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UFS partners with local radio stations to address community issues

08 December 2020 | Story Dikgapane Makhetha | Photo Supplied

In response to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Directorate: Community Engagement (CE) has initiated an innovative platform on which students can continue to engage with university community partners, and at the same time be assessed for their service-learning and community engagement projects.

The E-Engagement approach also meets the University of the Free State’s (UFS) strategic mandate to be a caring, responsive, and engaged university. Coordinated by the UFS CE office, academic staff and students are scheduled to engage with the community partners through radio broadcasts and virtual mode platforms. Informative content that has been researched, prepared, and presented by students in a pre-recorded format, will address significant issues brought about by the surge of COVID-19, creating a breeding ground for some of the societal ills, such as gender-based violence (GBV).

In order to establish sustainable relationships with community radio stations, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with two local community radio stations was signed on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus on 10 October 2020. Prof Puleng LenkaBula, the Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Student Affairs, and Community Engagement, and Bishop Billyboy Ramahlele, CE Director, participated in the commitment to formalise the relationship between the UFS and the two radio stations, Mosupatsela FM and Motheo FM.

Master’s students from the Department of Psychology have produced and pre-recorded podcasts on community psychology. Their topics covered grief and self-compassion. The Department of Nutrition and Dietetics presented topics on a healthy lifestyle and diet. Fourth-year students from the School of Nursing have engaged new mothers concerning post-natal care. The School of Clinical Medicine has addressed the warning signs of burnout and preventative measures.

Bishop Ramahlele emphasised the importance of sustained relationship, which is expected to create further opportunities for interaction through partnerships in skills training (ICT) and the sharing of resources, including consultations through conference platforms. Prof LenkaBula highlighted the significance of the MOA by applauding the initiative, which has unlimited potential to ensure national development through student engagement, since universities create development sites that can be transferred further into the community.

News Archive

Team on the way to SIFE world cup

2007-07-16

A team of students from the University of the Free State (UFS) has won a national competition in business skills and entrepreneurship, and will be representing South Africa at the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) World Cup in New York later this year.

The SIFE World Cup will be held in New York from 10 to 12 October, and will feature student teams from 40 countries.

Antonia Gumede, a UFS student, says the competition involves students developing sustainable business models based in the community, which are evaluated in terms of entrepreneurship, financial literacy, business ethics, market economics and success skills.

Gumede says the UFS entry won first prize in all five categories at this year’s national competition.

The UFS team consisted of seven students and two faculty advisers, and included a diverse group of students studying in fields such as accounting, psychology, social science and actuarial science.

The UFS won the national SIFE competition for three years in a row – 2002, 2003 and 2004. This year (2007), the UFS team emerged as the winner for the fourth time.

The Co-ordinator of Community Service in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, Tessa Ndlovu, attributes the success of the team to the university’s policy of community service learning, which she says motivates students to get involved in academically grounded projects that contribute to the well-being of the community.

“The financial, academic and emotional support from the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, as well as the faculty’s contribution to community service learning on the campus, contributes to the success of the team,” added Ndlovu.

The UFS SIFE team has been sweeping the board nationally. They first won the competition in 2002 and went on to represent the country at the SIFE World Cup in Amsterdam (the Netherlands), where they came fourth out of 33 countries.

In the following year (2003), the SIFE UFS team was once again crowned the national champion and went on to represent South Africa internationally, coming second in Mainz, Germany.

SIFE teams spend the academic year conducting projects that specifically meet the communities’ unique needs. These efforts assist aspiring entrepreneurs, struggling business owners, low-income families and children by teaching them how to succeed in a global market economy.

“Teams have the tremendous asset of learning from business experts who serve on their Business Advisory Boards. These people not only provide mentorship and guidance to them in terms of their projects, but also introduce them to other leaders in the community and give them access to needed resources,” said Nldovu.

“It is an unparalleled feeling to know that the contribution we as students make in our communities actually matters,” added Gumede.

Media release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt.stg@mail.ufs.ac.za
16 July 2007

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