Latest News Archive
Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
06 November 2020
|
Story Rulanzen Martin
|
Photo Supplied
Dr Tronél Hellberg, UFS alumna, completed her PhD in Music from the OSM in 2018.
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown has posed many challenges. Not only has it distrupted our normal way of life it but has created a ‘new normal.’ Even in these trying times, alumni from the University of the Free State (UFS) have adjusted to the new normal by going above and beyond to make it as normal as possible.
One of these is Dr Tronél Hellberg, an alumna from the
Odeion School of Music at the UFS, who has supported Grade 12 learners by presenting free online prescribed music theory classes. The classes are beneficial for learners following the CAPS or IEB curriculum. “I trust the online videos will assist learners and teachers to get through this challenging Grade 12 year,” says Dr Hellberg. She has
recorded more than 38 live videos on her
G-Sential Theory of Music Facebook page.
The recordings are accessible to Grade 12 learners and their teachers at no cost. Dr Hellberg established the
G-Sential Theory of Music in 2007 and has since published 20 theory of music books.
Apart from assisting in teaching, one of her main objectives is to reach less fortunate learners who do not have access to music teachers. “Grade 12 music literacy requires an accumulative understanding of theory of music,” she says. With her initiative she also aims to “fill any gaps” to solidify knowledge and information which might still be unclear.
UFS strengthens ties with Mexican university
2010-05-11
 |
At the First Joint Subcommittee on Technical, Scientific and Technological Co-operation were, from left: Prof. Nahum Marban-Mendoza, Chairperson of the Department of Agroparasitology, UACH; Dr Gisela Pena-Ortega, Director of the Office for International Affairs and Academic Exchange, UACH; Prof. Wijnand Swart, Director of UFS Strategic Academic Cluster 4: Technologies for Crop Industries in Semi-arid regions; and Dr Victor Pinto, Department of Parasitology, UACH.
Photo: Mercedes Cuenca |
In 2006, the University of the Free State (UFS) signed an institutional agreement with the Autonomous University of Chapingo (UACH) in Mexico. This made the UFS the first South African academic institution to establish scientific relations with Mexico.
It was for this reason that Prof. Wijnand Swart, Director of the UFS Strategic Academic Cluster 4: Technologies for Crop Industries in Semi-arid regions, was invited to participate in the First Joint Subcommittee on Technical, Scientific and Technological Cooperation held recently in Mexico City. During his visit, Prof. Swart secured the working relationship between the UFS and the UACH.
During the first meeting of the Mexico-South Africa Bi-national Commission, the Mexican Foreign Secretary and Minister of Foreign Affairs and South African Minister for International Relations and Cooperation signed a joint statement. The statement, “Mexico and South Africa: Towards a Priority Relationship”, together with a Scientific and Technological Cooperation Agreement, will lay the foundations for monitoring existing collaboration and promote new actions between institutions in Mexico and South Africa.
Prof. Swart spent the remainder of his stay in Mexico presenting lectures to staff and students at the UACH on integrated pest management and challenges facing South African agriculture. He also engaged in discussions with Dr Gisela Pena-Ortega, Director of the UACH Office for International Affairs and Academic Exchange, about the establishment of a staff and student exchange programme with the UFS.