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03 March 2020

The Office for International Affairs (OIA) at the University of the Free State (UFS) implemented the second iteration of its Umoja Buddy Programme (UBP) in 2020. The UBP is a flagship internationalisation-at-home programme aimed at the smooth academic, social, and cultural integration of first-entering international students at the UFS by pairing them with senior UFS students. It offers local students an international experience on the home campus and develops their international and intercultural competence through direct interaction with international students. The UBP contributes to the achievement of the UFS vision, whereby every student will in future have an international experience during their studies at the UFS.


Internationalisation at home

On 13 February 2020, a welcome function themed Echoes of Sophiatown set the tone for this year’s edition. Chevon Slambee, Chief Officer in the OIA and UFS master’s student, welcomed the students and explained the theme of the day. She said that, “as students, we have a responsibility to be active citizens and contribute to change and social transformation”. Programme coordinator Bulelwa Moikwatlhai introduced the function and framework of the programme and highlighted the importance of internationalisation at home. Also in attendance was the Dean of Students, Pura Mgolombane, who encouraged students in his address to honour their heritage, “so that together, we can be able to appreciate one another”. He emphasised the importance of social justice for academic success. The SRC member for the International Student Council, Simba Matheba, expressed his support for the UBP. The UFS Arts, Culture, and Dialogue office provided entertainment at the event.

Umoja Buddy

International and local students mingling at the 2020 Umoja Buddy Programme Welcome Function.

News Archive

UFS hosts Fulbright senior specialist
2010-06-14

Pictured from the left, are: Prof. Aldo Stroebel (Director: International Affairs), Prof. Daryl Smith, Ms Dineo Gaofhiwe (Manager: International Research Funding Opportunities, UFS) and Mr John Samuel (Interim Director: the Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice, UFS).

The University of the Free State (UFS) has, for the past month, hosted Prof. Daryl Smith, Professor of Education and Psychology at Claremont Graduate University in the United States of America (USA), as a senior Fulbright specialist. She was hosted by the Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice, under the leadership of Mr John Samuel, who is its Interim Director. She helped in developing and establishing the research agenda of the institute.

A series of policy briefs and research papers will emanate from Prof. Smith’s tenure at the UFS, complemented by work of three additional Fulbright senior specialists who are joining the UFS early in the second semester. Prof. Smith met with various role-players and stakeholders in the domain of social justice, institutional change, transformation and diversity management, and will continue her association with the UFS at both the Institute and the Faculty of Education, in collaboration with its Dean, Prof. Dennis Francis.

Prof. Smith’s current research, teaching, and publications have been in the areas of diversity in higher education, leadership change, organisational implications of diversity, governance, and assessment and evaluation. She earned her Ph.D. in Social Psychology and Higher Education at Claremont Graduate University, her M.A. from Stanford University, and her B.A. in Mathematics from Cornell University.

Amongst many specialist missions, Prof. Smith served as part of two US delegations to the Ford Foundation-sponsored tri-national conferences (India, South Africa, US) on campus diversity in higher education that have taken place in South Africa and the United States. Her most recent book, Diversity’s Promise for Higher Education: Making it Work, is available from Johns Hopkins University Press.

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