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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
How to interpret Centlec’s load shedding
2008-01-31
Everyone in South Africa is affected by power failures (load shedding). Centlec took certain measures to manage the situation. These measures are explained:
Time slots
See the following table for an indication of times when load shedding might be applied to specific areas: http://www.centlec.co.za/power_shed/PDF/time_slots.pdf
Groups
The city was divided into six groups. This document clearly indicates which area in the city resorts under which group: http://www.centlec.co.za/power_shed/PDF/groups.pdf
According to the document, the university resorts under group 4. In the table with time slots it is the grey area.
Stages
Eskom developed three stages for load shedding. (See stage table at the bottom of the page http://www.centlec.co.za/power_shed/PDF/time_slots.pdf)
- Stage 1: Less load shedding is applied in stage 1. E.g. the UFS resorts in group 4 and on a Monday, according to stage 1, the power will not be switched off during 12:00 and 14:30 (this time slot is not highlighted in orange).
- Stage 2: More load shedding is applied in stage 2. Load shedding will be applied during stage 2 between 12:00 and 14:30 on a Monday at the UFS.
- Stage 3: All time slots are highlighted in orange, which indicates that power will be switched off for the whole duration of stage 3.
Example
Today, Tuesday, load shedding was scheduled to take place from 10:00 to 12:00 at the UFS. Currently, according to Centlec’s web site, stage 1 is active. This time slot is not marked in stage 1, therefore load shedding is not applied. Centlec gives also additional information; “No load shedding in progress.”
Keep in mind that if an area is at risk it does not automatically imply that the power will be switched off. It all depends on the request from Eskom at that particular moment whether the actual shedding is required.