is presented that an overall winner of the festival and the competition was announced.
The choir originally only participated in the festival part of the Christmas Music Festival. Later, at the end of the competition, they were asked by the judges to prepare a song for the prize-giving ceremony, not knowing that the judges were judging them for the competition.
Mr Van Pletzen said, “Finally, after all prizes had been handed out, a trumpet fanfare announced the Free State University Choir as the overall winner of the competition. Our choir was also requested to close the competition with a song; that we did, whereupon our students sang the National Anthem with pride and with tears in their eyes.
The choir’s presentation was unique as they included a great variety of songs in their programme, amongst others some of Mr Van Pletzen’s own compositions and a song from Africa, Wana Baraka.
According to Mr Van Pletzen, six of the choirs obtained more than 90% during the competition. The Free State University Choir was however overwhelmed with positive feedback on the standard of their presentation from the audience, other participating choirs as well as the judges.
Most of the 38 choir members have already been members of this choir for three years now and this is the third time that most of them are singing overseas.
They will bring home a beautiful glass trophy. |

Mr Corné van Pletzen. |