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ARU strengthens ties with Japanese universities

12 March 2020 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Thabo Kessah

Japan UFS Afromontane Research Unit research collaboration — Dr Melissa Hansen (left) with ARU guest researchers. They are, from the left: Gema Carlota Cubelos Perez, Emilie Jones, Ven Paolo Valenzuela, Kanako Matsuyama (International Christian University), and Dr Kudo Shogo.

Research ties between the University of the Free State, the University of Tokyo, and the International Christian University strengthened when the Japanese scholars visited the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) on the Qwaqwa Campus.

“The visiting delegation is part of the larger research group on sustainability studies that has been sharing research expertise with the Afromontane Research Unit’s researchers over the past three years,” said Dr Kudo Shogo, Assistant Professor from the University of Tokyo’s Graduate Programme in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI).

Entrepreneurship in Qwaqwa
“Our focus this time is on entrepreneurs who have had exposure to megacities such as Johannesburg and Cape Town, and who are finding themselves back in places like Qwaqwa. We have discovered that they actually find Qwaqwa more resourceful than when they left. Two to three years of unstable living in the cities gave them a fresh view to see the many opportunities in Qwaqwa and they then start their businesses. Talking to the Qwaqwa entrepreneurs has been a great learning experience for all of us,” he added.

The visiting scholars conducted interviews with 10 local entrepreneurs to get a sense of how they use entrepreneurship for sustainability purposes.

“We are pleased by the local people’s understanding that local problems require local solutions. I would really like to contribute to these people’s understanding of how these solutions fit the problems better than solutions that come from outside. We have quite a number of voices talking about empowering Qwaqwa, with the emphasis on creating jobs for Qwaqwa, solving the problems that Qwaqwa is facing. I have found education to be a unifying factor through tutoring, after-school classes, mentorship, and the personal imperative of sharing,” said Emilie Jones, originally from the United States of America and now studying for a master’s degree in Sustainability Science focusing on water supply and resources.

Education and arts empower communities
“Most of the entrepreneurs we spoke to have experience of the big cities. For them, Qwaqwa is very close to the heart and is home. There are challenges, but they are doing their best to empower their community with ideas and skills from the big cities. They provide services such as education and arts to empower the community to come up with a local identity,” said a PhD candidate, Ven Paolo Valenzuela from the Philippines.

“I was impressed with the people who realise the opportunities to identify problems and even come up with solutions themselves. A lot of communities can learn from this,” said Gema Carlota Cubelos Perez, a PhD candidate originally from Spain.

Their host, Dr Melissa Hansen, Lecturer from the Department of Geography, said the visit was part of the bigger study on migration and sustainable development. “This was a Global Field Exercise (GFE) for teaching research methods in the field. We found that Qwaqwa is overflowing with potential for entrepreneurship in a wide variety of fields and that there is a strong, vibrant network of young individuals brimming with talent. We are learning from each other, as Akita City in Japan and Qwaqwa are similar in more ways than one,” she said.

One of the entrepreneurs, Refiloe Seekane, is a self-taught fashion designer, choreographer, and event coordinator. “The interview has actually made me realise the gaps we have for business opportunities in Qwaqwa and the importance of implementing some of the projects I have been planning for years,” said Seekane, a second-year Education student and CEO of Evomind.

News Archive

New challenges for animal science discussed

2006-04-04

Some of the guests attending the congress were from the left Dr Heinz Meissner (honorary president of the South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) and senior manager at the Animal Production Institute of the Agricultural Research Council), Mr Paul Bevan (President of SASAS) and Prof Magda Fourie (Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the UFS).
Photo: Lacea Loader

New challenges for animal science discussed

The South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) is presenting its 41st Congress at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

The congress started yesterday and will run until Thursday 6 April 2006. The theme is New challenges for the animal science industries.

It is one of the largest congresses in the 45 years since SASAS was founded in 1961. Among the delegates 12 African countries are represented, with the biggest delegation from Kenya. Delegates are also from the United States of America, Iran, Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal and African countries like Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana.

“Many of our members play an important role in the training of animal scientists at universities. The congress is specifically industry orientated so that scientists can interact with farmers through the respective producer organisations,” said Prof HO de Waal, Chairperson of the organising committee and lecturer at the UFS Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences.

According to Dr Heinz Meissner, honorary president of SASAS and a senior manager at the Animal Production Institute of the Agricultural Research Council, the National Livestock Strategy (NLS) Plan clarifies the role and responsibility of the livestock sector.

“Through this strategy we need to focus on enhancing equitable access and participation in livestock agriculture, improve global competitiveness and profitability of the livestock sector and ensure that the ventures implemented do not over utilise our resources,” said Dr Meissner.

In her welcoming address, Prof Magda Fourie, Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the UFS highlighted the related challenges that the UFS will be focusing on specifically over the next five years. “We have identified five strategic clusters that represent broad areas of excellence in research and post-graduate education. Two of these are food production, quality and safety for Africa and sustainable development,” she said.

“The food safety and security cluster will focus on the production of food in all its varieties within the African context, encompassing the entire value chain – from production to consumption and nutrition related issues. This would include a strong emphasis on sustainable production systems,” she said.

According to Prof Fourie the rural development cluster will engage in questions around the role of higher education in sustainable development. “One of the focus areas in this strategic cluster pertains to sustainable livelihoods. It refers to a way of approaching development that incorporates all aspects of human livelihoods and means by which people obtain them,” she said.

Prof Fourie said that the challenges we are facing such as food production can only be effectively addressed through collaborative efforts. “That is why it is important that collaboration takes place between different scientific disciplines, researchers, institutions and countries who are confronted with similar difficulties,” she said.

According to Prof de Waal the congress will give key role players a unique opportunity to present a profile of what they perceive an animal scientist should be and state their specific requirement regarding the animal sciences and its applications.

“In this way we can determine what the industry’s needs are and we can re-align our curriculum to suit these needs,” said Prof de Waal.

During the next two days, various areas of interest will be discussed. This includes ruminant and monogastric nutrition, animal physiology, beef, dairy, sheep and ostrich breeding and sustainable farming covering the range from commercial to the small-scale farming level.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
4 April 2006

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