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New South Campus principal brings wealth of ODL experience to UFS

01 January 2020 | Story Eugene Seegers | Photo Kaleidoscope Studios | Sonia Small

Kaleidoscope - Dr Maria Madiope - New South Campus Principal — Dr Maria Madiope took over the reins of the UFS South Campus at the beginning of January 2020.

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) approved the appointment of Dr Maria ‘Marinkie’ Madiope as Principal of the South Campus for Open Distance Learning (ODL) during a meeting held on 20 September 2019. Dr Madiope took over the reins of the UFS South Campus at the beginning of January 2020.

Educator at heart

Educating and empowering others are key aspects of Dr Madiope's life. She has served as the Director for University Teaching and Learning at Unisa since 2015 and takes her role incredibly seriously, achieving a transformative curriculum at the colleges under her care since her appointment.

Dr Madiope holds a PhD in Education from Unisa, with a specialisation in Didactics; her next two degrees where completed at the then RAU, which is today known as the University of Johannesburg: a BEd in 1999, followed by an MEd in 2001, both specialising in Computer-based Instruction. She previously obtained her BA Ed in 1985 and a BEd in 1988 from the University of the North. Her initial training as a teacher was from the Hebron College of Education from 1980-81.

Dr Madiope is also the editor of the only journal in ODL, Progressio, since 2016. Her expertise in E-learning is another of her strong points. Together with her team, Dr Madiope designed and developed the first online course in Curriculum Transformation, which is being piloted at Unisa. Her work has been rewarded with awards such as the Unisa Gender Activism: Advocacy and Promotion of Women’s Rights 2013, Unisa Woman of the Year 2013, and Unisa Best Performer 2013.

Dr Madiope brings with her a wealth of experience to UFS and her vision is to increase access to a wider base of learners with potentially having more African learners enrolled. The first point of call would be to have more learners coming from Lesotho and then the rest of the SADEC region, having the UFS become a leading distance-learning university. One of the key projects that Dr Madiope wishes to tackle is early childhood development. “I believe in educating educators to ensure that they are best equipped to provide the latest and relevant Early childhood and development practices that are on par with the rest of the world,” she says.

Community leader

In addition to being an experienced educator and administrator, Dr Madiope is instrumental in community projects that lie close to her heart. Whether it is large-scale advocacy for women’s rights or her personal involvement in the supply of sanitary towels for schoolgirls as part of a programme to empower the girl child through exposing them to options, it is humbling to watch her compassion in action.

She further intends to strengthen the relationship of the university with TVET Colleges and community colleges by providing mutually beneficial programmes that will up-skill those colleagues by giving them an opportunity to work with experienced UFS staff members. She says, “Reaching out to colleagues in TVET and Community colleges will offer them the opportunity to advance their lecturing and learning programmes, which will only lead to benefiting their learners and South Africa as a whole.”

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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