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Internationalisation at home: Perspectives from abroad

30 April 2020 | Story Baptiste Becret | Photo Supplied

Since the approval of the University of the Free State (UFS) internationalisation strategy for 2018-2022, the UFS community and staff members of the Office for International Affairs (OIA) have been working hard to try and realise the goals stated in the strategy. The policy states “the university's’ commitment to developing curricula that are locally relevant, globally competitive and connect to multiple knowledge paradigms”. Furthermore, “We expect that the new internationalisation strategy will advance the international positioning of the university, and synergise the existing rich international activities into intentional, comprehensive internationalisation processes”.

In an effort to realise the said expectations through the university’s inbound mobility programme, the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French in the Faculty of the Humanities has hired Baptiste Becret, an exchange student from French partner university, Science PO Bordeaux, as French tutor for the first semester of 2020. This collaboration by the two departments endeavours to achieve the university’s vision of developing its students’ international and intercultural competencies through internationalisation at home. Equally, this initiative speaks to a critical aspect of internationalisation, the “purposeful integration of international and intercultural dimensions into the formal curriculum for the UFS students within the domestic learning environment”.

Being the only Frenchman on campus

“I was the only Frenchman on campus and at the university, which I rather enjoyed. I learned at the beginning of this year, in January, that I could share my culture and language by helping students participating in the first- and second-year French courses at the university. For my part, I was attached to the Faculty of the Humanities. I've already had experience as a tutor in France, so I wasn't very stressed at the idea of being in front of a class. I enjoyed trying to teach my mother tongue. My contact with the French teacher was good. He gave me a lot of freedom to do the activities I wanted to do.

I didn't think that passing on my knowledge to the first-year class would be so difficult. Indeed, for some of them, they have never spoken a word of French. But the atmosphere improved from class to class after a shy start. I hope I was able to help them as best I could. In any case, I was very happy to teach them and to assist them in their various difficulties with the language. For the second-year class, the atmosphere was a little different. The class was smaller, the students already knew each other well, and they were pretty close. Additionally, their language level was already good.

All this to say that being a French tutor was a great experience. It was enriching for both parties (students and me). Of course, I tried to do the best I could, and I took advantage of the free time my schedule gave me to share a little bit of my home country. So, I advise future international students – if they feel comfortable with that – to give it a try. It's only two hours a week with a little bit of extra money. Finally, I would like to thank the International Office for informing me of this opportunity, the people involved in the programme, including my coordinator, the French teacher, and especially the students who have been super cool to me.”

News Archive

Nanotechnology breakthrough at UFS

2010-08-19

Ph.D students, Chantel Swart and Ntsoaki Leeuw

Scientists at the University of the Free State (UFS) made an important breakthrough in the use of nanotechnology in medical and biological research. The UFS team’s research has been accepted for publication by the internationally accredited Canadian Journal of Microbiology.

The UFS study dissected yeast cells exposed to over-used cooking oil by peeling microscopically thin layers off the yeast cells through the use of nanotechnology.

The yeast cells were enlarged thousands of times to study what was going on inside the cells, whilst at the same time establishing the chemical elements the cells are composed of. This was done by making microscopically small surgical incisions into the cell walls.

This groundbreaking research opens up a host of new uses for nanotechnology, as it was the first study ever in which biological cells were surgically manipulated and at the same time elemental analysis performed through nanotechnology. According to Prof. Lodewyk Kock, head of the Division Lipid Biotechnology at the UFS, the study has far reaching implications for biological and medical research.

The research was the result of collaboration between the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, the Department of Physics (under the leadership of Prof. Hendrik Swart) and the Centre for Microscopy (under the leadership of Prof.Pieter van Wyk).

Two Ph.D. students, Chantel Swart and Ntsoaki Leeuw, overseen by professors Kock and Van Wyk, managed to successfully prepare yeast that was exposed to over-used cooking oil (used for deep frying of food) for this first ever method of nanotechnological research.

According to Prof. Kock, a single yeast cell is approximately 5 micrometres long. “A micrometre is one millionth of a metre – in laymen’s terms, even less than the diameter of a single hair – and completely invisible to the human eye.”

Through the use of nanotechnology, the chemical composition of the surface of the yeast cells could be established by making a surgical incision into the surface. The cells could be peeled off in layers of approximately three (3) nanometres at a time to establish the effect of the oil on the yeast cell’s composition. A nanometre is one thousandth of a micrometre.

Each cell was enlarged by between 40 000 and 50 000 times. This was done by using the Department of Physics’ PHI700 Scanning Auger Nanoprobe linked to a Scanning Electron Microscope and Argon-etching. Under the guidance of Prof. Swart, Mss. Swart en Leeuw could dissect the surfaces of yeast cells exposed to over-used cooking oil.

The study noted wart like outgrowths - some only a few nanometres in diameter – on the cell surfaces. Research concluded that these outgrowths were caused by the oil. The exposure to the oil also drastically hampered the growth of the yeast cells. (See figure 1)

Researchers worldwide have warned about the over-usage of cooking oil for deep frying of food, as it can be linked to the cause of diseases like cancer. The over-usage of cooking oil in the preparation of food is therefore strictly regulated by laws worldwide.

The UFS-research doesn’t only show that over-used cooking oil is harmful to micro-organisms like yeast, but also suggests how nanotechnology can be used in biological and medical research on, amongst others, cancer cells.

Figure 1. Yeast cells exposed to over-used cooking oil. Wart like protuberances/ outgrowths (WP) is clearly visible on the surfaces of the elongated yeast cells. With the use of nanotechnology, it is possible to peel off the warts – some with a diameter of only a few nanometres – in layers only a few nanometres thick. At the same time, the 3D-structure of the warts as well as its chemical composition can be established.

Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt@ufs.ac.za
18 August 2010

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