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Education dominates Qwaqwa Campus Teaching and Learning Awards

17 July 2020 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo UFS photo archive

The Faculty of Education on the Qwaqwa Campus has recently dominated the Centre for Teaching and Learning’s (CTL) Excellence in Learning and Teaching Awards, as well as the Research Awards for 2019/2020. The faculty’s Drs Bunmi Omodan and Maria Tsakeni were placed first and second respectively in the category Research in Teaching and Learning. This was on top of the faculty’s accolade in the category Faculty/Department that is the most involved in Teaching and Learning events and practices on the Qwaqwa Campus.

“The faculty is indeed proud to be associated with these fine scholars and the excellence they represent,” said Faculty of Education Dean,Prof Loyiso Jita, in a congratulatory message to the faculty members.

“To the winners, please continue to live our emerging vision of ‘Representing and using our diversity, excellence in scholarship on research and teaching, and an ethic of care and service’ to produce teachers with balanced knowledge and skills and a consciousness to serve all of society in its diversity,” he added.

Winners from the faculty for the Research Awards were Dr Bekithemba Dube as the Most Prolific Researcher in the Faculty of Education and Dr Sekitla Makhasane in the category Best Emerging Researcher in the Faculty of Education.

It is the first time in years that all four faculties received Learning and Teaching Awards. Institutional awards are scheduled for September 2020.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Excellence in Learning and Teaching Awards:

Category: Research in Learning and Teaching:

Position 1: Dr Bunmi Omodan (Faculty of Education)

Position 2: Dr Maria Tsakeni (Faculty of Education)

Category: Innovation in Learning and Teaching:

Position 1: Dr Diana Breshears and Rentia Engelbrecht (The Humanities)

Position 2: Prof Aliza le Roux (Natural and Agricultural Sciences)

Position 3: Lebohang Masoabi (Economic and Management Sciences)

Position 4: Dr Maria Tsakeni (Faculty of Education)

Category: Faculty / Departmental Award

Faculty of Education (with special mention of Dr Cias Tsotetsi; Dr Maria Tsakeni; Thabiso Motsoeneng; and Dr Sekitla Makhasane).

Research Awards per faculty:

Education

Most Prolific Researcher: Dr Bekithemba Dube (School of Education Studies)

Best Emerging Researcher: Dr Sekitla Makhasane (School of Education Studies)

The Humanities

Most Prolific Researcher: Dr Oliver Nyambi (Department of English)

Best Emerging Researcher: Dr Tshepo Moloi (Department of History)

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Most Prolific Researcher: Prof Francis Dejene (Department of Physics)

Best Emerging Researcher: Dr Lehlohonolo Koao (Department of Physics)

Economic and Management Sciences

Most Prolific Researcher: Dr Calvin Mudzingiri (Department of Economics and Finance)

Best Emerging Researcher: Dr Charity Gomo (Department of Economics and Finance)

News Archive

Community engagement must be a core function of universities

2009-05-21

Members of the NatCEMF Steering Committee are, from the left: Mr Jerome Slamat, Senior Director: Community Interaction, Stellenbosch University, Ms Beatrix Bouwman, Manager: Community Engagement, North-West University, Rev Kiepie Jaftha, Chief Director: Community Service, UFS and chairperson of the committee, Prof. Allan Femi Lana, Director: Institute for Rural Development and Community Engagement, Mangosuthu University of Technology, Prof. Seth Pollack, Fulbright Scholar, University of Western Cape (guest speaker at the meeting), Prof. Denver Hendricks, Director: Community Engagement, University of Pretoria, and Prof. Priscilla Daniels, Chairperson: Human Ecology and Research and CHESP Research Coordinator, University of the Western Cape.
Photo: Lacea Loader

It is important that all tertiary institutions in South Africa should work together and commit themselves to advance the cause of community engagement in the country.

This was one of the main outcomes of the second meeting held by the National Community Engagement Manager’s Forum (NatCEMF) at the South Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein recently. The meeting was attended by 34 representatives of 16 higher education institutions in the country.

“I am astounded at the interest in this matter. The representatives are committed to make community engagement a core function of their institutions and we all agreed that we should get more involved in expanding this across all institutions. A need for a formal structure for us all to work together and have a more collective voice was also identified,” said Rev Kiepie Jaftha, Chief Director: Community Service at the UFS and Chairperson of the NatCEMF Steering Committee.

“There is a growing need to expand and develop our engagement with communities – to share our experiences and best practices and to learn from each other. There are universities that are doing excellent work in this field and, by having a formal structure, we can do a lot more towards advancing community engagement,” said Rev Jaftha.

The meeting identified matters such as the coordination of higher education institutions’ involvement in community engagement, the facilitation of research about community engagement, promoting service learning as transformation, the establishment of a community engagement resource centre and the organisation of a national community engagement conference as some of its aims. A national steering committee was also elected.

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