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26 June 2020 | Story Nitha Ramanth | Photo Valentino Ndaba
Takudzwa Nyamunda.
Takudzwa Nyamunda is the proud new representative of the University of the Free State (UFS) for the 2020 Commonwealth Future Student Leadership programme. Nominated at a recent workshop themed ‘Reimagining Peace’, organised by the Association of Commonwealth Universities in collaboration with the British Council and the Durban University of Technology, Takudzwa demonstrated exceptional leadership, coupled with his experience of issues related to the UFS student committee, which provided the perfect foundation for his selection. 

“From a personal point of view, this was one of the most enriching experiences I have ever had, both in terms of the relationships established and the world knowledge gained. I am personally grateful for the opportunity to attend and would support any further initiative of this nature. I think the essence of this workshop was to encourage the young leaders present – all of whom were active citizens in their communities in one way or another – to continue fighting the good fight. The core message from the panellists was that it is all worth it in the end, and that even in the face of adversity and discouragement, we should keep fighting for the work we believe in,” says Takudzwa. 

Participants from 13 nations, including activists and thought leaders on non-violence affiliated with the International Centre of Nonviolence, the Gandhi Development Trust, and the Commonwealth Countering Violent Extremism Unit, contributed to the workshop. Over the course of three days, participants were divided into five groups and worked together on projects linked to three main themes – gender-based violence, global warming, and inequality.

The selection committee was convened by the Vice-Rector: Research and Internationalisation, Prof Corli Witthuhn, and facilitated by the Office for International Affairs. Currently in the final year of his Master of Industrial Psychology degree, Takudzwa’s wealth or experience includes being the founder and first president of the International Students Association (2016), and holder of the International Student portfolio as Student Representative Council (SRC) member (2017), coupled with being co-founder and first vice-chairperson of the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP): UFS Chapter and Vice-president of the SABPP National Youth Council (2019).

“I will continue to do what I have been doing for the past five years at the UFS, which is to make a difference in my sphere of influence”, says Takudzwa. 

News Archive

Latest information technology employed to make learning in Disaster Management easy
2014-10-20



Prof Dusan Sakulski
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs
Live, colourful, interactive, real-time-calculated. This is how Prof Dusan Sakulski, researcher and lecturer from the UFS’s Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa (DiMTEC), describes his e-learning platform implemented in this department.

Rather than producing research that gathers dust somewhere in a cabinet, Prof Sakulski believes that research should be used to make life easier, not only for society, but also for his students.
 
This educational civil engineer, who is responsible for information technology implementation in disaster risk management, developed through his research several programs to optimise the three contact sessions DiMTEC students have to attend each year.
 
One of the initiatives implemented by Prof Sakulski and his daughter Teodora, was the recording, editing and compiling of theoretical lessons and making it available to students online. “Students then don’t have the excuse of missing a class. Furthermore, it allows them to rather focus on group work during contact sessions and to discuss problems they encountered with the work,” he says.
 
Students also have access to an early-warning system portal for the prediction of hazards, including droughts, floods, rain and temperature. In the disaster-risk environment, this program is very useful, not only for students, but also for practitioners working with this kind of data on a daily basis. The operational and educational application works in real time – with the click of a mouse students and practitioners have access to information on current weather conditions. Indicators for possible natural disasters are also built into this program. Truly a useful application when you are working in the field of disaster risk management.

Difficult and technical data are presented live, with information that is colourful, interactive, real-time-calculated and audible, thanks to embedded mathematical language. In this way, students can learn, memorise and understand their work better.


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